Coffs Harbour triumphs with Cronulla Sharks NRL match at C.ex Stadium
Cronulla Sharks coach Sharks coach Josh Hannay has said something rugby league fans across the region will love to hear.
Coffs Harbour
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How does the saying go? When an opportunity comes around you should grab it with both hands.
Well, as league fans streamed into C.ex Stadium for Coffs Harbour’s first ever NRL match they didn’t so much as grab it – they seized it, grappled it and rammed it into the turf.
Even hours before kick-off it would have been hard to argue with the proposition the Cronulla Sharks v Gold Coast Titans match was already a success, with a line-up of thousands snaking down Stadium Drive, eager to experience the carnival atmosphere well underway inside the venue.
Parents sipped drinks on the hill as kids played footy on the grass, families lined up to get a photo with in-demand Sharks mascot Reefy and, of course, the hardcore fans jostled to get the best vantage point on the sideline.
The match also coincided with the NRL’s Indigenous Round, enabling members of Gumbaynggirr community to perform traditional dance in front of thousands in the stadium and many more watching across the country.
With the Sharks putting on a show and running out 38 – 10 winners, there was plenty to cheer about for both the partisan Cronulla fans and the many neutrals sporting the colours of other NRL teams.
Sharks coach Josh Hannay said the performance from his players was the “cherry on top” of a “a wonderful few days” and was genuine in his desire to have more matches played at Coffs Harbour.
“The moment we got to Coffs Harbour the warmth with which Coffs community has embraced us has been first class,” Hannay said.
“I really have to tip my cap to the area and to council for what they have produced.
“The work put in prior to today between the club and council has been a great collaboration and you look at the scenes here today – full crowd, great facility – and I like to think this is the first of many games for us as a club coming up here.”
After the match, an “amazingly pumped” Denise Knight praised the “amazing work” of Council’s sports unit on putting together an “outstanding” event, with the Coffs Harbour City Council Mayor adding it was the biggest match hosted at the stadium to date.
Ms Knight emphasised the many “little steps” Council had taken to compete against other regions and metro areas in securing major events like the NRL and the upcoming Super W National Women’s Rugby Union Tournament.
“It has been a long time coming and we have always been punching above our weight as far as sports are concerned,” Ms Knight said.
“We do an amazing job, Coffs Harbour City Council sports unit work really hard to get big events here and it takes time but we are getting there.
“This has been not just great for us that live in the LGA but great for the region. I have spoken to people that have come here from Armidale, Grafton (and) Cessnock and they have all come to Coffs to see this game.”
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh, who is also deputy chair of the NRL Regional Taskforce, said a total of $150,000 from the NSW Government’s Regional Events Acceleration Fund had helped secure the Coffs Harbour match.
“We’ll work with Council, the NRL, and The Sharks to make NRL on the Coffs Coast an annual event,” Mr Singh said.
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