Matthew Denny to warm up for Commonwealth Games with Brisbane meet on Thursday night

DARLING Downs athlete Matthew Denny will measure his Commonwealth Games medal claims against Scotland’s hammer thrower Chris Bennett when they compete in Brisbane on Thursday night.

Matthew Denny will compete in the hammer throw and discus at the Commonwealth Games.

DARLING Downs athlete Matthew Denny will measure his Commonwealth Games medal claims against Scotland’s hammer thrower Chris Bennett when they compete in Brisbane on Thursday night.

Denny, 21, won selection for the Commonwealth Games in the hammer throw and discus, but will contest the hammer only in Thursday night’s first of two pre-Games meets at Nathan’s State Athletics facility.

Denny said both he and Bennett would be in medal contention, with the gold medal favourite should be Nick Miller, England’s silver medallist from the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Bennett has a 76.45m personal best from 2016, during which he went to the Rio Olympics and missed the final. It’s a distance 3.08m longer than Denny’s best, set last year.

“This isn’t a massive hitout for either of us I’d say - it’s more to blow away the cobwebs and not get carried away while focusing on the Games,’’ Denny said.

Matthew Denny will compete in the hammer throw and discus at the Commonwealth Games.

“He’s been throwing 68-72m in the past few months, so he’s thereabouts (in the medal chances).’’

Denny said he is looking forward to welcoming Australian teammates later this week to his training facility at Brisbane’s Nudgee College, which will be the team’s pre-Games base.

“I’m excited to have them come here because I have a lot of friends in the athletics community who I don’t see that much. It’s good to train together,’’ he said.

Brisbane long jumper Henry Frayne plans to make three or four jumps in his a much-needed pre-Games competition.

“He will be cautious on the first outing, but he is in solid shape,’’ said Frayne’s coach Gary Bourne.

Pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall, Australia’s best performer with a fourth placing at this month’s world indoor titles in England, has two competitors only tonight, Australians Alexander Chan and Jordan Kildare.

Olympic 1500m champion Matt Centrowitz, of the United States, continues his Australian campaign in the 800m, with Australian Games 800m entrant Josh Ralph heading the Australian entry list.

England’s Dina Asher-Smith and Australian record-holder Melissa Breen head the list of women’s 100m entries, with Breen having been unable to complete last month’s national titles campaign due to sciatic nerve pain.

Asher-Smith, who clocked 11.24 sec for the 100m in Sydney last Saturday in relegating Riley Day to second in 11.50, is expected to contest the 200m on Wednesday at Nathan, when she will come across Day again.

Originally published as Matthew Denny to warm up for Commonwealth Games with Brisbane meet on Thursday night