Titans to play trial match in Toowoomba

[DIEHARD]

TOOWOOMBA will welcome back NRL action to the Garden City.

After being devoid of seeing NRL teams play in the city since the relationship between the Clydesdales and Brisbane Broncos ended, Toowoomba is set to host a Gold Coast Titans trial match in February.

Titans chief executive Graham Annesley will be in Toowoomba on Wednesday to announce a new partnership between Toowoomba Rugby League, the Clydesdales and the NRL club.

It is believed a trial match against the North Queensland Cowboys will also be announced.

That could see the likes of Nate Myles, Greg Bird, Johnathan Thurston and Matt Scott run around at Clive Berghofer Stadium.

TRL chairman Allen Pyne and Clydesdales chairman Paul Reedy will also be on hand for the announcement.

A trial between the Titans and Cowboys would be a huge event for rugby league fans in Toowoomba and beyond given it will feature two of the three Queensland clubs.

http://m.thechronicle.com.au/news/to...itans/2088001/

[DIEHARD]

Great to see Toowomba back on the Rugby League map. It was sad to see the Clydesdales demise in the Queensland Cup. Hopefully this new agreement will bear fruit for both parties.

[DavidBouveng]

Pencil me in. Let's gets crew together.

[kioli]

Wow very nice. I wonder what the partnership will entail, possibly bringing back the Clydesdales to the QCup?

[Titanic]

How Toowoomba don't have a side in the QCup is beyond me.

[justin19]

Pencil me in. Let's gets crew together.

I'm in

[DIEHARD]

Titans to play trial match in Toowoomba

The iSelect Gold Coast Titans will bring top-flight rugby league back to Toowoomba for the first time in seven years, with the announcement of a pre-season trial match against the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday, February 22, 2014.

In a new partnership with the Toowoomba Rugby League and the Toowoomba Clydesdales, the Titans have agreed to play their final hit-out of the pre-season at the Toowoomba Sports Ground as well as undertake community engagement activities in the region prior to the event.

The new partnership will also see the Titans provide education and welfare workshops for Toowoomba’s junior representative players as well as a formal link through the Titans Junior Pathways Program.

It is the first time an NRL sanctioned match will be played in Toowoomba since 2006 and is likely to see the return of hometown hero and Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston, who grew up playing junior football for the Toowoomba All Whites club.

iSelect Titans Chief Executive Officer Graham Annesley (pictured with Toowoomba Clydesdales Chairman Paul Reedy (left) and Toowoomba Rugby League Chairman Allen Pyne (right) said the club was excited to be able to take one of its pre-season fixtures to a new area of South East Queensland.

“We are thrilled to be taking rugby league back to Toowoomba, a region which has a great rugby league tradition,’’ said Annesley.

“Over the last few years the Titans have taken pre-season games to different areas in Northern NSW and the Gold Coast, so it’s great that we can expand that reach to another area in South East Queensland.’’

Toowoomba Rugby League Chairman Allen Pyne said the confirmation of the trial match was a major boost for rugby league in Toowoomba.

“I’m extremely excited about the prospects that the new alliance with the Titans will bring for Rugby League in our area,’’ said Pyne.

“In addition to the opportunity for all our league patrons to view the very elite players in our city, the alliance will provide a linkage and a pathway for all local talent.

“The partnership also clearly lifts the profile of rugby league in Toowoomba and will assist greatly with our goals to restore Toowoomba to its rightful place at the top of Regional Rugby League in Queensland.

“The Clydesdales development of our U16/U18 and U20 players will now also have a support mechanism to assist their growth and ultimate goal of returning Toowoomba to the Intrust Super Cup.

“The TRL is grateful for the support of the Toowoomba Regional Council and the Department of Sport in reaching this milestone."

Tickets will go on sale Monday December 2 through the TRL Office – 7 Annand Street Toowoomba or phone (07) 4632 4748.

Source: http://www.titans.com.au

[Bayside Titan]

I'm in

Aren't you in the USA ??

[justin19]

Aren't you in the USA ??

yes I am but work permit (Visa) runs out in January so I will be back in Australia.

[Titanic]

We lost Ipswich and argued streamlining the club's feeder system and now we add the Clydesdales ... appropriately confused.

[DIEHARD]

Thurston's Toowoomba homecoming

Johnathan Thurston will go back to where it all began in the Cowboys' trial against the Titans in Toowoomba.

Kangaroos World Cup star Johnathan Thurston is set to finalise his preparations for the 2014 season by going back to where it all began with the Cowboys to play the Gold Coast Titans in a trial at the Toowoomba Sports Ground on February 22.

Titans CEO Graham Annesley was in Toowoomba on Wednesday to announce the trial against North Queensland that will signal a new partnership between the Titans, Toowoomba Rugby League and the Toowoomba Clydesdales.

The Titans will engage in community activities and provide educational and developmental pathways for Toowoomba's junior representative players but it is the return of Thurston that will most excite rugby league fans who have not seen an NRL-sanctioned match in Toowoomba since 2006.

Thurston played for the All Whites club as he completed his final two years of schooling and while his appearance is not yet guaranteed, a shortened pre-season will make this trial the last chance for new Cowboys coach Paul Green to develop combinations ahead of Round 1.

Source: http://www.nrl.com