Boggabri and District Rugby League Football Club’s president Greg Haire was recently named a recipient of the Telstra Local Hero Award, a well-deserved honour for a hard-working volunteer who has been the club’s president for more than 10 years now.
A former Kangaroo himself and a premiership winner with the club in second division back in 1980, Haire joined as a committee member when the club made the decision back in 2012 to get the club on its feet and playing again in 2013.
He remained a committee member in 2013 before taking over as the president from Col Gillham in 2014.
Haire has helped guide the local club through the good times and the bad, has overseen milestone events such as the centenary celebration in 2016, and has most recently been the driving force behind getting a junior base established in Boggabri alongside the club’s secretary Molly Kemp and other committee members.
Haire said it was a special feeling to have his hard work recognised, but he made sure to mention that all the club’s committee members and their players play a significant role in the club’s success, especially his wife Sue Haire.
“It was really good,” he said of the acknowledgement.
“It’s good to see people recognised for what we do for the game. There’s a lot of good people out in the country running rugby league.
“It’s been great being a part of the club but there have been tough times too. When we went back up into first division (in 2018), we didn’t win a game that first year.
“We’ve gotten better as a team and we’re building still. We’ve got a very good coach with Shane (first grade coach Shane Rampling), and this year I think we’re capable of making the semis if we can gel a bit more.
“We have upgraded infrastructure around the ground with the help of Council. It’s looking good over there (at Jubilee Oval).
“I just love being part of the club.”
Haire said that junior teams were an essential part of a rugby league club and Boggabri were proud to field four teams in the Narrabri District Junior Rugby League comps in 2024. He added he was hopeful that this development would ensure the club continues to be strong for many years to come.
As a part of Haire’s Telstra Local Hero Award acknowledgment, he was invited to the NRL match between the Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights at Scully Park on Saturday where he tossed the coin.
He is pictured above alongside the referee Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamki, the Tiger’s skipper Api Koroisau and the Knights’ skipper Jayden Brailey.
The Tigers were successful at the toss after Brailey called heads and Haire’s flip landed a tail, but the men in blue and red went on to win the match 20-14.
Haire said it was a quality match he enjoyed watching despite being a Manly Sea Eagles supporter, and that getting to toss the coin before the game was an enjoyable experience.
He thought Newcastle’s Bradman Best was the best player on the park.
“It was great there on Saturday. I got to meet the ref and he was a nice bloke, and the captains were too,” Haire added.
No Group 4 Rugby League matches were played last weekend due to the Northern Region Tri-Series event at Scully Park.
Group 4 played against Group 19 and Group 21 on the day, winning the women’s tackle division and finishing as the runners-up to Group 21 in the men’s and under-18s division.
The season returns with round six games this weekend, with Boggabri to play away from home against the Werris Creek Magpies on Saturday while the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters host the Moree Boars.
Sunday’s games will see Wee Waa welcome Dungowan and Narrabri travel to North Tamworth.
Gunnedah will sit out with a bye.
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