The Canberra Raiders will finally get to take a pre-season trial to the New South Wales south coast, with confirmation that their clash against the Canterbury Bulldogs will be played at Ack Weyman Oval in Moruya.
The game will take place in Week 1 of the NRL's newly created pre-season challenge on Sunday, February 12, with kick-off set for 3:55pm (AEDT).
As was the case last year, every game of the pre-season will be broadcast on Fox Sports, with the Sunday of Week 1 to feature four games, kicking off with the Storm and Roosters at 1:50pm in Geelong.
The Raiders and Bulldogs will follow, before a 6pm game sees the Cowboys play against the Dolphins, with the expansion club to play their first fixture against NRL-level opposition, before the Broncos play the Titans in what is a Cairns-based double-header.
Moruya, a town which has a population of 4,295 according to the 2021 Australian Census, is located approximately 25 kilometres south of Batemans Bay, which is one of the major towns on the New South Wales south coast.
Home of the Moruya Sharks who play in Group 16 Rugby League against teams like the Batemans Bay Tigers, Bega Roosters, Eden Tigers, Narooma Devils, Snowy River Bears and Cooma Stallions, the ground is named after former Dragons and Raiders prop Michael Weyman's father Ack, who is a legend of Moruya Rugby League, but sadly passed away in 2019.
Statues of both Ack and Michael are present at the ground, with Ack also a member of the Raiders football staff for several seasons.
Raiders CEO Don Furner said the club have been trying to take a trial to the south coast since 2019.
“We've been hoping to take a match to the South Coast for the past three years following the Bushfires in late 2019, but with COVID it's been a challenge,” Furner said in a club statement.
“Thankfully we now get to take one to our regional catchment on the South Coast and it's fitting that we take the game to Moruya where the Weyman family come from.”
