Junee have hit the jackpot next year, having the Laurie Daley Oval house the larger than life ‘Pie in the Sky’ charity match on February 25th, where a stacked David Reid Homes All Star team will take on our Junee Diesels.
If that wasn’t enough to entice the appetites for all league fans then the announcement that the team will be coached by Junee’s legendary Laurie Daley will.
Simon Woolford, Terry Campese, Michael Weyman and Ben Roarty are only a few of the names in this dazzling David Reid Homes All Star team that will take on the mighty Diesels.
Launched in 2011, this will be the third official Pie in the Sky Charity Match with the David Reid Homes All Star taking on a local team.
The first was against Hay and had the All Stars up 50-8 in the inaugural match.
In 2018, the event went to Queanbeyan with a team featuring Terry Campese, Kenny Nagas, Bradley Clyde, Tom Learoyd-Lahrs, Michael Weyman, Alan Tongue, Lincoln Withers, David Barnhill, Joel Monaghan, Adrian Purtell and Glen Buttriss.
Queanbeyan Blues lost to the All Stars 52-22 but it was an experience every Blues player will never forget.
Owner of Pie in the Sky and David Reid Homes, Ken Beissel, wanted to help revive the Diesels by bringing his monumental charity game to Junee.
“I played [in Junee] in 78, I only had the one year there,” he said.
“It’s the third one we put on, the first one was in Hay.
“We got about 5000 people and Arthur Beetson was the coach at the time and we played the local Hay side.
“We had Laurie Daley, Bradley Clyde, some of the greats of the game. It was a huge success.”
A large amount of money was raised for Queanbeyan’s Treehouse charity during the day.
“I was talking to David Holt some time ago and then young Daniel Foley rang me asking if we can put one on here in Junee. I know the problems the Junee Diesels have been having, I still follow it. I love the game.
“It’s really good for rugby league in the town and I know rugby league is struggling in a lot of these country areas.
“Hopefully this is going to help.”
Laurie Daley was keen to return to his hometown and put his hand up for the match.
Many other players were happy to put their hands up and give regional NSW towns an experience you will never get anywhere else.
“I love [Junee]; I had a great year there and I just love the place. Anything I can do to help, I’d love to.
“Hopefully it’ll help propel the Junee Diesels back into first grade.
“I’m hoping we can get some of the old guys back, blokes like Harry Ross and Mick Guthrie. Mick and I are pretty good mates, I took him to Haywood after Junee and captain-coached there.
“In 78, we made finals for the first time in forever.
“Campo actually rang me from the World Cup last week to tell me he’s in, so that’s not a bad effort.
“These blokes do this for nothing for us, they just love the game and promote the game, same with Laurie. He’s a good bloke.”
Junee Diesels President David Holt despite having plenty of work left to do is looking forward to the day.
“We have a meeting tonight where we will discuss things and hopefully iron out a few more details,” said David.
“The rough plan at the moment is to have around 20 ex-NRL players who have retired, an ex-NRL ref and Laurie Daley and Les Boyd coach the David Reid Homes NRL All-Stars.
“Before the All-Stars vs Diesels game we plan on having a Daughters vs Dads league tag game as a curtain raiser all on the 25th of February.
“On the evening on the 25th, we’d like to finish the day with dinner and entertainment.
“With the amount of ex-NRL players coming from Junee immediately, it draws an interest so hopefully we will have good numbers and have a great day,” David continued
This is something nobody in Junee would want to miss so keep up with our coverage of the lead up to the game to stay informed on this more than massive event.
Jack Murray