DUBBO’S premier sporting facility got the tick of approval on Saturday night, with both the NSW Country Eagles and Perth Spirit camps full of praise for Apex Oval.
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Spirit coach Kevin Foote said the ground was ‘world class’ while Eagles skipper Brendan McKibbin admitted it was the best surface his side had played on during the NRC competition.
“We haven’t played on anything like this all competition, and we’ve played games in Sydney and at other regional venues,” McKibbin said after his side’s 40-34 win.
“To be honest sometimes when you go out of the city you’re never really too sure what to expect but this is fantastic.
“When we got in to town and drove past it in the bus we just looked at each other and said ‘wow, how good does that look’ and then when we actually got out on the ground it’s just an ideal surface for playing football on
“The raps on the ground were pretty high from the Wallaby boys I’d spoken to that were here a few weeks ago and they weren’t lying. It’s fantastic.
“I think what this arena does is set a benchmark for other towns and cities all across regional NSW, that if they want to attract these games and visits from the Wallabies in the future then they’re going to need something like this to make it happen.”
Foote, who grew up in South Africa and works with the Western Force, was also impressed by the entire facility.
“When we got here the boys were just in awe of this ground. It’s really a credit to Dubbo that you have something like this out here,” he said.
“After all the travelling we did to get to Dubbo for this match the last thing we would have wanted was to go out and play on a rough surface but it’s quite phenomenal.
“I’ve got no doubt the ground is world class, and even the facilities up in the change room areas are a lot better than some others we’ve encountered during this competition.
“It makes things a lot more pleasant for the players when they come to a ground and it’s presented like this one was today, and with the grandstand section being so close to the ground and it really makes for an atmosphere that you don’t often get.”