ATHLETICS: The new year is about to heat up for Allora athlete Matthew Denny with an important assignment looming at this weekend's Queensland Open Championships in Brisbane.

Matthew Denny, Lara Nielsen, Conor McLoughlin and Ellie Bowyer are four Darling Downs athletes who will be looking to hit the ground running in their first major throwing events for 2018.

For Denny and Nielsen, it will be the next step in what they hope will be Gold Coast Commonwealth Games' appearances in April.

Denny will be chasing a confidence-building victory in both discus and hammer while Nielsen will be out to keep her fellow Games hopefuls on notice with a strong hammer showing.

Nineteen-year-old McLoughlin is in open discus and Bowyer, 18, will compete in javelin with an eye towards the world junior championships.

The quartet's coach Grahame Pitt said there was plenty riding on their performances this weekend, in particular, Denny and Nielsen, who need to keep producing quality results to cement a Games' berth.

Pitt said Denny and Nielsen were preparing to meet stiff opposition on their Commonwealth Games' path.

"Lara can expect to do well and Matt should win hammer,” Pitt said.

"But there are four good discus throwers in the country at present which keeps the pressure on everyone.

"Both Matt and Lara have thrown their Commonwealth Games qualifying distances, but that doesn't guarantee you getting through, it will all come down to how they perform at the nationals.

"There is only a limited number of spots available at the Gold Coast and with plenty of quality athletes in contention, no-one can afford any slip-ups.”

Glen McCullough