Writing from the opposite side of the world, 16-year-old Tyson Hodge, disects his team's performances and shares on a once-in-a-lifetime experience as the KARI-backed Indigenous Young Achievers Tour continues in France.
Game One v Paris
This game from the start was very one sided.
Our boys controlled the tempo and shut our opposition out. To their credit, they didn’t give up.
Our halves Josh and Kane guided our team around the park very effectively which allowed our middle forwards to suck in the defence and gave our outside backs plenty of room to work their magic.
Man of the match was Jaylen Rose.
Game Two Test Match
This was a very physical encounter between a French National Select team and the Black Kangaroos.
The French team tried to physically outmuscle our team, but our boys, led by Heath Gibbs, stood tall and firm.
With 10 minutes to go, our team was tied 16-all, and the boys went to a higher level that the opposition couldn’t match as we scored 14 unanswered points.
Man of the match went to a deserving Heath Gibbs.
The last two days have been a blur. Firstly, visiting the Papal City of Avingnon to playing football and winning the players’ player award was a great honour.
Having to play two games in three days was hard but enjoyable. To score a few tries was a bonus. The opposition was very physical but I love that style of footy.
European culture is something to be seen. It's hard to describe the feeling unless you've had the priviledge of travelling there. The city was interesting; the history of the Popes having lived there thousands of years ago was fascinating. The fortress around the town was incredible – it’s hard to imagine trying to invade a fortress like the one they had.
Walking through the side streets with all the shops is very different to Wagga Wagga.
This trip has been so much more than I coould ever imagine and I am thrilled to see what happens next for the rest of our trip.
Follow NSWRL.com.au for all the latest on the once-in-a-lifetime journey.
The NSWRL would like to thank KARI, Santos, Maari Ma and the Juice Plus company for their support of the Young Achievers tour.
