Three NSW Rugby League volunteers have received national honours in yesterday’s announcement of the 2023 NRL Westpac Community Awards, which recognise the invaluable work done at the grassroots level to promote and grow the game.
Indigenous Volunteer of the Year Candita Collins (Narwan Eels Rugby League Sporting Club), Teacher of the Year Kylie Boulous (Bella Vista Public School) and Women in League winner Poihaere Birtles (Coonabarabran Unicorns) featured in the list of six recipients of the prestigious national awards.
Collins (pictured above), who was named NSWRL’s Indigenous Volunteer of the Year last month among a list of 17 state winners, has a truly multi-faceted commitment to the Narwan Eels in Armidale.
Collins is officially the club’s treasurer but she also volunteers as the sports trainer, secretary, grants officer and ground manager.
She has strengthened the links with the Armidale Indigenous people as part of Narwan Eels’ slogan of ‘Family-Community-Football’.
Her support of both players and families has increased membership at the club. An Under-18s side played for the first time in the club’s history due to her encouragement.
Boulous is another passionate Eels supporter – but this time in western Sydney, where the mother-of-two is a school teacher at Bella Vista Public School about 20 minutes north of Parramatta’s home ground, CommBank Stadium.
She has ensured Rugby League is played at the school and is the first one to enter students in the NRL Eels Gala days, Eels Community Blitz days and League Stars Inspire programs.
Boulous also took 10 girls to an Ampol Little Origin event and 30 students to a practise day for a Guard of Honour tunnel at the Eels home games.
Birtles, a former Jillaroo, is the backbone of the Coonabarabran Unicorns in NSW’s central west.
The mother-of-four coaches a number of teams including the club’s Under 10s, Under 14s girls representative League Tag and the Far West Academy’s Under 15s girls.
To ease the travel burden on families, Birtles arranges Sunday training sessions and camps in various regional centres to coincide with Saturday match days.
She also straps and is the sideline blue-shirt trainer fort the Unicorns men’s first grade side after she’s finished her Junior Rugby League volunteer duties in the morning.
Aware that some families come from low socio-economic backgrounds, Birtles is an avid fundraiser so that young players can have part of their fees and costs covered.
“The NSWRL would like to congratulate our national award winners – Candita, Kylie and Poihaere – who, like many of our volunteers, go above and beyond every week of the footy season,” said NSWRL Head of Communication and Community Engagement, Dr Tracie Edmondson.
“The NSWRL is very appreciative of the selfless commitment and dedication of all 28,000-plus of our volunteers across the state.
“Without them, our game would not exist for the 112,000 people who register to be part of the NSW Rugby League community.”
