Incessant chatter among members of the Murwillumbah Colts Junior Rugby League club has been going on for the past week since a group of players were guests of the Westpac NSW Blues at their Captain’s Run last Tuesday (16 July).
“They’ve been on school holidays so tonight (Tuesday 23 July) will be their first day back at training,” Colts registrar Stacey Weaver told nswrl.com.au
“I’m guessing a lot of talking and little training will get done. They are all still so excited they met their NRL heroes a week ago.”
It all came about after the NSW Blues held a ‘fan day’ in June at NSWRL headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park in the lead-up to Game Two.
All the NSW players’ junior clubs were invited and they got to meet their heroes.
But Reece Robson’s club – the Murwillumbah Colts - was 800km away and that meant logistics would be difficult.
So NSWRL staff organised for the Colts to come to the Captain’s Run ahead of Game Three at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium – a mere 130km away.
“Because we’re so close to the Queensland border it was much easier for us to go north rather than south,” Weaver said.
About 30 players from the girls Under 10s through to the boys Under 10s, 13s, and 14s were driven up in a convoy by their parents.
They waited at the end of the tunnel to high-five the players as they ran out onto the field and were able to watch the entire session.
Then players came over to meet the children and sign shirts, jerseys, footballs and pose for photos.
“They were extremely excited. The looks on their faces said it all,” Weaver said.
“It meant the world to them. They’d never been that close to Origin players before.”
For that ultimate Origin experience, Weaver and a couple of other parents with about six juniors also walked down Caxton Street to Suncorp Stadium that morning.
“Our little convoy group stopped out the front of the Caxton Hotel for a photo and managed to get a few boos …. It was all a bit of fun and quite an experience for the kids.”
