True Blue James Tedesco was like the pied piper at the Gymea Gorillas weekly training session this week.
The former Westpac NSW Blues skipper and current Sydney Roosters captain is also a patron for the ‘Sporting Chance’ children’s cancer charity.
The Gorillas handed over a $20,000 cheque to Sporting Chance last weekend and Tedesco arrived at training on Tuesday night to thank some of the junior players for their fund-raising efforts.
“I was a bit worried about what numbers would be like because we’re in the Semi-finals now so our younger age group teams are done for the year and no longer training,” Gorillas President, Jordan Moyle, told nswrl.com.au
“But I was shocked when I arrived because there was a line from the clubhouse all the way down onto the street – it was huge.
“I felt sorry for Teddy – he did signing after signing for a very long time. But he did every one.
“He is a true gentleman who thanked us all for what we’d done and explained how he got involved with the charity.
“Some of the kids were a little star-struck and nervous but he was great with them. He was genuinely interested in what they had to say and asked them questions about their season, their teammates.”
Each of the 64 teams of the Gymea Gorillas were tasked with raising money and through those individual ideas and efforts, the club doubled its original target of $10,000.
“I’m very proud to be part of a club like this … there are a lot of good people here, and those before us, that have created a fantastic culture we see today,” Moyle said.
