The Carlingford Cougars and Dundas Shamrocks joined forces recently to play for their own version of the i4Give Cup.
The i4Give Foundation was set up in the aftermath of Danny and Leila Abdallah losing three of their children to a drunk-driver in a traffic accident in western Sydney in 2020. The Abdallahs decided to forgive the driver to show the power of forgiveness when it comes to mental health support and welfare.
Each June for the past three years NRL teams Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs play for an i4Give Cup.
Abdallah has also spoken at Blues Youth Leadership Programs in 2022 run at various universities and high schools by former NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler.
But the connection with the Cougars and Shamrocks came through simple friendship between Abdallah (pictured above right) and one of the junior coaches, Oliver Samaha (left).
“It literally evolved from a simple cup of coffee,” Carlingford Cougars President Damien Mackey told nswrl.com.au
“We wanted to do something with the Under 10s as Oliver has a son in our Cougars team and Danny has a son in the Shamrocks Under 10s.”
A match was then organised for 11 August.
“What we did for the day was swap players so five Cougars players put on Shamrocks jerseys and five Shamrocks played in Cougars colours,” Mackey said. “That also showed the beauty of the spirit of Rugby League.
“They all trained together too on the Thursday before the match.”
Mackey said the Abdallah family’s willingness to both forgive the driver and remember their children resonated with both junior clubs.
“A lot of the families in the area know all about the tragic events of 2020. The year after the accident we had the i4Give logo on our jerseys and at that stage Danny had nothing to do with our club,” he said.
“It’s about having our game, and our players, and their families be part of a wider community.
“You can go on and win 10 Grand Finals, but if you can’t teach your kids something about life other than catching, passing and tackling, then what are we doing?”
