By Mary Maidiotis
The St George Illawarra Dragons travelled to the NSW South Coast on Monday, as part of their two-day School Blitz in the region, for the 15th annual NRL Community Carnival.
Students across Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Moruya, Bermagui, Narooma, Batehaven and Tilba Tilba were lucky enough to be visited by the players, who attended 11 schools over the two days, speaking to a total of 2,500 children.
Dragons players Dan Hunt, Charly Runciman, Will Matthews, Drew Hutchison and Shannon Wakeman, along with Dragons Ambassador Shaun Timmins, made the 288km journey from Wollongong to the South Coast, further delivering messages on this year’s theme, “Healthy Lifestyles and Wellbeing”.
The aim of the Carnival is to encourage students to build healthy lifestyles and make positive choices regarding eating habits, nutrition, physical activity, sleep and mental health.
“The school visits are all about healthy choices, healthy living and promoting an active lifestyle while at the same time encouraging kids to play rugby league.” said Hunt.
“The kids really respond well to the visits and how we relate the key messages to our own lives as football players.
“You can just see on their faces, they love every minute of it.”
The Dragons also conducted a junior rugby league clinic in Batemans Bay on Monday afternoon, spreading the word on the benefits of playing rugby league and staying physically active.
The Dragons believe that making a difference in the community is extremely important and along with holding the School Blitz, recently launched their very own school diary ‘The Best You Can Be’, further reinforcing messages surrounding healthy choices.
The Dragons school diary ‘The Best You Can Be’ retails for $6.00 and can be purchased either via the Dragons Team Store (Phone: 02 9597 1966) or through R.I.C. Publications Online Store!
