The St George Illawarra Dragons have wrapped up their 2015 School Blitz as part of the NRL Community Carnival, visiting over 30,000 students out of the 255,000 covered by the entire NRL.
The Dragons teamed up with the NRL Development team to attend 112 schools in the NSW South Coast, Illawarra and Kogarah regions of the total 965 schools across Australia and New Zealand.
The Carnival, which focused on the theme ‘Healthy Lifestyles and Wellbeing’ was a great success and surrounded topics such as healthy eating habits and nutrition, regular physical activity, appropriate levels of sleep and mental health.
Dragons prop Dan Hunt praised the NRL for allowing players the opportunity to advocate healthy lifestyles among young people and develop positive attitudes and decision-making.
“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 Bateman’s Bay, tying in with the promotion of the benefits of playing rugby league and staying physically active.
Dragons second-rower Nathan Green, who coaches an under 9’s rugby league team himself, spoke to children about the safe-play codes in the junior leagues which cater to the safety of the younger players, allowing them to meet new people and enjoy staying physically active in a safe environment.
Kids interested in playing rugby league can visit PlayNRL.com for more information and to register for their local team.
Students can also find out more about playing rugby league and experience the game first hand at one the Dragons upcoming gala days.
The Blitz coincided with the Dragons launch of their very own school diary, ‘The Best You Can Be’, which 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!
