Naidoc
ONE of the most significant events occurred in 2018 when former Kangaroos’ captain Brad Fittler brought his “Hogs for the Homeless” to Wellington to give the Cowboys’ favourite ground a makeover.
“Freddy was joined by another NSW State of Origin winning captain, Danny Buderus and other league stars like Nathan Hindmarsh, Blocker Roach and Beau Ryan. They met with small as well as ‘big kids’ and laid turf with them side by side. The schools cooperated, workers started early so they could lend a hand in the afternoon, mums and dads and grandparents all pitched in and by the end of the day we had a truly level playing field,” Darren smiled proudly.
The visit by Fittler and his “Hogs” signalled an incredible change within the town.
“Everyone was smiling, there was this wonderful sense of togetherness. It was all positive, “Darren beamed.
That spirit flowed into the league season.
“We found there were a lot more people coming along to our home games. They saw the ground they had helped develop was ‘theirs’ and that investment of time and effort built pride.
“People were sick of going to Kennard Park and having to put up with people affected by grog and drugs so they agreed to have a dry ground. This meant a much more pleasant environment for our fans and reduced concerns that many others had expressed about aggressive offfield behavior.”
Darren says the club worked with Group XI and Country Rugby League to invite NRL stars to games.
“We also encouraged official NRL Ambassadors like Souths flyer Nathan Merritt to join us at training and in the odd game and negotiated to get a couple of EX-NRL players to lead our young players, male and female.
“The Cowboys also partnered with a number of health providers to hold awareness days that involved testing for a variety of illnesses, at our home games. We embarked on awareness projects around food and nutrition, anti-smoking, effects of alcohol and some other diseases that are more prevalent in Aboriginal families,” Darren explained.
This pro-active approach has had many unexpected outcomes.
“Some of our young ones are now looking to stay at school so they can start careers in fields they didn’t know existed. Others have decided to go back to study and training to help out and employment now has a much wider base than physical or domestic roles.
“Our staff and others are professionals with a range of tertiary qualifications so they are mentoring youngsters. They are real life role models. Not everyone of our kids is going to be an NRL star like Kotoni Staggs, Blake Ferguson, Brent Naden, Josh Addo-carr or Tyrone Peachey but they now realise they have skills in other fields like medicine, law studies or education and bring those back to their hometown,” Darren added.
One of the most inspiring stories has come from 2019 premiership-winning coach Justin Toomey-white.
“Justo has been amazing with the way he has confronted a shock medical condition. Shortly after being named the Group XI Player of the Year for the third time, the big forward’s world came crashing down. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer and has undergone 18 months of surgery and treatment.” Justin didn’t let that stop him. “In fact he was on the front foot, speaking to others and driving a Bowel Cancer Awareness Day at one of our games. He told the blokes it was their responsibility to look after their health so they could be better dads and live longer lives,” Darren shared.
In fact, the young man who had shown plenty of promise as a youngster and was snapped up by the NRL, returned to Wellington.
Justin had a shot with the Bulldogs but when that didn’t work out as he hoped, he came home then went to the Central Coast for a couple of seasons before returning to play and coach.
“A real measure of the man is that he turned a bad situation into an opportunity to lift others and he has been magnificent in his leadership through this challenging personal time. I am very thankful for Justo and some others in our community. Some have overcome health problems, others have addressed their anti-social behaviors and are now becoming the people they can be,” Darren said with admiration.
Terry Fahey, Blake Ferguson, the Shaw brothers and so many others have forged their careers on the football field, now another generation is making their mark, using sport as the lever to lift others.