The Cronulla Sharks visit to the Riverina brought joy to children across the region but more important was the message that was delivered.
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The players were accompanied by members of PlayNRL South West NSW who together presented their RESPECT program to the children.
Jaimin Jollife and Isaac Lumelume were two Sharks to make the trip to the Riverina and said the subject was an important one to talk about.
“When you're playing footy and after footy, you need to use it all the time – respect your elders and respect one another,” Lumelume said.
“I just think it's about accepting everyone else’s differences,” Jollife added.
“Rugby league's a bit like that, different positions on the field, different people from different backgrounds all coming together.
“I think respect is about accepting people for who they are and [we were] just getting that message across to the kids.”
Get the message across they did.
Joliffe said he saw first hand as the message of respect resonated with the kids.
“You get to see all the kids come out, they're smiling they're happy and for them to be able to take something away from it – it’s really good,” he said.
“When we leave the schools you can see the kids chatting, shaking hands and you know that message of respect really sinks in.”
Kalinda School – which was one of the last schools to be visited on Monday – principal Belinda Wallace agreed with the Sharks.
“Each week we award students for demonstrating respect, responsibility and safety so the players’ message really resonated with the kids,” she said.
The Sharks took the time to have a kick with the students before they went on their way and Wallace commended the two players for the way they treated all the children at Kalinda School.
“I was thrilled that they were so inclusive with all our students,” she said.
“Some of our students aren’t verbal or mobile but they were able to include all of the kids which meant everyone got something out of it.”
The group of Cronulla players split up to visit as many schools as possible during their whirlwind trip.
Across the two days they visited schools in Griffith and its surrounding areas as well as Hay, Coleambally, Darlington Point, Yanco, Narrandera and Leeton.
