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U16 Young Achievers Europe Tour Squad announced by Nicholas Janzen 25 August 2015
F
ormer NRL star Beau Champion and rugby league legend Ronny Gibbs will play mentoring roles for the New South Wales Rugby League’s Indigenous Under-16s Young Achievers Tour squad for their history-making tour of Europe in November. The tour, which takes non-elite players from across NSW, from places as small and remote as Bourke and Collarenebri, to France and Italy, is as much about social and cultural learnings as it is about the greatest game of all. The tour is self-funded, with monetary support and resources provided by the New South Wales Rugby League and KARI Aboriginal Resources Incorporated. All participants must have an 80 per cent attendance record at school for the past 12 months – and they will visit a number of historically significant locations on the trip including battlefields of the Somme, focusing on the Indigenous involvement in the World Wars. Champion and Gibbs will be part of the touring party which will also attend a reception at the Australian Embassy in Paris, as well as act as guests of the Mayor of VillersBretonneux for the laying of the wreaths on Armistice Day. The Indigenous Under-16s Young Achievers Tour squad will wear Anzac-themed jerseys that highlight the cultural and historical significance of the tour.
Jake Gillett, left, and Jason Edwards. Image supplied
The NSWRL’s Indigenous Under-16s Young Achievers Tour squad: Cody Benson (Lakesland) Stephen Blair (South West Rocks) Adam Campbell (Thirlmere) Jason Edwards (Glenmore Park) Clinton Edwards (Bourke) Connar Cahill (Bourke) Jeffrey Flick (Collarenebri) Aubrey French (Campbelltown) Heath Gibbs (Cardiff) Jake Gillett (Colyton) James Goonrey (Parkes) Tayden Hickling (Wollongbar) Cody Hodge (Estella) Tyson Hodge (Estella) Kobi Hookey (Leichhardt) Brett Howard (Nyngan) Dean Kelly (Chifley)
William Lousick (Wellington) Roderick Matthews (Prospect) Jai McGrath (Malabar) Tre Meunier (Maddington, WA) Daniel Parker (Mount Pritchard) Graham Peckham (Wellington) Jalen Rose (Bourke) Triston Reilly (South West Rocks) Tristan Sailor (Bulli) Declan Scott-Bower (Bega) Joshua Siegwalt (Wagga Wagga) Benjamin Sloane (Griffith) Kotoni Staggs (Wellington) Reece Townsend (Zetland) Victor Ward (Garden Suburb) Jackson Watson (Kincumber) Ethan Whyman (Garden Suburb)
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