Gold Coast Titans winger Anthony Don will tomorrow head back to his home town of Grafton as part of the NRL’s ‘Road to Regions’ event.
The visits are part of the NRL’s annual tour, providing an opportunity for players to meet some of their biggest fans throughout regional and rural parts of the country before the Premiership season commences.
Don, 31, is a proud Grafton product and will return to his former club – the Grafton Ghosts – and a host of others to promote the game of rugby league ahead of what is set to be a huge 2019.
As part of the three-day visit, Don will visit seven schools, host two coaching clinics, hold an education session for local coaches, facilitate an NRL ‘State of Mind’ session and also visit troubled youths at the local detention centre.
Don is excited about the visit back home and to see the local talent that is coming through the ranks.
“It’s always good to head home and, as well as getting to catch up with a lot of familiar faces, I’ll get to see all the local juniors who are preparing for their upcoming season,” he said.
“I can remember when I was young and we had first-grade players to come and visit, it was always exciting and we got a real kick out of it.
“Hopefully I can put smiles on their faces and pass on any knowledge that can help them to become better players, but also better people within their community.”
NRL Head of Government and Community Relations Jaymes Boland-Rudder said the ‘Road to Regions’ tour also provided the players and the game with the opportunity to promote positive education and wellbeing messages amongst communities.
“The ‘Road to Regions’ tour is a fantastic way for our players to say thank-you to local communities for their support of rugby league, as well as a chance to impart important education messages around respect, positive mental wellbeing and empowering one another,” Mr Boland-Rudder said.
These are the key times for locals to see Anthony Don, and have the opportunity to learn more about the game of rugby league:
Wednesday, 6 February
Junior League clinic
3:30pm-4:30pm (NSW time)
Ngayundi Yamba Sporting Complex
Thursday, 7 February
Junior League clinic
4:00pm-5:00pm (NSW time)
Grafton Ghosts fields
