Despite the warm conditions, thousands of fans flocked to Rugby League live sites in the greater Sydney area on Australia Day.
Kicking things off were the Hyde Park festivities which were put on by the New South Wales Rugby League in conjunction with One Community.
Kids of all ages had a wonderful day learning skills and having fun with league legends like Wendell Sailor, Mario Fenech and David Peachey. There were also cheerleading demonstrations and plenty of giveaways right throughout the day.
Residents of Sydney’s western suburbs didn’t miss out either with the Integral Energy Western Sydney Academy hosting live sites at Parramatta Park, Rooty Hill and Penrith Regatta Centre during the afternoon.
The Parramatta Park proceedings coincided with a Parramatta Eels membership drive, so hundreds of kids were lucky enough to meet some of their favourite players such as Nathan Hindmarsh, Timana Tahu and Daniel Mortimer. The Eels players spent well over an hour having their photos taken and signing autographs for all of the kids on hand.
The day rolled on further west later in the afternoon with sites at Rooty Hill and Penrith both excellently attended. Penrith Panthers players Michael Gordon, Lachlan Coote, Greg Waddell and Daniel Penese gave up their time to take some grateful kids through their paces across a number of different skill sets.
The NSWRL would like to thank all of the players, staff and volunteers who sacrificed their time to help make all of these events an outstanding success.
