The Wests Tigers have savoured the chance to strengthen bonds with regional fans and promote a hugely important issue this week.
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During a week-long tour, the Tigers' community team is visiting Dubbo, Menindee, Condobolin, Mindarriba and Karuah to run free clinics and also provide education and generate awareness of cardiac arrest.
The Tigers teamed up with the Michael Hughes Foundation and Heart180 to distribute 80 defibrillators, or AEDs as they are known, to local branches of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council during the tour.
"I don't think some people fully understand how much an AED can help," Tigers' community manager Keehan Diamond said.
"Especially in regional areas like Dubbo, there's a lot of rural and farming areas.
"So there's a lot of gratitude and it's an opportunity to come out, you don't get a lot of NRL clubs or sporting clubs come out and get involved in stuff like that so for us it's a privilege and the message is a lot bigger than rugby league."
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In Australia, around 30,000 people suffer a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) each year. When a defibrillator is not close by, only around six per cent of these people survive. Statistics show that if an AED is applied to a patient in the first three minutes after cardiac arrest, the chance of survival is over 70 per cent.
That's why the Tigers have taken such great pride in handing over the AEDs this week while, on top of that, the club has also taught people about what to do if someone suffers a cardiac arrest and the hope is the tour can help educate a minimum of 100 people in an accredited CPR course.
That comes through the partnership with the Michael Hughes Foundation. An ambassador of the foundation is Balmain great Garry Jack, who survived a cardiac arrest in January of last year and is now advocating for more members of the community to learn CPR.
After a smaller but passionate bunch of footy fans attended the Dubbo clinic on Monday, there was a crowd of roughly 100 on hand for Wednesday's session at Menindee.
Stops at Condobolin, Mindarriba and Karuah will follow and while donating the AEDs and helping to make a difference has been special for Diamond and all involved, the free footy clinics with youngsters has also been a highlight.
"The girls have impressed me the most. They've been showing up the boys, which has been great," Diamond said.
"But it's been great to see people come out. Especially those Wests Tigers fans, wearing those jerseys hundreds of kilometres away from Sydney is really good to see."
While the Tigers club has endured plenty of turbulence in recent times, the coaching situation at the club has again been in the headlines in recent weeks, Diamond feels the connection with country fans is only getting stronger.
The club has been taking an NRL premiership match to Tamworth each season and while the COVID pandemic ruined that to an extent recently, the Tigers will take on the Cronulla Sharks again at Scully Park on Saturday, August 13.
"We've got our Tamworth game coming up in August and, on a personal note, I've been lucky enough to be with the club the last few years and do these regional trips and it's something you can't really compare to," Diamond said.
"Seeing different communities and different cultures and being able to showcase the game of rugby league, I think it's something we should do every year."
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
