IF they can raise the money, two boys from Collarenebri will live every child’s dream of playing the sport they love overseas – one on continental Europe and the other in the Papua New Guinea highlands.
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Jeff Flick will tour France with the NSW Indigenous under 16s while Shaquille Peters will play against the best in PNG.
Collarenebri Bulldogs’ Chris Kirkland said the combined events were the club’s biggest achievement in his six years as president.
“This has never happened before in the time I’ve been here,” Kirkland said.
“Just to have one kid have a once-in-lifetime opportunity is huge for them, and it’s huge for the whole community. To have two is unbelievable.”
Kirkland said his young chargers had already set the town abuzz.
“For kids coming from Colly, the opportunities aren’t massive,” he said.
“So to see these boys from a town of 300 people play overseas is massive, and all the younger kids at school are looking up to them. All their peers are looking at what they are doing too.”
Amid Anzac centenary commemorations, both Flick and Peters’ tours will commemorate another generation of young Aussies who travelled overseas under very different circumstances.
“Jeff’s team will be in France on Remembrance Day and he is actually putting a wreath on the grave of a Flick who fought and died on the Western Front,” Kirkland said.
Peters will hike the Kokoda Trail as part of a tour that includes rugby league clinics in remote PNG villages and a game in the highlands against the national youth side.
An under 17s player, Peters is currently in Sydney training with the Manly Sea Eagles.
After being spotted by talent scouts, Manly gave Peters a two-year scholarship to finish school in Colly and still have a chance to go onto a career with the Sydney club.
“They don’t like to uproot country kids,” Kirkland said.
“Meanwhile they’re helping him with the resources he needs to finish school and train in Sydney.”
It was his commitment to school, along with his footy talents, that saw Peters selected for the PNG tour.
He was one of four members of the Far Western Academy of Sport given the opportunity, Kirkland said.
“It’s based on the way they play football but more so the attitude they have at school and the commitment they show to rugby league in general,” he said.
“Shaq’s a really hard trainer, he puts in three days a week at the gym and he’s good at school.”
He said both tours offered a chance for the Bulldogs’ players to better their skills and broaden their horizons.
“I’ve had a look at Jeff’s France itinerary and it’s absolutely massive. Some of the things are going to blow his mind,” he said.
“They’re going to the Eiffel Tower and to Euro Disney, just a massive amount of things.”
But he added there was still a lot of work to be done before the boys headed overseas for the first time in their lives.
“We need to raise about five grand for both trips and that’s going to be a big challenge for the families and the club between now and September,” Kirkland said.
The club has committed to raising half the money.
The two selections came at the end of a big couple of weeks for the Colly Bulldogs as they gear up for another season.
The club had five juniors, including Flick and Peters, represent the Far Western Academy in games against sides from the Penrith Panthers, Newcastle Knights and Parramatta Eels.
The Academy spans from Colly to Gilgandra and west of Broken Hill.
Under 18s players Jayden Flick and Jeff Wright, and the under 17 Carl Mason, were the other Collarenebri representatives.
They were also visited by former NRL and Super League player Denis Moran. Moran is currently Parkes Spacemen captain-coach and is a mentor to many of the young Colly players. “It’s been an incredible start to the year,” Kirkland said.
