The seven-year-old was born with cerebral palsy but he soon forgot all about that when he got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet some of his favourite footy players and be a part of the Eels team for two days.

Curtis, along with his mum, dad and sisters Anna-Lee (9) and Haylee (2), arrived in Parramatta last Tuesday, before attending the Eels training session on Wednesday morning where they got to meet all the players and have a barbecue with them.

The big moment came on Thursday night during the Eels match against the Gold Coast Titans, where Curtis had the honour of doing the coin toss in the dressing sheds with the players before running out onto the field holding the hand of Eels captain Tim Mannah.

However, when asked what his favourite part of the whole experience was, it wasn’t any of these moments but rather Semi Radradra’s runaway try – a sign of a true supporter.

“It’s when Semi was running and he got pulled by the hand and he didn’t fall down, he kept running,” Curtis said.

Radradra is Curtis’ favourite player, closely followed by Bevan French (who hails from Tingha) and Mannah.

“He’s quick and he gets a lot of tries,” Curtis said of why he likes Radradra.

Another highlight for Curtis was when French gave him the jersey he wore during a recent match against Wests Tigers.

French also signed a ball that Mannah gave him.

Curtis’ mum Annie said the biggest highlights that have stuck in Curtis’ head were his interactions with French, as well as Kenny Edwards, who helped cheer Curtis up when he was upset after realising he couldn’t actually play during the Titans match.

“[When they were warming up] Kenny ran over to him and handed him the football and said 'don’t lose it, I’ll get it back off you later’,” Annie said.

“It was the little things like that, as well as the congratulations they did for Curtis at the end of the match, that made it.”

“I got to hold the ball when they were all warming up,” Curtis added.

To top it all off, the Eels won 30-8, which Curtis had predicted at the start of the match.

“I said they’d [win by] 20 and they did,” he said.

Annie said the whole experience was “overwhelming”, particularly the way the majority of the players treated Curtis and the family.

“It was amazing,” she said.

“They were so welcoming and warm, it was like he was one of them.”

With Curtis’ younger sister Haylee also suffering her own health problems after being born with major heart complications, the Cory family have had more than their fair share of tough times over the past few years, which is why this Starlight Foundation wish means so much to them.

“It takes our minds off the bigger picture,’ Annie said. 

“Our lives just consist of work, school, doctors appointments, surgeries; the only fun stuff we do is Curty’s football every Sunday.”

Annie said a spark has also ignited with Curtis and his commitment to football, being a Moree Junior Rugby League player.

“He’s always loved football but you can see it’s put a spark in him – he wants to concentrate on his football more now,” she said.

Curtis even dressed as himself, wearing his very own Parramatta Eels jersey, for Moree Public School’s Book Week parade on Tuesday.

Annie would like to thank the Starlight Foundation for providing this amazing opportunity for Curtis and encourages anyone to donate to the children’s charity. To donate to the Starlight Foundation, go to https://starlight.org.au.