“We don't come out here to take, we come out here to give to the community and leave something behind.”
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NSW Country Eagles boss Andrew Blades is confident although his side didn’t come up trumps on the field during its trip to Mudgee the Eagles definitely scored plenty of points off it.
The Eagles held a number of clinics with Mudgee’s juniors and all proceeds from ticket sales and virtually any of the canteen and bar takings will all feed back into the junior Wombats system, a huge boon for junior rugby in the mid west.
The Eagles’ National Rugby Championship squad mixed with the Batties kids on Friday night before Wallabies legend David Campese put those same juniors through a clinic on Saturday morning.
“Mudgee is a great place and we’ve been wanting to bring a game here forever,” Blades said.
“The lead-up to the game couldn’t have been better.
“We had a great night with the juniors and again with Campo this morning, we just couldn’t put the performance together on the field to cap what’s been a great weekend.
“The guys are bitterly disappointed but (Melbourne) turned up today and bashed us across the park.”
Blades says his club’s philosophy is all about giving back to grassroots rugby – a refreshing approach for a professional franchise.
“All of the proceeds go towards Mudgee,” he said, as will be the case during games in Armidale and Tamworth later this season.
“Our thing is about developing rugby in the country and with the support of our sponsors we can do that.”