The Vodafone Warriors will be out and about in Nelson with Harvey Norman Community Warriors programmes as they count down to Saturday’s NRL trial against St George Illawarra at Trafalgar Park (5.00pm kick-off).
NRL squad members Sione Lousi, David Fusitu’a, Mason Lino and Toafofoa Sipley arrived in Nelson today along with NRL community ambassadors Jerome Ropati and Georgia Hale to prepare for a range of activities on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Headlining the community visits will be Motueka-raised Simon Mannering who arrives home tomorrow morning after today's announcement that the game against the Dragons will be his last as the club's captain.
His first stop will be one of the highlights of the week when he returns to St Peter Chanel School at 10.30am, which he attended as a youngster. With the rest of the team he’ll help to present the ACC Everyday Athlete wellbeing programme officially launched in Whangarei last week.
Mannering will go into camp with NRL playing squad in the afternoon – the team lands in Nelson at 2.15pm – while the Harvey Norman Community Warriors group visits Stoke School and Richmond School from 2.00pm-2.45pm.
At 5.30pm tomorrow the Harvey Norman Community Warriors team will be at Saxton Stadium in Stoke for a coaching clinic with elite players. Later in the evening the NRL squad will attend a charity dinner at McCashins Brewery in Stoke.
Friday morning’s community programme features visits to St Joseph’s School, Nelson Central School, Nelson Intermediate School and Birchwood Primary School while the NRL squad has a training session at Trafalgar Park.
On Friday afternoon the NRL players will be split into groups to visit three schools with another group making an in-store appearance at Vodafone in Richmond Mall. Mannering will visit his old secondary school Nelson College with Thomas Leuluai, Ben Henry, Jonathan Wright and Jeff Robson.
On Saturday the Harvey Norman Community Warriors team will be in-store at Harvey Norman in Vincent Street, Nelson, from 10.30-11.30.
