More than 300 young fans had an experience they won’t forget when they were joined by the full Vodafone Warriors and Manly NRL squads at a development clinic at nib Stadium in Perth on Friday.
The rival teams combined to run skills drills and also manned signing stations ahead of their critical 19th-round contest at the stadium on Saturday (3.30pm kick-off local time; 7.30pm NZT).
Coordinated by NRL game development officers, the clinic gave the young players from Western Australia a chance to develop their skills while meeting some of their heroes from both teams.
Also involved in the fun were rugby league legends Steve Menzies and Steve 'Blocker' Roach, who signed autographs in a New South Wales Rugby League tent (Vodafone Warriors captain and fellow Blues State of Origin representative Ryan Hoffman joining Roach at one stage).
Earlier there was a joint media conference involving Vodafone Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden and Hoffman alongside their Manly counterparts Trent Barrett and Jame Lyon.
Once the hour-long clinic was over the stadium was cleared for the Vodafone Warriors to have their final training session behind closed doors.
