WHAT would you ask your sporting hero, if given the chance? If you're an Australian cricket fan, at the moment it might be hard to go beyond a polite inquiry as to what the hell happened against India.
But youngsters dreaming of a career in the NRL have had a smile put on their faces and their curiosity satisfied after the Newcastle Knights visited Tamworth and Armidale Aboriginal Children's Service.
The team took some time on Wednesday to answer some important questions from the youngsters, and signed hats, jerseys and more, much to the kids' delight.
Questions included how strict is your diet, are you superstitious and what's on the menu on days when the diet regime goes out the window.
Knights utility Connor Watson said the visit meant a lot to him as an Indigenous man.
"I remember when I was at this age and I was seeing any [NRL players] I was just in awe, and was so happy, so we can do that to kids, we can help them find joy and happiness," he said.
"If we can do that, especially in Tamworth where the last couple of years they've had the drought, and there's no country music festival which is another bummer, but if we can do anything to make the people happy we'll try to."
TACS executive officer Mykol Paulson said it meant a lot to see the kids happy.
"These kids, we try to give everybody a lot of leadership throughout the year and throughout their life, so for them to get it from another aspect with the NRL just adds to that," Mr Paulson said. "We'd love for them to follow whatever dream they may have. If NRL is where they want to be, then hopefully they're successful enough to get there and it's really nice for them to have pathways and opportunities for their lives."
Fullback Kalyn Ponga said things had changed in the New England region since his last visit.
"We were here last year which was a good experience, and it's the complete polar opposite to last year, it was dry and the town was a bit down in the dumps," he said. "But this year to come back and for everything to be green, it's great to see the weather looking different, like it's cloudy out."
Watson had a few tips for those dreaming of a professional footy career.
"You've got to have fun, that's where everyone started and I know it's pretty cliche to say, but when you're playing your best footy you're having fun, and the other thing is, you've just got to work hard," he said. "There's countless amounts of kids out there with the talent, but they don't work hard and they miss out.
"I certainly wasn't the most talented kid but I did feel like I was always one of the hardest working kids, and I feel like that set me up to be an NRL player.
"The more you have a footy in your hand, the better you're going to get at it."
Good advice.
HOPE SPRINGS OUT OF NEST
HOPE the wombat was a bright spot in the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Her bond with koala Elsa inspired all of us to be a bit nicer to those we shared lockdown spaces with.
On Thursday the Australian Reptile Park confirmed she had moved on, taking her talents to living in the wild at Cedar Creek Wombat Rescue.
"She definitely was a beacon of hope for us during a time where we all needed it, but we know it's the best decision to return her to the wild and live out her days as a happy wombat," general manager Tim Faulkner said.
Hope was rescued from the pouch after her mum was hit and killed by a car.
