FORMER Canberra Raiders star Terry Campese was given a rockstar welcome while in Leeton this week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Campese was in town as part of the NRL Road to Regions tour, which has visited several towns this week promoting the sport at a grassroots level, encouraging resilience among young people and giving both players and former players the chance to meet their fans.
The former Canberra Raiders player and captain, who was also selected in various representative sides during his career, was thrilled to be out on the road talking about the love of his sport and encouraging children of all ages to pick up the ball and start.
"Especially since last year when so many of the junior competitions were called off due to COVID," Campese said.
"You can just see they are so excited to get back out playing footy again.
"I love coming out to the regions for these kinds of events. It's really great to see the kids and have a chat with them. It's all about growing the sport at a grassroots level, which is done really well out here."
The tour also focused on speaking to school students about resilience and the lessons that can be taken from being involved in sport whether it be in an active sense, leadership qualities, learning to be part of a team or more.
Campese's NRL career was a decade-long affair where he played five-eighth, as well as being selected to play in the State of Origin, the Prime Minister's XIII and various other representative teams.
MORE SPORT:
With the 2021 season now looming for the NRL, Campese is hopeful a return to a more normal year for players and the Raiders themselves.
"Last year I did some radio announcing for the Raiders games, but because of COVID we obviously couldn't be at the stadium, so we were having to do it off the TV, which was pretty strange," he said.
"Hopefully this year we will be able to have it be as normal as possible and some of these kids from down here can come up and watch the Raiders play again."
Campese predicted sides such as the Melbourne Storm and the Roosters to again be near the top of the ladder, but said fans should be excited to see the Raiders outfit step out in 2021.
"They are looking very good," he said.
