Smiles on the Agenda for ThompsonThe aftermath that Canberra Raiders star, Joel Thompson, wants to evoke from the All Stars fixture is not to have simply bruised and battered the bodies of his NRL All Star counterparts, but rather to have put smiles on the faces of the young Indigenous fans across the nation.
“As Preston Campbell once said, us winning or losing can make a little Indigenous kid either happy or sad,” Thompson enthused.
“A lot of young Aboriginal kids look forward to this game each year and you can see it in their faces when we go out into the community wearing our Indigenous jerseys. I’ll be doing all I can to win the Arthur Beetson trophy for the team and the Indigenous community to make sure there’s as many smiles on young Indigenous kids’ faces as possible.”
Thompson’s sentiments are derived from the particularly positive messages associated with the All Stars fixture.
“It’s always important to promote a healthy lifestyle and the importance of education to not only the Indigenous community, but the wider Australian community. This game in particular can have a massive influence on young children and their families,” said the Forbes Magpies junior.
“Outside of rugby league, I’ve got a business diploma and it’s really important how influential this game can be on young Aboriginal kids to inspire them to chase not only their rugby league dreams but to give them the belief that they can achieve their educational dreams as well.”
Like his Raiders team mates Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Travis Waddell, Thompson has been a part of the Indigenous All Stars side since the concept’s inception in 2010. Thompson believes this year’s fixture is possibly the most important since the games origin due to the trophy being named after the great Arthur Beetson, who was the first Indigenous sportsman to captain his country in any sport.
“He was such a good role model and such a humble man for what he achieved in the game. He gave a lot of his time to the community and he really cared about the game and wanted people to share in the positive effects that rugby league can offer.”
“It’s been a massive honour to have been a part of the All Stars concept since it started. I was lucky enough to be one of the coach’s picks so it’s good to know that Laurie [Daley] wants me in the side. I couldn’t be happier.”
After going down in last year’s encounter, Thompson is confident of reclaiming the Arthur Beetson trophy after having been in camp with the team and witnessing the passion and talent in the side.
“The way we’ve been training, we’ll definitely give them a much tougher game than last year. We were pretty disappointed last year in our ability to control the ruck so we’ll look to rectify that and concentrate on our defence. Our attack will look after itself with the talent and flair in the team and JT [Jonathon Thurston] and Chris Sandow controlling the play. GI [Greg Inglis] and Hodgo [Justin Hodges] are also looking really good and both are set for big games I think.”
When asked about coming up against team mate Josh Dugan, Thompson said: “I’d love to try and put a shot on Duges but he’s a bit too quick for me. But if I do, I’ll make sure he stays down,” laughed the 23 year old.
The match kicks off this Saturday at 7pm at the Gold Coast's Skilled Stadium.
Source: Raiders.com.au
Topic: Thompson Wants To Leave A Smile On Young Faces After All Stars
