Richmond’s Chris Knights, Cadeyn Williams and Kamdyn McIntosh have been in Central Australia this week as part of Richmond’s Outback Tigers program, partnered with Dick Smith and the Northern Territory Government.
The trio visited schools in both Alice Springs and remote communities in their three-day trip, reinforcing to students the importance of school attendance, healthy eating and maintaining good hygiene - the main aims of the community program.
On Thursday the players travelled a journey of approximately 600km by car to visit remote communities, including the small Indigenous community of Papunya, 240km north-west of Alice Springs, and then further to Mt Liebig, a community of only 250 people.
The students and community of Mt Liebig had been waiting patiently for the players to arrive, and during their short stay, the players spoke to students about how their own school education had helped them in their day-to-day training and football.
“The kids were really quiet and shy during the class, until we had a kick of the footy outside, then they were keen to show us their stuff,” Knights said.
“Around 30 players travelled to Central Australia in February, as part of the Club’s Community Camp, so it’s nice to come back and see the work of the Outback Tigers program continue up here.”
To enhance students’ learning, Dick Smith has donated a range of technology to schools participating in Outback Tigers, including iPads, iPods and game consoles valued at $100,000, for each year of the three-year partnership.
In addition to the remote communities, the players spent time with secondary students at Centralian Middle School, students who had been rewarded from Dick Smith with a trip to Melbourne this year through the Outback Tigers program, as well as attended the local football league’s best and fairest night at Traeger Park.
