Footy fun in Shoalhaven, and birthday celebrations to boot

Shoalhaven Community Hub participants got some of the best seats in the house to watch the NRL game between the Dragons and Sharks at Wollongong’s Win Stadium recently.

As part of a partnership with the Dragons, long-time fan Shannon, his brother Brett and hub mates Douglas and Todd scored tickets to the game and were supported by Aruma support workers Jasmine and Luisas to attend.

They sat right behind the commentators’ box and got to chat with these well-known professionals, as well as wave to the cameras for their 15 minutes of fame.

Luckily, the game fell right on Shannon’s birthday, so it was a great way to spend his special day.

Aruma Service Lead Georgia Cleary said it was an awesome day out for Shannon and his friends, even when parking was tricky, and Shannon’s beloved Dragons sadly lost to the Sharks – boo!

Georgia said: Shannon’s favourite part of the day was experiencing the live action of the game from the front row.

He usually watches on the TV at home, which he enjoys, but he likes being in on the action and cheering the guys on. The atmosphere and the excitement of being at the stadium made it a memorable birthday and overall experience for him. He’s excited to watch more live games!

Some 17,500 people attended the popular game, which made parking the wheelchair-friendly van tricky.

Our crew almost missed the first half of the game, and were ever so grateful to a local man who offered them his driveway to park in.

Local councils and other planning bodies need to think more about providing a range of accessible parking spaces and doing everything possible to provide more of these spaces, particularly around popular venues and during popular events like this NRL game, Georgia said.

The Hub’s partnership with the Dragons means they can get up to 10 tickets to a game, with a total of 40 tickets every year. They are hoping to team up with other clubs to attend more games next year.