Central West Day Two | Tackling the Drought Tour Diaries

By Keyan Kramer

Day one may have been all about travelling, but by late afternoon, some of the greatest rugby league players to play in the top flight arrived in their motel in Parkes.

What awaited them on day two was a football clinic in the morning with some of the local juniors at Pioneer Oval. Ted Goodwin who played not only for the St George Illawarra Dragons, Newtown and Western Suburbs, also laced up for Australia and credits some of the great times in Parkes for his success.

“For five years I lived here (Parkes) and it brings back a lot of memories. It hasn’t changed at all. The town, the people, the oval. They looked after my family really well here.”

One of his favourite memories playing for Parkes was winning a Grand Final. Goodwin explained that it was a fantastic day.

“Just to see the expression on the hometown winning a Grand Final, especially when majority of the players were local juniors and everyone was so happy about it. It was a good day.”

From Parkes, it was a short trip to Cowra where the Men of League Foundation had a tent set-up to greet players and families alike at SID Kallas Oval. Kids were extremely excited to see the free merchandise they could get their hands on, especially when Luke Goodwin was handing it out to them.

It was a busy afternoon for the former players having to do a few presentations and handing out awards. They felt like they were giving back and the look on the faces of the community was absolutely priceless.

In the evening, there was a function at the Cowra Services Club where the players interacted with the locals and took some photos.

After a brilliant second day, there’s no doubting that the Parkes and Cowra community had their spirits lifted.