Soliola lends helping hand to grieving family
Author
Alicia Newton
Sat 29 Sep 2018, 09:01 AM
The Canberra Raiders and Victoria Bitter have joined forces to support a grieving family in need of a heartfelt gesture before the Telstra Premiership grand final.
Brett and Anne Jessop tragically lost their son Noa in a road accident outside their dairy farm two years ago.
With their grief has come the struggles of keeping their farming business moving along as the NSW drought intensifies leading into a scorching summer ahead.
Canberra Raiders forward Iosia Soliola travelled to the Jessop family home 45 kilometres south of Bega to deliver a grand final package for Sunday's clash between the Roosters and Storm at ANZ Stadium.
Brett is an avid Raiders fan, but Noa adored the Storm and retiring fullback Billy Slater.
In the touching video, Soliola picked up on the goalposts that remain on the family farm that belonged to Noa, with Brett noting he struggles at the thought of ever taking them down.
"You can see and feel the emotions through Brett and Anne," Soliola told NRL.com.
"It was nice that VB can recognise hard workers that are doing it tough in the farming industry and in general life. They're stoked about the grand final tickets and all expenses covered for."
In addition to the grand final experience, VB also donated a substantial amount of supply for cattle to get the family through a difficult dry period.
Raiders forward Iosia Soliola.
Keegan Carroll/NRL Photos
"The stock for the cattle was a really big thing for them," Soliola said.
"For normal consumers, we don't understand how tough it is. They ran us through the day and showed us what's needed. We only get the end product to see the whole process.
"It was an eye-opener for me. I like to support local farmers so it was an emotional but cool experience."
Soliola credited the Raiders club, the NRL and Bega community for gathering as a whole to support the Jessop family.
"Ricky (Stuart) really filters that through us as a club because when he was a past player it was important to support those in need," Soliola said.
"Guys like Mal Meninga, Gary Belcher and Sam Backo weren't necessarily from Canberra but what they [did] in the community is part of their DNA and stretches outside to country regions.
"A lot of the guys that come to the club embrace what it's all about and spread that. There's a lot of support. That shows the nature of the club."
https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/09/29/canberra-raiders-and-vb-deliver-for-grieving-family/
