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What Wags did on his holidays Brad Earl
13Nov07
FROM the jungles of Papua New Guinea to a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory's Central Desert, Daniel Wagon's off-season took him to places and people few NRL players get to see.
Everyone he met along the Kokoda Track in league-mad PNG treated the Parramatta Eels back-rower like a god.
``I've never met so many people that love footy who have so many nice things to say about you,'' Wagon said.
``Usually over here someone's got a bad thing to say about you.
``It was pretty good actually.''
There was no such recognition among the pupils of Ntaria School at Hermannsburg, 100km west of Alice Springs.
``They don't even know rugby league out there. They only know AFL,'' he said.
``They don't see many people visit the community, so they're just happy to have people come and visit them and play a bit of sport and chat with them, really.''
When the Eels were asked if they'd like to walk the Kokoda Track at the end of the season, Wagon, 31, jumped at the chance.
He had considered doing it a couple of years earlier, curious about what it was like for the Australian soldiers in World War II.
The trek was for the White Ribbon Foundation, which works to eliminate violence against women. Its chairman and Channel 7 personality Andrew O'Keefe headlined the group of Australians with Wagon.
Not that ``Wags'' was going to be the only Eel on the trek.
Nathan Hindmarsh's Test selection ruled him out, while another scratching was Mark Riddell.
``When `Pig' found out about the ration packs he pulled out,'' Wagon laughed.
He lost 7kg on the 10-day, 96km trek. Yet he recommends it to anyone. He's even thinking of doing it again.
``I just loved the porters,'' he said, relating how they would get up early every morning to prepare for the day's walk and, a few kilometres out from the next stop, would run ahead and set up camp.
``I got all their addresses and I'm sending up a heap of Parramatta posters and stuff in a couple of weeks.
``They were just so appreciative. We had 20 porters and every day one of them would come up to me and say, `Thank you so much for walking with us. It's an honour to walk with you'.''
He also praised the Executive Excellence company for the way the trek was run.
``You feel a bit guilty, actually, for enjoying it so much,'' he said.
``When you walk through it and get a bit tired you think about what the blokes that were over there in the first place were going through. When your legs start getting a bit tired you just think, `wake up to yourself'.''
Within days of returning home, Wagon was off to Hermannsburg.
It was his third year in the ARMtour (Athletes as Role Models) program run by the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia.
It started when his then Eels teammate and NASCA board member Dean Widders asked him to take part. With four ARMtour trips a year, he would love to do more but is obviously limited to the off-season one.
Wagon isn't Aboriginal but neither are some of the other participating sportspeople.
``I've been claimed by Kooris, Maoris,'' Wagon, with his tanned complexion and dark hair, said.
``I'm telling everyone I'm Papua New Guinean now.''
http://www.parramattaadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/11/13/1239_sports.html
13Nov07
FROM the jungles of Papua New Guinea to a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory's Central Desert, Daniel Wagon's off-season took him to places and people few NRL players get to see.
Everyone he met along the Kokoda Track in league-mad PNG treated the Parramatta Eels back-rower like a god.
``I've never met so many people that love footy who have so many nice things to say about you,'' Wagon said.
``Usually over here someone's got a bad thing to say about you.
``It was pretty good actually.''
There was no such recognition among the pupils of Ntaria School at Hermannsburg, 100km west of Alice Springs.
``They don't even know rugby league out there. They only know AFL,'' he said.
``They don't see many people visit the community, so they're just happy to have people come and visit them and play a bit of sport and chat with them, really.''
When the Eels were asked if they'd like to walk the Kokoda Track at the end of the season, Wagon, 31, jumped at the chance.
He had considered doing it a couple of years earlier, curious about what it was like for the Australian soldiers in World War II.
The trek was for the White Ribbon Foundation, which works to eliminate violence against women. Its chairman and Channel 7 personality Andrew O'Keefe headlined the group of Australians with Wagon.
Not that ``Wags'' was going to be the only Eel on the trek.
Nathan Hindmarsh's Test selection ruled him out, while another scratching was Mark Riddell.
``When `Pig' found out about the ration packs he pulled out,'' Wagon laughed.
He lost 7kg on the 10-day, 96km trek. Yet he recommends it to anyone. He's even thinking of doing it again.
``I just loved the porters,'' he said, relating how they would get up early every morning to prepare for the day's walk and, a few kilometres out from the next stop, would run ahead and set up camp.
``I got all their addresses and I'm sending up a heap of Parramatta posters and stuff in a couple of weeks.
``They were just so appreciative. We had 20 porters and every day one of them would come up to me and say, `Thank you so much for walking with us. It's an honour to walk with you'.''
He also praised the Executive Excellence company for the way the trek was run.
``You feel a bit guilty, actually, for enjoying it so much,'' he said.
``When you walk through it and get a bit tired you think about what the blokes that were over there in the first place were going through. When your legs start getting a bit tired you just think, `wake up to yourself'.''
Within days of returning home, Wagon was off to Hermannsburg.
It was his third year in the ARMtour (Athletes as Role Models) program run by the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia.
It started when his then Eels teammate and NASCA board member Dean Widders asked him to take part. With four ARMtour trips a year, he would love to do more but is obviously limited to the off-season one.
Wagon isn't Aboriginal but neither are some of the other participating sportspeople.
``I've been claimed by Kooris, Maoris,'' Wagon, with his tanned complexion and dark hair, said.
``I'm telling everyone I'm Papua New Guinean now.''
http://www.parramattaadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/11/13/1239_sports.html
