Club Loyalty Alive and Well

The Noel Kelly's Kids website is dedicated to the great players of the past who played for the love of the game, their great Western Suburbs Club and to wear the old black and white jumper. Monetary return was just a bit of bonus pocket money to these blokes.

The modern game is very different where club loyalty rates rather low on a player's priority list and 'the bucks' is usually at the top of the list.

In the modern day game of rugby league to is hard to find a story about a player who puts the game and his mates above the grab for the highest buck. All we ever read, is about players getting exorbitant amounts of money to change clubs at the expense of loyalty to the club and their fans that gave them their start. They forget about the kids who idolise these players only to find the following weekend that they now play for another club.

Noel and the boys would be very proud of this kid.

Robbie Farah has broken with this modern tradition to remain loyal to his junior club by knocking back big bucks to join the Titans. It was refreshing to read Christian Nicolussi's story in the Daily Telegraph on the 14th January 2009 about the Tigers securing Farah for another four years. For those who missed the story, we have included it with thanks to the Daily Telegraph and Christian Nicolussi. Also we have added a little background on this fine young man and his family.

Other stories from the Official Wests Tigers Website:

'HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS' FOR FARAH

FARAH TO GET INTO BENJI'S EAR

 

Lebanese Heritage

Farah's father, Peter, left Lebanon 45 years ago and worked 12-hour shifts as a Sydney taxi driver, getting out of bed at 2am.

"He'd come home, have dinner with my three brothers, my sister and my mother and go to bed," Farah said. Asked if his father eventually owned his cab, he shook his head sadly and said no.

But the boys all studied at university, Jason becoming a solicitor, David an engineer and Eddie a physiotherapist; Robbie is a year short of an economics degree from Sydney University.

"They all go to home games, including my parents and my sister and her family," he said.

His forehead has miniature cuts but he admits his woolly hair disguises others, saying: "I've got a couple on the top of the head." His brown eyes sparkle at praise but you can imagine them flashing around the ruck, seeking the smallest sliver of daylight.

But he is quick to pull the shutters down when, for example, he could expand on a visit to his father's birthplace in the north of Lebanon when he toured with an Australian Lebanese team in 2002, beating France in Tripoli and scoring two tries. "I walked into this little village of only 20 houses and they spotted me and said, 'You're Peter's son'."

Source: The Daily Telegraph & Ya Libnan (www.yalibnan.com)

 

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