43 years ago, South Sydney played in the NSWRL grand final and won their 20th premiership in 64 seasons with a hard fought 16-10 victory over St George. One of the players in the winning team was George Piggins.
George Piggins, the saviour of the South Sydney rugby league football club after they were unceremoniously booted out following Super League.
George Piggins, who has not attended a game of rugby league since Souths were taken over by Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court. This Sunday, South Sydney play their first grand final for 43 years.George Piggins, former captain of the club, former coach, former CEO, does not propose to attend.
However, George Piggins, the man who should be at the game, has promised he will attend here. All we have to do is raise one hundred thousand dollars to be shared between The Sydney Children's hospitals at Randwick and Westmead.
I am not a Souths fan, I am not a VIP, I am not special (except to my
daughter), I am simply a fan of rugby league. I just cannot get past the
fact that South Sydney are only playing this weekend because of the
passion and drive and courage of one man, George Piggins. The man who will not be going to that game unless we give him a little help. The man
has finally provided an opening that will allow him to
reconcile with the game and the club that he loves so much and has given
so much for.
I don't know the man, but I just cannot imagine him
wanting some rich person to hand over a hundred grand the way I hand
over 20 bucks for Oporto and say "Well, George, you're coming now." I
don't think he wants to be invited by the NRL elite, they've tried many
times. He's always said no. He won't listen to the big end of town.
He
needs to be invited by us, the ordinary rugby league fan, not just the
Souths fans whose club he saved, but by the ordinary men, women and
children who have nurtured this game since that bell was first rung at Birchgrove Oval in 1908.
That's
the invitation that George Piggins needs, the one given to him by us,
the ordinary fans of this great game, in our great country.
So, I am taking him up on his promise, I am sufficiently ordinary for the task at hand!
I have established a crowd funding website at Causevox
You can
invite him to our grand final simply by clicking here and sending $10 to be shared
between 2 great hospitals, The Sydney Children's Hospitals at Randwick
and Westmead.
If we build it, he will come.
