Penrith Panthers beam into New Brighton   14 Apr 2016

Media release

April 14

Penrith Panthers beam into New Brighton

South New Brighton School was buzzing this afternoon with the Penrith Panthers beaming into the school’s auditorium from their Sydney base a month ahead of their match against the Warriors in Christchurch on May 14.

The school today hosted a lively video question and answer session with Penrith’s New Zealand contingent Dean Whare, Peta Hika and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak as part of the Panthers commitment to show their support to Christchurch’s eastern suburbs.

The players answered some curly questions from the sports-mad pupils at South New Brighton School before announcing that they would be back to visit the school in person on May 12, two days before the match at AMI Stadium.

Dean Whare was asked to sing a song but promised he would do so when he visits the school next month, while all three Kiwis said they were looking forward to their first ever visit to Christchurch.

Event organiser Justin Wallace, who along with Craig Douglas is responsible for bringing the NRL back to Christchurch, then provided the icing on the cake by revealing that a group of generous Christchurch companies with ties to New Brighton have raised funds to buy match tickets for around 200 pupils and 100 parents to attend the match in person.

“So we are not just bringing the Panthers to Brighton, but also taking Brighton to the Panthers,” said Mr Wallace, adding that the tickets will be evenly split between Rawhiti School and South New Brighton School before he was drowned out by cheering children.

Mr Wallace said that this group of Christchurch companies, together with Development Christchurch, wanted to show their support to the New Brighton community.

“They want to celebrate New Brighton’s resilience,” said Mr Wallace whose family also has links to South New Brighton School.

Steve Clarke, of Development Christchurch, said that the successful regeneration of New Brighton was a key priority for DCL and an important aspect of that is having a strong and resilient community.

“So it was a no-brainer for us to put our full support behind this wonderful initiative from the private sector, the match organisers and of course the Penrith Panthers,” said Mr Clarke.

Principal John Bockett of South New Brighton School said his pupils could hardly contain their excitement.

“It was very special for them to speak to the players through video link so you can imagine what it is going to be like when they actually get here,” said Mr Bockett.

He added that the tickets would be distributed to rugby league players, the school’s sports academy, to recognise pupils who had made a difference in the school and those who had had particular rough time in recent years.

ENDS

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