'Good way to break the ice': Junior teams play for I 4Give Cup
- Author
- Timestamp
Bulldogs and Eels players have thrown their support behind an under 10s version of the I 4Give Cup between Dundas Shamrocks and Carlingford Cougars.
The NRL clubs have played for the I 4Give Cup each season since 2022 in memory of Sienna (8), Veronique (11), Angelina (12), and Antony (13), who were run down and killed by a drunk and drug affected driver at Oatlands in 2020.
The concept is now being extended to junior level, with the Dundas and Carlingford under 10s teams playing on August 11 at Sir Thomas Mitchell Oval.
"Sport can be a bit competitive so this a good way to break to ice," said Danny Abdallah, who founded the I 4Give Foundation with his wife Leila after the 2020 tragedy.
"It is a local derby so there is always a bit of rivalry, so the two clubs said why don't we get the teams together, train together, get the parents together, split the teams and call it the I 4Give Round.
"They had one training session together and then they get to play together in the spirit of the game, with five players from the Cougars playing for Dundas and five players from the Shamrocks playing for Carlingford.
"Throughout the junior competitions they know each other and will have that mutual respect.
"It is just a reminder about the message of forgiveness, and we have got some players from the Bulldogs and Parramatta coming to support the game."
Abdallah's son Alex plays for the Shamrocks and with no finals in junior competitions until Under 12s he hopes the I 4Give Round can become an annual gala day for teams.
"It was a beautiful gesture from the Cougars to the Shamrocks, they proposed it to us, and the Shamrocks were kind enough to accept," he said.
"It is just a fun game to finish the season and imagine, because there is no finals, if there was a gala day where two teams nominate that they want to play each other.
"It's a good finale to the season and next year when they see each other the ice has been broken, and the parents and kids all know each other.
"No other sport does anything like that and with no finals it could be something to look forward to at the end of the season."
