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In the NBA there are a few megastar players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. The kinds of players that every team wants and will do all that they can to keep. And then there are players like Ish Smith of the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are the 11th team that…

Hey everyone, we’re well into 2018 and I wonder how we are all doing with the goals and dreams we have for this year. I read, saw and heard lots of inspiring stories of achievement during the summer and I want to share some of them with you as an encouragement to keep going with…

“When I play for New Zealand I play for my country of birth. But when I play for Tonga, I play for my heritage and my family.” (Tongan captain, Sika Manu.)  Tonga was introduced to rugby league through the 1986 Pacific Cup in the Cook Islands. They won their first Pacific Cup in 1994. Since 1995,…

Everyone knows how great Fiji are at rugby union, especially the sevens game. But Fiji have also made their mark in the world of rugby league. Players like Josefa Levula were stars in English rugby league in the 1960s. A domestic competition started in 1992 and is known today as the Vodafone Championship Cup. Twelve…

The Kiwis have designed a new jersey for this year’s Rugby League World Cup. The jersey reflects the team’s cultural heritage and has cultural patterns on the back and sleeves. The jersey was designed by the Kiwis’ cultural advisor, Ora Kihi. Some of the patterns come from the players’ tattoos. “It’s always special to wear the…

The Women’s Rugby League World Cup is also on this year. It takes place in Sydney, Australia from 16th November to 2nd December. Here’s a little info about the history of women’s rugby league in New Zealand. Women’s rugby league goes back to 1921 in New Zealand when a team from the Hornby club formed…

The New Zealand rugby league team have been known by many names over the years: the Professional All Blacks and the All Golds were early names. Almost from the start, their uniforms featured a kiwi standing above a silver fern. But they weren’t known as the Kiwis yet. Before 1938, they were known officially as…

Albert Baskerville was a young post office worker, living in Wellington with his mother and seven siblings in the early 1900s. His father had been killed in a work accident and Albert was the only income earner for the family. He also enjoyed playing rugby and even wrote a book about it. But there was one…

The Rugby League World Cup is coming! To celebrate, I’m going to share some of the amazing and inspiring history of rugby league with you. Day 1: The people’s game Rugby league is unique among major world sports because it was founded on a principle: that everyone should have the opportunity to play sports, not…

Today at the Storylines Hui, legendary children’s writer, Joy Cowley, told an inspiring story about The Silent One, her first novel. It was rejected by every publisher she sent it to, so she put it away in a drawer. Eight years later, a publisher said to Joy, “You should write a junior novel.” Joy said, “I already…

This is really cool from Parramatta rugby league player, Suaia Matagi. He visits youth in prisons and encourages them. He tells them that life is similar to a game of rugby league. “Just like in footy,” he says. “You might knock the ball on but that’s the same thing as life. You make the errors…

Last week was so awesome celebrating Cook Islands Language Week with the launch of Cook Islands Heroes at Tupu Youth Library. Something happened at the launch that taught me so much about where achievement comes from. Michael Metuakore is one of the heroes featured in the book. His story is amazing. Michael (Mangaia, Rarotonga, Palmerston, Penrhyn)…

Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…

Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…

Kia orana everyone! It’s Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone else who…

Kia orana everyone! Next week is Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Next week is Kuki Airani Language Week and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate. Cook Islands Heroes is a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

Kia orana everyone! Kuki Airani Language Week is coming August 1st and I’ve got a new book to help celebrate the week. It’s a collection of achievers who have Cook Islands ancestry – from legends, through history and into the present. The aim of this book is to inspire Kuki Airani young people and anyone…

An American dad made news this week when he held up this sign at an NBA basketball game: Thomas was looking forward to watching his favourite player Lebron James, live. But he came from school with poor grades and the punishment his father gave him was to miss the game. Then he put it on a…

Hey guys lots of schools like to do a “Who Am I?” theme during term one. Here’s a couple of newspaper articles about New Zealand Warriors rugby league player Shaun Johnson on that theme that you could share with your staff. Not many young people would know that Shaun’s mum is Laotian. She escaped Laos…

The 2017 NRL season is about to begin and I want to encourage all who work with young people to consider what a rich resource of material we can get from rugby league and other sports to help engage students in our schools and classrooms. Here’s a few ideas: Study rugby league jerseys as visual language…