Sea Eagles helping to promote vaccinations in regional communities

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles have teamed up with Senior Partner Poche Indigenous Health Network to help increase awareness and encourage vaccinations against COVID-19 amongst Aboriginal people, especially those living in remote communities throughout Australia.

Sea Eagles Legends and proud Aboriginal men Cliff Lyons and Joel Thompson are fronting the campaign along with current Manly superstar brothers Jake and Tom Trbojevic.

The game plan is to get vaccinated against COVID-19 whilst also still continuing to focus on maintaining hygiene and social distancing.

Cliff Lyons

Lyons, who hails from Narrandera in the Riverina region of southern New South Wales, is one of the most talented Indigenous men to ever play Rugby League. He played over 300 first grade games for the Sea Eagles, winning two Premierships, a Clive Churchill Medal and two Dally M Medals as the best and fairest player in the game. He also represented both New South Wales and Australia, and is a member of the Rugby League Hall of Fame.

Thompson, a former Indigenous All-Stars captain, originally from the small township of Ivanhoe in western NSW, contracted COVID-19 whilst in the UK last year, which has helped him to understand first-hand how real this virus is and how damaging it could be to regional communities throughout Australia if people aren’t vaccinated.

Regional communities certainly aren’t immune to this virus. It can spread anywhere, so we need to make sure that our people living in remote areas are just as well informed and are being just as proactive with vaccinations as anyone else no matter where you live.

Joel Thompson

Resources including posters, flyers, videos and social media graphics featuring Lyons, Thompson and the Trbojevic brothers have been produced by the Sea Eagles in partnership with Poche Indigenous Health Network, who are now sharing and distributing these resources throughout remote communities across the country.

Lyons’ company Bennelong Energy Services and Thompson’s employer Thee Group are also proudly supporting the campaign.

Visit seaeagles.com.au/poche-indigenous-health to find out more.