Storm captain Cameron Smith and star prop Jesse Bromwich are often looked up to as heroes but both men know that courageous acts on the rugby field pail in comparison to being on the front-line fighting bushfires.
On Friday, the Club launched the 2016 Emergency Services Cup to be played for against St-George Illawarra in Round 1 at AAMI Park.
The concept aims to recognise the incredible contribution of both Victoria and New South Wales Emergency Services personnel.
Both Smith and Bromwich are delighted to kick off the season for such a great cause.
The Storm captain is well and truly an adopted Victorian, having lived in the state for the last 14 years, which makes the special Round 1 occasion resonate even more.
“It’s really an honour to have the Emergency Services Cup played between ourselves at St-George Illawarra. We love throwing our support behind those people and showing our recognition to the hard work they give this state every year,” Smith said.
“It is unfortunate that we were effected by bushfires again. The Great Ocean Road coastline is a beautiful part of the state. It is nice to see the road is reopened and people can still get down there.
“There is a lot of people that throw a lot of hard work into fighting those fires and just in general showing a lot of support to the community effected by that devastation.”
Bromwich echoed the sentiments of his skipper for the enormous work the volunteers exhibit under the most difficult of circumstances.
“To have 1,000 Emergency Services volunteers there on the day it is going to be even more of an honour,” he said.
“For them they put their lives at risk everyday protecting Victoria and also the rest of Australia, we can’t repay them enough for the jobs they do.
“I am really looking forward to it and I hope they enjoy the day and hopefully we can put on a good show.”
