SINGLETON Greyhounds junior coach Paul Larcombe has paid tribute to NRL and CRL officials for their assistance this week following the sudden passing of young player Blake Atkins.
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The first year junior was tragically killed, along with his five-year-old twin sisters Matylda and Scarlett Rinkin, in the Brittliffe Close house fire on Wednesday morning (see full story).
This prompted some quick thinking from the sport's regional bodies.
So, by the following night, his grieving teammates would welcome a surprise appearance from Bulldogs legend Mark O'Meley, NRL Upper Hunter development officer Daniel Swan and CRL regional area manager Keith Onslow.
Larcombe admits it was hard for his coaching team (made up of Karl Gilmore and Mick Millgate) to hide their whirlwind of emotions throughout their Thursday night training session at Cook Park.
"The NRL got in contact with the club when they heard the news and they offered their support without us asking for it," a delighted Larcombe told the Singleton Argus.
"To have those three show up and show their support was fantastic.
"There was a little bit of a counselling session before they (the under-12 players) went onto the field and had a little bit of fun to take their mind off things."
O'Meley, who represented the Sydney Roosters, Northern Sydney and Canterbury (with whom he won the 2004 premiership) across a 179 NRL game career, proved to be a hit with all involved.
"A lot of the kids still know who he is and just that excitement that Mark (and Daniel Swan) brought to the drills will stick in their minds," Larcombe added.
The late Atkins was remembered by the coaching group as a boy who "loved his footy" and "will be sadly missed by his teammates".
The emotion is still raw for all of his young teammates.
And, that will be the case for the years to come.
Nevertheless the proud coach has confirmed that Saturday morning's fixture will go ahead for the under-12 sides thanks to the rejuvenation implemented at their memorable training session.
"I guess the advice to the boys now is not to bottle it (their emotions) up and if you've got something to talk about then make sure you get it out there," Larcombe concluded.
"That's what we're here for as a rugby league family; we're more than just a club, we're a united group."
To honour Atkins' memory, who was a Manly fan, the Sea Eagles will wear black armbands in their NRL match against the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.