Kurt Mann has become the third NRL player to use animal attraction in an effort to win the highly sought after Downlow Medal.
The promising young St George Dragons player shared images on social media of a friend throwing a goanna at a fisherman, less than two months after Mitchell Pearce from the Sydney Roosters was filmed interacting with a dog.
Both players appear to be chasing an ambassadorial role with the RSPCA following the success of current ambassador and former Canberra Raiders player Joel Monaghan, who was last year inducted into the Downlow Medal Hall of Fame.
The Downlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the NRL, Australian Football League (AFL), the A League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. The first medal was awarded to Sydney Roosters and New Zealand representative Shaun Kenny-Dowall in 2015.
“I’m pretty stoked to be even considered for this award”, beamed Mann.
“Just to be mentioned in the same sentence as Pearce and Monaghan is a huge honour. I knew I had to lift my game if I wanted to win it because the competition’s so tough.”
In order to increase his chances, Mann completed the social media post with a comment that is likely to see him appointed spokesperson for the National Anti-Racism Strategy with the Australian Human Rights Commission.
photo credit: http://www.nrl.com
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