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Making a change from the usual drugs/sex and rock and roll off field antics of RL players...
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/o-conn...s-he-s-on-the-right-road-20190823-p52k14.htmlBig Khalid a true Bluebag
Which brings us to the mighty Newtown Jets! Perhaps the club with the most diehard supporters in Sydney, demonstrating their passionate support through thick and thin for more than a century – with the thin now having lasted the better part of four decades, since they were kicked out of the main comp in 1983 – a book by club director and media officer Glen Dwyer has just been released documenting their second incarnation as a suburban club.
Called Taking It To The Streets – The Second Life of the Newtown RLFC, it has some cracker stories. My favourite yarn focuses on Khalid Deeb, the huge front-rower who played for the club from 2008 to 2013, winning several club awards in that time.
Of Lebanese heritage, he was notable for his big heart, tough play and religious devotion – becoming adept at fitting in his training and playing commitments with his Ramadan fasting obligations. Alas, just before the NSW Cup grand final of 2012 he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him out of the finals.
Still, when the Jets defeated the Balmain Tigers, so highly regarded was Deeb, and so crucial had he been in getting them there in the first place he was awarded one of the NSW Cup Premiership winner’s medals anyway. That night at the grand final victory celebrations back at Petersham RSL Club, Khalid quietly sought out young Jack Kelly, a young local with severe disabilities who had attended all of their games.
“With minimum fuss, big Khalid presented Jack with his Premiership winner’s medal, an act of such spontaneous generosity and selflessness that it brought several onlookers to tears. It was an act totally in keeping with Khalid’s quiet dignity, his innate decency and his ability to bridge cultural and religious divides. Jack Kelly was a very proud young fellow that night as he tearfully clasped the 2012 Premiership winner’s medal that had been given to him.”
When Jack passed away in 2017, Khalid Deeb was at his funeral and there, atop his coffin, was the thing he treasured most, the 2012 Premiership winner’s medal.
