How Kurt Fearnley's inspirational address is driving the Bulldogs

Jackson_1994

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Kurt Fearnley knows about winning, having done little else during his glittering sporting career.

This, however, wasn’t the dominant theme when he was invited into Canterbury’s inner sanctum. A team needing inspiration, one that has celebrated few victories in recent years, was instead told to find a purpose in the pain.

“Winning is easy,” Fearnley told the Bulldogs players and staff during his address.
When momentum is on your side and you’re winning every weekend, that’s the easy bit.
“It’s about staying motivated during the tough times. It’s about finding a greater purpose as well, keeping you going when you’re getting beaten up

We spoke about belief in yourself. It feels like you’re getting beaten up after a training session or you pull up after a match and it feels like your body has been put through a meat grinder.

“It’s about making sure you have the tools in front of you to build yourself up again. They do see themselves as the ‘Family Club’, a community club. It’s about looking for something more than just playing for the number.”

There is no more inspirational figure in Australian sport than Fearnley. In her role as the chief executive of the Australian Paralympic Committee, Bulldogs chair Lynne Anderson has seen it first hand. This is a man who, aside from winning three Paralympic gold medals, seven world titles and a staggering 35 marathon triumphs across 10 countries as a wheelchair racer, has been part of a Sydney to Hobart crew and crawled the entire Kokoda Track on his hands.

That’s why Anderson decided the NSW Australian of the year was the perfect person to address the team ahead of its 2019 campaign. After some convincing - Fearnley is a Panthers fan with a soft spot for the Knights since shifting to Newcastle - he heeded the call. He even posed up with coach Dean Pay and the entire squad in a blue and white jersey after telling the story that is his remarkable life.

“He had a lot of key messages that I’ve been reminding myself of on a daily basis coming to training,” said forward Adam Elliott ahead of the Bulldogs' round-one match against New Zealand Warriors on Saturday
might feel a bit of a niggle here and there but then you remember the footage of him doing the Kokoda Trail on his hands, it’s just so inspiring to see someone so determined and motivated when the odds are stacked against them.

“It’s a great way of humbling the group and bringing everyone back down to ground zero.

“It was a great visit, the boys appreciated having him in here.”

Each player took away something different. For Elliott, it was the way Fearnley and his coach related to each other, how everything was always positive no matter how much they pushed each other's limits.

“They weren’t whinging about any of the sessions they were doing, it was all about moving toward that one common goal,” Elliott said
For captain Josh Jackson, it was the way Fearnley made the seemingly impossible possible.

“He was fantastic,” Jackson said.

“He told us about his life, about what he has been through, his career through the Paralympics and what he has achieved. He’s a really tough guy, a real inspiration. He tries to compare what he’s done to what we’re doing, but really there is no comparison.”

Fearnley has described wheelchair racing as one of the most solitary sports in the world, one in which your head is constantly down. In his final representative race, a gold medal victory in last year’s Commonwealth Games, he glanced up and realised how many Australians had joined him on the journey.
I remember seeing on the Gold Coast when he won the marathon, that jubilation,” said Bulldogs forward Aiden Tolman.

“He knew it was his last race and the excitement he had after 20 years in the sport, we need to take something out of that.

“It’s a great lifestyle, a great job. You have to enjoy every day.
 

hotdogs

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Champion bloke and champion move by the club.
Great to see .
 

Vlasnik

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Boys let your actions speak louder than your words. Lets put the feeling of fear and doubt in all our opposition through 2019. Fearnley is a champion bloke , now lets use his inspiration and become a champion team.
 

dogluva

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When I hear people talking about inspiration, determination and fighting against all the odds to be not only a better sportsman but a better man I think of Kurt Fearnley.

This guy has never once complained about the hand that was dealt to him; instead, he always let his actions speak louder than words. What he has done, not only in the sporting arena but in life in general is nothing short of phenomenal and all the while he has never let that winning be the main focus of his efforts.Gracious in defeat and winning alike.

I could never, ever compare myself to this bloke, no one could, but I like to think that when I go to the gym and I do a class that I think might be beyond me, there is something there that drives me not to better anyone else but to challenge and better MYSELF. That is all one could and should ever ask for in this life. I am no hero, never will be the sort that this guy is, and it was a masterstroke from the club to have him talk to the boys.

I know it is a corny saying but hopefully they will continue to talk the talk and at the same time walk the walk....
 

GrogDog

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Such a coincidence. About 2 weeks ago I was chatting to my young kids about inspirational things and people and I remembered this bloke doing the Track. I got on youtube and showed my kids the footage. Great move by the club, a truly inspirational human being!
 
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