The NRL has partnered with the St George Illawarra Dragons and Make-A-Wish to help a young fan's dream become reality amid a challenging health battle.
Charlotte is a lifelong rugby league fan and passionate Dragons supporter who lives with cystic fibrosis. The 20-year-old regularly watches games with her dad and has always dreamed of attending Magic Round.
The youngster was invited to attend the St George Illawarra captains run last Friday prior to their Round 10 game against the Knights.
This week she will travel up to Brisbane to experience the atmosphere and excitement of Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium.
"I really appreciated the Dragons for organising this," Charlotte said. "It's a dream come true.
"Meeting all the players and everyone that took me around the facilities, it was a great experience.
"Thank you to NRL, Make-A-Wish and Dragons for making this happen."
Charlotte's experience comes amid Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, with patients, families and doctors raising awareness of the condition throughout May.
As part of her visit to the St George Illawarra training field in Wollongong, Charlotte had the chance to meet with the players and interact with the likes of Damien Cook and Blake Lawrie.
She also participated in a number of games on the field, including a cross-bar challenge with the players. After successfully hitting the cross bar, Dylan Egan signed a pair of boots to give to Charlotte.
The Dragons were thrilled to welcome the youngster into their inner sanctum and relished the opportunity to give her an experience to remember.
"Wonderful to have Charlotte and her family here today and show her behind the scenes," Dragons community manager Adam Bezzina said.
"It’s going to be a lifelong memory for Charlotte and her family, we are glad that we can support that for her. We wish her the best, she is doing some wonderful things with her studies and her treatment seems to be going well
"We hope she has a great experience at Magic Round"
Charlotte’s experience is the latest in a partnership between the NRL and Make-A-Wish, with the two organisations working together to help brighten the lives of sick children.
Since 1985, Make-A-Wish Australia has granted more than 11,000 unique, inspiring and extraordinary wishes across the country for children with a critical illness. Make-A-Wish Australia is currently supporting more than 900 kids on their wish journey.
“On behalf of Make-A-Wish we really want to thank both the NRL and St George Illawarra Dragons,” a Make-A-Wish volunteer said.
“This has been a dream of Charlotte’s and when our kids have a sporting dream, to have it come true just makes it all that much better.
“It lifts them, it raises their spirits and it just means that we can do things for them that the families often can't.”
