Village gives Warriors warm welcome

As the Vodafone Warriors players and their families settle into life on the Redcliffe peninsula, three have received a helping hand from a long-time supporter of rugby league in the region – Village Motors.

The Village Motors team is well-known throughout the Moreton Bay Region for their love of league and willingness to support the local community.

When the opportunity arose to combine these two, Village Motors tackled the opportunity to get involved.

Dealer Principal Shane Olsen says Village Motors has been able to help three Warriors players and their families as they relocate to Redcliffe by providing cars to get them around.

“Through our partnership with Dolphins, we were approached by some families that were finding it pretty difficult to juggle their NRL commitments, relocate to a new city as well as manage kids and busy family schedules,” Shane explains.

“After hearing the struggles these families have experienced during COVID, it’s really heart-warming that the Warriors players and team are finally moving to Redcliffe and are no longer separated from their families for months at a time.”

One of the families supported with a new HAVAL H6 is Warriors’ backrower, Tohu Harris and his wife Natalie and son Harlen, who now call Redcliffe home.

“Over the last 18 months, our family has been incredibly unsettled, travelling between New Zealand and Australia, and across the different states,” Natalie says.

“It feels like we’ve spent more time in quarantine than in the real world the past two years. Thank goodness for iPads to keep Harlen entertained.”

Tohu and Natalie are not alone, with many experiencing similar difficulties during COVID-19 including Warriors’ players Ben Murdoch-Masila and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and their families.

“It’s a welcome relief to finally be putting down some roots and calling Redcliffe home for the 2022 season,” Natalie says.

“We’re so thankful and appreciative to Village Motors for providing our families with a vehicle that will help us get on with our busy lives, juggling our own careers and playing chauffer to the kids.

“These are more than just cars, to us they’re a sense of normality and independence that we haven’t had, as a family, since before COVID-19.”

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