Ex New Zealand Warriors to speak at ACG Sunderland Breakfast

It's an all-star cast at the Fuji Xerox Parents and Friends breakfasts at ACG Sunderland. Ex league players Ruben Wiki and Logan Swann will be coming to entertain, enthral and motivate at this annual event, much to the joy of students and parents alike.

Every year ACG Sunderland holds a Parents and Friends breakfast for families. College principal Nathan Villars says "It's a great opportunity for parents and students to get to know other families and for us to create an extended community around our school. It's nice meeting up at something which isn't a fundraiser and for parents to have the chance to develop relationships with others who have the school and community in common."

The breakfasts will take place on the 22nd September for the College and the 24th September for the Primary school. Ruben Wiki will speak at the College breakfast and Logan Swann at the Primary. It will start at 7.30am and families will enjoy a shared breakfast followed by the speakers – hopefully meaning they will start their day highly motivated and raring to go.

Ruben and Logan are thrilled to be part of it all. "One of the greatest things about being involved in high-profile sport in New Zealand is getting invited to these kinds of events. It's so great to get involved with local communities, especially schools. They are the breeding ground for our future leaders, not only in sports but in every area." says Ruben.

Ruben, a former professional rugby league player, retired with the record for most number of international appearances of any rugby league player in history. He was the first New Zealander to play 300 first grade games in the toughest competition in the world finishing on 312 games. He also received a medal from the queen for services to rugby league, ONZM.

At club level he played for the Canberra Raiders, winning the 1994 NSWRL Premiership with them before finishing his career with the New Zealand Warriors. He currently works as the NZRL's High Performance Manager and a High Performance Assistant with the New Zealand Warriors.

Logan, an equally well-known player is also delighted to be attending the breakfast. "I love going into schools and seeing all that enthusiasm for life. Hopefully our speeches can have some kind of effect on making children believe they can set out to achieve everything they want to, whichever arena they choose."

Logan joined the Auckland Warriors Colts side in 1995 and went on to play in the reserves team where he was picked for the New Zealand Kiwis squad. He made his first grade debut in 1997 and stayed with the Warriors for seven seasons, winning the Minor Premiership and playing in the Grand Final in 2002.

He's also played overseas, for the Bradford Bulls in England, playing in the 2004 World Club Challenge and the 2004 Superleague Grand final. After the Bulls he played for the Warrington Wolves for two seasons. He returned home to play for the New Zealand Warriors in 2007 and 2008. He's the second highest capped Warrior and has played 195 first grade games for the club.

Kent Favel, Primary Principal says "We feel so fortunate to have two inspiring speakers like Ruben and Logan at our event. It's great for the students to hear another motivating voice rather than just Nathan and myself! These players have achieved great things in a highly competitive field and it makes it real for students to listen to someone in the public eye who has had a dream and made it happen."