Mum blown away after anonymous Sea Eagles fan’s act of generosity to son goes viral

Young Sea Eagles fan SJ stole the hearts of NRL fans after he was filmed praying for the recovery of an injured player. What came from that was the memory of a lifetime, with an anonymous good Samaritan flying the fan from Townsville to Brookvale.

Townsville mum Telita James has been blown away by the social media reaction to her son Stephen, who was gifted a trip to Manly and tickets to their win at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night by an anonymous good Samaritan.

A video of her 12-year-old son SJ being surprised with a visit to his beloved Sea Eagles’ home ground and meeting injured captain Jake Trbojevic thanks to an inspiring act of generosity has gone viral online.

On Sunday morning after Manly’s 34-6 win over Brisbane, Telita said she has been overwhelmed with messages after the act of kindness from a fellow long-time Sea Eagles fan who wants to be known only as ‘Matt’.

“All of our family have been reaching out, ringing us. I had 87 messages on my phone after the game,” she said.

“From our point of view, we were just amazed and very grateful. The whole process, Matt and Chris (Warren, Sea Eagles media manager) and Freddy (Brad Fittler), everyone has been reaching out. And made it really easy for SJ to process.

“I think he’s still in shock.

“We’re from a little town, coming to a really big place like Sydney, it’s country football meets the city. We don’t have the privilege of a big city. And for his dreams of wanting to play for Manly one day, it keeps that dream burning.”

Stephen, or SJ as he is known, stole hearts when a video of him praying for Jake Trbojevic after he suffered a head injury in Townsville was posted to social media.

‘Matt’ organised with the Sea Eagles to pay for flights and accommodation for SJ and his family to visit Brookvale Oval for the first time.

“You don’t see that anymore, and I think people are scared to reach out and do things like that. You don’t see generosity like that anymore,” Telita said.

Jake Trbojevic and the young Manly fan. Picture: Sea Eagles

SJ delivered the gameball with Jake Trbojevic. Picture: Sea Eagles

“He’ll be talking about it for a long time.”

It was a huge surprise for the family, and SJ, who is rugby league ‘obsessed’.

He delivered the match ball with Trbojevic, who is expected to return to the field against Newcastle next week.

“I follow Broncos, my whole family follows Broncos, but Tom (Trbojevic) is his biggest idol, he absolutely loves him. It just helps them with their journey in life and football,” Telita continued.

“He loves the Trbojevic brothers.

“They’re just so down to earth, they spoke to him on his level and it was easy for him to talk.”

Originally published as Mum blown away after anonymous Sea Eagles fan’s act of generosity to son goes viral