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Joel Gould
Queensland players have embraced the motivational message delivered by New York firefighter James Dowdell as they prepare to band together as one in State of Origin battle.
Dowdell, who became a New York Fire Department (FDNY) lieutenant on what would have been his father’s 70th birthday, was invited by coach Billy Slater to speak to the players in camp on Saturday about his experiences.
James turned 17 the day before his father, Lieutenant Kevin Dowdell of Rescue 4, died in the South Tower of the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001.
Kevin Dowdell was one of 343 firefighters to lose their lives assisting others on that fateful day.
The unity and resilience of the FDNY came to the fore during and after the 9/11 terror attacks.
James and older brother Patrick joined the search and recovery mission in the rubble with the firefighters in a unified band.
Dowdell said the theme of his presentation to the players was about “resilience, leadership, taking action and having an aggressive approach to life”.
“And we go together,” he said.
“The team is only as good as everyone working as a unit.
“What makes the uniform great is not the individual. It is all the members who put it on before you and all the people who are supporting you.”
Maroons prop Lindsay Collins said Dowdell’s story about the firefighters was an inspiration.
“He said they sort of don’t assess the building. They just go straight into the fight,” Collins said.
“It correlates with us next Wednesday night. We are going down there straight into the fire and we are going together. It was good to get that message.”
The New York firefighters were motivated for the right reasons, Dowdell said.
“It wasn’t about pay cheques or glory. Guys acted a certain way because it was the moral and right thing to do,” he said.
“Me and my older brother were able to wake up with the guys in the fire house, join them and get some first-hand experience about what they were dealing with…. digging for all the lost guys.
“We were able to live it. Looking back we are pretty proud we got a first-hand account rather than sitting on the sidelines.”
Dowdell became a New York City firefighter and carried on his father’s legacy.
“I imagine it’s similar to a lot of these guys who grew up playing rugby league and their fathers played,” he said.
“It’s what you know. That’s what I knew and I enjoyed it. I saw how happy it made my father.”
Maroons prop Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was moved and inspired by Dowdell’s story.
“When he lost his dad … he went from his mum making his lunch the day before to just jumping straight in as a volunteer to look for his dad during the rubble,” Fa’asuamaleaui said
“He said that within one day he became an adult and grew up. That moved me a lot, because in life things happen and he just had to stand up for his team – the firefighters, volunteers and his family – and just went headfirst at the hardest thing. He got his job done and helped.
“For him to go, ‘I want to continue my dad’s dream’ and be just as good as his dad and uphold his name was pretty powerful.
“In the Origin sense, we wear our last names and we get to uphold our family’s name.”
Fa’asuamaleaui said that to “have someone from over there (in America) that understands our game and loves our game tell his story was awesome”.
“There’s a lot of things that he said about being together as a team that we can take from it,” he said.
AAP
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