Inspirational nine-year-old Jed Symons was the guest of honour at Sharks training on Thursday, relishing the opportunity to meet his heroes, take to the field and accept a special gift.
A proud Cronulla supporter who idolises Ronaldo Mulitalo, the unstoppable Jed was born with a limb difference and uses a prosthetic left forearm.
In another 'Heartfelt Moment' organised by the Sharks Have Heart community team, Jed and his Sharks-loving family were left with lifelong memories.
Innovo Prosthetics recently customised a prosthesis with their first Sharks pattern for Jed and contacted the club to unveil the sleek design at PointsBet Stadium.
Jed will be smiling for days
Shannon Symons, Jed's dad
It was a morning of surprises for Jed, whose dad Shannon, mum Erin and sisters Kyla and Ryley kept the training visit a secret as they travelled from Wollongong.
Upon arriving, Jed was quickly greeted by NRL young gun Kade Dykes and presented with a jersey featuring his name emblazoned on the back.
He tested out his new arm by hitting tackling pads on the sideline, took photos with all his favourite players - including Mulitalo, who happened to pop into training while on leave - and enjoyed a long chat with veteran Dale Finucane.
"Jed will be smiling for days. It'll be great for him to tell all his mates at footy and show all the photos. He'll be pumped," dad Shannon said.
"Just to see his name on the back of the jersey, he was just like, what! Little things like that he'll remember for the rest of his life.
"I'd just like to thank the club and all the players that came over, said hello and signed his jersey and all of that. Everyone came up to shake his hand.
"And also Innovo, they've just been awesome. They've been with us since day dot."
While life hasn't always been easy, Jed's resilience knows no bounds. Rugby league is one of the Woonona Bulli Bushrangers junior's great passions.
"He does it his own way and gets it done. He rides mountain bikes off jumps, he plays footy, he plays OzTag and just went to nationals," Shannon said.
"He's definitely one of my heroes. He's my inspiration."
Cameron Ward, director and senior prosthetist at Innovo Prosthetics, has worked with Jed for four years and got in touch with the club to organise the experience.
"He's buzzing and his dad's buzzing as well. It's been a great day," Ward said.
"Jed's an active young kid, loves his rugby league, and the fact he's an amputee doesn't stop him or slow him down or change what he does."
This was the second Heartfelt Moment this week after local Year 10 student Mitchell Albert enjoyed an unforgettable two days of work experience.
"Providing these opportunities for people like Jed and Mitchell makes our job really special," Sharks community coordinator Emily Araullo said.
