THE opportunity to win $10,000 on national television doesn’t come around very often, but that’s what awaits Port Macquarie sportsman Chris Cole tomorrow night.
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Cole, a rugby league player for the Port City Breakers and a cricketer for Macquarie Hotel, entered the National Rugby League Footy Show kick for cash competition and received the call back.
Each week host Paul “Fatty” Vautin calls a viewer from around Australia and invites them onto the show to answer quiz questions for prizes.
If the contestant chooses to pass on the prizes, they can then take a place kick at goal from in front of the posts, from a distance of 35 metres.
A successful kick results in $10,000 cash from betting agency SportsBet.
The face of SportsBet is none other than former Port Macquarie Sharks junior player and Wests Tigers NRL player Joel Caine.
Cole is confident of coming home from the show with the prize money, even though contestants rarely win the major prize.
“I went for a practice kick and nailed a few, so I’d say I’m a pretty good chance,” he said.
He only entered the competition five times but almost didn’t get on.
He only scraped through as the first caller didn’t answer their phone.
“I was pretty happy the first person didn’t answer, I’ll give you that much,” Cole said.
“When they said the person they were calling was from Port Macquarie I thought there would be heaps of entrants from here, so it was a good shock.”
Cole is used to hecklers from the crowd and there will more than likely be many cheers and jeers tomorrow evening. “It’s not the usual heckle from your Forster fools like I’m used to,” he said.
“It’s only $10,000 worth of pressure, so I’m sure I’ll handle it.”
He has placed himself on a strict training regime leading up to the big night - sort of.
“My training has been a good amount of KFC, a few practice shots at the park and a lot of Facebook sledging,” he said.
The passionate Rabbitohs fan predicts that he may lose a few mates when he returns home thanks to some clever sledging against rival team the Sydney Roosters. “I might lose a few Roosters fans as mates,” he said.
“If I do get the kick there will be a few beers with the Breakers teammates and the Macquarie Cricket Club.”
Cole also generously offered to donate $500 to the Dunn family, whose five year old son Xavier is suffering from serious health problems, if he is successful.
You can tune into NBN tomorrow night to watch Cole put his boot to the test in the biggest kick of his life.
The Footy Show gets under way at 8.30pm.