A regional town in Far North Queensland could soon have an NRL legend sponsoring its grassroots rugby league team. 

Johnathan Thurston has been travelling to a number of Indigenous communities throughout Queensland to encourage the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations.

On the itinerary was Yarrabah, located 53 kilometres east of Cairns by road, where as of November 9, just 29.8 per cent of the population had received two doses of a vaccine.

Speaking to Ray Hadley, Thurston explained he’s offering up an award if the township reaches its first major vaccination milestone.

“I sent a letter to each person in that community and said if they could reach double vaccination at 70 per cent, I’d sponsor their local rugby team, the Yarrabah Seahawks.

“But they’ve got to get it done by December 1 – if they don’t reach that target,  I won’t sponsor their team.”

Press PLAY below to hear more on Johnathan Thurston’s vaccination campaign