Senior Constable Luke Warburton and police dog Chuck. Photo by David Darcy.
Blue Mountains-based police dog Chuck will star in tonight (Wednesday's) State of Origin clash in Sydney, delivering the football to the Homebush grounds.
Famous for biting fugitive Malcolm Naden during his March 22 arrest in Gloucester, Chuck will be accompanied by handler Senior Constable Luke Warburton and Sergeant Tony Irons from the NSW Police Dog Squad to ensure the ball is delivered in time for the kick-off at ANZ Stadium.
"NSW Police Force's Polair and hero police dog Chuck will fly in the game ball for the second match of the State of Origin series at ANZ Stadium tonight," a police statement said.
"Polair 4, the newest aircraft in the Police Airwing fleet, will fly into the centre of the stadium to mark the 150th Anniversary of Policing in NSW and the start of the game between the blues and maroons.
"Hero police dog Chuck, who was part of the team who tracked down NSW's most wanted man Malcolm Naden, will deliver the football to the players and officials to kick off the match.
"They have been training for the task ahead of the match to ensure the game ball is delivered in top condition."
The aircraft will be piloted by Special Constable Matthew Stanton and crewed by Senior Constable Jonathan Smith.
Chuck and Senior Constable Warburton were also the subjects of a photo shoot in the Mountains in April by specialist dog photographer David Darcy, who was compiling a book about working dogs.