Sign away: South Sydney Rabbitohs’ and Rockhampton product Rhys Wesser adds his name to the CQ NRL bid petition.
CHRIS ISON CI--
ROCKHAMPTON product and South Sydney Rabbitohs star Rhys Wesser has thrown his support behind Central Queensland’s push for a National Rugby League team.
Back home over the weekend, Wesser added his name to the petition which has been signed by more than 17,000 Central Queenslanders.
CQ NRL Bid chief executive Denis Keeffe said he was pleased for the support from the Rabbitohs fullback, calling him one of the icons of rugby league in this area.
“It’s great for us to have his name on the petition,” he said.
“But the point is if we’d had a side when he was coming through, he wouldn’t have had to leave Central Queensland,” he said.
Mr Keeffe said having someone from Rockhampton playing at the top level showed how strong the region was at producing talent. “It shows what a nursery CQ is for playing talent.”
But he said a homegrown team would mean local players could reach the top while still having the support of family and friends.
“The point is, he made the big time but he had to do it away from his support network.”
Mr Keeffe had spent the past few days at the Queensland Schoolboys Rugby League carnival in Bundaberg, where he observed the next generation of footballing talent.
“The Capricornia team did well and there’s some exciting new Rhys Wessers coming through those ranks. We’ll be looking to use this talent when we get going,” he said.
The point is if we’d had a side when he was coming through, he wouldn’t have had to leave Central Qld.
