Players thank junior clubs

Each player will train in a jersey from his junior league club on Wednesday at the new Centre of Excellence at Concord.  Wests Tigers staff, both football and administrative, will also be wearing their junior league colours to work.

Community Engagement Co-ordinator Kenneth Tuala says the process of gathering all the junior club jerseys has taken some time.

“We have a lot of players from our junior districts but there are also others from interstate and New Zealand, so it’s been a bit tricky.

It’s taken a few months to get all the jerseys together, but it’s been well worth it."

When chatting to the junior clubs, you can sense how important it is to them to have one of their players now playing with us in the NRL."

Kenny Tuala

"That’s what this weekend is all about, it’s about saying thank you to all the junior clubs for the role they played in developing our players.”

Local junior Justin Matamua made his NRL debut this year, rising through the representative ranks, before running out against Parramatta in Round 17.

Justin began playing footy as a four-year-old playing up a year in the Under 6’s for Campbelltown City Kangaroos. 

He says to this day his junior club means the world to him.

If I didn’t play for Campbelltown City as a youngster, I wouldn’t have all the great friends I have today."

Justin Matamua

"I call them my brothers because we have been friends from the Under 6’s all the way up.

"I am just so grateful to my junior club for what it has done for me and my family.  If it wasn’t for my junior club, I wouldn’t have made my NRL debut.

"Every time I see the jersey (Campbelltown City Kangaroos) it reminds me of home."

Adam Doueihi pulled on the black, red and white jersey of the Strathfield Raiders as a nine year old and won three grand finals back to back in his first few years at the club.

He says he owes a lot to his mum and dad, "It was a big ask for my parents going back and forth to all the training and games, they were my biggest supporters.

"I think it's important to thank all the volunteers at junior clubs, including my old club the Raiders, for the wonderful work they do.”

Another local junior now playing for the Wests Tigers is Alex Seyfarth, who first pulled on the boots as a six-year-old for the Dundas Shamrocks.

Seyfarth, like many NRL players, happily gives back to his junior club, “I’ve spent quite a bit of time this year helping out the Under 15’s team and I think it’s important to stay involved.”

I made some lifelong friends through my days at the Shamrocks, mates I am still very close with to this day.”

Alex Seyfarth

Members and fans are encouraged to wear their junior league club colours to Sunday’s game against the Dragons at CommBank Stadium.