Melbourne's Widdop dreams in green and gold
As a sports journalist, things don't always go to plan. You turn up to watch train and have a chat with , only to discover the session has been cancelled. The club's press guy says you can speak to Billy on the phone, before telling you you'll have to make do with Storm's young Yorkshireman instead. Sorry, Gareth, but you're just not the man the Australian press like to call "the greatest footballer in any code".
But when I hear the following line, I realise I might have the right bloke after all: "If I'd stayed in England, I probably still would have been playing rugby union for ." Revealing, wistful and more than a little bit profound.
The 20-year-old Widdop is in England with the Storm for Sunday's . From Halifax scholarship player to understudy to Kangaroo full-back Slater in the space of four whirlwind years. "It's a bit surreal, really," says Widdop ahead of the game at Elland Road.
Widdop, who has taken to the Aussie lifestyle, says he would only return to England to play in Super League
"Billy's a big-name superstar," adds the youngster, who edged closer to a bench place at Elland Road with an assured display in Sunday's warm-up win against Harlequins. "I grew up knowing him as the best player in the world and now I'm playing under him. When you're a kid, you dream of these things."
If Widdop does get a trot out against Leeds, it will be his first-grade debut. If he doesn't, then he won't have to wait long. He starred in last year, serving notice of his enormous potential. Australia, though, might be the beneficiaries.
"I'm an Englishman, don't get me wrong," says Widdop with an ever so slight Australian twang, "I was born here, but if the chance came round to put on an Australian jersey, I'd take it."
Then, in an attempt to explain why, he further betrays an understandable schizophrenia: "They're just a lot better team than we'll ever be, with a lot better players." When he says 'they', he is, of course, talking about the Aussies. "Plus, it's freezing over here, mate, I think I've got used to the Australian heat."
Widdop didn't actually move to Australia for rugby reasons - "mum and dad wanted to emigrate for a better lifestyle for me and my sister" - but he admits he "knew rugby league was there". It didn't take long for Australian rugby league to know Widdop was there, too.
Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders came truffling for his signature, but Widdop wanted to stay near his family down in Victoria, which, ironically, is less of a rugby league hotbed than his native Yorkshire. Still, they do things differently over there, even in .
"Even as an under-20s player, we trained in the morning and evening on a Monday and Tuesday, leaving home at 5am to get to the first session," says Widdop. "Wednesday is a recovery day in the pool and then we're in again on Thursday and Friday.
"The Poms have very good fans and a very good following, but, training-wise, there's no way any Super League club does the amount of training we do and has the amount of technology involved to get our bodies into the best shape. The culture is very different. The Pommie commentators talk it up, but I don't think the Aussies think too much of the English game."
Still, Widdop hopes to be back in England playing for a Super League team one day, as a Pom who became an Aussie who still thinks he's a Pom. But then who could blame him - he could still be playing for Old Brodleians.
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Comment number 1.
At 26th Feb 2010, Rovers Return - HKR AWAY DAYS wrote:I've never heard of him. I don't blame him for considering the green and gold through residency rules but should he commit such a clear sign of treachery he can never be allowed to put on the red and white. If you are a proud 'Pom' one would expect you to play come wind, sleet or shine - unfortunately these ridiculous rules allowing foreigners such as Maurie Fa'asavalu play for us need to be kerbed or else we are going to end up with a one world state and that cannot be allowed to happen in general terms, nevermind sport.
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Comment number 2.
At 26th Feb 2010, Johnoco wrote:I can see his point but let's hope he lives to regret it in 4-5 years when our youngsters come good.
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Comment number 3.
At 26th Feb 2010, bendirs wrote:Hello Rovers Return - I'm not really surprised you haven't heard of him, he's lived in Australia since he was 15/16 and hasn't made his first-grade debut yet, that was kind of the point of the blog. To be fair to him, by the time he is ready to make his Kangaroos debut, if indeed he ever does, he probably would have lived in Australia for 10 years, almost half his life. But you're right, international rugby league is a bit of a farce with all these players deciding what nationality they are seemingly on a whim. Then again, half of England's cricket team was born in South Africa!
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Comment number 4.
At 26th Feb 2010, john_cogger wrote:"But you're right, international rugby league is a bit of a farce with all these players deciding what nationality they are seemingly on a whim. Then again, half of England's cricket team was born in South Africa!"
Its not just League and cricket. Look at Union, Stevens, Hape, Vinacolo, Van Gisbergen, Flutey, Paul....
He has the choice of England on Birth or Australia on residency. Its up to him, same as any other sport.
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Comment number 5.
At 26th Feb 2010, Matthew Wood wrote:whent to school with widdup, quality player then and he obviously has improved ( even though he is better at Union!)
At the end of the day its up to him what he does got a feeling he would chose England as he stated he wants to return and play in superleague.
No matter what he does he will always be a RoshworthRanger!
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Comment number 6.
At 27th Feb 2010, BigCrompy wrote:"If Widdop does get a trot out against Leeds, it will be his first-grade debut. If he doesn't, then he won't have to wait long".
Eeeeh up...Pom here, four years living in Melbourne and Storm proud...interestingly being a southerner didn't much care for League until I got here, having grown up playing Union, but for a (more than) passing penchant for the Keighley Cougars, out of paternal loyalty, sheer disgust at the authorities at the time Keighley were disgracefully prevented from top-flight glory, and mainly to argue with the token northern lads at school.
There seems to have been quite a lot of racket about Gareth Widdop recently, and to be honest, though I watched the Storm under-20s most weeks last season, even I had barely heard of him. Flying under the radar is how we like things, south of the Mexican border, and would hope that Widdop has another season developing in the lower ranks prior to being snaffled after a prolific debut year a la Folau and Tomane. To be honest, although Storm lost a lot of backline talent due to the salary cap (again) this off-season, I still see Widdop way down a pecking order behind Quinn, Stanley, Nielson, MacDougall, Isa, Sam Joe and of course there's always the man that God himself dreams of being, Billy Slater at his preferred fullback position. So I expect only injury or Origin to give him a chance, then the world will entirely be his oyster!
Once again I'm not too sure what to expect from what amounts to a pre-season friendly on Sunday; it's the equivalent of Boca Juniors coming to play vs Rangers at a freezing Ibrox in October, during the South American off-season, for some fabricated (though no doubt heavily sponsored trophy)...sure, it's a lovely idea, and I'm sure Boca would want to win...even if they bring most of their Magoos and some of their youth team. It'll be a good hit out, but with Leeds three or four games in and much of Melbourne's pack enjoying the end of the Victorian summer, I for one won't be crying into my pillow and writing the Storm off for their fifth grand final in a row, should we take a shellacking.
P.S. I supported England at the World Cup hiding in Melbourne as my own dear Storm boys ran rings round the pedestrian English defence and nothing gives me a greatest pleasure than to hear an Australian 'whinge'.
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Comment number 7.
At 3rd Mar 2010, Pete Young wrote:I watched this lad play for the Old Brods junior teams in Halifax. He is quality and the team he played in there were all pretty good too. If he gets a chance to play for Australia I say he should take it. He is no traitor for doing what is best for him.
The question you should ask is why he was not spotted by English rugby league when he played for King Cross ARLFC?
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