There's often a lot made about the trials and tribulations of living in Wellington.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Drugs, crime, that sort of thing.
But Wellington halfback Adrian Davis is adamant if the town is humming along nicely then the Cowboys are firing as well, and given the 2018 season the maroon and whites enjoyed and the general positivity around the Group 11 club heading into 2019 you get the sense change is in the air on the banks of Bell River.
Put simply, the Cowboys is more than a club. Rugby league is more than a game.
"Home is home. Football means everything to this community," 2019 co-coach Justin Toomey-White said on the Get 'Em Onside Podcast.
“We’re not a footy club, we’re a family.”
“It shows in Justin’s voice how passionate he is," Cowboys gun Adrian Davis interjects. "It’s great to have him as coach this year with Aidan this year."
Hailing from Kempsey on the NSW mid-north coast, the Cowboys halfback is just as passionate about his footy, but particularly about people and the opportunities rugby league can give young players looking to make their way in the game.
For Davis, winning in 2019 is a goal but it's not the goal.
"I know what it’s like, and like Justin says it’s all about the community: if they’re happy we play our best footy because we know they’ll show up and support us and bring the best out of us," he added.
“To me, I’d rather be respected than known as someone who’s won five Group 11 grand finals.
I’ve got the utmost faith in the boys. They’ll do a job out there.
- Wellington co-coach Justin Toomey-White.
“Low crime, hardly any drugs, stuff like that. That’s why Justo’s so passionate, he does the right thing and he’s loved in the community.”
Wellington's push towards change kicked off under Aidan Ryan in 2018 and the club flourished, bouncing back from a three-win season the year before to claim 11 victories last winter and finish the year second on the ladder.
The club fell a game short of the Group 11 grand final, but that may well change in 2019.
Cowboys, Group 11 and Western Division legend Mick Peachey is back at the club and while his official role is to help coach the league tag girls, the man dubbed 'God' will have an immense impact on the entire club.
“When he talks everyone listens, it’s good to have him on board," Toomey-White added.
Toomey-White joins Ryan as coach this season but will do so in a non-playing role, more than likely, he says, as he continues to recover from bowel cancer.
The former Wyong Roos star and three-time Group 11 player of the year winner will undergo five months of chemotherapy during the season.
Toomey-White says he's taking it one day at a time but hasn't ruled out playing again in 2019.
“I coached from the sideline once and it did my head in. It’s going to be a different challenge and I’ll learn from it and be better for it," he said.
“I’ve got the utmost faith in the boys. They’ll do a job out there.”
Those boys will be without five-eighth Richard Peckham in 2019 though, and if a trial with Redcliffe goes to plan for Will Lousick the young fullback could be playing Intrust Super Cup in Queensland this season.
Still, the Cowboys aren't sitting still in the player market.
As they were last year with Timana Tahu and Nathan Merritt, the club has been linked to former NRL players Terrence Seu Seu and Travis Waddell.
Toomey-White said he leaves that side of the recruitment to club president Darren Ah-See but regardless of whether the club brings in new players, the Wellington Cowboys will never be about the players.
Town first, team second.
“We’re led by a great community," the new co-coach beamed.
Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
