Dean Richard Widders (born 25 October 1979) is an Anaiwan

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He works with the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

as an Indigenous Pathways manager. He is coach of the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

team in the 2022 NRLW season. A skillful forward as a player, Widders has always been passionate about rugby league and the difference it can make in the community particularly for people from remote and rural areas and Indigenous Australians. He has been a great advocate for women playing the game and coached the Indigenous Women's All Stars in their win over the Jillaroos in 2017. He delivers workshops to youth on leadership, decision making and goal setting and is involved in numerous programs in schools. He recently played and coached the Redfern All Blacks to a record equaling 3 grand final wins in a row plus 2 Koori Knockouts in a row from 2015-2017. He proudly won three koori knockouts with his hometown Narwan Eels in the 2000s.

Early life

Widders was born in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

in New South Wales, Australia. He played his first game of

at the age of six for the local Armidale colts after watching his father Jake Widders who was a great player for the famous Aboriginal team the Narwan Eels. He tried many other sports but excelled especially in rugby league. Widders was also an avid reader during his childhood, a skill that he continues to promote. During Widders' teenage years he honed his rugby league skills and became well known in the local area as a lock playing for the Armidale Greens and Narwan Eels. During this time, Arthur Beetson

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

selector flew to Armidale to see Widders' play. When Widders' was 14, in 1993, he was invited to a selection trial and proved to be one of the best players.

Playing career

NRL

In 1996, at the age of 17, Widders' moved to Sydney to play with the

. In this year, he also captained an Aboriginal side. Widders made his debut for the Roosters in 2000, playing in 13 NRL matches for the club. In 2002, Widders signed with the

; in 2005 he was part of The Parramatta side that won the minor premiership. He finished with the club at the end of 2006. Widders' was involved in a racial vilification incident in July 2005 when he was abused by

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

captain Bryan Fletcher. In 2006, he signed a three-year contract to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs starting in 2007.

Castleford Tigers

Widders joined Castleford ( Heritage № 899) for the 2009 season. He played 19 times in his first season for the Tigers, scoring 6 tries. Widders started 2010 in great fashion, scoring the final and clinching try away at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

in Castleford's opening game against the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headin ...

. Widders picked up an injury and missed 2 months of the season but came back and played in an unfamiliar role of , linking up with

Rangi Chase Moutoa Lance "Rangi" Chase (born 11 April 1986) is a rugby league footballer who plays for the Rochdale Hornets in RFL League 1. He played at representative level for the New Zealand Māori before moving to Britain and playing for the Exiles ...

. Widders played in 2011 and had a good season, which was his final season at the Castleford Tigers. The club failed to make the playoffs after a narrow defeat by Hull KR. Widders said his final goodbyes to the

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

public in the last home game against

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

Off-field

In 1997, Widders returned to Duval High School in Armidale to complete his Higher School Certificate. Widders is very well respected in his hometown of Armidale. In 2004, he was awarded the NRL's Ken Stephen Medal for his positive work with youth in the community and, in 2006, he was appointed to the Federal Government's National Indigenous Council. Widders is also an Ambassador for the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia (NASCA). In November 2018, Widders participated in the Legends of League tournament for Parramatta, which was held at the

Central Coast Stadium Central Coast Stadium (known originally as Grahame Park), known commercially as Industree Group Stadium is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The stadium is home to the Central Coast Mariners asso ...

in Gosford. He is coach of the

team in the 2022 NRLW season.

Career highlights

*''Junior Club:'' Armidale, Narwan *''Career Stats:'' 219 first grade games scoring 59 tries *''Representative Honours:'' Country Origin (2006), Prime Minister's XIII (2007) *''Honours:'' Minor Premiership (2005) with Parramatta

Footnotes

External links

Castleford Tigers profileDeadly Vibe interview with Dean WiddersCommunity Champions - Dean Widders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widders, Dean 1979 births Living people Australian Aboriginal rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Castleford Tigers players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Parramatta Eels players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Armidale, New South Wales Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Roosters players