Englishman joins the ranks
Friday, December 9, 2016
Pictured: Lee Jewitt with wife Rebecca, daughter Isobella, son Oscar, and 18-month-old twin boys Noah and Oliver.
Englishman Lee Jewitt has come half way across the world to join the Townsville and Districts Mendi Blackhawks for 2017, and not without his wife and four children in tow.
The 29-year-old prop will bring over 10 years of Super League experience to the young squad.
Jewitt said he has enjoyed his time in Townsville so far, and that the family are adjusting to their new surroundings.
“I’ve loved it, loved every minute,” Jewitt said.
“The weathers a bit different to back home, it will take some getting used to.
“It’s good to be training in this kind of weather rather than getting up in minus five (degrees), putting your gloves on, putting your hat on, putting your scarf on and trying to train.”
The Jewitt family can now call Townsville home, after a conversation with good friend Matty Bowen saw the former Castleford Tiger pick up a Mendi Blackhawks contract.
Coach Kristian Woolf said the Blackhawks had spent a lot of time looking into Jewitt before signing him, and that the club were impressed with his reputation.
“It all came about mainly through Matty Bowen and his recommendation, from there we looked into him a fair bit and obviously wanted to make sure he was the right person and he was going to offer us something on the footy field and off the footy field,” Woolf said.
“Everything he’s done so far has been terrific and he’s come across as a real old pro.
“He definitely comes with a reputation of being an aggressive player and having a good skills set.”
“They’re certainly things that I think really fit in with what we’ve got as a team and how we like to play and I think he’s going to be a really good addition for us.
Jewitt said he has always had aspirations to move to Australia and play rugby league.
“It’s been somewhere I’ve always wanted to come and play and test myself, so as soon as the opportunity came up we jumped at it as a family,” Jewitt said.
“It’s a different game all together over here.
“For me it’s about testing myself, taking myself out of the comfort zone, I didn’t want to spend my whole career in the Super League, I always wanted to come here,
whether it was in NRL or (Intrust Super Cup).”
Jewitt said he is looking forward to the physicality and speed of the Intrust Super Cup competition.
“I can’t wait, that’s part of the reason I wanted to come to the (Intrust Super Cup) as well, how physical it is and it’s a fast comp as well so for me that’s a massive bonus”
Jewitt said he was enjoying getting to know his new team mates, even though a few of them were struggling to get used to his accent.
“Beasley, I think he wants me to repeat myself five or six times,” Jewitt said.
