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

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

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

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

as an Indigenous Pathways manager. He is coach of the

Parramatta Eels Women Parramatta Eels Women are a rugby league team, representing the Parramatta region of Sydney. The team is part of the Parramatta Eels club and plays in the National Rugby League Women's Premiership. The club announced their first player signings ...

team in the 2022 NRLW season.

Early life

Widders was born in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

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 player for the famous Aboriginal team the Narwan Eels. During Widders' teenage years he honed his rugby league playing for the Armidale Greens and Narwan Eels. During this time, Arthur Beetson

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

selector flew to Armidale to see Widders play.

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

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 (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

; 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 District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

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 for the 2009 season. He played 19 times in his first season for the Tigers, scoring 6 tries. 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. Widders played in 2011, his final season at the Castleford Tigers. The club failed to make the playoffs after a narrow defeat by Hull KR. Widders played his final game with Castleford in the last home game against Hull F.C.

Off-field

In 1997, Widders returned to Duval High School in Armidale to complete his Higher School Certificate. In 2004, Widders 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 is a sports venue in Gosford, on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. From the establishment of the first venue at the site in 1915 it was known as Waterside Park, being renam ...

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 coaches 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 Parramatta Eels (NRLW) coaches 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