AFTER two seasons playing in The Netherlands, and a stint with the Cowra Magpies in Group 10 rugby league, Bathurst rugby talent Hayden Tidswell will return to what he knows best in Mudgee this weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A regular in representative teams during his past seasons with the Bathurst Bulldogs, Tidswell will play with the club once more in 2014, but before that he will pull on the Central West Blue Bulls jersey at the Caldwell Cup.
The Blue Bulls have been promoted to the top tier of the NSW Country Championships as a result of their win in the tier two Caldwell Cup last year.
As a consequence they have drawn Illawarra in Saturday’s first round of the 2014 tournament at Mudgee’s Glen Willow Sporting Complex where Tidswell will start in the second-row.
“I came back last year from a second season in Holland and the rugby season here had already started, so I decided to give the league a go with my brother and cousin in Cowra for something different,” Tidswell said.
“It was definitely something that I enjoyed and it was worth the change, but I find the tactical side of rugby union one of the parts of the game that really appeals to me and I did miss that aspect.
“I’ve gotten back into playing a lot of touch football this summer which has me a bit fitter and definitely ready to go when it comes to this weekend.”
Tidswell is joined by club-mates Phil Tonkin, Chris Plunkett, Tom Hollis and Tom Joseph in the team, while there are a number of other players with whom he has spent time on the field in past campaigns from the other clubs.
In most outfits he plays in, Tidswell is easy to pick out given his sheer size, but maybe not so much in this year’s Blue Bulls pack.
Alongside him is Parkes second-rower Israel Symington, while the front row has plenty of physicality as well.
“The bloke at tight-head [Amoni Vea] is absolutely enormous, he’s got about 20 kilos on me,” Tidswell said.
“‘Izzy’ is a big boy too, there’s going to be no shortage of size there.
“From our point of view the idea is pretty simple. We’ve just been told to stay in and play as tightly around the ball as we can. We’ve played very strongly in the trials and managed to mostly do what we’ve been asked.
“Having not been there for the last season, I don’t know a lot about what the other teams are going to bring. I really haven’t got a clue what sort of football we’re going to come up against.
“It is great to be back, though, and it has helped having those Bathurst guys there too, particularly at training, it’s helped me get right back into things.”
In addition to the five Bulldogs players, CSU duo Hugh Medway [openside flanker] and Jack Garrad [bench, outside backs] will also line up with the Blue Bulls.
CENTRAL WEST: 1. Chris Plunkett , 2. Pete Nau, 3. Amoni Vea, 4. Israel Symington, 5. Hayden Tidswell, 6. Dan Ryan, 7. Hugh Medway, 8. Lachie McCutcheon, 9. Tom Hollis, 10. Mahe Fangupo, 11. Scott Burgess, 12. Mesui Lemoto, 13. Filisone Pauta, 14. Tom Joseph, 15. Phil Tonkin.