RUGBY LEAGUE
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Bathurst products and Penrith Panthers players Doug Hewitt and Brady Cheshire were in the region on Friday to impart their knowledge on eager young school students.
The talented league players were in Blayney and then Holy Family School at Kelso where they ran students through a series of drills aimed at improving their basic skills.
Hewitt and Cheshire were accompanied by another young Panther, Toby Evans, from Parkes.
For Hewitt in particular, it was a great experience because he was a Holy Family junior and attended similar clinics himself which played a role in him making his way to an NRL club.
"Penrith have sent us back here to do a couple of coaching clinics with Wade Judd from the CRL. Basically we are just trying to encourage kids to get involved with the game we love so much and hopefully they can love it as much as we do," Hewitt said.
"I had plenty of clinics when I was at school and even afterwards I had a few with Juddy, but I haven't been on this side where you are the one kids are looking up to. It's a different perspective but I've enjoyed it."
Judd was particularly pleased with effort that the Panthers players put into the day.
"I've had 50 or 60 NRL players who have come out here and done these clinics and I reckon these guys have been the best that have come out. They have been very enthusiastic and what they have passed on to the kids has been great," he said.
Both Hewitt and Cheshire have been playing in the Bundaberg Cup this season, Hewitt representing the Windsor Wolves and Cheshire the Blacktown Workers.
Unfortunately for both, their chances of taking part in the under 20s Toyota Cup were dealt a blow early in the season when Penrith revealed they had exceeded the salary cap by just round eight. Still, they made the most of their time in the Bundaberg Cup against players who are much older and more experienced than themselves.
"It's been different. It's a whole new level. It's a lot quicker. Training wise everything has to be 100 per cent. You are training three to four days a week. It takes its toll on you, but the rewards pay off," Hewitt said.
"My season I was behind the eight ball, I missed most of the pre-season because I played overseas.
"When I first got down there, there was a lot of catch up work. I started in Bundy Cup and in round eight I found out Panthers had gone over the salary cap in under 20s, which didn't help my cause at all.
"I played Bundy Cup with Windsor and that's a physical comp against men and if anything, it has probably put me in a better position for next year."
The Wolves team were knocked out in the second week of the semi-finals by Cabramatta while Blacktown had a tougher season and finished ninth in the 10-team series.
Both Hewitt and Cheshire are hoping that they can make the step up to the Toyota Cup next year to help their careers progress, although they know they face some tough competition.
"Hopefully I can play 20s. There's always a massive squad to start off with. We started with 50 this year and they pick a squad of 25 or 30, then once you make the squad, you have to make it from there. They pick each week's team and if you aren't in that, you train for next week," Hewitt said.