Once Upon a Time: A Tigertown Tale

Once upon a time in Tigers town, a young cub named Kurtis Rowe prowled patiently.

He was born across the ditch in Taranaki, New Zealand, but little Rowe had moved to Australia when a new cub club had signed him. He had trained at Keebra Park State High School in Queensland- the preparatory home of many great Tiger cubs before him. The young male excelled in his training and soon began his first days as an official Wests Tigers Under 20s cub. Consistently labelled a delight to teach by his trainer, Todd Payten, he played for two years. Sprinting joyfully down the field, dodging the enemy and tackling them forcefully whenever they came near him with the ball was exhilarating. Weighing only 82kg, the cub excelled at moving quickly and squeezing through the burly opposition. He continued to excel through the ranks and was apart of both the Australian Schoolboys squad in 2011 and the Junior Kiwis 2013 representative teams, where he crossed the line twice to score.

With the turn of age, Rowe graduated to the NSW Cup side, where the cub was not just regarded by all who knew him as respectful and fit, but also a definite try scorer. With his impressive speed and supporting plays getting him across the line, he scored an incredible 38 tries in just 45 games. Finally, after years of playing with the young cubs, Rowe was called upon to play with the big cats after another Tiger was injured. He was ecstatic.

With the big bosses at the club reassuring the supporters they had made the right choice, the debut Tiger was set to play fullback against the North Queensland Cowboys.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/wests-tigers-name-debutants-kurtis-rowe-and-blake-austin-20140408-zqsbi.html#ixzz2yIKYyPx2

http://www.weststigers.com.au/content/tigers/club/team/profiles/kurtis-rowe.html