Rhys Wesser

Rhys Wesser

Rhys Wesser in 2005
Personal information
Full name	Rhys Joseph Wesser
Nickname	Sugar, Rhys Lightning, Wesser The Expresser
Born	(1979-03-31) 31 March 1979 (age 33) Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	86 kg (13 st 8 lb)
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Wing, Halfback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1998–08	Penrith Panthers	177	113	1	0	454
2009–11	South Sydney	41	16	0	0	64
	Total	218	129	1	0	518
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2004–06	Queensland	4	0	0	0	0
As of 16 July 2010
Source: RLP

Rhys Joseph "Sugar" Wesser (born 31 March 1979) is a Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the NRL. A Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he previously played for the Penrith Panthers, with whom he won the 2003 NRL Premiership.

Early career

Wesser began his rugby league career in Rockhampton having moved there, with his junior club, the Rockhampton Brothers. At age 16, Wesser was selected for the Queensland Under 17s representative side which helped him catch the eye of several NRL clubs but none more than the Penrith Panthers.

Before making the move south Wesser finished his schooling at Emmaus College, Rockhampton, Queensland and also helped his School side take out the Mal Meninga Under 19s Cup being the fourth fastest 19-year-old in the state, running times around 11 seconds in 100 metres.^{[citation needed]}

Penrith Panthers

Debuting in 1998 Wesser moved from his hometown of Rockhampton to the foot of the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, to play for the Penrith Panthers but he found trouble in pushing for a first-grade spot with Peter Jorgensen holding that title. Three years later Rhys was given the opportunity to play first grade with the departure of Jorgensen. Wesser scored ten tries in his debut season despite Penrith finishing last on the premiership table.

In 2002, he scored a Penrith club record of nineteen tries, including three hat-tricks, and was dubbed "Rhys-Lightning" and soon became a crowd favourite with his acceleration and line-breaking ability. The following season Wesser bettered his own record by scoring on 25 occasions, earning the title of the most prolific try-scoring fullback for a season in the history of Australian rugby league. The Panthers won their second premiership title, narrowly edging out the Sydney Roosters in the 2003 NRL grand final in which Wesser played at fullback.

Wesser's try-scoring declined in 2004 with the addition of Amos Roberts to the squad but he still scored thirteen tries. In 2004, Wesser was selected to play of the Queensland State of Origin team.

Wesser's 113 tries is the most scored by any Penrith player.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

In 2008, Wesser announced that he would be joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2009 for a two-year deal.^[1] In only the second round of the 2009 season, Wesser injured his knee.^[2] He made his return to the field in the 2010 NRL season. On 12 August 2011, Wesser announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.,^[3] wesser finished his season for the Rabbitohs with his knee injured and could not play the last games of the 2011 NRL season.

References

External links

• Rhys Wesser at Rugby League Tables
• Official Penrith Panthers Webpage
• Penrith Panthers vs Melbourne Storm Round 5 2005