Meet the young Wigan Warriors forward who is aiming to be the club’s next big Australian import – Total Rugby League

Wigan’s radar for spotting overseas talent has proven quite accurate over the years and Rease Casey aims to prove it works just as well in the women’s game.

WIGAN Warriors. It is a name synonymous with rugby league around the world.

Five-time World Club Challenge winners, 21 Challenge Cup trophies, six Super League titles, as well as League Leaders’ Shields, plus multiple Championship, Premiership and Regal trophies – the Cherry and Whites really have won it all .

It’s no wonder that when a player gets the opportunity to play for a club with such a rich history, it’s a chance that’s often too good to turn down.

That was exactly the position Rease Casey found himself in when faced with the decision of whether or not to move halfway around the world to join a Wigan side intent on breaking the monopoly of Super League’s ‘big three’ and bringing even more success. at the newly named Brick Community Stadium.

She made the jump alongside former Western Clydesdales teammate and new housemate Nirada Phonsaya and feels their arrival in Super League, as well as England internationals Fran Goldthorp, Hollie Dodd and Georgia Roche moving to the NRLW, proves that similar opportunities are available to others.

“I had been playing the game for 12 years at home and I just wanted new opportunities and to do something a bit different,” said Casey, who started out as a netball player before switching to rugby league when her father coached her brother at Litchfield. Bears in the Northern Territory.

“So when this opportunity came up, I thought, why not?

“One of our Clydesdales coaches had played in France and knew people from here. He knew that if I was offered something overseas I would like to try it and he was probably talking to someone he knew because he gave me another guy’s phone number. When I spoke to him, he told me that Wigan were looking for players and offered something, so I decided to take it.

“It was daunting at first though and there were a few second thoughts here and there, but I just didn’t want to stay in Australia for the rest of my career and then look back in the future and regret not taking this opportunity . experience the game in England.

“The thought of them coming to me was daunting for my family too at first, but soon they just told me to do it. They knew I would like it, and if I didn’t, there would be home to go back to.

“They’ve all been very supportive so that’s helped too. Nirada and I are good friends from home, so it’s good that she’s here too, going through the same things as me. We can help each other through it, which is a good thing too.

“Wigan are seen as one of the great clubs in Australia, particularly with their successes in the World Club Challenges against NRL teams.

“Whenever I mentioned who I signed for, people would say, ‘Seriously, the great Wigan Warriors’ – they knew all about the club and it’s quite popular back home.

“Knowing they had that reputation added to the appeal of joining them. I also knew I was coming to a club with good facilities and good lanes, which was great.

“They also set me up with a job at their Community Foundation and I coach kids in schools and work on the skills-based programs we run.

“The club brought me in with that support system and they’ve already done so much for me and that’s not always something you get back home.

“I just love the game of rugby league. It’s everything I work for and it’s why I do what I do. The love of the game brought me here and I’m enjoying my time at Wigan so far. We started the season well and everyone is so energetic and excited about the rest of the season.

“With us coming here and the English players coming out to the NRLW, it’s great that the doors are opening for girls to experience different opportunities, not just in rugby league but in all sports.

“Our moves have led to others asking how they can do this, so it’s great that we’re starting to open up so many avenues for other players around the world.”

While Casey was aware of the club’s reputation, the same could not be said when it came to the reputation of her coach – Denis Betts.

Despite her long and illustrious association with Wigan, the 21-year-old didn’t know much about who would be working on these shores. But she quickly saw the benefits her vast knowledge and experience in the game brought.

“I didn’t know much about Denis before he came to us,” admitted Casey, who also played for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and represented the Indigenous Roosters Academy as an 18-year-old.

“But once I got here, I found out he was a legend at this club.

“He’s a great coach and it probably helps that he has five daughters. Women can be a little harder to deal with sometimes, but he knows how to handle it.

“He’s very positive with us, brings out all the good we do in games and doesn’t focus too much on the negatives. I think that helps in the women’s game and the girls have responded well to it. We all enjoy having Denis as our coach.

“I’ve already learned so much from him and I’m really excited about what I can learn from him for the rest of the season.”

Since winning the inaugural Super League title in 2018, much has changed at Wigan Warriors, with the club bringing in more players from their own academy structure and adding to that experience from elsewhere, including Casey and Phonsaya.

While at the Clydesdales, the Australian duo played alongside World Cup winners Ali Brigginshaw and Kezie Apps and Casey believes the knowledge they will gain from these two stars can be used to help Wigan challenging the likes of St Helens, Leeds Rhinos and York Valkyrie. good luck this year.

“I guess every team and every player says they want to go all the way every year, but that’s what we want to do,” added Casey, who has joined a Wigan side heading into the Challenge Cup semi-final against Leeds. , had won all seven of their previous matches and qualified for the Finals of the Nines tournament.

“Our aim is to show people that there is another team that can beat those three clubs that have been at the top of the ladder for the last two years. It’s exciting to be able to challenge that.

“It would mean so much to me to bring more success to this club. It would be amazing to be able to say I came here, played in the Super League and got to a grand final.

“I don’t think there are words to describe how I would feel if we could do this. I have never experienced anything like this before so it would be something completely different for me.

“I think we have all the pieces here to do it, we just have to stick together as a group and fight until the end. We have already seen that even if things don’t go too well on the field for spells, no one gives up, keeps their head up and fights to the end.

“Denis knows what it takes to win the big games and be successful and that will help us keep our heads calm and focused on what’s important when we get into those stages of the big games.

“I learned a lot from girls like Ali and Kezie at home. With Ali being a fly-half, I’ve picked up a lot of little things from her in terms of attacking play, while Kezie is a strong defender and a strong forward player, so what I’ve learned from her it helps me a lot now. m more in the middle. I hope I can pass on some of those skills to the girls and help Wigan in that way too.

“It will be a challenge but I’m always up for a challenge and I can’t wait to see what we can do against the bigger teams.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 497 (June 2024)

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