It’s a long way to travel from Florida to Narooma for a game of football but that’s the trip two American men have made this year to play a season of rugby league with the Narooma Devils in the Group 16 competition.
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Roderigus Ceasar and Sterling Wynn have settled easily into the lifestyle of Narooma enjoying the great weather and beautiful environment while training hard and becoming key members of the Devils team.
In the USA, they both played for the Central Florida Warriors in Deland, Florida where they met teammate and Narooma boy Lance Wright. Lance had gone there following another American, Taylor Alley who played for the Devils in 2014. Read about Taylor here
Most people don’t think of the USA as a source of rugby league talent but there is a growing competition on the East Coast with 14 clubs from New York to Florida.
Ceasar, as he likes to be known, is from a small town called Hazlehurst in Georgia, where he played high school basketball, gridiron or American football and ran track and field. He first played rugby union at Kennesaw State University then graduated to rugby league in Florida where he has played for two years.
He is a lightning fast winger who has amazed the crowds this season with his speed and has scored at least one try in each game he has played, including a scorching 90m intercept against Bega, which ended with a spectacular swan dive under the post!
Sterling is from Sanford in Florida which is just north of Orlando. He played “flag” football in school and progressed to the high school gridiron team and also ran track and field. In his last year of high school he played rugby union and since then has played rugby league with the Jacksonville Axemen and for the last two years with the Warriors.
With the Devils he is proving to be a tough tackling centre or fullback and is getting better every game as gets to know his teammates and the team’s style of play.
Both Ceasar and Sterling describe the Australian game as a lot harder physically than in the USA with junior rugby league from an early age providing players with instinctive skills. Earlier this year both Ceasar and Sterling played for the USA Hawks against the strong British team Leeds and both have ambitions to cement a spot in their national team.
The Devils’ American recruits have proved to be great blokes on and off the field. They’ve fitted into the team smoothly, made many friends and are really enjoying the lifestyle in Narooma. They are wonderful ambassadors for their country and we hope they come back next year!
