ORANGE Hawks will be on the hunt for a new halfback for the 2014 Group 10 season after Western Division star Scott Rosser agreed to terms to play with the Collegians Rugby League Club in Wollongong.
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Rosser will wear the No.7 for the Illawarra Rugby League champions, returning to a region he first played lower grade football at with the St George Illawarra Dragons back in 2009.
Approached by former NRL player now Collegians coach Reece Simmons to play next winter, Rosser said the chance to ply his trade in the tough Carlton Cup competition was too good an opportunity to refuse.
“I haven’t signed anything yet but I’ve agreed to play with them for next season,” Rosser said, having already attended one training session with the Collies prior to Christmas.
“Reece rang me up and said they were looking for a halfback, it’s a good opportunity for me.”
Rosser returned to Hawks mid-way through the 2012 Group 10 season, but it was in 2013 the Bloomfield junior made his mark.
Rosser was the form player of the competition over the course of the opening month of last season’s premiership, guiding Hawks to an undefeated record and top place on the Group 10 premier league ladder.
Debuting at a senior level for Group 10 in the side’s dominant 30-14 win over then reigning Tier 2 Country Rugby League Champions Group 11, Rosser’s representative performance propelled the classy pivot to the next level.
But a broken hand suffered in Western Division’s 40-28 loss to the Central Coast put a massive dent in Rosser’s season, sidelining him for nine weeks.
He came back in Hawks’ final round win over Cowra - a victory that earned the two blues the Group 10 minor premiership - before helping the club to within a win of the major title, eventually going down 22-14 to CYMS in the grand final.
Rosser was thrilled he and his junior club enjoyed a largely “successful” 2013 season, but said the tougher Illawarra competition was where he wanted to play in 2014.
“I’ve got a lot of mates down there,” he said, adding the chance to take Collegians to back-to-back titles was also a major draw card for him.
“There’s a heap of good players down here at the moment; Jason Ryles is playing with one of the other teams and there’s a couple of other NRL boys floating about.
“The area won the country championship last year, too, so it’s very strong.”
The Simmons and Rosser combination isn’t a new one.
The pair joined forces as coach and halfback at a SG Ball level with the Dragons, a club the 22-year-old spent three season at.