RUGBY LEAGUE
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All of Wellington will be glued to their television sets tonight when their product Blake Ferguson makes his debut for NSW in the State of Origin at the ANZ Stadium.
It has been a roller coaster ride for Ferguson.
He was taken away from his mother and placed in the care of his dad’s parents in Wellington when he was 13.
He played junior footy for the Wellington Cowboys before moving to Sydney and playing in the NRL for Cronulla and now Canberra.
His consistent performances got him his first Country Origin representative jumper and scored two tries for his team in their 24-22 loss to City in Mudgee last year.
Two months ago he was stood down and nearly sacked from the Raiders after the infamous rooftop drinking session with Josh Dugan.
But he was given a reprieve from coach David Furner and now the 23-year-old will play in his biggest match of his career.
All of the Wellington community is proud of him.
But none more so than Ferguson’s “grandparents” Rex and Joan Sutherland.
In April 2012, when The Weekly contacted Joan about Ferguson’s selection for Country Origin she could not wipe away the tears.
“I am so proud of him. He has achieved what he wanted to achieve. I am so thrilled,” she said at the time.
One year on and she is preparing to head to ANZ Stadium tonight to watch him play for the Blues.
Ferguson talks to his “nan” and “pop” everyday, and he said they were the reason for his success.
“My pop called me... there were a couple of tears in my eyes,” Ferguson said of his selection.
“My family are so proud of me. Unbelievable, they’re so happy.
“It means a lot to me. I think it means the world to every New South Welshman to get a Blue jumper.”
If it wasn’t a stern dressing down from Joan, Ferguson might not have been given this opportunity.
“We all had a good talk to Blake about that [rooftop drinking session],’’ Joan said.
“Anthony [Mundine, Ferguson’s cousin] spoke to him and so did Bobby [Joan’s son and Ferguson’s manager]. I said to him, ‘pull your head in. If you want to climb up the ladder, you can’t be doing the things that you are doing.’ There are a lot of good role models around him, and he has the chance to be one.”
The Wellington Cowboys club are certainly excited to see their young product play against the Maroons and they wished him all the luck.
- with Brad Walter and Ben Horne