By Mary Maidiotis
St George Illawarra Dragons prop Jack de Belin is feeling rejuvenated ahead of his side’s fixture against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium, Olympic Park on Monday.
The Cootamundra Bulldogs junior spent the week off relaxing with family and friends back home during the recent representative period, in addition to watching some local football games and supporting his junior club.
De Belin, 24, admits he was disappointed to be overlooked for the NSW Country Origin team but is looking forward to getting back into training ahead of Monday night’s clash.
“The time off was great, it was really necessary for a lot of the boys as a few of the bodies were a bit sore,” said de Belin.
“I went back home to see family and friends, just relaxed and watched some local footy at my junior club, the Cootamundra Bulldogs, they’re doing really well which is good to see.
“It was definitely disappointing to miss out on NSW Country selection, I thought my form warranted a spot there, but life goes on and I’ll use that as motivation to keep getting better and hopefully next year I’ll be able to go one step further and earn a call-up.
“It’s tough to be overlooked, especially when you feel as though you’ve done enough to earn a spot, you just want to prove the doubters wrong and show why you should’ve been there so I’m keen to get out there and keep getting better.
“It’s good to have the rep boys back, I know they were eager to get back into training and we had a great little session so we’re looking forward to the Bunnies.”
