Sport
25 July, 2022
Hobbler to don the green and gold
MAREEBA’S fiercely dedicated rugby league star May May Hobbler will be proudly representing Australia in Fiji in the coming months for the Under 18’s Australian Schoolgirls team.
May May will head off to Fiji in September, where she will meet with some of Australia’s best school aged rugby league players in a dramatic face off with Fijian representatives.
May May’s dedication to the sport has taken her across Australia including recently representing Queensland in the recent Under 18s State of Origin women’s game.
Overcoming tremendous hurdles in life, sport became May May’s lifeline and she began to train with her brother and father, conditioning herself to be one of the greatest female players in the Far North.
Getting the call whilst bed ridden with Covid, May May and her father were left in tears of joy from hearing the news that she would be donning the green and gold jersey, saying they couldn’t believe it was real.
“Mr Whybird (her school principal) gave me a call to let me know so I looked at the Australian Schoolgirls website and saw my name there,” May May said.
“It was such an amazing feeling, and I went straight to dad to tell him, and we both just started crying.
“This is an amazing opportunity, and I am the only girl north of Townsville who is going away for it.”
Mareeba State High School principal and May May’s biggest support outside her family, Scott Whybird, has been with her every step of the way and will be joining her in Fiji in September.
He has watched her grow in her sport and as a young woman and believes she will represent her country with pride.
“I could not be prouder of May May and how she has overcome the challenges she has had to face,” Mr Whybird said.
“She has a strong focus on the game, and it is not very often someone coming out of Mareeba makes it to this level of competition.
“Women’s rugby league is always growing and is going far, and I am glad May May is going with it.”
