Gidley: Westwood could have been a success in NRL

Warrington Wolves’ Kurt Gidley has heaped praise on his teammate Ben Westwood ahead of the forward’s 400th career appearance.

It has been a great career so far for Westwood, who originally started out as a centre before moving into the pack.

Gidley is one of many Wolves players who have paid tribute to Westwood this week, and the utility back has said that Westwood could well have made it in the NRL.

“As a player he’s a superb competitor,” Gidley told the Warrington website.

“He’s tough, uncompromising and to play 400 games is an absolutely incredible effort from him over a long, outstanding career. I can’t wait to watch him play it, and I can’t wait to finish my career playing a few more games with Bennie!

“I definitely think he could have made a success of himself in the NRL if he had chosen to go that way.

“He’s such a tough player, and still so fit for a guy of his size and age. He was probably a bit quicker back in the day though, I know he used to play centre!

“He’s had an outstanding career, but I think I love him as a person more than as a player to be honest. I just love him being around training, whether it’s in tough moments in training, or for the social side of it.”