Wests Tigers coach Brett Kimmorley has heaped praise on captain Botille Vette-Welsh after the fullback made an inspirational comeback from injury to kickstart the club’s NRLW campaign in style.
Vette-Welsh made history as the club’s first ever try scorer in the competition, running through the Eels in the sixth minute.
The Tigers went on to win 36-8 in a dominant performance.
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Vette-Walsh suffered a knee injury in March last year when playing for the Eels and hadn’t played an NRLW game since the incident.
The fullback is one of Kimmorley’s star signings for the Tigers inaugural season and the coach was impressed with her performance on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s a special moment just to have her back playing, she’s been through a lot of setbacks, she’s our co-captain, a lot of the ladies wanted to play with her or look up to her as a role model,” he said.
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“She’s been outstanding in and around the club for a period of time.
“She made her comeback two weeks ago which was her first game in 15 months.
“That wasn’t a huge amount of minutes but it was to provide confidence knowing today was going to be a big day for her to come back here and play against Parramatta.
“She’s done a heap of work and got herself in a position to play today and she’s really happy.”
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The Tigers are Vette-Walsh’s fourth club in the NRLW, having debuted for the Roosters and spending two stints there while also playing for the Dragons and Eels.
Cross-code superstar Jakiya Whitfield also shined for the Tigers, scoring two tries.
The Eels will play the Dragons next Saturday while the Tigers face Cronulla on Sunday.
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