http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19006899-2722,00.html
'Adopted brother' Webb supports Hunt
Dan Koch
May 03, 2006
WHILE Karmichael Hunt's decision to turn his back on the Kiwis may have disappointed and even angered many in the tight-knit New Zealand camp, his opposite number on Friday night, Brent Webb, is empathetic to the youngster's plight.
Born and raised in far north Queensland to a mother from Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, Webb knows better than most the dilemma Hunt faced in deciding where his allegiances lay.
Webb was a high school star during his time at the powerful rugby league nursery at Kirwin State High School in Cairns and headed to Brisbane to play for the now-demoted Wests Panthers in the Queensland Cup after finishing year 12.
A versatile back with blistering speed and capable of filling any backline position, Webb was recruited by the New Zealand Warriors at the end of 2001 and has not looked back.
He made a remarkably smooth transition to the NRL and by the end of 2002 was one of the most consistent performers for then Warriors coach Daniel Anderson, having nailed down the fullback spot.
Life seemed to be cruising along for the gifted custodian until Anderson threw a spanner in the works when he asked him about pulling on a Kiwi jumper in 2004 after he had qualified to play for New Zealand under residency rules.
"Daniel was in charge of the national team as well at that stage and New Zealand was a little light on for fullbacks and he just came up and asked if I knew I would be eligible for New Zealand," Webb said.
"I didn't really know how to take it at first. I mean, I still considered myself an Aussie at that stage. But I went back and had a really good think about the opportunity that I might have to play international football. Then I spoke to my family about it. I spoke to them a lot and they gave me their full support, which is what sealed it for me.
"I made my decision and it's one of the best calls I have ever made. It has been an incredible experience to be part of the New Zealand team and it really feels like home for me now."
Friday's match will be Webb's 11th appearance for the Kiwis and while his accent still has a distinctly Australian twinge, he acknowledges the word "bro" - a particularly New Zealand slang term - is becoming a part of his vocabulary.
He has also managed to live the dream of all New Zealand boys - performing the traditional pre-game Haka in front of packed stadiums alongside legends like Ruben Wiki and Stacey Jones.
"The boys say it is one big family, so I guess I am a bit like the adopted brother," Webb joked. "They have all welcomed me with open arms since the first day in camp and I have lived out a fantasy, you know.
"I certainly never dreamed when I was growing up playing for the Cairns Kangaroos that I'd be doing the Haka for New Zealand in front of a full house at Lang Park."
Clearly a man who enjoys his existence as a professional footballer, the ever-smiling Webb said he found it "pretty funny" that the opposing fullbacks on Friday night would be representing the other man's country of birth, even if some of their team-mates don't get the joke.
"Good luck to him, if that's how he feels," Webb said.
"I just hope he is as happy with his decision as I am with mine. I hope he doesn't regret it for one second, because I haven't. I get excited every chance I get to be a part of the Kiwi squad and it's something that I am really proud of now."
And what about the feeling he gets when he hears Advance Australia Fair blasting through the loudspeakers while he looks across at the men in green and gold from the other side of the field.
"Yeah, I nearly started singing that first time, but I hardly remember the words now, bro!"
Does the group that has welcomed Webb include Webster and Pritchard or have they been ignoring him the whole week?
