in July 2005 when he was abused by South Sydney Rabbitohs captain Bryan Fletcher. In 2006, he signed a three-year contract to play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs starting in 2007. Castleford Tigers Widders joined Castleford (Heritage № 899) for the 2009 season. He played 19 times in his first season for the Tigers, scoring 6 tries. Widders started 2010 in great fashion, scoring the final and clinching try away at Headingley in Castleford's opening game against the Leeds Rhinos. Widders picked up an injury and missed 2 months of the season but came back and played in an unfamiliar role of , linking up with Rangi Chase. Widders played in 2011 and had a good season, which was his final season at the Castleford Tigers. The club failed to make the playoffs after a narrow defeat by Hull KR. Widders said his final goodbyes to the Castleford public in the last home game against Hull F.C. Off-field In 1997, Widders returned to Duval High School in Armidale to complete his Higher School Certificate. Widders is very well respected in his hometown of Armidale. In 2004, he was awarded the NRL's Ken Stephen Medal for his positive work with youth in the community and, in 2006, he was appointed to the Federal Government's National Indigenous Council. Widders is also an Ambassador for the National Aboriginal Sports Corporation Australia (NASCA). In November 2018, Widders participated in the Legends of League tournament for Parramatta, which was held at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford. He is coach of the Parramatta Eels team in the 2022 NRLW season. Career highlights Junior Club: Armidale, Narwan Career Stats: 219 first grade games scoring 59 tries Representative Honours: Country Origin (2006), Prime Minister's XIII (2007) Honours: Minor Premiership (2005) with Parramatta Footnotes External links Castleford Tigers profile Literally, Eels bookworm is a national hero Article on Racial Vilification Incident Deadly Vibe interview with Dean Widders Community Champions - Dean Widders 1979 births Living people Australian Aboriginal rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Castleford Tigers players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players North Sydney Bears NSW Cup players Parramatta Eels players Prime Minister's XIII players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Armidale, New South Wales Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Roosters players