A chance to reunite with some of his junior teammates and be in the same city as his family convinced a homesick Tre Williams to come back to the Canberra Raiders Cup this year.
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The Queanbeyan Kangaroos are thankful he did, because the five-eighth scored five tries last weekend and will be aiming to lead the club to back to back wins this Saturday for the first time this season.
Williams ran the length of the field to score one of his five tries, capitalised on the Bulls frustrated defence to score his fourth and then scored another right on full-time, leading the Kangaroos to a 42-point victory.
The Kangaroos junior came through the Raiders pathway system, playing in the national youth competition before joining the Gold Coast Titans. After a short stint with the Queensland Cup, Williams says he returned to Canberra due to being homesick.
"It was a good opportunity [in Queensland] to better my footy, but I really missed my family," Williams said.
"I'm only just getting back to enjoying my footy again, so I'm pretty happy playing with the Kangaroos."
Williams will also renew a friendly family rivalry in the Canberra Raiders Cup this year. His younger brother, Jordan, plays for cross-town rivals the Queanbeyan Blues and they're set to clash in round 15.
"He didn't play the first time we played the Blues, so it will be pretty cool to play against him and see who the winner will be," Williams said.
Williams is one of 13 players under the age of 25 who have come through the Kangaroos junior ranks to play in the top grade for the club and the young side hopes last weekend's win will help them find their feet as a team.
After a lifeless start, Kangaroos coach Aaron Gorrell is hoping his players will carry a newfound winning enthusiasm into their clash against the Belconnen United Sharks on Saturday.
"It would be nice to start the game how we want to start and apply some score board pressure early instead of chasing all game," Gorrell said. "We've been patchy up until now, going for the easy options and it hasn't been paying off. The boys are starting to stick to their game plan and it's a more pleasing way to finish the game."
Gorrell believes it's the speed of his forward pack that will help Williams lead his team to back-to-back triumphs.
"[Williams'] job becomes easier when our forwards start running hard, giving us some ruck speed. He's a pleasure to watch and I'm looking forward to watching him this weekend to see what he does best," Gorrell said.
