HE spent two years out of the game with nothing more than a few games of touch footy under his belt, but Queanbeyan Blues winger Craig Wilkinson hasn’t had any difficulty finding his feet back in rugby league.
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A month into this year’s Canberra Raiders Cup, the 24-year-old is the competition’s equal leading point scorer with 56 points from just four appearances.
To put his point scoring feats into some kind of context, that’s more than his entire former side West Belconnen has managed over the same period.
It’s an impressive return to action for a bloke who, after breaking his thumb while playing for Westies in 2010, wasn’t sure if he’d ever return to rugby league.
“The last time I was playing was a couple of years ago with West Belconnen and I lasted five games before I broke my thumb and that was the end of it,” he said. “I didn’t really think I’d play again after that.
“My boss at the time said to me to make a choice between footy and work and I chose to put my head down and work for a bit.
“But I’ve got some good mates here at the Blues and they just got into my ear about having a run again this year and here I am.”
With the Blues having struggled to settle on a reliable goal kicking option in recent years, Wilkinson’s return to the fold has proved especially welcome.
Aside from a minor hiccup against Woden in round three, Wilkinson’s radar has been on song this season with the sharpshooter landing six from seven in the Blues’ 40-20 win over Gungahlin last weekend.
Wilkinson has also added a handy five tries to his tally from the boot this season to stand as the Blues’ second leading try scorer behind prolific centre Tyler Stevens.
“It’s good to be end of a good backline more than anything,” Wilkinson said. “It makes my job pretty easy, I’ve just got to catch the ball and put it down at the moment.”
And Wilkinson will be hoping his good form continues when the Blues take on Tuggeranong at Greenway Oval on Saturday.
