Fiery prop Matt Lewis has added plenty of starch to the Queanbeyan Kangaroos forward pack this season. Photo: Andrew Johnston
IF ever there’s a campaign to resuscitate Reg Reagan’s campaign to bring back the biff, it’s a fairly safe bet Queanbeyan Kangaroos prop Matt Lewis will be front and centre.
With his bullocking charges and no-holds barred style, Lewis has been a conspicuous presence for the Kangaroos since returning to the club this season.
And with the Roos gearing up for a third-straight premiership tilt, the fiery front rower has emerged as a leader of the competition’s most feared forward pack.
“I don’t mind getting stuck in,” Lewis says. “I tend to fire up a bit, I don’t like to let anyone try to push me around really. “There are a couple of us boys, me and [lock] Troy Whiley and [backrower] Adam Pearce who fire up.
“I’m pretty happy to take on that enforcer role, that’s what I like doing. We’ve got a pretty big pack and we’re pretty physical and that’s how we want it, we want teams to be worried when they play us.”
A long-time Roos junior, Lewis started with the club in the under-6s and played a major role in the club’s drought-breaking championship success in 2010.
Last year however, saw him step away from the sport entirely as he struggled to maintain the commitment required to play first-grade footy.
“I was just lacking a bit of motivation and needed a break,” Lewis says. “I mucked around not doing too much last year but it meant I was raring to go this season, I was definitely keen to get stuck back in.”
His return has proved a major boon for the Kangaroos with Lewis having cemented his reputation as one of the competition’s leading frontrowers this season.