RUGBY LEAGUE –
captain, coach and Friend
u With the Counties Manuka o Stingrays set to launch int the 2021 NZ Rugby League National Premiership, the squad’s playmaker and skipper, Jethro Friend, spoke with JON RAWLINSON.
Growing up, my brother had a poster of legendary Kiwis’ halfback and south Auckland league star Clayton Friend on his wall, whereas Counties Manukau Stingrays and Howick Hornet, Jethro Friend, was raised in the shadow of the real thing. “Both sides of my family have strong rugby league connections. One of my cousins (Bronson Harrison) played in the NRL and for the Kiwis, as did a few of my uncles as well as my dad [Clayton Friend],” Jethro explains. “I guess there has been a bit of pressure from myself to live up to the name and do my family proud. Sometimes I had to, maybe, work a little bit harder to prove myself because people expected it because of my last name.” From Clayton to his cousin (Warriors’ foundation captain) Dean Bell and more, Jethro’s extended family has such strong connections to the game that it’s a veritable ‘who’s who’. Even his grandmother, Cathy Friend (who passed away in June this year) was practically rugby league royalty, receiving a Queens Service Medal (QSM) for services to the sport in 2008. However, to Counties Manukau Stingrays’ fans, Jethro is a Friend indeed, often in the thick of the action. The Hillpark local is likely to play a pivotal role for the team in the upcoming NZRL National Premiership. Playing at hooker and as dummy-half, Jethro is ideally positioned to lead the squad.
12 | south | august 2021
Photo Wayne Martin
Jethro Friend.
“As a hooker, you have to be a leader regardless of whether you’re also the captain managing the forwards and making decisions from the middle, so it does fit in. I started as a halfback, like my dad, but one year my coach decided to change things up and I’ve stayed at hooker ever since.” Hopefully, the season opener won’t break the same way last www.southmagazine.co.nz
