2013 Super Bennie Westwood Testimonial Brochure

BRIAN CARNEY
He doesn’t bounce into the gym and
break records. I wouldn’t ask him for
dietary advice and I’m sure he thinks
GPS is the latest boyband.
Ben Westwood defies sports
science and I guess he is a reminder
that you can’t measure heart.
EDDIE HEMMINGS
I love the characters we have in Super League don’t you?
And let’s face it they don’t come much bigger than Ben Westwood
do they?
He is the type of player you want
beside you when the game gets hot.
I think at times Bennie
forgets to get tired.
He is the complete forward and that
has been recognised at club and
international level.
He has had a mortgage on the players
player award at Warrington and has
been hard to leave out of squads when
the Aussies and Kiwis come to town.
But don’t for one minute think the man
is modest.
No one is more aware of his talents
and willing to promote himself !!!
He “accidentally “ drops his impressive
weekends match stats into
conversations and signs off emails
with “Super Bennie Westwood”.
As he says, “where’s the shame in
being the best” !!
All the best for your
testimonial year Bennie.
He’s 31 but seems to have been around
for ages but when he arrived at Warrington
in 2002 in the deal that also saw Nathan
Wood arrive from Wakefield I’m sure there
were many fans who said Ben who?
Over the years he has more than answered
that question - having been signed
as a centre he made his debut for Warrington
against London in Carcassonne on
June 22nd 2002 and scored two tries but
never-the-less the Wolves lost 18-30. But
Ben had arrived!
It took him a few years though to really
find his feet and having started 2005 in the
centres, battling for a place with the likes
of Martin Gleeson and Toa Kohe-Love
settled in the side, it was a chance move
into the forwards that really set him on the
road to stardom.
Ben was a sub in the first game that year
and when Paul Wood got injured the call
came for Ben to get on and replace him
with the instruction to take the ball in
and tackle. He won the Man of the Match
award and the rest is history.
Being such an aggressive player on the
field he has often had his brushes with the
authorities - he was sent off in Paul
Cullen’s first match in charge of
Warrington at Widnes in 2002 for instance!
Off the field he’s a different character
altogether. He doesn’t shout about things
from the roof tops but always has time to
stop and have a chat with anyone who
cares to talk to him.
His tough no nonsense style has won him
England caps, a place on Four Nations
Tours and also World Cup appearances in
2008 and never once has he taken a
backward step for club or country.
Now it’s his Testimonial Year - good luck
with it Ben - not many deserve it more
than you.
He’s one of the great characters of Super
League and as I said at the start
don’t you just love ‘em!!
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