HEY JUDE! Broken bones and busy schedule no match for Bust

LOCAL league's sisterhood keeps Past Brothers player on the football field.

Past Brothers Women. Grand Final winners for 2018. Picture: Brian Cassidy

RUGBY LEAGUE: "There's a spot on the field for everyone” and Past Brothers player Jude Bust has undoubtedly made her mark on the football field.

Despite broken bones and work commitments, Bust has cracked a century, playing more than 100 games for Brothers and she has no intention of hanging up her jersey any time soon.

"I've played 101 games for Brothers now,” she said.

"I've retired twice, I retired with a broken leg the first time and then had to be on crutches for three months.

"And then I retired the second time with a broken collarbone, but the girls talked me (back) into it.

JUDE CRACKS A CENTURY: Jude Bust's passion for footy is just as strong more than 100 games for Past Brothers. Picture: Mikayla Haupt

"They're such a lovely team to play for, and they're like sisters really, so that's why I keep coming back.”

First donning the Past Brothers' stripes in 2012, Bust said she started playing league in 2010, when she broke her leg.

Having started playing touch football in high school she didn't play representatively until she was in her 20s and Bust said it wasn't until she reached her 30s that rugby league came into the picture.

"I always wanted to play but there was never a competition here,” she said.

Once they started the local competition and split the girls over four teams, Bust thought she might as well give it a go and she was chosen to go away for rep selection.

"I've done things all around the wrong way - I played rep before I'd played a club game,” she said.

"It's a bit ridiculous.”

Bust said the competition was a drawcard for a lot of girls, it was something new for Bundy, where the likes of Brisbane had a well established competition.

For the past three years Bust has been hooker for Brothers, but on of her more favoured position is playing in the halves.

Emma Collinson was the first girl in Brothers to get 100 games, then Chelsea Morrison was the second and Bust is the third.

"It's a bit unbelievable, I didn't think I'd ever play 100 games, I thought I'd come back, play a year and retire.

"There's a few other girls that wouldn't be far off getting 100.

"The core of the team has been there for the whole time pretty much.

"They've won every year except for one year - we've only lost one grand final.”

She said that grand final went into 80 minutes with double extra time.

"The first year I came back I was really scared, I didn't want to touch the ball I just kind of dropped to the ground,” she said it was almost like a voluntary tackle.

"It took me a while to get back in it, once I got into tackling it wasn't too bad.

"Then when I broke my collarbone it was the same thing, you go through the same motion but now you don't think about it.

"I think if you think about it you're going to get injured.”

For Bust, her passion on the field comes from her team spirit.

"I think it's just the will to win that keeps me going and to not let your team down,” she said. "I hate to let my team down, so that's what keeps me driving.”

Playing in four different touch competitions around the region, women's league tag and AFL this year on top of her league games, Bust said fitness was a big key to football.

"A lot of people think you just go there, train, turn up on the weekend and have a run around, that's it,” she said.

"But if you want to improve and go higher, to higher places, fitness is a really big key.

"It helps you get through that 60 minutes, you've just got to keep pushing. Even if you're really, really tired.”

Bust said the games actually go by quite quickly, looking up at the clock with only five minutes to go.

"Anything with a football, I'm keen to have a go,” she said.

For women considering playing, Bust said to give it a go.

She said it wasn't as daunting as people may think and "there's a spot on the field for everyone”.

Throughout her long-standing league career, she said a highlight would be playing every game and only missing two in that period for work.

And the other stand-out moments were representative selection.

This weekend she will be one of the ladies heading down to the Sunshine Coast for the 47th Battalion competition.

Bust said when it came to rep football, everyone wants to try and go that step further, something she thinks they have the Jillaroos to thank.

"There's a lot of girls in this town that could go and play for the Jillaroos if they just put their mind to it,” she said.

For the league star, she said retirement was coming, but still a few years away.