‘He inspires all of us’: NRL legend Carl Webb comes home to Dalby for epic footy weekend

GALLERY: The Dalby Devils have rallied around a homegrown hero and raised a staggering amount of money for an organisation close to their hearts. See all the action from the big day here:

NRL legend and former Dalby Devil Carl Webb returned to his old stomping ground at the weekend, with an epic day of football held in his honour.

The rugby league icon was back at his past club for its biggest day of the year, with the community rallying to raise vital funds for the Carl Webb Foundation.

Webb was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in early 2020 when he was just 38, previously describing how the degenerative disease changed his life.

This weekend’s event saw an incredible $10,000 raised for Webb’s foundation, which was set up to raise awareness of the disease and support for the MND community.

It is the second year the Under 17 boys team chose Webb’s foundation as the day’s beneficiary.

Captain Hayden Taylor said the decision was a “no-brainer”.

“Carl’s inspired all of us with the way he’s approached his disease,” Taylor said.

“He’s a good country man and he never forgets about Dalby, we love him.”

During the event, the NRL icon spoke of his love for Dalby and what it meant to come back to the town he grew up and played footy in.

“I love coming back here, it’s a hometown for me and I get to see friends and family,” he said.

“I just love the support they’ve shown from organising all this – the raffles, baked sale – they’ve done so much.”

Webb’s diagnosis came nine years after he retired from the sport, with a stellar career that saw him play 187 NRL games between 2000 and 2011, and 15 State of Origin games.

Under 17s boys trainer Steve Gillett said his team was so inspired by the footy great they wanted to top last year’s event.

“When the boys heard about Webby’s plight they really took to it. They love his story and they wanted to make it even bigger this year, which they’ve done,” he said.

Taylor presented Webb with a $10,000 cheque, with proceeds of a golfing tournament later in the year to also go to the foundation.

“I really appreciate everything you guys do, you all look great today with the special jerseys, let’s keep going with this and see where we go,” Webb said.

GALLERY: Dalby Devils rally for Carl Webb round

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