Former Mullum junior joins NRL big league with Wests Tigers

FORMER Mullum junior Jy Hitchcox has carried on the strong rugby league tradition in the town and is the latest Giants junior to make his debut in the NRL.

TIGER: Former Mullum juniors Matt Mulcahy (left), Jy Hitchcox (centre) and Jacob Miller have been part of the Wests Tigers system. Hitchcox played his second game of NRL last night. Picture: Contributed

FORMER Mullum junior Jy Hitchcox has carried on the strong rugby league tradition in the town and is the latest Giants junior to make his debut in the NRL.

Hitchcox played his first game on the wing for the Wests Tigers against defending premiers Sydney Roosters last week.

Tigers were thumped 48-4 with Hitchcox the only try-scorer in his side.

It has been a six year journey for him to get to this point.

He was part of the Gold Coast Titans NYC team in 2009 before joining the Storm the following year.

Hitchcox then moved to Sydney and played Shute Shield rugby union with Manly before ending up at the Tigers NSW Cup side in 2012.

The 25-year-old follows in the footsteps of Jacob Miller, who was a Mullumbimby junior and also played for the Tigers.

Miller played a handful of games over three seasons before signing with Hull in the English Super League last year.

Mullumbimby has strong links to the Tigers with former halfback Matt Mulcahy winning a National Youth Competition grand final along with Miller in the Under-20s side in 2012.

Another former Giants junior has also made a home at the Gold Coast Titans.

Cody Nelson has played a handful of games since making his debut in the eighth round of the competition against the Tigers. Hitchcox played his second game of NRL against the Canterbury Bulldogs last night.