When the Hunter Wildfires began lobbying for entry to the Shute Shield competition back in 2020, Donny Freeman is exactly the type of player the club talked about.

While Hunter’s first focus was to provide a pathway for aspiring rugby players in the Newcastle and Hunter regions, they also wanted to create a home for country kids from around the state that wanted to take their rugby seriously without moving to the big smoke.

“We’ve actually had 40 new country boys join our colts program this year which is fantastic for the club. It’s great to see that country players are seeing Hunter as a genuine rugby pathway,” Freeman told Rugby News.