Packer ecstatic with national call up
Western Australia’s Cody Packer was thrilled to be named as a member of the Right at Home Australian Jackaroos squad following last week’s squad announcement that also included Queensland’s Matt Lucas in the contracted player list for 2022.
The final two male spots in the national team were being contested by Packer, Lucas and Victoria’s Jay Bye-Norris, with one to miss out following the announcement.
Speaking on Bowls Australia’s (BA) ‘The Right Line’ podcast, Packer said his initial feeling was jubilation, and labeled the relationship he built with his counterparts as another highlight of the process.
“I was over the moon to say the least, when Gaz [Gary Willis] asked how I was feeling I couldn’t really put it into words to describe how special it is,” he said.
“I was hopeful and there were a little bit of nerves there, but I did get myself to a point where I’d put in the work and trusted in what I was doing, and if it was enough it was enough.
“If it wasn’t, Jay, Matty and I built up a pretty special relationship and whoever got the spots deserved them.
“It was a unique situation in which we found ourselves in and it was going to be hard for whoever did miss out, but me and Matty have both reached out to Jay and let him know that we’re there for him if he ever needs a chat because we know that if it was us, we’d want that as well.”
While the end result was one of joy for Packer, the route to finding out his selection was far from conventional thanks his phone number being incorrect.
“Gaz and Kaz [Karen Murphy] are going to hate this but I actually didn’t get the initial text message, I’m sure they’ll appreciate the humour but I think there was something wrong with my number in the system,” he said.
“I actually got notified by Jay to say congratulations, but he left it until after I was meant to get it but yeah something went wrong.
“I eventually managed to get a copy of it.”
Packer is the first Western Australian male to represent Australia since Stewart Davies in 1998, and he is extremely proud to end the wait from nation’s west.
“Knowing it’s been a bit of a dry patch for WA makes this very special so I’m very humbled and very grateful.”
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