- Played for Broncos, Cowboys and Eels
- Was a feared enforcer for Queensland and Australia
- Fought to the end after developing MND
NRL enforcer Carl Webb has died aged just 42 after a four-year battle with motor neurone disease.
Webb died Thursday evening after a courageous battle with the neurodegenerative disease.
Webb played 12 games for the Queensland Maroons, marking his debut with a try in the iconic 2001 series, a pivotal moment in a Wayne Bennett-led transformation that left a formidable NSW team in turmoil.
Webb was a well-liked, funny and engaging man off the field, but a feared enforcer, who forged a stellar career with the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys before ending up at Parramatta.
Carl Webb, pictured training with the Queensland Maroons, has died aged 42 from ALS
Webb leaves behind a legacy of being a much-loved but tough rugby league man who fought to the end
He was a Queensland and Australian representative who bled for his jersey before facing his own health problems in retirement.
Webb had made the Maroons jersey his own and played for the Broncos for four years before making the shock decision to move north to play for 'little brother'.
The Cowboys had by then become known as a retirement home for washed-up players, a reputation Webb shattered when he helped lead North Queensland to a first major final in 2005.
A close friend praised Webb for his toughness both on and off the field.
“Carl was an absolute wrecking ball… the person I once saw as Mike Tyson (heavyweight boxing legend),” he said.
A host of rugby league legends, including Matt Bowen, Petero Civoniceva, Greg Inglis, Lote Tuquri and cricketer Chris Lynn, came together for a charity match in October to raise money for the Carl Webb Foundation.
They played against a side that included Todd Carney, Greg Bird, Will Chambers, David Peachey and former UFC star Mark Hunt who was raising money for Huntington's Queensland.
“Looking forward to running with these legends tomorrow,” Carney wrote at the time.
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