EMUS PROP AGES LIKE A FINE WINE

Schulte gets his first Heelers jersey at 36

Queensland Heelers debutant Jay Schulte and red wine have something in common as they both get better with age.

Goondiwindi Emus veteran Schulte has eluded the perils of time to earn his first call-up to the Queensland Country Heelers at the ripe age of 36.

Maturing like a vintage Shiraz, the four-time premiership winner is taking the competition by storm later in his career after a brief hiatus.

Schulte only returned to action in the Risdon Cup this season after retiring.

“I technically retired in 2015 and I thought I had enough but it turns out I hadn’t - I couldn’t bear standing on the sidelines being a spectator,” he said.

“There is nothing harder than just watching and I was pacing up and down the sideline. People watching thought I was a lunatic.

“It’s a big honour to be considered in that league and I am surprised because I’ve got 10-15 years on those guys.”

The prop has rolled back the years in his return to the game, impressing Queensland Country coach Rob Johnston to end his long wait for a maiden selection to the squad.

“He has come back fitter and stronger than we have ever seen and now he is the most dominant prop in the competition,” Heelers coach Johnston said.

“He’s certainly a bloke who’s chased it for a long time and it is pleasing to see as his coach.”

An inspired decision to lace up the boots paid off for Schulte, who feels he is back at the top of his game. “I think I am fitter than I have ever been,” he said. Just a day after hearing about his selection Schulte then received news he said trumped any rugby honour; two more additions to the Schulte clan in the form of twins.

“There is nothing quite like your children being born, nothing compares to it and it’s far more special than any rugby jersey you can get,” he said. “But maybe good things coincide, because good things come to those who wait.”