![Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles fullback Jesse Prinsse loves playing for the club. Picture by Adam McLean Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles fullback Jesse Prinsse loves playing for the club. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kZL4qV6yTxfrWZJxKQxjSN/7364663c-43b3-4929-bed6-47595f87f1fb.jpg/r0_107_3721_2439_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Kyle Williams and Jesse Prinsse epitomise everything good about the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles.
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The duo started their rugby league journey playing for the Eagles as juniors and now represent the first-grade side competing in the Group Seven rugby league competition.
But it is not just on the field that Williams and Prinsse contribute to the club they love.
The 28-year-old Williams has served on the Eagles committee and works for the NRL in game development, encouraging young boys and girls in the region to play rugby league.
His team-mate Prinsse may only be 21-years-old but for the past few years he has also coached, last year guiding Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles under 15s side to premiership success.
Eagles president Ken Booth said the good thing about the club was that thousands of good people like Williams and Prinsse had played instrumental roles in seeing the club reach 100 years of existence.
Many of these "selfless people", including current and former players, officials and supporters will attend a gala dinner at HARS Albion Park Rail on Saturday, June 10.
The Eagles will announce their Team of the Century at the event starting at 6pm.
Celebrations to mark the Eagles' 100 years in the Group Seven rugby league competition have been running since the start of the season, with club officials expecting upwards of 400 people to attend the gala dinner.
![Kyle Williams in action for Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles. Picture by Adam McLean Kyle Williams in action for Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles. Picture by Adam McLean](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kZL4qV6yTxfrWZJxKQxjSN/8baf9f71-8ec7-4b90-85b4-bb6dc13e2f0c.jpg/r0_78_4386_2817_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Williams, who plays either hooker or halfback for the first-grade side, said he loved the club he has represented for the past 21 years and couldn't wait to celebrate the centenary with many of the people 'who made the club so great'.
"It's going to be a great night," he said. "It's going to be good catching up with old friends and just celebrating this club.
"I'm pretty chuffed to be a part of the centenary year."
Williams has had his fair share of highlights since joining the club to play for the under seven's Eagles team.
Over the years he has also served on the committee since 2013 and coached the club's under 18s team.
"For me a major highlight was that I got to win an under 18s grand final in 2012 with some team-mates I grew up with," he said.
"In 2019 we were lucky enough to win a reserve grade premiership and probably most recently over the last couple of year I got to play with Luke Patten.
In 2019 we were lucky enough to win a reserve grade premiership and probably most recently over the last couple of year I got to play with Luke Patten.
- Kyle Williams
"I've been fortunate to play with some other great players including Josh Sainsbury, Jake Brisbane, and Dylan Lucas, who is now playing for the Newcastle Knights. In the under 18s I played with Adam Clune and Drew Hutchinson, who are also playing for NRL clubs."
Prinsse was also glad to be a part of the Eagles club which stuck by him through two knee-reconstructions.
"I love this club. They have stuck by me when things have been tough and I'm happy to do what I can to repay that loyalty," he said.
"I love playing for the club with all my mates. We've struggled a bit but I'm sure we'll start to string some wins. It's a good culture at the club at the moment and it's great fun to be a part of it.
"It's pretty good vibe at the minute. Although we haven't had many wins this year we feel a part of something special.
It's a pretty good vibe at the minute. Although we haven't had many wins this year we feel a part of something special.
- Jesse Prinsse
"Although it hasn't correlated to winning yet, it's different playing with your mates and striving for success as a group."
The 21-year-old also loves coaching Albion Park youngsters to premiership success.
"We won the comp last year with the under 15s, that was a great experience. I'm back at it this year. It's fun coaching them, it's good to give back to the club.
"The club has always supported me. I did my ACL when I was in under 15s and they looked after me when I returned. Nine months later I did it again but the club stuck by me and supported me during my rehabilitation."
Having played for the club for 14 years, Prinsse has had the opportunity to play with a number of player he grew up watching when he was a kid.
"Presenting [Jarrod King] with his jersey when he reached his 100th game was a highlight for me. I think I was only 10-years-old at the time. Our juniors often present jerseys to senior players when they reach milestone games.
"As luck would have it there are a couple of players that I play with now that I presented a jersey to when I was in the juniors. That's a pretty cool experience that I've really enjoyed. It's great being a part of this fantastic club."
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