In his third full season in the MLR, the 25-year-old fullback helped the Chicago Hounds clinch the first berth into the 2026 MLR Playoffs, contributing to the team’s unblemished record with three weeks remaining in the regular season. Winning is a common theme with Webster – MLR teams have won more than 80% of the time when he takes the pitch.
As Webster stacks wins, he’s also piling up the accolades. This year alone, he earned Player of the Week honors in Weeks Five and Seven alongside appearances in multiple First XV teams.
His standout play comes after an offseason of changes – a rules change that made Canadian players take up international roster spots instead of domestic ones, a contraction of teams in the league and a resulting battle for roster spots – but the Ontario native gladly made the move from the New England Free Jacks to join the Hounds when he was offered a spot on the team.
“I was just grateful to still get a shot and get a crack with Chicago,” Webster said. “When that opportunity presented itself, it was pretty easy to say yes to.”
The opportunity came off the heels of one of Webster’s top individual performances. In the 2025 MLR Championship with the Free Jacks, Webster was named Man of the Match after setting up two tries, recording 52 kick meters and 49 carry meters made and winning a jackal, making plays across the park. Winning the MLR Shield capped a season of growth for Webster, and he noted the club’s culture of winning played a key role in that growth.
“I think the team in New England, obviously with two championships to their name already, was already quite established,” Webster said. “There's a lot of really good players there, and so for a guy like myself to be able to come into an environment like that, I would say I was put in an environment that offered me the most potential to grow as a player and grow that confidence back.”
Webster’s resurgence came as he recovered from an injury. After feeling some pain in his foot, he had a precautionary X-ray that was ultimately diagnosed as a Jones fracture, sidelining him for nearly two years. Two surgeries and two full rehabs later, he took the field with the Free Jacks in 2025 to earn 16 appearances.
“I think that there was a huge season of growth for me,” Webster said. “I came into that team in New England, coming off what was like a two year injury for myself, and I essentially went from having no confidence in myself as a footy player to growing over the course of the year. It was a bit of a revival for me in that way.”
And Webster has continued to develop this season in head coach Chris Latham’s system. The skipper – a former fullback and multi-time Australian Super Rugby Player of the Year himself – has made Webster a key part in the Hounds’ gameplan. Latham’s knowledge of the position and coaching philosophy have elevated Webster’s game and pushed him to be a leader on the field.
“To come into the environment and really be backed by him right away, I've just felt really valued by him,” Webster said. “He wants my input and is empowering me to just express myself as a player and play my game. It's been a blessing to me, honestly, and I've felt really motivated and excited to play coming into this team.”
This season, Chicago’s undefeated play has been stellar, but there’s plenty of unfinished business for the Windy City Club. A season ago, Webster was on the other side of the infamous Chicago penalty kick that would have won the game, but instead hit the post, sending New England to a third-consecutive title game. The season prior, the Hounds put together a playoff run before falling a possession short in the Eastern Conference Finals at the hands of the Free Jacks.
Webster is weaving the Hounds’ history of “almost” with his experiences as a champion from last season as he seeks to guide Chicago to its first MLR Final in franchise history.
“I think within that success of the seasons Chicago has had the last couple years, in particular, it comes with a belief, knowing that they have it in them,” Webster said. “It doesn't dictate how we look at things – our past doesn't dictate where we're at now and how we're going to build this year – but it definitely still plays a part in motivating us.
“You feel it in the group. You feed off of it – we just want it, we know we can get it.”
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