By Jon Geddes

WHEN Joe Barakat stepped down as West Harbour coach in 2022,  he recommended Cam Treloar as his replacement.

And after “Tree” was appointed, Barakat mentored his successor for his first role as a head coach.

Now the highly-respected Barakat has taken on the job as Southern Districts head coach, the pair will go head to head when the Rebels play West Harbour in their crucial Shute Shield clash on Saturday at Concord Oval.

There will be no more fiercely contested game this weekend with the teams currently sitting on the bottom of the ladder and chasing their first win after four losses.

WORDS OF WISDOM

THE pair share an association which started in 1998 when Barakat coached Treloar in the NSW Schoolboys.

“I had a lot to do with him when he got the job at Wests, the transition and the handover was a really good one,” Barakat said.

“We met on four or five occasions and I let him know what the place was like and the tradition of West Harbour rugby.

“And he’s been doing a fantastic job there on his own.”

Former Waratahs and Reds forward Treloar said that Barakat’s guidance and knowledge had been a huge help.

“I love talking to him about footy in general,” Treloar said. “He’s a very good coach and a very good man.”                   

 WHO CLIMBS THE LADDER?

THE clash gives the Rebels and Pirates the chance to get their Shute Shield campaigns back on track.

“It’s a huge game, we are both desperate for a win,” Treloar said.

Barakat added: “I think both teams are just falling short of finishing off their games.”  

THE FINALS WORD

DESPITE their current situation, there is still belief in the two camps that they can fight their way into the top six.

“It seriously is a comp where any team can beat any team,” Barakat said.

“So even though we are 14 points behind the leader at the moment, you win two or three games and that can put you in a position where you could be there at the end of the year.”

That view was echoed by Treloar.

“It’s not panic stations yet, it is only round five,” he said. “And the most anyone is in front of us is three wins, we just have to start stringing them together.”    

THE BREAKDOWN BLUES              

IT has been a frustrating campaign for both clubs, who have been competitive but have also stumbled along the way.

“We are two steps forward one step back at the moment,” Treloar said. “We fix one part of the game and then another part leaks. It’s just a matter of getting it to click and when we do we will be OK.”

Barakat has faced his own challenges at Souths.

“I will give you a statistic that I spoke to the boys about this week – we have had 80 turnovers in four games and the next team has 61,” he  said.

“We have had 58 per cent of possession in all our games and we’ve had opportunities, but just keep turning the ball over.

“We know we are not being beaten by better teams, we are beating ourselves.

“We just need to make sure we have the ability to build pressure by  holding onto the ball.       

“We have a great group of players with a good culture and they want to turn things around.”