by Paul Cook –

We’ve been here before. Back in 2013 I penned an article – two actually – that celebrated the life and times of two of Australian club rugby’s finest exponents as they prepared to take their grand final bow for Sydney University against Eastwood.

Best mates since childhood, Tim Davidson and Tom Carter were pulling up stumps on a playing career that had already seen them inspire the Students to seven Intrust Super Shute Shield Premierships, as well as carving out a respected living in the professional game with the Waratahs, Force and Rebels.

That they then signed off with a memorable 51-6 demolition of Eastwood in the grand final – arguably the finest club performance in many a long year – to lift an eighth title in nine years, meant they had achieved the fairytale ending they could only have dreamed of.

And yet.

While Davidson threw his boots into the fire and took a 12 month hiatus away from the game that had been his life for some 20-odd years, the only fire Carter dealt with was the one still burning inside his belly for the game that he loves. As a result, his ‘retirement’ lasted approximately four months before he was back in pre-season training, driving himself and his fellow Students to even higher levels of fitness in order to ensure that he, and they, had what it took to sustain Uni at the pinnacle of Sydney club rugby.

But they didn’t.

Having announced a second retirement ahead of the 2014 finals series, that old hunger, rage and desire to be a winner kicked in once again when a long range Ben Volavola penalty booted Southern Districts into the grand final and left Uni out of the last day decider for the first time since 2004.

He duly put his hand up again for 2015, a year that ended with an unheard of nine defeats in total, and a 40pt semi-final humbling at the hands of Manly. Sensing a team – and a club – in relative decline compared to the decade of lofty standards in which he and Davidson had dominated, his focus this season has been on leading, teaching and marshalling the next generation of Students in the hope that they go on to re-establish and drive forward the club culture his generation helped to foster, and be the torch-bearers for another decade of success in the process.

It’s proven to be a fruitful exercise, a win over Parramatta in the final round of the regular season this Saturday will see Uni claim their first Minor Premiership since 2009, while the likes of Jake Gordon, Siaosi Halaifonua and Christian Kagiassis have matured into seasoned club players, with the professional arena surely ready to welcome them with open arms anytime soon. With Davidson now back from his hiatus from the game as head coach, the old sidekicks have gone a long way towards restoring Uni back to where they believe they should be. So when Tom tells me this is definitely his last season, I am naturally sceptical.

“This is it, it’s time for me to go and give someone else an opportunity to bring in some different ideas,” he says, trying to convince me. “I’ve given a lot here and it’s time to give to some other things in my life.”

The question is then, what’s different this time around – why now?

“I think I’ve given the game everything I could possibly give, and I want to go out knowing I can still contribute. But it’s time to create space for some other players to grow in at Uni,” he says. “I know I have some strengths but also, plenty of things that cannot be optimal in a young team that needs leaders to grow. I stayed on before because I just felt that I wanted to give back to the club and to the game that has given me so much. I have always said it is a privilege and an honour to play professional rugby and I wanted to help support the game considering the state it is in at the present.”

Tom discussing the weather with referee Will Houston – Photo: Serge Gonzalez

Scratch a little deeper and he admits that the thought of walking away from the club at a time when it’s mask of invincibility had slipped beyond recognition, was not something that sat easy with him. As someone that bleeds blue and gold, he took it very much to heart.

“I think we probably over achieved to go within a kick of the grand final in 2014, and then last year, I felt the results were very much a massive burden on my shoulders, I felt accountable,” he reveals. “I hardly played any football and then we didn’t even fire a shot in the semi -finals. It is something that will shape my professional career for a very long time and I think still hurts me personally to this day. The legacy of those previous Premiership teams was certainly evaporated.”

Hence the desire from a player that at 33-years-old has already pushed his – as he would admit himself, ‘limited talent’ – to the max throughout his career, to push it that much further and wring out every last drop of ability, nous, knowledge, experience and application before he walks away for good. For a potential last hurrah yes, of course, but more importantly, to restore a proud legacy that had stood the Uni club in good stead for so long.

“The challenge of taking a really young and inexperienced group and restoring some values back around SUFC of how we prepare, play and behave around the place, has made this year really special,” he continues. “Whilst by no means are we the finished product or best practice, we have worked really hard to stand for something and I think throughout the club in all grades and colts we have been able to achieve that. With great pride, I can state we genuinely stand for something again.”

“A lot of people have had commentary around the role at SUFC and what direction we needed to undertake and have undertaken. I felt that this year the best place to lead was through actions from the front, and to support what ‘Davo’ was trying to create. Success has a thousand fathers, failure has none, and I think my character and personality was probably suited to trying to do something as bold as we have this year. Should it not work, I can carry that burden.”

Having become accustomed to success year-upon-year, Carter concedes that the last two seasons have been the hardest he has encountered in his club career. But for someone who has never shirked the hard yards when the chips are down, they have also turned out to be the most rewarding.

“They’ve been the most challenging without doubt, success does a lot of wonderful things but it also masks some as well. The playing group has changed enormously post-2013 with retirements, players playing overseas and moving up into Super Rugby, and I think that what you have seen emerge this year reflects the incredible development pathways that exist, and a really strong plan throughout the SUFC football program.

“The challenges have been very real for SUFC but I am incredibly proud of the effort of so many players, volunteers, staff and people around the club. I think the future, as long as we continue to work hard, looks very promising. I am glad that we have been able to do that.”

Leading the way against Parramatta, with Jake Gordon and Lachlan Swinton in support – Photo: AJF Photography

While culture off the field has been of paramount importance, the approach to the way Uni played the game on it, has seen a seismic shift in recent times from the forward-oriented power game of old. The ball started to go to hand a bit more often under the eyes of former head coach Todd Louden in 2011-12, and became a staple mantra under Chris Malone during his time at the helm between 2013-15. But the class of 2016 have combined that increased width, improved handling skills and offloads, with a pace and intensity that few sides have been able to live with.

However, while that enterprise has brought it’s rewards at one end of the field with 675pts in their 17 matches thus far, an average of 40 per game, it has come at a cost at the other, with 24pts being conceded every 80 minutes. It’s an uncomfortable truth that leaves their genuine title credentials somewhat up in the air given the traditionally tight nature of finals football.

“We have worked incredibly hard at maximising our understanding around our genotype and phenotype within our football program, and it has led to the type of game that we have played in 2016,” explains Carter. “I feel like we have exhibited some very attacking football and skill development within the team, and it is something that our supporters and players can be incredibly proud of. But while I think we’ll be a side that dare to thrill, I don’t think you can give teams 25pts head start in big games, and that’s probably the most concerning thing for me.

“We haven’t been able to field the same team consecutively all year so I think that probably highlights how good our attack has been and what issues that creates with defensive systems. Our intention was to be the best defensive side in the competition, as well as having the best character, and obviously this hasn’t come to fruition. But we have a firm idea of where it went wrong and what we have to do fix it for next season.”

By the same token, that propensity to concede points, often early on in games, or in one specific period of a match, has forced a talented young side to grow a sizeable backbone and fight their way out of trouble. Several times this season they have gifted opponents a significant headstart, only to come back from the dead and snatch victory, or, as was the case with Warringah in round 15, a 41-all draw from 24-3 down. It is a blossoming trait amongst his young apprentices that fills Carter with pride.

“There’s some pretty incredible self-belief in this group,” he affirms. “We’ve had to fight hard and come from behind a few times this year and there have been some games that I won’t ever forget from a playing perspective like Souths away, Warringah at home, Easts away and Eastwood in round one. Even when we lost at Randwick, our first half was pretty diabolical before we came back to push them all the way.

“There’s no panic and that’s probably reflected in the way we keep playing, we have an incredible capacity to score a lot of points in a short period of time. You can’t generate that belief, it obviously comes from something strong within the group and I’m really pleased with their grit and resilience. I think it shows great courage to come back from those type of performances. Some boys became men on those days.”

Back in Time: Celebrating victory with ‘Davo’, Nathan Trist, Matt Carraro and Peter Playford in 2005 – Photo: SPA Images

Whether that will be enough to carry them all the way is the unknown, and Carter, who has been characteristically happy to play things down all year, won’t be drawn into any rash predictions now, despite the fact that they do indeed sit just one win away from topping the ladder for the first time in seven years.

“It’s one week at a time for us,” he deadpans with a smile. “It’s still a young group with little finals footy experience and you can’t force that experience or push it too hard. You only get better at playing in big games by playing in them, and whether we can go all the way will be dependent upon how we can hold those big moments.

“I’m not sure we have enough big game players and we probably don’t have enough depth. You also need a lot of luck and at the moment, the injury gods aren’t smiling on us. But as I’ve said to the group, it’s been the most rewarding and enriching time because I feel like we’ve grown this club together, we’ve grown it in a different direction and we’ve been brave enough to be bold and challenge things a bit.”

Whether Uni win the comp or bow out in the finals, he’s now very much at ease with what he will leave behind. He’s seen a bevy of young talent come through at Camperdown HQ over the years and go on to Super and test rugby, and he feels that the current crop are right up there with there illustrious forebears.

“I think we’ve seen some kids that will be very good 1st graders and beyond in years to come,” he says. “Folau Fainga’a, Lachlan Swinton, Jake Wainwright and Tipiloma Kaveinga have been extraordinary and are destined, and deserve to play, representative football. Gus Roberts has played the best football of his career, Jake Gordon will be a Wallaby and has been the best player in the Shute Shield, whilst Siaosi Halaifonua and Christian Kagiassis will play professional football either in Australia or Europe. And the most staggering aspect of all of this is that we have had season ending injuries to players such as Ben Hughes, Matt Narracott, Brad Wilkin, David Hickey, Guy Porter, Jordan Chapman and Declan Moore.

“The club as a whole is really lucky to have an extraordinary young president in Angus Stuart, a really strong General Manager in David Haigh, and a very clever and innovative Colts coach in Rob Taylor. As long as we continue to develop our systems and performance pathways then the future will be very strong for SUFC, and the character around the place is our greatest strength. We have some outstanding young leaders in Mitch Whiteley, Rohan O’Regan and Jordan Sukkar, and I think after this year, their connection to the past, present and future SUFC players will guide them, and the club, to some extraordinary heights throughout the next few years.”

Christian Kagiassis and Angus Roberts are two more Uni players who have shone in 2016 – Photo: AJF Photography

But what if he doesn’t get the fairytale Premiership ending he could have had back in 2013? Should the season not end in grand final glory, can he honestly walk away for good with no regrets?

“Look, everyone wants a fairy tale ending, and I think people like Hugh Perrett and Ben Batger deserved that. But for me personally, the game has given me so much already that whilst I dream of going out in that way, I am also acutely aware that rugby, and life, is not a meritocracy. The job at SUFC has been so extensive and isolating at times this year, but without doubt the most enjoyable and rewarding of my 16 years at the club. The group of players, coaches, volunteers and senior management team have been extraordinary and that will leave me with some of my fondest memories from the game.

“I have said all year that results are irrelevant. It was all about our identity, what we stood for as people, and to plant some trees that ‘Davo’ and I may never see fully grow, but which will hold SUFC in a very good place for decades to come. If the place is better off than when we started the year, then that will be more than a fitting farewell.”

Tom Carter’s legacy? A royal pain in the arse on the field as an opponent, but absolutely the best bloke you could hope to have alongside you in the trenches. He’ll take that.