By MARK CASHMAN

It says something about Southern Districts lock forward Jake Douglas that our conversation about his 150th game milestone last weekend against Eastern Suburbs steered to numerous subjects, none of them about the man of the moment.

There was the joy of seeing another Yamba boy Jed Holloway fulfil his undoubted potential at the Waratahs this year, the big things that he sees brewing at Forshaw Rugby Park, his time as club captain and the concern for those on the far north coast in the wake of the floods.

“Jed’s six months younger than me and his athletic talent has always been undeniable,” Douglas told Rugby News.

“You’ve just got to look at him, he’s six foot five and just an absolute Rugby beast. He can beat anyone in a straight line sprint but he’s come back from Japan grounded and is now taking all that athletic potential and putting it into his Rugby.

“The time in Japan (at Toyota Verblitz under head coach Simon Cron) working with Michael Hooper and Kieran Reid was obviously great for him and we are seeing the benefits of all that just about weekly now.”

Rebels teammate Conor Young is another Yamba boy to get a crack at Super Rugby Pacific in recent weeks joining the Queensland Reds as injury cover.

Douglas, 28, came to Sydney a little over a decade ago following his older brother Kane, who was at that time on track to Test footy and a Super Rugby title under Michael Cheika at the Tahs, to the Rebels.

He played colts and instantly fell in love with the culture of the game and “The Shire.”

“At Yamba I grew up playing rugby league and only really had a little bit of a dalliance with rugby for one season when I was about 12,” Douglas added.

“So the game didn’t really come into my orbit until I came down to Sydney for the last year of colts. 

“Kane said come to Sydney and play a bit of footy and that was when I fell in love with the culture of rugby and the community around it.

“In rugby league there are probably 20 guys in a wider squad and you get 15 to training but my first training session at Souths there were 70 colts there.

“By the end of the next month there were all my best mates and it’s the same now.

“When I came to grade I was always the young bloke but that I suppose has all changed over time and I feel more comfortable being in the leadership group.”

There hasn’t been much time in his schedule in recent times to check things out on the far north coast in the wake of the floods.

Douglas works in quality control at a major construction company in the Shire and won’t have the time to check in at home until the season is done and dusted.

“The family home is in Yamba and we generally don’t get flooded out, but we do get flooded in,” Douglas said.

“The devastation has been more around Lismore, Casino, Ballina as well as Byron Bay and it’s always hard to look at the vision.

“I spoke to (former Souths teammate) Alex Gibbon who is at the back of Kyogle on the family farm and he has been helping a lot with the clean up which is great.

“There’s obviously a lot to do and you just feel for all those people who have been affected by all this.”  

The Rebels are at the bottom end of the Shute Shield competition table as we head into Round Six, but Douglas feels that a turnaround is on the way.

They are in 11th spot on the ladder but a win over the Two Blues this weekend would slingshot them into the top six.

“I just feel that we have underperformed, not only in the Shute Shield, but right across the whole club,” Douglas observed.

“In first grade there has been a lot of change in our spine but you could see against Easts that a lot of those connections are coming.

“The Two Blues this week are going along well and they will be tough that’s for sure.”