Matt Giteau’s influential role in Gordon’s Shute Shield finals campaign
By Jon Geddes
INVALUABLE “work experience” alongside Wallaby great Matt Giteau proved the ideal preparation for halfback Harrison Goddard as he plays a key role in Gordon’s finals campaign and readies himself to join the NSW Waratahs next season.
In what would be a once in a lifetime education for any aspiring young player, Goddard was halfback with the maestro Giteau his five-eighth for two seasons at the LA Giltinis team in Major League Rugby.
Talk about on the job training from a master craftsman.
And 24-year-old Goddard said his game really benefited from the influence of Giteau, who won 103 Test caps for the Wallabies and amassed 698 points between 2002-6. His international career should have continued for a lot longer, but that is another story.
“He took me under his wing a bit and he is a very composed player,” Goddard said. “He is a rugby icon and to train with him fulltime was good.”
Thanks to Giteau he learnt a lot about the crucial art of game management.
“How to structure a game, where to play the game, where to put the ball, bouncing ideas off each other and it worked pretty well,” Goddard said. “It was awesome, an unreal experience.”
Giteau is also the perfect role model for what can be achieved through a professional approach and hard work as demonstrated by the fact he was still a very competitive player this year at the age 39.
“It’s a credit to him, he’s almost 40 and smashes everyone on the fitness testing,” Goddard said. “And when you see someone work hard you want to work as hard as them.”
Goddard also got a lot out of working with another former Wallaby star Adam Ashley-Cooper, firstly as a Giltinis teammate and then as the team’s backs coach.
“He is very detailed in his attack and I learnt a lot off him,” Goddard said.
“Playing with some good people and good coaches over there allowed me to play good footy and obviously got me the opportunity to come back.”
DAD’S BLIND SPOT
NOW back home in Sydney, Goddard can turn to another former champion halfback for advice – his dad Glenn.
He played 270 games for Parramatta and was a mainstay in the champion Two Blues’ sides who were premiers in 1985 and 1986.
Those teams, coached by the larger than life character Paul Dalton, also included Andrew Leeds, Gregg “Tiny” Melrose, Peter Kay, Mick Carter, Peter Koen and Brad Selby.
“From an old Parra No.9, I always try to get him to use the blindside a bit more,” Glenn said.
He says there are some really good opportunities there and that has proved to be sage advice for Harrison.
“In the LA Giltinis side’s semi-final he used the blindside and they scored the winning try,” Glenn said.
FROM LA WITH DC TO NSW
WARATAHS coach Darren Coleman was well aware of what Goddard had to offer, previously coaching him at both Gordon in 2020 and then with the Giltinis. Now he has been handed his big Super Rugby opportunity next season.
“It’s good to link up with DC (Coleman), we have a good relationship and the Waratahs has been my childhood dream coming from NSW,” Goddard said.
After signing with NSW Goddard returned to Gordon, again linking up with his brother Jordan, the Highlanders No.8.
Gordon coach Brian Melrose described Goddard as “just a marvellously composed player”.
No doubt Giteau’s influence has been instrumental in part of Goddard’s game.
Goddard has now played five games since his return from the US and will again line-up in Sunday’s sudden death semi-final against Randwick at Coogee Oval.
And he thinks the Highlanders’ team has been building nicely.
“I watched them when I was overseas and the last six weeks have been pretty good,” Goddard said.
“We have some quality players there and obviously coming into the finals it is do or die.”
He said the performance in last Sunday’s 36-20 quarter-final win over Warringah at Rat Park was a good build-up to the clash with the Galloping Greens.
“I thought our defence was really good,” he said. ”I think in the last couple of weeks our defence has been a bit shaky but we showed a bit of grit.
“And we are going to need that next week, Randwick is a pretty classy team and they play attacking footy so we really need a good solid defensive game – and we probably showed that.”
HIGHLANDERS KEEP BREATHING
MIDWAY through the minor premiership Gordon were floundering and their finals campaign looked doomed.
But their revival coincided with the return of the return of the dynamic Waratahs’ hooker Mahe Vailanu.
Now they are still alive in the second week of the finals after another standout display by their No.2 against the Rats.
Vailanu hurt his shoulder early in the second half and eventually left the field. But he told Rugby News on Sunday he would be right to line up against on Randwick this weekend.
“We have been surviving for a long time now and we really do just take it a week at a time,” Melrose said.
“We kept breathing when we won the first game two and half months ago – and we are still breathing today.”