By LIZ MOORE

Souths coach Todd Dammers has found a wellspring of young talent from the central Queensland Capricornia region, and believes it will play big dividends for the club on and off the field. 

The growing central Queensland contingent is a tactical move from Dammers who initially came back to Souths to help coach Colts, and was looking to increase depth through recruitment.

“My first instinct was, if we’re going to do this, we need to do this in a way that is sustainable and also has an impact,” said the Souths Premier coach. “A lot of my recruitment training or a lot of the stuff I’ve seen at Sydney Uni or at Nudgee College, and a lot of their, I guess, tentacles of recruitment were country guys. 

“I thought to myself, well, Souths is running dead last in Colts, so attracting GPS talent is going to pretty difficult,” Dammers said. “But, if you had a look around the clubs, outside of UQ, there wasn’t too many teams chasing country lads and so I stumbled on a contact in central Queensland and it all got the ball rolling from there.” 

The success Souths enjoyed with another ‘country contingent’ of young stars in the 1990s is not wasted on Dammers either.

“In essence, when Souths were really, really successful in the 1990s, that’s what they built a lot of their strength on, the Toowoomba lads, Timmy Horan, Garrick Morgan and Jason Little.

“I grew up around Souths in those times, and it’s a bit of back-to-the-future in it. Peter ‘Doubles’ Daley and I talk often,” Dammers said. “Doubles was a bit of the architect of those recruiting drives into the country, and we often have a bit of a laugh about ‘what’s old is new’.”

Back in the present, Rockhampton’s Theo Fourie was the first Capricornia player to be recruited by Dammers three seasons ago.  

“Then from that point on we sort of just struck this really bubbly oasis with them,” Dammers said.

Dammers came across former Samoan international, Onehunga Mata’uiau, who runs a Rugby Skills Academy out of Mackay and has been instrumental in connecting Souths with talented young rugby players from the region.

“It’s all a bit serendipitous,” Dammers said. “One and I have struck up a friendship, and then all of a sudden I was leaning on him for information on certain guys and then he would tell me ‘this is a young man you might want to talk to, fits your scope’. 

“Rugby’s the richer for having One involved in central Queensland. Obviously it goes well up there, but having a guy with his passion and his drive, brings life to it.”

He is full of praise for the eight players Souths has recruited from the regional area which includes Rockhampton and Mackay, including Theo Fourie, Liam Fletcher and Lukas Ripley who are proving standout players and people. 

Fletcher and Fourie both live in the Premier coach’s granny flat and have impressed Dammers’ wife and kids as much as himself and the wider club.  

“To be honest with you, they just bring old-school values, in terms of they work hard and they’ve got lovely manners,” Dammers said. “I know that sounds old-school, but that’s something I’ve got a really big thing about. That’s infected what we’ve done at the club.

“I think it brings a little bit of life perspective,” Dammers said. “It brings a bit of a larrakinism as well. These boys, and this is not to disrespect the people who have come from GPS schools, they haven’t had everything laid on a platter. 

“These kids, especially guys like Theo, who’s been in the cycle with us for his third season, he’s starting to become a big voice within a group, and Liam is the same. 

“And I can tell you Lukas Ripley will be a huge voice within the club. When that voice has got good character, good manners, has got a bright outlook on life and positivity, gee whizz, it’s a nice place to be around.

“And that’s not to take into account that they’re all wonderful footballers in their own right. I guess that’s the cherry on top.”

Dammers, who works a team-building and leadership facilitator, offers the same welcome to the regional players, and indeed all his players. 

“I believe ‘Mate, if you turn up and you do the job, we’re prepared to give you your chance. It’s then what they do with that.”

“It’s easy to go to training cos we genuinely get along and enjoy each other’s company. These kids make it genuinely like you want to bounce out the door and even just have a chat. It’s nice, it’s really nice.”

Look out for Rugby News’ profiles on central Queensland’s Liam Fletcher, Lukas Ripley and Theo Fourie in coming weeks.

IMAGE: BRENDAN HERTEL / QUEENSLAND RUGBY MEDIA UNIT