By Jonathan B Geddes

FOR Hunter coach Darren Coleman, Saturday’s clash with Warringah means a lot more than his Wildfires team chasing a vital win and recapturing their early season form.

The afternoon will prove that the rugby spirit runs far deeper than players running around the field for 80 minutes each weekend.

That’s because it is the Lachie Ward Country Round at Rat Park, which pays tribute to and honours one of the club’s larger than life characters, who passed away in 2017 while playing in a fifth grade game at Rat Park against Gordon.

It is fitting that Coleman is the opposition coach on the special day.   

“DC” was the new Warringah head coach in 2017 who not only navigated the club through the overwhelming grief and emotional minefield but defied the odds with an extraordinary effort guiding the Shute Shield team to win the premiership in one of the great grand finals.

Eight years on and Coleman’s imminent return to Narrabeen with the Wildfires still provokes strong feelings of that incredible time which will stay with him forever.

“It’s going back to a place I just have so many fond memories of,” Coleman told Rugby News.   

‘A HIGHER POWER’

“IT was a really special year,” he said, “It was the most satisfying because it was the most challenging.”  

“DC” is no stranger to dealing with adversity – as he did last season as under-pressure Waratahs coach when the team was losing with a big casualty list.

“But it (2017) was challenging on another level -on a human level – that was probably the biggest thing,” he said.

“It was so challenging almost to the point that it was our superpower in the end – the fact we were all so tight and emotionally charged for the back half of that season.

“I still say genuinely there was a higher power involved in that success.

“I’d like to say it was a great tactical and technical masterclass of coaching but if ever there was a competition won on emotion, that was it.”        

That period also saw Coleman forge lifetime bonds – those with Lachie Ward’s family some of the strongest. He is looking forward to catching up with the whole clan after Saturday’s game.    

“They say tragedy brings you together – and there’s no doubt that did,” Coleman said.    

“Obviously it was a major event in everyone’s lives, I’m looking forward to paying my respects on Saturday.” 

NO HORSING AROUND

AFTER their strong start to the season, the Wildfires are currently in fourth spot. In their last four games they have been beaten by Manly, Gordon and the Two Blues, with a one point victory over Randwick.

“I definitely feel we have hit a bit of a midseason dip in form, but the Randwick and Two Blues games have been bending back in the right direction,” Coleman said.

“We put a lot of energy into starting the season well and we did.

“Maybe we were a horse which ran out of the gates a bit quicker than anyone else. We’ve come back to the field now by the look of it and we have to figure out if we have a home straight kick in us.”

UP FOR THE CHALLENGE 

COLEMAN said if things had worked out differently he may have been coaching the Tahs against the Lions on Saturday night.

“But if I couldn’t do that there was no place I’d rather be than Rat Park, so it has worked out well,” Coleman said.

The coach said the beauty for Hunter is that they play Warringah (second) and Eastwood (third) in their next two games.

“We have a great opportunity to control our own destiny,” Coleman said.

“We definitely want to finish in that top three and get a home play-off game. To do that we’ve probably got to win at least one, if not two, of our next two games.

“We are super excited by the challenge of going down to Rat Park. We’ve had a couple of losses and people have probably started to jump off us a bit.

“So if we can get the win, it’s going to be a good achievement.”

Coleman’s rival coach on Saturday Josh Holmes was the star halfback in Warringah’s 2017 premiership side.

“He has never beaten me (as a coach),” Coleman said. “I’ve only coached against him once, but I’ll take it.”