First Nations legend Dean Widders said creating good people as well as cultivating talented footballers was foremost in the minds of coaches handling the three-day Talented Aboriginal Athlete Program (TAAP) at NSWRL’s Centre of Excellence.
Forty teenagers aged 14 to 16 – the majority from outside Sydney – will take part in gym and cultural sessions, lectures, passing, tackling and kicking drills, before a game is played on Sunday 8 December at the CoE field.
That will form the main selection trial for the NSW Koori Under 16s team to play a representative match in January next year.
Widders said that while the focus was on developing their Rugby League talent on the field, he and the coaching staff wanted to see the same kind of commitment off it.
“It’s really important to us to develop them off the field as well. We want these boys to learn how good it is to represent their culture at the highest level and to become better men,” Widders said.
“We put as much emphasis on their behaviour in the hotel dining room as we do on the football field or the gym.
“These are young boys here, who are growing fast and there’s a lot of pressure from society on them.
“We want them to make as many healthy choices, good decisions, and positive habits and routines as possible.”
On the coaching staff alongside Widders (above centre), who is a former NRL star and NRLW coach, is Dennis Moran (above right) who played more than 150 NRL (Parramatta) and Super League (Widnes, Wigan, London Broncos) games combined; and Mark Beetson, who is Sydney Roosters Development-Pathways coach, assistant coach for Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s) and son of Immortal Arthur Beetson.
The annual TAAP camp provides the opportunity for young players from rural and remote communities to come and learn about what happens at the elite levels of the game.
The participants were identified from the Koori Knockout, club Rugby League, and schoolboy Rugby League.
Widders said First Nations culture underpinned everything the camp provided.
“It’s a very special feeling when you represent your people. You create a brotherhood with those you might never have met before,” he said.
“But they get together and immediately have that connection. That creates a real sense of unity among the boys of representing First Nations people.
“They listen to each other’s stories about where they’re from and who their families are. That adds an extra layer to all the things they learn about football in these camps.”
Then there was the significance of using all the Westpac NSW Blues facilities at Sydney Olympic Park.
“They wear the NSW shirt and train in the NSW Centre of Excellence… we want these boys to grow up with the aspiration of one day representing the Blues at any level,” Widders said.
“The boys all love the Blues and here they are in a place where their Origin heroes have walked. That’s a really special thing.”
