When Jersey Flegg forward Rhys Dakin heard his Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks coach George Ndaira was leaving to take the reins of Newtown Jets in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup, he hoped his phone would ring.
And it did.
“He’s really motivated me over the years; George tells me how he wants me to play and I really respond to that,” Dakin told nswrl.com.au.
Dakin has come through the Sharks pathways since he was 13 after playing his junior football with the Gymea Gorillas.
“Through Harold Matthews, SG Ball and three years in Flegg I played everywhere in the forwards – prop, lock, second row,” he said.
“I play my best games in the middle, defensively and in attack. That’s where I like to be as it suits me.
“Last year was my last in Jersey Flegg but when George got the call up to Newtown, I was lucky enough to get a call from him…I really liked getting that call.”
On Friday 10 March against the Parramatta Eels, he will play his second match for the Jets. At the club’s season launch, Ndaira singled out Dakin and a few other Jersey Flegg graduates as those he was looking forward to seeing flourish in the higher grade.
“He backs my game and doesn’t want me to stray away from it,” Dakin said.
“I ask him all the time what more do I need to do? But we have a fair few ball-playing forwards already, so George just wants me to tuck that ball under my arms and run hard.
“Defensively he just wants me to shut things down – that’s what he expects of me.”
Photo: Courtesy of Mario Facchini - Jets
Dakin had a taste of NSW Cup standards, when he played both Jets trials against the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
The season proper is going alright as well – the Jets opened with a 26-6 win over South Sydney.
“It definitely has been a real step-up for sure, but I knew it was coming so I stepped up my own game and felt like I’m contributing well,” Dakin said.
“George has confidence in me and that helps me a lot.”
Dakin has always known where he wants his football to take him.
“Definitely first grade, I’m here to play NRL,” he said.
“It’s been my dream since I was nine years old. It’s what I work every day for.
“I come from a New Zealand background and my dad has always wanted me to play union. But Rugby League has always been my love.”
