The Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs have broken a 30-year premiership drought in Group 16 and it all started with a pep talk from a high-profile Shark.
True Blue skipper and Cronulla-Sutherland captain Paul Gallen helped rejuvenate the first grade side after being guest speaker at a fundraiser at the Merimubla Bowling Club in the pre-season.
“He told us stories of footy and boxing – it was unreal,” Bulldogs team manager Roger Foote said.
“It was such a successful night that I could kind of tell something was building.”
It was indeed. Merimbula-Pambula enjoyed a 38-18 win over the Tathra Sea Eagles in the Group 16 Grand Final on 27 August and will hold its awards night next Saturday (16 September).
It is a remarkable turnaround considering the Bulldogs took the wooden spoon 12 months ago and haven’t celebrated a first-grade premiership since beating the Eden Tigers (13-4) in 1993.
Foote had initially thought a first grade Bulldogs side would be a bridge too far in 2023.
“Our plan was to concentrate on an Under 18s side as we’d been doing Under 16s for the past couple of years," Foote said.
“We just wanted to get into the juniors and get that pathway going again.
“The first grade side was struggling again to get numbers and a coach … it was looking pretty sketchy.”
Club secretary Danielle Smith contacted Simon Scott – a former Canberra Raiders reserve grade player - and convinced him to take the team on.
“And away we went … he was with Canberra during that classic Raiders era in late 80s-early 90s so he’s an old school coach and we did really well,” Foote said.
“The first few rounds we still had a lot of 18s players – up to six in one game – but as the season went along, we got players back. We did have a couple of 18s hold their spot throughout the year, playing in both grades.”
Now with the Group 16 Shield proudly on display, the Merimbula-Pambula communities are still celebrating.
“It was huge for the guys, it had been so long since we’d actually been in a final let alone win the comp,” Foote said.
“The community really got behind us. All the shops did blue-and-white windows.
“The crowd on the day was massive.”
In a nod to the club’s history, players from the 1983 grand final did the jersey presentation for the 2023 team.
One of those players was Warren Schafer. His two sons Blake and Corey played in this year’s decider.
The goodwill around the Bulldogs this season will flow into next year and beyond.
“There’s players already keen to sign on for 2024,” Foote said.
“We’ve also got sponsors wanting to re-commit. It just gets that community spirit humming.”
