Tugun pick up top Cup talents
THEIR 2017 coach Martin Griese might cut a hungry figure up the road at Currumbin, but Tugun will be ready and waiting with their latest influx of Queensland Cup talent.
The Seahawks have built quite nicely in the off-season with three headline player signings to complement the recruitment of Clint Barends as coach.
Barends is a Tugun junior and played for the club as recently as the mid-2000s but spent the early part of last season assistant coaching at Queensland Cup level for Tweed Heads.
He had to cut short that stint due to work and family commitments but is happy to be back in the footy scene.
“When I was out last year, I realised I probably missed it a little bit,” he said.
“I got offered the (Tugun) job. I suppose they rang me maybe three months ago and said that they were looking to maybe get me back there. It seemed the right thing to do so I’ve jumped back there for next year and we’re looking OK.”
After missing the Gold Coast Rugby League grand final for the first time since 2010, Tugun have brought back a trio of high-quality former Seahawks to bolster their playing ranks.
Half Keanu Te Kiri returns from a one-year Queensland Cup campaign for Burleigh; lock Nick Harrold joins after Queensland Cup stints at Wynnum Manly and last year Tweed Heads; and Rob Apanui is re-emerging from retirement.
Apanui is the fifth most capped Burleigh Queensland Cup player with 135 games and captained Tugun to the 2016 premiership.
The Seahawks have long been the “Dad’s Army” of the competition but Barends said there will be an increased focus on youth.
“We’re in a bit of a change at the moment – we have got a fair few older blokes who have probably moved on,” he said.
“We’re going to concentrate on bringing a few young guys through from the club.
“They’ve been close to the grand final last year in the reserve grade and they made the grand final in the 19s.
“I don’t feel there is any pressure on me. We’re just going to take a little while.
“It might take a year or two, it might happen beforehand. We don’t know.”