Sam Burgess says he’ll ‘think about’ playing for Orara Valley, Bennett delights local fans

Former Rabbitohs star turned Orara Valley Axemen coach Sam Burgess left the door ajar when discussing a possible returning to the footy field as his bush footy club hosted NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett on Sunday.

Orara Valley, who play in the Group 2 competition on the NSW north coast, took on the Macksville Sea Eagles – Greg Inglis’ junior club – played at their home ground in Corambi for the first time in three years on the weekend, with Bennett mingling with fans and casting his eye over the game.

A brilliant solo try to Axemen Ryan Gill wasn’t enough for the home side to get the chocolates, with Macksville winning 26-10 at the picturesque inland town where Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe lives, just west of Coffs Harbour.

Bennett, a close mentor and confidant of Burgess, was pleased with what he saw on a boggy Corambi Sports Ground. 

‘It was quite an enjoyable game, I thought both teams played pretty well and a lot of effort went into it. Macksville were too good on the day, but on another day there won’t be much between these two teams,’ he said in a video posted on the Orana Valley Axemen Facebook. 

‘The Axemen will need to improve their discipline and some of their silly mistakes where they put themselves under a little bit of pressure, but outside that, I liked what I saw. There was a great crowd here and a good atmosphere.

‘Football has always been one of my great loves, but I love country football more than anything. It’s the real grassroots and I was brought up on it,’ said Bennett after the game. 

Crowe has supported the club financially, and the recruitment of Burgess as first-grade coach is a huge coup for a club that had to temporarily fold due to a lack of numbers in 2020.

Burgess, the Clive Churchill Medallist in South Sydney’s historic 2014 premiership triumph, said he’d need to have the red carpet rolled out when asked whether he’d lace on the boots and help his side on the field.

Burgess said he’ll stick to the jeans and polo shirts for the time being, and won’t be lacing up the boots unless the field is up to the standard of London’s famous Wembley ground

‘I believe in my team so they don’t need me. Plus the field don’t look too fresh for me out there…if I see a surface that’s like Wembley, I’ll think about it,’ he laughed, when talking to NBN News after the game on Sunday afternoon.

Given the extraordinarily wet weather in northern NSW over the past few months, one would doubt a country footy ground could resemble Britain’s top stadium anytime soon – but there will certainly be plenty of North Coast groundsmen giving it a crack after Burgess’ cheeky comments.

At halftime, Axemen fans flocked to get their photo taken with supercoach Bennett, who was very accommodating with requests from children and adults alike.

NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett was very accommodating with fans who were keen to shake his hand and have a photo

Bennett struck up a very strong relationship with Burgess and his brothers during the supercoach’s time at South Sydney, something Sam touched on last year as the Rabbitohs ploughed through an exciting finals campaign.

‘I speak to Wayne two or three times a week, have done all year,’ he told Triple M’s Rush Hour with MG and Liam in October.

‘Wayne’s got a habit at the moment. He rings me on his walk from the coach’s box down to the changing room. He’s done that through the finals series, which is pretty exciting.

‘Afterwards, when the final siren’s gone, I speak to him. I’ve got a great relationship with Wayne. I speak to him a lot about a lot of different things.’

Burgess and Bennett watching the game from the coaches box on Sunday

Burgess, who has aspirations to become an NRL head coach, was recruited to the club by Crowe, with the aim to increase numbers and get the club back up and running at its best. 

He saw the opportunity as a win-win for both himself, the town and the footy club.

‘I saw the challenge or the opportunity as something where there’d be a lot of reward in terms of being back in the community, back at the grassroots level in the game,’ he told Nambucca’s News of the Area.

‘That is where we all start and where I fell in love with the game. The joy that I’ll get out of bringing what I might bring to the club and the area was something that I just couldn’t turn down.’