Incoming Singleton Greyhounds first grade coach Jake Hawkins knows what it takes to get the job done.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last year the 29-year-old led his Port Macquarie line-up from the bottom two of the table to a memorable 18-10 Group 3 premiership victory over Port City in the space of just seven weeks.
He now hopes to add a Bengalla Hunter Valley Group 21 premiership medal to the cabinet.
"For me I guess it's something different and what the club has already done off the field is a credit to them so there's nothing really to change from that aspect," Hawkins told the Singleton Argus this week.
"Hopefully I can sort of bring something new to the club in terms of the way we train and play."
Hawkins was first appointed by his predecessor and outgoing club president Jye Bayley on September 26.
The new mentor then met with club officials and sponsors at the Albion Hotel on Friday evening to discuss his plans for the playing group, recruitment and retention before meeting some players on Saturday.
"The Singleton Greyhounds is a very proud club that goes back a long way," he added.
"A few of the boys talk about Gary Gardner and then you have his son (Luke) standing next to me now.
"But it's a proud club that isn't all about money; it's about mates playing for each other and a little town that comes together every footy season.
"That's what makes the Greyhounds."
In the seven weeks since Hawkins was officially appointed not a lot has been said about the incoming coach.
Discussions and speculations have instead gravitated around the departure of former NRL player and first year Greyhound Frank-Paul Nu'uausala who signed with Newcastle RL outfit Kurri Kurri midway through his two year deal with the club.
Yet Hawkins already has two memorable stories which may intrigue the game's true fanatics.
The first chapter of his journey saw him listed with some of the NRL's greatest players of the modern era at the start of this decade.
"I was with the Melbourne Storm from 2009-11 and played two years in the 20s and won the competition," he recalled. "I was the top scorer for two of those years and was the understudy to Cameron Smith."
After three years at the helm Hawkins then represented South Newcastle in the Newcastle RL, a short lived stint before he reignited his NRL career with the Cronulla Sharks. He still pays tribute to his manager Todd Buckingham for the lifeline at top level to this very day.
"But even though I've been at these NRL clubs the Port Macquarie story has probably been the best moment of my career," he continued.
The scene was 2018 and the (then) 27-year-old was recruited by the Group 3 club as its captain-coach for the upcoming season following stints with Newcastle based outfits Maitland and Lakes.
That July, he faced the biggest challenge of his career.
"I was able to get some of my mates out of retirement and the season was looking good," he reflected.
"But then we got six points taken off of us towards the end of the year which took us from fourth to second last because one of our committee members didn't submit a DVD on time.
"I was sitting at home without sleep for a couple of days trying to work it all out.
"We needed to win seven games in a row from that stage just to make the grand final and, as it turns out, we won eight and won the premiership.
"It was honestly the best year of my career."
Though no official date has been set for the commencement of this upcoming pre-season the new mentor certainly hopes to add a third chapter to his already eventful career by ending the Greyhounds' eight year Group 21 premiership drought.
"As for myself, I still feel like I've got some good footy left in me because I'm not 30 yet," he playfully concluded.