Former NRL star Amos Roberts will lead an all-star cast from the sidelines as he coaches the Kempsey Dunghutti Bloodlines, a side which features his nephew and New South Wales centre James Roberts and Newcastle Knights bound Jesse Ramien, at the Koori Knockout held in Dubbo this weekend.
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It’s the fourth year the try scoring machine, who crossed the white line 106 times in 177 NRL games, will coach the Bloodlines and Amos believes this could be the year they bring the trophy home to Kempsey.
“We have been building over the past couple of years and the young players in the team are now young men and are ready to compete with the best,” Amos told the Argus.
“James is obviously a great inclusion but the whole team is filled with great players and I think we will be lethal in attack.
“The plan is to get as close as we can to Monday and hopefully we can produce something special and bring it home to Kempsey.”
The centre pairing of James and Jesse are bound to be the vocal point in the Bloodlines’ attack but there’s plenty of threatening and experienced players in the line up.
Australian Rugby Sevens representative and South West Rocks’ Triston Reilly, Macleay Valley Mustangs and former South Sydney Rabbitohs junior Malcolm Webster, Ipswich Jets’ Michael Percell, Burleigh Bears’ Allan Lockwood and Under-20s products Timone Power, Kalem Heart and Kevin Kennedy will line up for the Bloodlines.
Adrian Davis, Steven Walker, Kieran Vale, Reg Saunders, and Richard Kennedy are also in the team and have all played in the Knockout grand final.
Unfortunately Gold Coast Titans’ Tyronne Roberts-Davis will miss out due to injury.
Amos won't take the field for the Bloodlines as he never fully recovered from a knee injury he suffered while playing for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League.
“My playing days are over, I will leave it for the young bloods to go out there and get the job done,” Amos said.
While the objective is to win the knockout, Amos acknowledges there’s more important focuses.
“We are trying to build a positive culture, to all come together each year and give back to the community and the younger players,” Amos said.
“We want to open doors for the players to be able to have a pathway to the NRL.
“We have a five year plan, where we will identify talented youth and try and help develop them.”
The Koori Knockout is a three-day competition, with teams formed from across the state.
Teams advance when they win and are eliminated if they lose.
Amos recognises the importance of a favourable draw.
“Hopefully we get a bit of luck and don’t face off with one of the premier teams early on,” he said.
“We will all come together for the first time on Friday so it would be good to have a couple of games to gel.”
Amos has fond memories of growing up in the Macleay before he was picked up by the St George Illawarra Dragons when he finished Year 11.
Amos made his debut for St George in 2000 and played 65 games over four seasons before he joined the Penrith Panthers in 2004.
The Kemspey Dragons junior starred for the Panthers, crossing for 23 tries in as many games and picked up the Dally M winger of the year award.
The speedster was signed by the Roosters the following year and played 89 games over four seasons.
Amos moved to England to play for the Wigan Warriors in 2009 and was electric over four seasons before his career was cut short after suffering a knee injury.
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