BRAD Drew is returning to Windsor with a bunch of burly St Marys men at his side.
The former Kurrajong man who played for a number of NRL and Super League clubs has found a coaching gig at St Marys Rugby League Club and his role will bring him back to an old place of employment.
On Saturday the Windsor Wolves will host St Marys, which moved up into the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield this year from the A Grade competition.
Drew was a proud Hawkesbury City Rugby League Club junior, but as a young man looking to make his mark in the NRL was employed by the Windsor Wolves for about three years as a barman and groundskeeper.
“The ground was never in better nick than when I was involved,” said Drew with a laugh.
The Wolves are having a reunion for people who have had a big involvement with the club over many years, and Drew will be more than welcome.
Drew doesn’t qualify as an ex-player, but he will no doubt share a beer or two with people he played against while in Hawkesbury City colours or people he worked with at the club.
Drew said there was never any hatred between the rival Hawkesbury league clubs, but there was a friendly rivalry, and upon his return as St Marys coach, expects the same sort of atmosphere.
“Windsor have always been a bigger club, but back then we had a pretty dominant team,” he said.
“Windsor has a good reputation as a footy club, and the player rivalry will be there. We always had a pretty tough games against Windsor and I expect nothing less coming back.
“I’m not going to be devastated if we lose [on Saturday], but I will enjoy my beer more if we win.
“There will be plenty of people I know and it will be good to catch up with them.”
Drew started as St Marys coach two year agos, and the team improved enough in Penrith’s A Grade competition to move up into the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield.
In the first year they lost the grand final, and then won the grand final last year.
Drew said he was happy to see the team being competitive during the games played so far this year, and hoped that trend continued against Windsor.
“We've had a couple of tough games over the past few weeks,” he said.
“We've been really competitive, and we're headed in the right direction. We'll be competitive side during the year, I don't know where we'll finish but we improve over a few weeks.”
The Sydney Shield kicks off at 4pm at the Windsor Sports Complex, followed by the Ron Massey Cup at 6pm.
