South Coast United stopped playing in the knockout in the early 1990s and club president Alec Harrison, Harold Chatfield and Mason Harrison are resurrecting the club to bring keen players together from the Illawarra to Eden in the hope of winning the title.

The winner traditionally hosts the knockout the following year and Mason, who will also captain/coach the Group 16 Indigenous All Stars next season, believed it would be a major boon for the South Coast and the indigenous community.

“Our main goal is to win it for the South Coast so we can show what the coast is all about,” Mason said.

“It’s a big weekend that’s an alcohol and drug-free event which brings 60-plus teams together, and their supporters, and we could show the lovely place we are from.” 

Next year’s knockout will be held in Dubbo and United will field two senior teams and an under 16s squad. 

Alec said he also wanted to revive the club so the senior men could be leaders for the junior players.

“Us as senior men, we want to take the young guys to the knockout because they are missing out,” Alec said.  

“We’re trying to get these kids away on the long weekend so they can be recognised.

“People will ask ‘where are you from?’- the South Coast - ‘Oh, that’s Yuin country’.” 

Former NRL stars such as Timana Tahu and current players such as George Rose will play for their respective home towns and Alec said the club hoped to attract former professionals who can mix with the best players on the South Coast.

“Richie Williams from Narooma will be one of our drawcards and he could bring in others like Dylan Farrell and Beau Champion but we’ll have some of the best local guys like the Brierley brothers, Mason and Alan Aldridge from Eden,” he said.

Mason said the club was also revived so they could bring the history of the club, which had been forgotten, in to the future.

“We’d like to keep it going for the young guys and get some leadership in the Aboriginal community between the men and boys,” he said.

Chatfield will coach the under 16s team and has laid down requirements for selection.

“The juniors have to be playing with a club and they have to be going to school,” Chatfield said.

“We haven’t talked about particulars yet but as long as they’re showing effort and improvement and staying out of trouble.

“The boys have talent around, they just have to get together and train. That goes for the seniors too.”

“The school program lets them know it’s not all about football too,” Mason said.

It’s a do-or-die competition where months of preparation could be ruined with a loss in the first round and that’s why Mason said it was necessary that keen senior players were on the field throughout the year.

“It’s high-intensity, aggressive, fast-paced football with 20-minute halves,” he said.

“There’s no repechage, you just have to win.

“You can raise all your money and do all your training but it is cut-throat.”

Alec said the club would hopefully field a team in the Canberra knockout before selecting a team to take to Dubbo.

“We’re hoping to select fit players and the knockout in Canberra can be a trial for the big one, like a possible versus probables,” he said. 

If the team won Alec hoped the knockout could be held at Mackay Park.

“Batemans Bay could host it and it’s central for us from Wollongong to Eden,” he said.

“If it happened, we’d have to talk to the shire councils but we know we have the players to win it.”

United will be working hard to find sponsors and Alec said any support would help “bring the knockout to the South Coast”.

“Any funding or sponsorship would be fantastic,” he said.