Canberra Raider and former Doonside player Blake Austin calls on youngsters to persevere
DOONSIDE’S favourite rugby league player steps out for Canberra Raiders this weekend in the must-win match against Melbourne Storm and wants western Sydneysiders behind him.
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DOONSIDE’S Blake Austin lines up for the Canberra Raiders this week against the Melbourne Storm, following a dream from his junior days in Sydney’s west.
Five-eighth Austin took a moment out from pre-match training to give some advice to youngsters starting out.
“When I was at Doonside (Juniors), I had the dream and followed it,” he said.
“Rugby has always been a big part of my life and I really went for it. You’ve just got to do that — keep the dream alive.
“A lot of kids these days they get disheartened when things sometimes don’t go the way they want them to real quick but you have to stick at it and keep focused. Keep confident and keep going for it.”
That’s exactly what he promises he’s going to do on Saturday when walks out with the Raiders at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
“We’re really confident going into the weekend. It’s a big match but we want to win the premiership. We’re going for it. The team’s in good form and we got a lot to play for. Everyone in western Sydney, I hope they’ll be cheering.”
Austin — who played for Doonside Juniors back just over a decade ago when he learnt and honed his ball handling skills — goes into the match with damage to a hand and rolled ankle all but healed.
A win this weekend will see Raiders book a grand final berth, their first since 1994.
“With the hand, I just fell at training, went to break my fall, used a bit too much force and broke a few bones in there,” he said.
“It was shattering. I went and got my X-rays. The lady said there’s some breaks in there.”
A steel plate and handful of screws went in just over a month ago and the hand took a bit of a battering in following games but Blake reckons it’s just about healed now and he doesn’t expect any problems against the Storm.
“I’m known for rolling the ankle and that’s just the way it is but it’s better now. You just got to keep on and run it off.”
Originally a junior baseball player and sprinter, Blake was in the team’s successful grand finals winning Doonside Juniors under-7s team before deciding to focus solely on rugby league when he was 12.
In 2009 he represented the Australian Schoolboys’ team while studying at Penrith’s St Dominic’s College.
Since then he’s played with Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers before being picked by the Raiders as a starting line-up five-eighth last year with a two-year signing.
He was selected to play the first game of the season against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Blake scored his first career hat-trick against the Knights in round 18, incredibly scoring all three tries within 11 minutes of kick-off.
“The ankle’s holding up well. It’s something that I’ve done pretty regularly (rolling it) so it’s just getting through the pain and just running it off. I’m in a good place right now and feeling really fit. The training’s been going well and the whole team’s ready to go.
“The hand is feeling pretty good too. It seems to have settled down. It’s been about four weeks since the operation and the pain killers are working, so it’s all good.”
Austin’s mum Maree says her son is feeling good and she will of course be cheering him on. “He’s worked really hard to get where he is and I’m proud of him.”
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