Sons of Nambucca Heads Roosters 1996 grand final winners looking to break 28-year premiership drought
The sons of three Nambucca legends have the opportunity to do something very special as they look to break a 28-year local footy drought.
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It has been 28 years since the Nambucca Heads Roosters won a Group 2 first grade premiership.
Back when they last lifted the trophy in September 1996, John Howard was in his first year as a rookie prime minister and Manly took out the ARL grand final just months before the Super League war would literally tear the game apart.
Brett Davis, Geoff Batten and Warwick Jones were part of the Roosters side that beat the Orara Valley Axemen 36-34 in an epic extra-time grand final and now, close to three decades later, four of their sons will be out to break the longest active drought in Group 2 footy.
Skipper Tyronne Roberts-Davis, his brother Greg Davis, halfback Logan Jones and rookie Toby Batten will all line up for Nambucca as the side takes on defending premiers Woolgoolga in the big dance at the Cex Coffs International Stadium on Sunday.
And while any chance to win a grand final is huge, the enormity of the occasion hasn’t been lost on the current crop of players.
“To be honest, it’s something that me and my brother always wanted to do in our footy careers, we just didn’t think it’d come this early,” said Roberts-Davis.
Born in 1997, Roberts-Davis wasn’t even alive when his dad led the Roosters to their last premiership, however he grew up on tales of his father’s rugby league career.
“I’ve always been told a lot of stories about him. I remember a couple of years of him playing at the back end of his career. He was still a gun player but I just wish I had the chance to see him in his prime.
“They used to say that when they found out my dad was playing, people would just shut up their shops to come and watch him play.”
There’s a fair chance the same thing has happened throughout 2024, with Nambucca locals flocking to Coronation Park to watch Roberts-Davis lead the outstanding Roosters side to their first minor premiership since 2012.
“It’s been an amazing season, we’ve had a lot of boys come back home and there’s just that much passion and love for the jersey,” he said.“Everyone’s over the moon, we’re all jumping out of our skin, ready to go,” he added.
“It also helps too that our coach Warwick and our trainers Mick Ronan and Geoff Batten were in that team with dad, so there’s such a good feeling. They’re wanting this as bad as we want it because they won a GF with our father and they wanna see us win it too.
“It just shows the love for the community and the club. I think that’s what it comes down to.”
Indeed, there are some remarkable parallels between the two sides.
Brett Davis, a legendary Mid-North Coast rugby league figure, was the captain-coach on that famous day back in 1996 when the Roosters edged out of the Axemen, while Tyronne – who himself played seven games for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL – will lead the Roosters out on Sunday.
On the sidelines will be the team’s coach, Warwick Jones, who was just a 17-year-old rookie when Nambucca lifted the premiership.
“I was on the bench for a lot of the time, I think I got seven minutes. It was a nerve-racking game and a bit of an arm-wrestle,” he said.
“I was thankful that Brett gave me the opportunity as a 17-year-old and I cherish it.”
Indeed, while Jones was the teenager 28 years ago, on Sunday he’ll be giving another 17-year-old a chance to replicate history, with young gun Toby Batten named on the bench for Nambucca.
“I know what he’s going through and he’ll cherish this when he’s a bit older too,” said Jones.
If that isn’t enough, young Toby is the son of Nambucca’s coaching director and under-18s coach Geoff Batten, who remarkably was also on the field when the Roosters last won a grand final.
“They were two really skilful sides going at each other,” he remembers. “They were very similar sides, Orara and Nambucca.
“They went into extra time and it was one of those games that could have went either way. I just know it was a contest the whole way, it looked like anyone could have won the game the whole way.”
In fact, Batten remembers how with Nambucca reduced to 12 after their skipper was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul, another local football legend, Paul Davis, came up with a couple of big plays to help get the team over the line.
“He set up a try with a nice long ball but then Brett – who was our usual goalkicker – was in the sin bin so Paul had to kick one from the sideline to keep us alive and he slotted it without any problems. That was probably the biggest memory of it,” said Batten. “It was a massive moment in the game.”
And with a wealth of experience as a player and coach himself, Batten has some sage advice for the 2024 side.
“I played for a lot of years after ‘96 and didn’t win another one, but the occasion of the day is always a really great thing.
“It’s a really exciting day with the lead-up and all that, so you’ve just got to enjoy it. Obviously if you win it, it goes up 10-fold but if you don’t, just enjoy the occasion.
“You’ve obviously got to put the effort in and want to win the game but it’s hard enough to make them, let alone win them, so don’t get too over-worried about the result and enjoy the day.”
And after having grown up with stories of his dad’s footy career and exploits on the field, Nambucca skipper Roberts-Davis is hoping that history repeats itself and the 28-year drought is put to bed.
“It would mean a lot to dad. He hasn’t missed a game all season, so for us to win the grand final, it’d be something that he – and me and Greg – would never forget.”
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