Burt enlists former teammates for Burleigh's 2023 campaign
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Luke Burt is under no illusions that his first season in charge of the Burleigh Bears will be an easy one.
The former Parramatta Eels star has taken over the reins as the club’s Hostplus Cup head coach, following the departure of Rick Stone.
After two seasons as Stone’s assistant coach, Burt said he jumped at the opportunity to lead the proud club into the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
But after several successful years, including two premierships during the past six seasons, Burt knows 2023 holds a big challenge as he looks to replace a competition-leading spine.
Last year's minor premiers boasted five players in the 2022 Hostplus Cup Team of the Year, including five-eighth Josh Rogers, halfback Guy Hamilton and fullback Taine Tuaupiki, who was also the Petero Civoniceva Medal winner for Cup’s best and fairest.
However all three have moved on, earning opportunities with the Brisbane Broncos, Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors respectively, while star prop Tristan Powell also picked up a two-year contract with the Melbourne Storm.
It is certainly satisfying for Burleigh to see their players be rewarded for their talent and commitment, but Burt now faces the challenge of replacing that quality.
And while it is something that will take some work, it is not a task he is concerned about.
Burt said if anything, his biggest challenge this year will not be finding the right players, but having to make the tough calls to narrow his squad of 25 to 30 players down to a team of 17.
“The commitment this pre-season has been phenomenal,” Burt said
“There are a lot of new faces here at Burleigh with a decent turnover, but I can’t fault them so far. Effort and commitment-wise you cannot fault them.
“The four biggest losses from 2022 are obviously Taine Tuaupiki, who was a real integral part of our team, and Josh Rogers and Guy Hamilton… building those combinations again is going to be crucial.
“We’ve also lost Tristan Powell and we really need to find a couple of Tristan Powell's again… they’re diamonds in the rough, those types of players.
“Hopefully the biggest challenge for me this year is going to be picking a 17. Hopefully I have a lot of tough decisions to make in narrowing that down.
“Finding those combinations between the spine will be important for us. We have Patty Politoni still at No.9. It’s about building those combinations again and getting them to play together as a unit and bringing a whole side together.
“All positions are very open at the moment… there’s not too many, if any, that are guaranteed.”
Burleigh have certainly made some impressive signings to replace the talent they have lost, including former Broncos and Gold Coast Titans playmaker Tyrone Roberts, who has won the past two Cup premierships with Norths Devils.
They have also signed 21-year-old Creedence Toia from the Canterbury Bulldogs, with the young fullback playing a crucial part in his side making the NSW Cup grand final last year. He is now on a train-and-trial with the Titans.
And Emry Pere, who had a stint in the NRL with the North Queensland Cowboys, is coming to Burleigh, to add some punch to their forward pack.
Burt is also bolstered in his coaching staff by the presence of former Parramatta teammates, Matt Keating and Michael Witt.
He said Burleigh had a culture built around good people, and those two were no exception.
“Matty Keating was at the Bears as a player after he retired at Parramatta,” Burt said.
“He went back into coaching under Jimmy Lenihan, they won the 2019 premiership and they were the best defensive team in the competition.
“He’s done a bit of time with Tweed so for me it was a no brainer to get him back in our system and get back into the Bears to control our defensive side of things.
“Michael Witt meanwhile, he’s been coaching in the juniors and with A grade. He has that real tight relationship with those A grade players from 2022.
“With a new spine I thought he’d be priceless with helping those combinations build. He can really contribute in that area.
“They are also really good people and that helps.”
For Burt, regardless of what team runs out come Round 1, he is already immensely proud of the squad in front of him.
Having been with the Bears for the past two seasons, Burt is fully aware of the sacrifices the players make.
He said this was one of the reasons he jumped at the opportunity to be head coach, knowing he had a fully committed playing group at his disposal.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it here,” Burt said.
“The last couple of years have been really enjoyable. I’ve been lucky enough to be coaching since 2013 and I’m very happy here.
“To have these boys that work fulltime - some are labourers or work very difficult jobs - come to training three times a week and bust their butts for you and turn up on the weekend to play, you know they’re here purely for the love it.
“It’s not for the pay packet. It’s quite humbling to see what these boys do.”
