Fishies land a perfect catch
By CHARLIE WHITELEY
DUBBO CYMS' aspirations of winning a third consecutive Group 11 premiership have received a massive shot in the arm following the announcement of former NRL star Isaac Gordon signing on for the 2016 season.
Gordon, who played 29 NRL games for the Cronulla Sharks from 2010 to 2012, agreed to terms and is expected to arrive at Dubbo next week from Gladstone, Queensland, where he has been living and playing rugby league.
Originally from Brewarrina, Gordon played for the Goo-Gars, before his career took him to the Cessnock Goannas in the highly-rated Newcastle competition and ultimately the biggest show in town in the NRL. He made his debut for the Sharks in round one of the 2010 season against the Melbourne Storm.
Gordon is an attacking weapon and a genuine speedster who was regarded as being one of the fastest players in the NRL.
In his 29 games for the Sharks he played fullback and wing, scoring 10 tries which is a more than respectable strike rate.
CYMS chairman Kevin Walkom was thrilled to have a player of Gordon's calibre joining the club next year, and believed he would be a great fit into their successful organisation.
"We are very happy to have him and after he contacted us to tell us he was moving back to town it all fell in place pretty quickly," he said.
"He (Gordon) has a young family and he is really looking forward to getting back closer to his family so he will be a great fit for the club."
At only 29 years of age, Gordon still has several of the best years of his career ahead of him, which greatly excites Walkom.
"To have someone of that experience who has played with and against the best players in the game and at the biggest stadiums is a great coup for the club and for Group 11," he said.
"It is strengthening the game out here and the competition as a whole.
"It gives spectators another level of footy and with players often playing now till 33 to 35 years of age he should have another four or five years in the game."
CYMS coach Tim Ryan was equally ecstatic upon Gordon's decision to sign with the club, however he has not got the flyer locked into any positions yet.
With the CYMS backline already containing several high quality players, and a number of juniors coming through, Ryan expects the heat to be on in the chase for positions.
"It's pretty big to get a player like Gordon to the club, we consider ourselves pretty professional and hard trainers but if he can add to that then that's great," he said.
"I haven't given any thought to positional play, it's a long way till next season and we have a lot of promising juniors coming up who will be pushing for spots.
"But we haven't signed someone like this for a while so hopefully all the players at the club can learn a bit from him."
Gordon's three years at the Sharks coincided with their association with controversial sports scientist Stephen Dank, which led to suspensions of players and officials from the NRL and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) officials.
After he left the Sharks, Gordon sued them for negligence, but Walkom did not believe this would impact on his time at CYMS.
"I believe that will be done before he gets here," he said.
"But that is between him and his former club so we haven't gotten involved.
"He has been through some stressful times and if he can help players here deal with any issues they're having then that's a good thing."