Davies to rack up 200 games for the Northern Tigers
It is not so common these days to see a player reach 200 appearances for the same club but that is the achievement Paul Davies will reach when he runs out for Northern Tigers against Western Sydney Wanderers in the PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues 2 NSW competition on Saturday night.
Davies, previously a winger but now the regular right back in the Tigers backline, is in his eleventh season at the club, having commenced his time at the Tigers back in 2005. Amazingly, Davies’ time at the club is not far short of the length of time that Northern Tigers itself has been in existence, having been formed only three years previously, in 2002.
Davies made his debut against Sydney University at Hensley Field on 12 March 2005, in the Winter Super League, as the competition was then known, and while the opening game to his senior career may have ended in a 1-0 loss, it wasn’t too long before success was forthcoming.
By the end of the following season in 2006, Davies had collected the Silver Medal for Player of the Year, and in 2007, won his first Premiership.
While he may have finished on the losing side in the Grand Final that year, against Bonnyrigg White Eagles, Davies made amends three year later, captaining the Tigers to his first senior Championship, after a defeat of St George in the 2010 season finale.
Two years later, and Davies captained the club to the Super League double, taking the Premiership and Championship, victorious over Bankstown Berries on penalties, in 2012.
But while 200 appearances itself is miraculous enough, that record could be even higher if not for season ending injuries in both the 2011 and 2013 seasons, in rounds one and two respectively. A year at Mount Druitt Town Rangers in 2014 may have provided a change of scenery, but Davies returned home to Tigers in 2015, where yet further success awaited.
Another Championship win, this time over Bankstown City, provided Davies with his third Grand Final victory, adding to his two Premiership titles.
But ask Davies whether any one trophy stands out, and the answer is unequivocal.
“To be honest, they are all equally special but what makes them stand out is that we had many of the same guys playing in each. To win with guys like Tom Spencer and Brendan Salameh earlier on, and then Michael Rolston and Steven Baveas, is what makes it so special. They are all mates and I am pretty close to all those guys”.
“Winning the Premiership in 2012 was probably the least enjoyable. And that is because it was such a hard competition to win. Bankstown City really pushed us every step of the way that year, and we couldn’t afford to lose a game. I think we only lost about twice that year and it was only when Bankstown dropped points near the end that sealed it for us”.
But while there has been numerous trophies won, there has been a share of disappointments too.
“The Grand Final loss in 2007 was tough. We had won the Premiership but lost to Bonnyrigg in the Grand Final. It was also disappointing that we elected not to take promotion that year too. It would have been good to give the premier league a crack. We had good youth players and we would have given a good account of ourselves”, Davies commented.
“Missing two years through injury was difficult as well. I played about thirty minutes in round one back in 2011, and missed the rest of the season, and then played about two games at the start of 2013, before missing that year too”.
But the successes won far outweigh the disappointments. As well as reaching his 200 league appearance milestone this weekend, Davies remains the club’s second highest scorer of all time, with thirty-two to date. An impressive achievement by any measure.
There is little doubt that the success of Paul Davies is entwined with that of his Northern Tigers club. And during a career which has yielded so many trophies and titles, it can be safe to say that the challenge for more is not over yet.
-By Peter Rowney
