Shane Millard's involvement in rugby league has almost come full circle after he accepted a role with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs as head coach of the club's academy and pathways program for 2022.
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Rugby league has run in the family for more than half a century with dad Dudley involved in footy on the Mid-North Coast with various clubs around the Port Macquarie-Hastings region.
Unsurprisingly, the 46-year-old didn't need to be asked twice when approached by Phil Gould for the job.
"It's a role I love doing - helping the kids," Millard told the Port News.
"You get all sorts of kids (coming through the grades) from different backgrounds and you get to change their lives in a good way."
Gould - the former NSW State of Origin coach - also provided Millard with his first grade debut at Eastern Suburbs in 1996.
They both share the same passion for junior development.
Millard will work closely with the NRL coaching staff to ensure standards are passed down throughout all junior representative programs in addition to mentoring all junior representative coaching staff.
"Gus is a great operator; he's smart and loves his footy so he genuinely cares about the game," Millard said.
"He loves his country kids and the opportunities he can create for country kids as we've seen with what he's already done at Penrith with Liam Martin, Matt Burton and Charlie Staines."
The big picture is what they call a hitup at NRL level with the Bulldogs is what the North Coast Bulldogs will call a hit-up in the under-16s.
"A lot of rugby league players are visual learners so that's why we need to make it less theoretical and more practical," he said.
Millard hopes he can also pass on knowledge to the up-and-coming players who are currently in the North Coast Bulldogs representative setup with their junior teams.
He will provide the link from them to the National Rugby League.
I understand I come from there and dad's been involved in footy for 50 years up there. I played all my juniors in Camden Haven, Wauchope and Port Macquarie so I totally get it.
- Shane Millard
"It's vertically aligned so we'll have the kids from the Joey Johns and Laurie Daley Cups, Harold Matts, SG Ball and Jersey Flegg," he said.
"When it's their turn to go into a full-time system, training trial or five-week block in the off-season they know how to do all the fundamental skills really well," he said.
It could benefit players in Group 3 with that part of the coast still largely untapped.
"I understand what's up there," Millard said.
"I understand I come from there and dad's been involved in footy for 50 years up there. I played all my juniors in Camden Haven, Wauchope and Port Macquarie so I totally get it.
"That part of the coast is a massive growth area at the moment in that North Coast corridor. It's mind-boggling how big Port Macquarie is now.
"There are little areas out near the donut that I didn't even know existed."
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