NRL rookie Matt Dufty rises above tragedy for St George Illawarra Dragons
DAVID RICCIO, EXCLUSIVE, The Daily Telegraph
August 11, 2017 7:41pm
ON a day like today, when St George Illawarra will be defined by the size of their heart, spirit and desire, little Matt Dufty’s story makes sense.
Just when Dragons fans, overcome by stress that once again their dream of September footy looks like evaporating, comes the story of one of the NRL’s smallest players — who boasts the biggest heart. The rookie Dragons fullback’s family was left heartbroken after a gut-wrenching fortnight.
Given the 21-year-old’s blistering rise to first grade, you wouldn’t know.
Matthew Dufty showed huge character to take the field against the Rabbitohs. Picture: Getty Images
Last week, the team let their top-eight berth slip to South Sydney. Sure, the loss was hard to take but it was nothing compared to the devastation Dufty had endured leading into just his third NRL game.
A few hours before kick-off, the 179cm, 83kg fullback wasn’t thinking of kick returns or saving tries — he was saying goodbye, at the funeral of his beloved grandmother, June. Most of us wouldn’t have considered turning up to work that day, let alone a few hours later.
Dufty? He scribbled the words “Family” and “Nan” on his wrist, using his favourite memories of June, to help him pull on the Red V at the SCG.
“One of the hard things was to see Dad (Glenn) upset on that Friday, but he said; ‘Go out there and get all your emotion out on the field’,’’ Dufty said.
Matt Dufty at HV Evatt Park Oval where he played his junior football. Picture: Jonathan Ng
“I wrote some words on my wrist to look at and to pump me up. I got out there and I just really wanted to play well for Nan, Dad and my family.
“It was tough for sure, an emotionally draining two weeks. But I tried to play for her.’’
Dufty learned his Nan was gravely ill only a day before the 21-14 loss to Newcastle two weeks ago.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor told Dufty “go home to your family, you don’t have to play, I’ll make changes’’.
“Dad called me to tell me about Nan, we were up in Newcastle,’’ Dufty said. “I was obviously emotional. I called him back later that night to talk about coming home, but he said ‘she’ll be proud if you do it for her’. That’s what I’ve tried to do.’’
Diminutive Matt Dufty made sure they couldn’t catch him.
From June’s kitchen window, which stared down onto HV Evatt Park Oval, Lugarno, she could see a young Dufty ducking and diving for Penshurst RSL each Saturday.
“Her house was right there, so we’d run up to Nan’s after footy to eat hundreds and thousands cookies,’’ Dufty smiles.
The field of dreams is where Dufty’s journey to the NRL began, at the same club Glenn still coaches and where his son scored a club record 72 tries in his under-11s season.
Always the smallest player on the field, Dufty ran around HV Evatt with the words of Glenn in his head — “if they can’t catch you, they can’t hurt you’’ and in all his years as a junior, he never suffered so much as a scratch.
While many NRL observers are worried how the NSW Under-20s fullback will handle the big league, the Dragons just nod knowingly, having cultivated his wares since he was 13.
Matt Dufty crossing for one of his many tries as a Penshurst RSL junior.
“I got a letter to trial in the High Performance Unit that Wayne Bennett set up when I was 13 and I was the youngest kid there,’’ Dufty said. “All the gear was way too big.”
Not even heart surgery, to remove an ablation, which forced him out of the Dragons’ Harold Matthews Cup campaign when he was 14, could weigh Dufty down. The next season, in his first game back, he was named co-captain.
“I was scared, Mum was too,’’ Dufty said. “I got my last check-up when I was 18, so I’m in the clear.’’
Which is exactly where Dragons fans hope to see Dufty against the Gold Coast at Kogarah on Saturday afternoon.
Nothing but victory matters. They’ll need to show courage and commitment.
Just like little Matt Dufty.
