Couchman's Australian Schoolboys honour brings 'twin' benefits for Dragons

Brett and Josh Morris' time at the Dragons as a pair was all too brief, but it set the Illawarra alight while it lasted.

The faithful are hoping they keep Mat and Max Feagai together in Wollongong for a whole lot longer, but there's another pair coming through hot on their heels in Ryan and Toby Couchman.

Of course Couchman is a name synonymous with the Thirroul Butchers footy club and the Dragons hope it can be that way at NRL level, having signed the pair on a three-year deal that will bring them through the junior rep ranks.

Ryan justified that faith in being named in the Australian Schoolboys side this week, the first Bulli High alum to earn the honour since former Steelers half Glen Air in 1991. You have to go all the way back to Rod Patison in 1972 for his predecessor.

"It still doesn't feel real to be honest," Couchman said.

"I was pretty shocked when I saw my name on the list. I knew they were announcing it, I thought it was going to be a live video but they just announced the team on Facebook. A mate messaged me before I even saw it and said congratulations.

"I thought I might be a bit of a chance because I was reasonably happy with how I played at the state championships, so I was pretty happy with it."

It's a remarkable turn of events given he initially missed out on a spot alongside Toby in the Steelers SG Ball squad earlier this year. The hard-running back-rower admits it lit a fire under him.

"I missed out on the [Steelers] train-on squad and it definitely motivated me, especially seeing my brother in there," Couchman said.

"He was loving it and going really well. I was playing in the Laurie Daley Cup (Country Championships) side and I wanted to play well there and focus on that after the setback.

"I think if you work hard enough you can do anything. I wrote down a few goals I wanted to achieve and I've ticked them all off."

Making his first grade debut for Thirroul was one of them, though that campaign was ultimately cut short by COVID-19 cancellations of all competitions.

"It was unreal, playing with guys like Sirro (Damian Sironen) and Starlo (Josh Starling). Just training with them and guys like TG (Tim Grant), they teach you a lot," he said.

"It was a reality check, it was the toughest environment I've played in. I only played 20 minutes and I was pretty gassed.

"It was a fair step up on what I've played before and that gave me a lot of confidence to play for CHS because I could draw back on that."

Butchers coach Jarrod Costello had plenty of faith in the youngster given - as the closest of family friends - he's known the twins since they were born.

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With the Dragons having fended off interest from Cronulla to sign the pair, he's confident they have what it takes to make the NRL leap down the track.

"They've both got a really good work ethic, they're super fit and train really hard but it's his understanding of footy that stands out," Costello said.

"For a teenaged back-rower he's got really good footy IQ. I ran water for the 18s and you'd get behind the posts after a try and you wouldn't need to say a thing because he was already saying all the right things and leading that himself.

"He's shown great character and the way he took that disappointment at the start of the season; established some goals and achieved them all, is a real mark of his determination and type of young man he is.

"There's no issue with his courage, he's a tough kid and the big thing with him and Toby is they're just so driven and really want to make a go of it. They've got big futures."

Couchman wasn't the lone product of Illawarra public schools to earn Schoolboys honour, with Steelers SG Ball star Brandon Morkos from Figtree High School named in the centres.

He now shapes as one who got away, with the ink barely dry on a fresh three-year deal with Canberra, an ironic twist given it was the Raiders who denied the Steelers back-to-back SG Ball titles this season.

That team included Talatau Amone and Tyrell Sloan who, having started the year in age-group footy, will finish it at NRL level with the Dragons on Saturday.

Dragons coach Anthony Griffin's on record saying young forward Josh Coric would have debuted this year but for injury, while highly-touted back-rower Jackson Shereb is also locked down long term.

It's something the joint venture is desperate to tap, having pooled resources into its junior ranks with a view to bearing NRL fruit in years to come.

"We've got to be a club that produces local juniors for both on the field [benefits] and for our cap management as well," Griffin said.

"We threw a lot of resources at our juniors, we established some high-performance academies and put on some fulltime staff in Shaun Timmins and Mat Head at the start of the year.

"They've done a great job bringing that structure to a higher level with both our junior rep system and our academies. It's something that's important for our club going forward.

"It's good to see those couple of guys in the Schoolboys and we've got three or four other boys on development contracts that did part of the off-season with us last year as well.

"We need to keep producing those players and there's a pathway there for them, they can see the three or four guys that are playing first grade this year."

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