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How this small Sydney town is producing the next generation of NRL stars
Sam Kosack • August 10th, 2025 8:30 pm
Two hours south of the Sydney CBD, the quiet town of Gerringong is pumping out future NRL stars.
The small town on NSW's South Coast only has 4000 residents but four of 2025’s rookie class hail from the Gerringong Lions - South Sydney’s Ashton Ward and the Dragons’ trio of Dylan Egan, Hayden Buchanan, and Hamish Stewart.
The club also lays claim to Reuben Garrick, Jackson Ford, Tyran Wishart and Kyle McCarthy as current NRL representatives, with a number of players also in the lower grades.
Hamish Stewart is one of the young stars to come out of the small South Coast town and is making an impression as a member of the Dragons’ young forward pack.
Stewart was a standout in the Dragons first win over the Sharks in their last 11 matches, playing the full 80 minutes, running for 102 metres and amassing 42 tackles.
The secret formula to the Gerringong production line may be more obvious than it seems; the connection current and former players have with the club allows its culture to continue and shape another generation of players.
“I'll do anything for Gerringong and they've given me so much,” Stewart explained to SEN 1170 Crunch Time.
“I still live in Gerringong so, and my dad's the first grade coach so me and me and Dylan Egan, we'll head up to training on Tuesdays and Thursday. I'll always help out the team.
“All the boys that have helped us out to get to where we are, so you kind of just owe it back to the club.
“I think that’s why there’s so many blokes playing first grade because blokes like Jackson Ford, Reuben Garrick, they were doing the same thing, giving back, and so I feel like it’s a bit of an obligation to do that, and I enjoy it.”
Arguably the greatest Gerringong Lion, Mick Cronin, won four premierships with the Eels, and made 25 appearances for NSW and 33 for Australia, but was always a fixture down at local games.
It’s safe to say he’s played an influential role in the rugby league development of almost every Gerringong Lion, and Stewart is no exception.
“I was hanging around nonstop with the Crow (Cronin),” Stewart said.
“He coached from around 2005 to 2018 and that was when I was just absolutely footy mad.
“I was going up to train and me and my cousin Taj Ford who's playing lower grades at the Sharks, we'd go up there and he'd let us run on the wing or if someone was short.
“I just used to love listening to Crow.
“He's a wise man. A man of few words, but when he talks to you, you listen.”
