Photo: Tom (right) was lucky enough to have his family there cheering him on in the stands. Pictured; Tina, Fred, Nick and Grace Fletcher. PHOTO: Supplied.
After banging on the door all year, Coonamble local Tom Fletcher has broken into first grade football, making his debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs last Friday 1 August.
Tom’s story started in Coonamble where he spent his junior years running around in a red and black jersey for the local Coonamble Bears.
“I played from under 6s all the way up until I left for boarding school, so seven years,” said Tom.
“I loved it.
“I have great memories of playing with my mates in Coonamble.”
Tom now joins fellow former Bear juniors Jesse Ramien (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks) and Braiden Burns (North Queensland Cowboys) in the NRL arena, cementing Coonamble as a real hotspot for rugby league talent.
But like the story of both Jesse and Braiden, along with so many who start their journey in small bush towns, Tom moved away to chase his dream.
His next stop would see him attending St Gregory’s College in Campbelltown; a school highly regarded for its reputation as a nursery for emerging rugby league talent.
Playing football in the St Greg’s First XIII along with strong performances in the Eastern Suburbs Harold Matthews side, he would put Souths on notice and in 2021 the Bunnies signed Fletcher on a two year deal.
An appearance in the Australian Schoolboys Combined Catholic Colleges team soon followed that same year cementing himself as one to watch for the future.
After an injury impacted 2023, Tom would make his NSW Cup debut in 2024 and has since become a mainstay in the Souths reserve grade side in 2025.
Following a great run of form towards the back end of this season Tom had been surely pushing towards a first grade debut.
After being named as the eighteenth man the past three games, his name was finally called last week and he debuted in the 16 jersey against the Brisbane Broncos on Friday night up in Brisbane.
Speaking with Tom, his biggest takeaway from first grade footy is the pace.
“It’s a lot quicker, so much quicker than any grade I’ve played, even the step up from NSW Cup” said Tom.
“In NRL you don’t get any time to rest, it’s pretty crazy.”
A natural second rower, Tom was played up the middle on Saturday.
“It was the first time in like three years I’ve played up the middle,” said Tom.
“But it was good, and I felt comfortable out there.”
A special moment for Tom and his family, made all the more special for the fact he debuted for the club he grew up supporting.
“Yeah it’s pretty cool hey,” said Tom.
“You don’t really think about it too much when you’re out there but chatting with dad about it after the game it was pretty unreal.”
Notably Tom played aside club legend Alex Johnston and against former Bunnies halfback Adam Reynolds.
“These are blokes you look up to and then you’re out there with them,” said Tom.
“It’s pretty cool.”