![\"Kiama](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0e89963bf1c3d84f9c4f32abfa01fc8b7bf588fa.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nStewart, who played his first 80-minute game in the back-row for the Dragons last weekend \u2013 and was singled out for praise by coach Shane Flanagan \u2013 said: \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything in the water, but there might be something in the $20 schnittys at Crow\u2019s pub that all the boys go to on a Thursday night. Sadly, I couldn\u2019t get there this week because I\u2019m in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly special playing with all of these boys.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kiama deputy mayor Melissa Matters,
\ncouncil environmental officer Luke Lister and Gerringong Lions coach John Ford sample the water at North Werri Beach, near Gerringong.Credit: Sam Mooy<\/p>\n
\u201cMe, Dylan Egan, Tyran, Reuben, we\u2019d all go camping together down at Lake Conjola. We\u2019ve known each other our whole lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of us were late bloomers. I never thought we\u2019d all be here now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parramatta legend Mick Cronin remains Gerringong\u2019s most popular league export and is credited for introducing the training and playing standards that have made the Lions a country league powerhouse.<\/p>\n
Cronin, or \u2018Crow\u2019, initially resisted countless attempts for him to try his luck in Sydney with the Eels in the 1970s, and even when he did commit, and won four titles, the goal-kicking centre was content to continue making the long trek back and forth every week.<\/p>\n
![\"Something](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/824b946bb115ed3c4bfe06a5c3b4db2ff6081195ad7b17d62862d3b0bb892ac3.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Something in the Crooked River: Gerringong legend Mick Cronin and current NRL talent Reuben Garrick, Dylan Egan, Tyran Wishart and Hamish Stewart.Credit: Michael Howard<\/p>\n
To prove how much Gerringong means to Cronin, one of his big regrets<\/a> was having to miss a local grand final due to being about to go on a Kangaroos\u2019 tour.<\/p>\n Scott Stewart, Hamish\u2019s father, and Ford are also regularly thanked by the NRL players for helping them reach their first-grade dreams.<\/p>\n Loading<\/p>\n Most of Buchanan\u2019s friends had to skip his NRL debut because it clashed with the local competition.<\/p>\n There was a special moment when skipper Clint Gutherson found himself in open space and only had to run a short distance to score, but he immediately passed to Buchanan to let him get across the line in his first outing.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew he\u2019d be out there, he had clear run to the line, and I thought, \u2018why not give a young kid a dream debut\u2019,\u201d Gutherson said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was looking for him straight away, and I knew his family were all sitting over in that corner of the ground. I chucked him the ball straight away. It\u2019s something he\u2019ll remember forever. There are a lot of boys coming out of Gerringong.\u201d<\/p>\n Rod Wishart, Tyran\u2019s father, still calls Gerringong home, while the coastal haven also claims Wes Pring and Lachie Weir, who are in the Dragons\u2019 local grades, Nick Quinn at Souths, Cronulla\u2019s Taj Ford, Newcastle\u2019s Kyle McCarthy and Kane Graham, Parramatta\u2019s Ollie McCarthy and Queensland Cup player Denver Ford.<\/p>\n Gerringong is very good at producing league talent. It\u2019s better at returning pristine water results.<\/p>\n NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now<\/a><\/p>\n