Junior Dolphin ready to chase dream in BRL A-grade grand final

When Ewan Coutts left Redcliffe in 2016, he always knew he would find himself in the red and white again one day.

But to be back at his junior club this year, playing in the BRL A-grade grand final as the team’s co-captain, that was something he did not expect.

“It means everything to me,” Coutts said of the club and where he is today.

“Having come back to Redcliffe and playing for my junior club, it means a lot. I was born and bred in Redcliffe. Redcliffe is home for me. I love the club and I love the area.”

Coutts will help lead out the Dolphins’ BRL side this Saturday at BMD Kougari Oval, in their premiership clash against the Carina Tigers.

The first time he pulled on a Redcliffe jersey, he was just seven-years-old, a young student of the game.

He eventually left the Dolphins to try his hand at rugby union but then returned in under 14s and played his way up to the under 18s Nev Blair Cup, winning the title in that year, and then the Colts under-20s competition.

“I was signed with the Colts under 20s and I then left for personal reasons and I haven’t played for Redcliffe since 2016,” Coutts said of his journey.

“This is my first year back for them. I sort of fell away from the game at that time.

“I just tried to find my love for the game again by playing with mates I grew up with. I was playing with them… at Moreton Bay Pride, Burpengary Jets… trying to find the love for the game. Here I am nine years later.”

The 29-year-old was handed the opportunity to return by A-grade coach and former NRL forward Dunamis Lui, who finished his playing career in the Dolphins’ Hostplus Cup team in 2023.

For Coutts, he doesn’t think he would be here today if it wasn’t for the influence of Lui.

“I’ve always wanted to come back but I never had the opportunity given to me,” he said.

“In all honesty I’m really grateful that Nami did hit me up, asking if I wanted to come back. Redcliffe made my decision easy for me to say I want to come back.

“He’s impacted us massively, not just as a coach but someone outside of footy we can talk to.

“He’s real professional, he’s a family man. He’s not just a footy coach to us, he’s an idol as well… someone we can look up to and talk to.”

Coutts, who lists his older brother Brett as his idol and inspiration, said Lui’s continued faith in him and the close-knit bond of the team has made his return even better than he could have imagined.

At the helm of a young squad, he does not take his leadership role lightly and hopes that he has left the right impressions on the way to this year’s grand final.

“Being made co-captain, it meant the world to me,” he said.

“With Redcliffe being my home, getting to co-captain with Troy (Hanita-Paki) – especially with a bunch of young up-and-comers – and trying to share my knowledge and having Nami have the faith in us, it means a lot.

“I hope that I’ve been a leader and helped the boys in any way that I could.”

The only thing that could top off Coutts’ comeback season would be a premiership.

As they prepare to take on the Carina Tigers on Saturday, he says the meaning of a grand final victory is simple.

“It would be a dream come true. It would be a dream come true.”