The Westside Rabbitohs captain-coach will line-up for the Googars in the 48^th Koori Knockout at Dubbo from Saturday morning, it’s a weekend he dreams of.

Dreams of playing in, but more to the point dreams of winning.

He’s adamant every Koori kid’s the same, too.

“It’s why I play rugby league, to be honest,” Gordon, a former Orange CYMS half, said ahead of the Googar’s first game against Doonside.

Gordon almost fulfilled that dream in 2009, but that year BAC Walgett got the chocolates in a thriller against Gordon’s Googars.

It had extra-time. Then what seemed like “extra-extra-time”, as Gordon puts it. Then golden point, where the BAC boys got the job done.

Nine years on and Gordon arrives again for the Knockout in 2018 a vastly more-experienced player.

As a result, he’ll help lead a Googars side with a rich history, one that celebrates 30 years this season.

Gordon’s father Claude senior helped form the Googars in 1988 and they played competition footy in Group 14 – a competition now called the Castlereagh League – for a number of years.

But the side is now exclusively a knockout outfit, and it’s a pretty handy one in 2018.

Claude Gordon junior, Dubbo CYMS aces Alex Bonham and Wade Kavanagh, Group 10 player of the year Josh Rainbow, Macquarie star Chris Daley, too – there’s talent across the park.

“It’s about the combinations and the boys learning how each other’s play early … but with a few of the (Dubbo) CYMS boys hopefully those combinations translate into knockout footy too,” Gordon said.

“We try and plan it a bit, all the boys arrive (on Friday) and we’ll have a session in the afternoon and then a big dinner together as well.

“The first game is always the hardest, though.”

Gordon’s right – if those combinations don’t hit the ground running then game one of the knockout will be a frustrating one. It’s make or break, naturally.

But the Googars have an added road block, or a potential one, anyway.

Word around the knockout has Tongan international and Koori Knockout regular Andrew Fiftita, and his twin brother David, lining up for Doonside Brown Bears in 2018, instead of their regular side Griffith Three Ways.

“We’ve got a tough one early … and apparently the Fifita boys are playing with Doonside,” Gordon said. 

“I’m hoping they’re with Three Ways, though.”

The Googars’ first game of the 2018 Knockout at Apex Oval is on field two, kicking off at 12.20pm against Doonside.