Tim McDermott is a gun on the footy field with the Gunnedah Red Devils and has made his mark in the mining industry as well working his way up to Senior Environmental Advisor at Boggabri Coal.
27 year old Tim played as many sports as he could when he was growing up, everything from football to AFL and basketball.
“When I finished school, I went to university in Armidale and I was just as sport mad there! After uni I came to Gunnedah and for the last six years I have played rugby and AFL and cricket in the summer.
“Sport has always been such a big part of my life and living in a strong rural community that is very sport oriented is wonderful. It was awesome to see the local team, The Boggabri Kangaroos make the final this year, everyone got behind them, Kanga Kanga Kanga Roo Roo Roo!”
Tim’s main game is playing for the Gunnedah Red Devils in the Central North Rugby Union competition.
“We play teams from as far as Scone and over to Moree, then everywhere in between so there is a fair bit of driving involved in the winter but it’s a great comp and community to be a part of.”
Tim’s footy came to an abrupt halt in 2022 when he broke his leg.
“I broke my fibula, and the tibia ended up through my skin, it was nasty. I had a good 6 to 8 months of rehab after that until I could even start running again.
“I did as much rehab as I could so I could come back. The community and the social side of sport is too good to just sit on the sidelines and not be involved so I knew I had to get my leg right and get back.
“It’s still not 100 per cent but it’s good enough!
“That’s life, you just have to keep moving on,” Tim reflected.
That was the first year Tim was picked for the NSW Country side, this year he was picked again and it went much more according to plan.
“We had a mid-season carnival in June playing all the other zones from around the State. It was from that competition I was selected for the NSW Country side and then we played in the Australian Rugby Shield carnival up near Caloundra playing teams like QLD Suburban, QLD Country, Tasmania, South Australia, etc.
“We made the final but were beaten by QLD Country. It was disappointing but the result didn’t matter too much, it was an amazing experience.”
Tim started at Boggabri straight out of university in 2018 after completing a Bachelor of Environmental Science. His vacation program came to an end and then he was offered a graduate role, two years later an advisor role and 18 months after that the Senior Environmental Advisor role.
“Boggabri Coal has really looked after me since leaving university. They have allowed me to balance footy and work and they were so supportive when I broke my leg.
“They have given me so many opportunities in my career so far and I have experienced a lot of things in the environmental side of the mine which has definitely kept me on my toes.”
Tim has a few months off now before the footy season kicks off again.
“Hopefully we can get the Red Devils to win more than one game next season! Either way, I plan to keep having fun, that’s the main thing. I just want to do my best, the results certainly don’t matter to me as much as they used to!”
