Buller chasing BMD Premiership history with her Bears family

Author: Rikki-Lee Arnold Statewide content producer
Timestamp: Thu 11 May 2023, 01:57 PM

Sophie Buller took a risk when her and her partner packed up their belongings at the end of 2021 and moved to the Gold Coast.

But, as she prepares for this Saturday’s BMD Premiership grand final with the Burleigh Bears, she looks back with no regrets.

The hard-working lock - who has picked up her first NRLW contract with the Gold Coast Titans for the upcoming season - originally hails from New South Wales, having grown up in a little town called Corindi Beach near Coffs Harbour.

She took up the game of rugby league when she started attending Hunter Sports High School in Newcastle and moved from that into the Tarsha Gale Cup for the Cronulla Sharks and Newcastle Knights.

She eventually joined CRL Newcastle and was coached by former Knights and Burleigh Bears mentor, Rick Stone, winning a premiership together in 2019.

In 2020, she joined the Australian Defence Force but left after one year, wanting to put rugby league first. And ready for that change, Buller started looking around and a few things fell into place, pushing her towards the Gold Coast.

“It was a tough decision,” Buller said of her move.

Buller on the attack against the Mackay Cutters. Photo: Erick Lucero/QRL

“I came out of the defence force, being in the Army, and I was looking for a bit of a change in lifestyle.

“I knew Rick Stone who was coaching the (Burleigh) men’s team at the time. He coached me to a premiership in Newcastle, so I had that early link to the Bears and that took some of the pressure off.

“My partner (Ashlee), she’s a teacher and was finishing her degree. I was able to get a job up here and my partner’s mum, she actually lives on the Gold Coast. It was those three different things that sealed the decision for us.

“It was a really, really great opportunity to go to Burleigh and have a fresh start and see how the year panned out. It was great and I haven’t looked back.”

Buller made her Bears debut in the 2022 BMD Premiership season, where Burleigh bowed out of the finals race one week out from the big dance, going down to the eventual premiers, North Queensland Gold Stars.

She’s had another strong season in 2023 as a crucial part of Burleigh’s tough forward pack and this year gets to enjoy going one step further as the Bears prepare to take on the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the grand final this Saturday, following a semi-final redemption against Mackay Cutters last week.

Buller said one of the reasons she has never looked back with regret over her move to Queensland was because of the close-knit bond within the Burleigh Bears and how her time there had seen her develop as a player.

“It’s helped me grow as an individual and a player, not only on the field but off the field,” she said.

“Having such great people around me, it’s definitely made me a better person. Cookie (coach Scott Cooke) and the coaching staff help show that.

“It’s always good having people that you can trust and go to if you do have a problem. There’s no real issues about it.

“It’s such a family environment at the Bears. We are one, big family there. The girls are just so amazing, the coaching staff, those behind-the-scenes … they’re so welcoming and every player that has played prior to me can definitely say we’re one big family here.

“No matter the skill level or where you are in your career, you’re always welcome and it’s just an amazing club.

“It definitely comes back to the friendships you make in the game. When you’re out on the field, next to your mate and you know 100 per cent they’ve got you, it’s a whole different environment.”

Zahara Temara: 'I want them to create their own history'

Buller – who lists the biggest influences on her career as fellow players Hollie Wheeler and Georgia Hale – is now hopeful this Saturday she will be able to put the “heartbreak” of last year’s semi-final exit behind her.

She wants to join forces with her family at the Bears to get their seventh women’s premiership, especially for skipper Zahara Temara who last week celebrated her 100th game with the club.

And she also hopes to shine a light on the talent in her new home on the Gold Coast.

“Coming into a grand final, you’ve got lots of emotions and lots of butterflies and it feels great,” she said.

“As with any grand final, you go in with a little bit of nerves thinking, ‘how is this game going to turn out?’.

“But the girls have been really good this week and are taking it as any other normal game. We’re going through the motions at training and completing everything and doing everything right.

“The energy is high and we can’t wait to get out.

“It would be really special to win it, especially knowing where the female game is going. Each and every year it’s getting stronger and there’s a lot of talent coming through.

“With NRLW expanding, it would be amazing to show everyone that the Gold Coast and Queensland, there’s lots of talent up here, especially in the Bears area. It would mean quite a lot.”

Grand Final - Grand Final - Saturday 13 May

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