Aussie punter finding his footing with the Sask. Roughriders

Joe Couch is a long way from home.

The Aussie punter has taken the long way to Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp.

"I tried Aussie rules football back home and it just didn't work out for me," Couch said after the Riders rookie training camp practice on Thursday in Saskatoon.

"I had a father that played for a long time and I tried to chase that, but I got to a point where I was like, you know what, I'm gonna try something different."

Couch had friends who had come over to the U.S., so he sent film to some colleges and ended up playing three years at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Couch said that when he came up to Regina last May, he was surprised at how warm it was.

"Then you figure out a couple months later it's a little bit chilly," he said.

Couch said he's been working on his consistency in his quest to be the team's punter.

"I probably had the best teacher in Adam [Korsak] last year," Couch said of the fellow Aussie punter who retired this year after playing the past two seasons with the Riders.

"He's the smartest punter I've ever come across. Learning from him wasn't just catch and kick, he taught me about the sport and the craft of punting."

Riders head coach Corey Mace said Couch has a huge leg.

"He has just a boomer of a leg and I know the thing he wanted to work on the most this off-season was just his placement," Mace said.

"For him to have self reflection on that and put a full off-season into that, I'm looking forward to when we have full special teams periods to see that work come to fruition for him."

Couch said having to kick in the windy conditions of the Prairies is challenging.

"The wind is blowing one way and then it's going the opposite direction on the other side of the field," he said.

"Playing in Saskatchewan is going to make you a better punter because your technique just has to be so spot on."

Fellow rookie kicker Ben Hadley, who hails from the Maritimes, agreed the wind is something you have to contend with.

"I thought I was coming from the windiest part of the the country, but I guess it's pretty windy out here too," said Hadley, who played five seasons with USport's Saint Francis Xavier X-Men.

"It's definitely a different environment out here," Hadley said of his first pro experience..

"I'm just trying to come in, do my job, have some fun and and do whatever the team kind of needs me to do."

He said one difference is he did a lot more kicking in practice at the university level.

"They're always telling me stop kicking, don't over kick. And that's been hard to get through at first, because all I want to do is just kick, kick, kick," he said.

"I have to realize that it's a long training camp and I got to be healthy at the end too."

Rider placekicker and fellow Bluenoser Brett Lauther reached out to Hadley before camp.

"He's a Nova Scotia, kind of, legend and to hear from him was pretty cool," said Hadley, who skipped his graduation ceremony to get ready for camp.

Mace said Hadley has shown he belongs in camp.

'He's been a good kicker throughout USports and even in pre-practice you see him one-stepping some 45 to 50 [yarders]," Mace said.

"So he's got the leg talent to do it and he definitely deserves an opportunity."

Rookie camp wraps up Friday morning at Griffiths Stadium, then main camp begins on Sunday.