Rugby league legend Ron Coote has lost his home of 35 years in the bushfires on the South Coast of NSW.

The 75-year-old rugby great tried to save his home during the New Year’s Eve fires while his wife and daughter were forced to jump in Lake Conjola to escape the flames.

They spent about an hour in the lake before being saved by a passer-by on a jet ski.

Mr Coote tells Luke Grant all the preparation he had done didn’t help save the property.

“This fire was just horrendous… we didn’t know it was coming.”

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Image: Nine News