Corey Oates Opens Up On What He Misses Most About Playing In The NRL

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Rob and Kids Now with Cores the podcast. So it
was October last year that Corey announced his retirement. Right
here on Kiss ninety seven three.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Bronco's winger Cory Oates has announced his retirement after two
hundred and sixteen games from Brisbane. Yeah, it's actually coming
that day unfortunately. Yeah, today I'll be me announcing my
retirement from the professional real League. It's the Cats. Corey's
getting up here.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Here he goes here.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
Guys, one hundred meters to get core points.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
To try is a hard one, but I've known it
for a little while, but to actually get to the day,
it's probably a bit more emotional and harder than what
I expected.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
So you've had nearly six months now since that announcement.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Yeah, and yeah, honestly, I've I've really loved the whole
six months. I spent four months a day just with
the kids and got the spa and so much time
with the kids in time that I never would have
gotten if I was still playing, And it made me
feel really happy about my decision. And there's always the
things that I was going to miss if people keep saying, like,

(01:13):
you know, you got to miss something, and I do
miss a lot of things to do with it, do you, Yeah,
I really do.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
What are you missing?

Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yeah, the weekend just going with the Bronx doll and
all that stuff. I knew I'd missed the crowd. I
knew I'd miss the fans just because.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
I said this is because for those that missed it,
Corey was on the field at sun Corp on Friday
getting to do a farewell. So being there and having
the crowd.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, And so every game I started doing it, probably
last seven or eight years in my career. Seven years,
and I used to just run out and just do
a lat like, just do a circle, just breathe and
just stare at the crowd and look at the crowd
and listen to the roar and the noise. And it
used to give me goosebumps and just get me so
up and just so just so ready for the game.

(02:00):
And it was just something I never wanted to forget
and take take for granted, because it's not something that
everyone gets to experience.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Definitely, most people go through their whole lives without anyone
cheering for them.

Speaker 4 (02:15):
Certainly not fifty thou stopping a game to cheer for them.
I thought you'd say you'd missed your mates, You'd miss
the camaraderie of being in a team environment.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
I do miss that a lot, and I'm trying to
trying to go there, like trying once a week and
see them, and how I go to the club just
to try and still keep it.

Speaker 4 (02:39):
Do they care in the same way. It is weird
being an outsider coming back.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
In No, because I've been there so long and they
all know, they're all good mates. I've been with them
all for so long, so I feel easy. I just
I don't want to go and interrupt because I'm not
a player. I don't want to go there and interrupt them.
They always say, mate, you're welcome to come whenever you want,
so they make it feel good. But the surprising thing
to people would be I missed the challenge. I miss

(03:04):
I missed the contact, the impact, the battle between me
and the.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Physical the physical impact.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Yeah, yeah, I missed. Like it's weird, But I don't
miss waking up and being sore. But I missed that
feeling because I used to. I used to go out
there and just not let anyone know that I'm in pain.
If I was, if I ran as hard as I
couldn't they hit me as as I could. I didn't

(03:30):
want them to know that it hurt if it did.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
And I used to.

Speaker 3 (03:33):
Try and use that as like a something I'm getting
on the opposition, like I'm getting on top of them
because they're trying every time I run to whack the
hell out of me and hurt me, and I don't
show it, and I don't want to know.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
And you don't miss being sore, But you miss the paint.

Speaker 3 (03:50):
Yeah, it's weird, it's it's it's it's hard to explain.
It's not the battle I love. I miss being in
the battle.

Speaker 4 (03:56):
Any particular player that you would look or any particular
team where you'd go, okay, it's.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
This big man just always your opposition or just everyone whoever.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Because every time I would be ready to line up
to get the ball, all you'd hear is, you know,
the whole team be like, right, let's whack the ship.
Let's go have a crack, give us your best, Like
that was my mentality when I played, and that was
what I missed.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
But we could whack the ship out.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
I don't think it will have as much as we
do it. I don't think you've got the same power
of pain hearts.

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, he's not ready for it. Right.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
We could do that for you if you're around, like
or is just making a coffee. We just come charging.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Together as a joint.

Speaker 4 (04:48):
We'll go high and like, okay, we could match one.

Speaker 3 (04:53):
That sounds weird.

Speaker 1 (04:55):
On the ground. Thanks God,