#43 | Braith Anasta

Cooper & Matty are joined by Fox Sports presenter and former NRL star Braith Anasta. The boys chat about the Vegas experience, their thoughts on the season’s opening rounds, and Braith’s journey from premiership-winning playmaker to media personality. They also dive into why Braith always seems to be in the headlines—whether it's his on-air takes, past career, or something else entirely!

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0:00-Vegas

8:20-Mexicola

9:40-NRL 360

18:15-Player Management

26:00-Early Career

38:45-Signing with Roosters

44:00-Media

54:00-Uncle Andrew

57:30-Lone Survivor

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you to all the all listeners who continue to
listen to us.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Look, if you're enjoying.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
The podcast, just do us a favorite. Hit that follow
button on your podcast app right now. It helps us
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anywhere else. Just tap follow or subscribe and stay in
the loop. Anyway, guys, cheers.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
I don't if you ever, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
If you've ever worked a microphone, then you got.

Speaker 4 (00:25):
The mics on the it's a little different in the
How did you pull up?

Speaker 2 (00:31):
How did open up? I was good, it was better
than last year.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Well, this is good, this is always keep it going,
this is good.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
How did you pull up?

Speaker 5 (00:39):
I'm still struggling, really, yeah, because we landed when Stralian
for three sixty and it's hit me.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
It hit me Friday.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
Yeah yeah, that's still got Cole saws.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
So yeah, but mate, I'm sort of used to I
wake up. I fell asleep on the flight and woke
up and there was like a full whiskey next to
me out there.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
I must have gone to sleep.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
And then I got out and I thought, man, I've
got I've got to go.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
To the toilet.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Bats I've gone in, had a squirk, go make them
a suit, got up again, got something's got got to
push something out of here. It was totally consta paated,
couldn't go and I went to sap down, time's right,
had something, had that rubber chicken for breakfast, and then
went to the toilet and honestly it was it was

(01:27):
an Olympic size. I opened up and there was a
lady out there waiting to ca Yeah. I did the
ill throw off.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
I said, O mate, someone.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
And you're on the charter to charter on the charge.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yeah, we'll get.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Breaks some things coming over to I just feel like
we're going to fall off the edge of the earth.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
This way to do.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
You're not get avery.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
It's a beautiful part of the world. Yeah, beautiful. Yes,
so it has its ways over here, mate.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
I I asked this all the time, everyone from you
know Lackland Croaker last week, some of the players through
the Mark Boris. Have you had a night out with Cooper?

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Invariably they all say yes, yeah, we were on the
same schedule in Vegas. Weren't we. Timmy Trumpet into Fisher
Trump Yeah, yeah, very good.

Speaker 4 (02:20):
Timmy Trumpet into Fisher. That was a good couple of
nights because all the work sort of is done by that.
Yeah you know what I mean, we're not really when
you were working, they think or game day, Game day
was just forty our day. Yeah true, Actually, yeah you
did well, you got That's why I went home early
from Timmy Trumpet, Oh did you Yeah, I just snuck
off because we had the we had cold.

Speaker 5 (02:40):
Coverage, went forever and then the Fisher. What about Semi, Yeah,
let's go there.

Speaker 4 (02:49):
I mean it's been everywhere else. How good? Is My
favorite thing is Warrington didn't have their best game that
day and that just in true. Yeah, they only just
got it was it.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Was neck and laugh.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Is there a matter on the weekend?

Speaker 4 (03:03):
Is there any better way than getting over a loss
than getting up on stage?

Speaker 2 (03:07):
You Sammy Bee and Fisher?

Speaker 5 (03:10):
He just like, you know, because we had our wristbands on.
He just came through the front door. He jumped the
jack said that he didn't have a risk wristband. He
just jumped like the security everyhere, he didn't care. Just
there was like a lantern. He just jumps over the top,
just walks over, picks up. Why I drink and the
Blake next to me, Fisher jumps on stage with fish fishes.

(03:33):
I'm trying to play, said he. He turned around and
he didn't give a ship. But you know what, Yeah, fun,
it was good fun.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah, he can have fun.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
I have seen the crowd like a Fisher because Trish
and I walked in and then literally walked in and
just went mate, there's no one going to find it.

Speaker 4 (03:49):
Couldn't anyone here, couldn't walk We went left on an Yeah,
you couldn't walk.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Through the giants.

Speaker 4 (03:55):
I've never seen a crowd because we were last the year
before we went to Ludicrous and there was there was
and let me tell you, Fisher beat Ludicrous out quite
easily killed him. Yeah, he killed him seriously. But this
year they had a bit on that not like Steve Aoki.
You would know that is bigam.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
I've heard of him, Yeah, yeah, he does.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
And Blake he's played for the wind Dale Hornets called Semioki.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
He's American. And then Tea Pain as well. So there
was a lots going on.

Speaker 3 (04:20):
So I thought there was a few options.

Speaker 4 (04:22):
Yeah, but Fisher, you could not walk in the joint
at Omnio and at Caesar's Palace.

Speaker 3 (04:26):
How good is he?

Speaker 4 (04:26):
Oh, he's unbelievable. I've never seen him before.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
The week before did you double live live Golf when
me and Cameron went.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Down, That's right.

Speaker 4 (04:35):
Yeah, So that was running through because Munster, Munster and
Fisher dad when we were at.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Same personality, same person but when we were at.

Speaker 4 (04:47):
Melbourne and twenty twenty one, the money was talking to
him because they remember they had the state of origin.
After that, Ye, Munster had some sort of He's had
like a social media relationship with Fisher for like four
or five years, but I I believed that was the
first time he met him to live.

Speaker 5 (05:00):
So they'd been talking a lot, and Cameron had got
him tickets to an Origin game and I think when
you know when they ended up in Byron after the
win and he I think he even had the wall
of Lewis Medal and Fisher had it on. Don't even
know all that sort of thing. So Cameron goes, he
ows me, he ows me a favor. So he's been
he's been hitt him up for tickets and he wanted

(05:21):
him to come and DJ at his wedding and Fisher
didn't get back to him, get back to him, and
then there was an after party that lived and Cameron's gone, mate,
you know, you don't get back to my messages. And
so he tried to put Fisher on the ground a bit,
you know, like put and Fish is the best at

(05:42):
roasting people. And he just come back and he just
hammered Cameron in front of the whole party. We're on
the floor. I mean, who are you, munster? You're going
to come and play at your wedding, mate, you know,
I just I can't tell you what he said, but
it was it was hilarius. Paul Kevin was on the floor.

Speaker 4 (06:01):
The best part of Money's wedding that it was on
New Year's So and for those people that don't know,
New Year's is the biggest day of the year for
a DJ. Every festival is on they hire DJ, you
get like a million dollars a gig. I think Fisher
does too. He flies and then Charters down in Melbourne
does two New Years.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
That's how big it is.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
And Money's thought, you know what his birthday was, It
was in Country Victoria. So he thought Fisher will take
the time out of the busiest day of the year
for because origin tickets.

Speaker 1 (06:28):
Yeah, wow, what Fisher like, it was bald and now
it's got the moon fig is the moon Bay pig.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
It's unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Yeah, yeah, he looks good.

Speaker 3 (06:39):
Was it was that a Turkey job?

Speaker 1 (06:41):
I don't know for what actually true?

Speaker 4 (06:45):
It was a local bloke up and they wow because
Maddy Lodgers was Turkey and he is unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
He's so happy with that about Carls. Was he Carl
Lawton that he was there too Fisher? Yeah, I didn't
think Carlos is a legend. He's loose. It was a
good time Carlos, Yeah, he does, doesn't it.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
He was talking about blokes that were having a good
time at Fisher. He was sweaty at one stage like
I was.

Speaker 2 (07:13):
There was literally beads of.

Speaker 4 (07:14):
Sweat dropping off his notes, like he was just drenched.
And then he goes, I got, He goes, I gotta go.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
You know where you going?

Speaker 4 (07:20):
He goes, I got Today's show in the morning.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well, he jumped up in the middle of the flight.
I looked over and the hair when he was laying down,
it's definitely.

Speaker 3 (07:29):
Yeah. I had a big thing.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
At the back and I was like, yeah, what did
he get? Like he he tries to give you two
blokes advice. Remember for the game comes, I want to
give a bit of hosting advice.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
He said the same. He said the same advice.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
He said the same with Cooky said, I really got
to give you want some advice. I thought one of
my fucking pot plant.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
Maybe a bit of self analysis. Brother, Maybe you don't
need advice.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
You don't any of the journals there at Fisher because
Ludicross last Buzz was.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
Yeah, but the Buzz and really went to Tea painting
this year.

Speaker 4 (08:06):
But because that's the that was the official NRL after party,
So I think all the journals it was at the
same place that Ludicrous was at.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Buzz wouldn't know any of the songs.

Speaker 1 (08:17):
Loved Run down the Sea Mate, because Trish and I
and we went to Donos. What a horrible place. It
was just so good and to the point that the
women's toilet I've said this from the Friendly podcast was
blocked and like so there was a woman in front
of me, one behind me. The woman in front went
to the toilet. The other one's going, I'm just really
the toilet, would you mind? I said, that's all right.

(08:38):
So as she's urinating into the trough next to me.
So you blokes were you blows Red Fisher and that's
what I.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Was just seeing that before actually club in the cross.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
Yeah, oh yeah, you know what.

Speaker 4 (08:50):
Another but the first time that me and Braith ever
had a beer together. It might have been the first
time we met. Potentially, may haven't for the proper mat
twenty nineteen. Remember when me and all the Storm boys
were there for off season trip and we walked into
Motox col there.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
That was good.

Speaker 2 (09:07):
That was a good trip.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
That was good. That was a good night. Actually, yeah,
that was.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
That was the same trip.

Speaker 4 (09:12):
That's always you haven't probably haven't been Thereto color. It's
just like dinner sort of club place. But then it
is after eleven. Yeah, no, it needs after eleven. Everyone's
standing like you stand on the tables and everyone's dancing
up there. This is the same trip, probably not the
same night that Nelson gotten in the fight over.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
Yeah. I was there for that too.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yeah, yeah, that was the laugh of Ella.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
It's a great joint.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
You really cross generations, you're cross polling out yourself. It
just happens naturally, I assume it. Sometimes we get a
bar and you'll hang with like he'll just float amongst
the crew. He'll be with sort of us older crew.
Then he'll sort of move to his generation, but the
younger generation of better times. He'll just skip over there
and then drag him into manly.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, that was at Maddy Naples house the other day.
Is that we're referring to it?

Speaker 3 (10:04):
Yes, yes, yeah.

Speaker 6 (10:06):
Keep that quiet. Let's keep that on the downwards, not
exactly straight. How long you've been doing three sixty four now?

Speaker 3 (10:17):
I think it's threes three years? You enjoy it? I
love it? Yeah, I love it. Yeah, I was.

Speaker 5 (10:25):
I was a bit overwhelmed at the start, like I
didn't really remember. Actually, you mentioned you were one of
the first messages I got after the first episode, so
I appreciate that, maney, But I think, you know, I
kind of got thrown in the deep end.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
But I wanted it, like that's what I wanted to do,
but I didn't know if I was ready for it.

Speaker 5 (10:39):
And yeah, the first few sort of months were just
fine on my feet, getting used to the hosting role
and produce you in your ear and the format and
then you know, journals going mad and going off kilter
a little bit, and but no, I love it. I
really love it. It's a it's a you know, I
couldn't ask for a better gig.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
High stress. Do you find a high stress job? Because
it is a hard hitting like you guys cover the topics.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
I would say as far as hosting, it's probably as
stressful or as put the job that exists in Fox Sports.
That's sort of that. Dealing with journalists dealing with big issues.
I can only imagine the politics behind this.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
So you must get phone calls all the time.

Speaker 5 (11:19):
Actually, Nick Nick called me on the way here because
Buzz last night tossed up the jar was coming back.

Speaker 3 (11:26):
But then Nick said that was bullshit.

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Whuzz Nick apparently.

Speaker 3 (11:34):
Yeah, that's the kind of stuff you deal with.

Speaker 6 (11:36):
It.

Speaker 5 (11:37):
It's I would say, like, I mean, I don't get
it nervous anymore, but it is a high pressure in
a way that you've got to be careful, Like it's
it is quite politically you're dealing with, you know, with
players and their careers, coaches their careers, the journals coming
with information. A lot of their information is spot on,
like a lot of it is. Sometimes they get it wrong,
but they're like they do a lot of work buzz

(11:58):
and reading and carry on as your man Bulldog.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
They do a lot. There's a lot of work that
Lavaria actually, you know what, I don't know about Bulldog. No, no,
but they do.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
But also you kind of, yeah, you've got quite a
responsibility there, and you know you're dealing with players futures
as well. Like but it's not really a show for
the players, like it's a show.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
For the fans.

Speaker 5 (12:25):
And yeah, and you know, obviously we're quite honest and
brutal in our opinions and appraisals of players, but we
also put players on pedestals when they're playing well as well.
But yeah, there's a lot that we had. Volandi's one.
I was nervous last night because you know, you're interview
on the BOS and you know, you want to make
sure you get it right and ask the right questions,
and you know, you know, it's like when you kind

(12:48):
of developing into a host, you've got to react more
to the answers, whereas you at the start you're just
asking the questions and trying to get to the next one.
So I'm trying to evolve in the role. But it
is a it's a it's a privilege to be in it.

Speaker 3 (13:01):
I enjoy it, how do.

Speaker 4 (13:02):
You go like with the political side that you said,
and it's not a show for the players, Like as
you know, you're like being a player yourself. You know
that when you're in that high stress as a player,
you hate you hate seeing yourself in the media. Right,
and you're a planer manager yourself. You've got a lot
of good relationships with the boys. How do you find
when you have to, when you have to criticize someone,
how do you find?

Speaker 5 (13:22):
Like it's tough with my own clients, I tell them
the truth, Like I said, if I've got to be
critical of your performance and you're not playing well, I'm
going to call it how I see it, Like that's
just the way it is. It's a tough one because
I've been there before, you know, even even the stuff
with the troll last year, Like you know, he took
offense to a few comments I made on the show,
and you know, and in front of me about it.

(13:44):
So you know, I get it because I used to
hate buzz and really I did. You know, we all
know where ex players, all of us here, so we
kind of know. You know, it doesn't feel good, you
know when when you're kind of getting critiqued and criticized.
So I get it, But at the time I think
if you do it in the right way, in the
right manner, and you're not just bagging guys, you're kind

(14:06):
of it's constructive with it, you know. Like you know,
I think a certain players not doing this right should
be doing this better, you know. I think you know,
it's with so many social media platforms and shows these days,
everyone's getting We're getting critiqued ourselves, like as as hosts,
you know, in our roles what we do, you can't

(14:26):
avoid it. So at times it's difficult, but it is
the way of the world these days, and you just
got to deal with it.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
As you get older, it becomes easier because you actually
learn that if you're constructive and you actually make the
right points and you make it not personal, then it's easier.
For instance, I use the Dylan Brown situation, and like
Dylan during the due to the circumstances, I think in

(14:54):
my time in football, there'll be no player scrutinized and
analyze more in the next month than Dylan after for
everythingle but a lot of that won't be pointed toward
Dylan because thirty meter for ten years. I mean even
the Patriots state of generosity, Sir Nicholas would knock that back.
I mean, you take it what it'll be. It'll directed
more at the Knights. You know, if Dylan is a

(15:14):
bad game, they'll go to the Knights to say, see he
plays well good. It's that's what it's going to be
for my thing with Dylan Dylan, it's a fantastic deal
for Dylan because it looks after his future, his family future,
his future, loved one's future. Do I think it's a
good deal though, No, I don't think it's a good deal.
It's good for Dylan, not good for the Knights. I
think it's a crazy deal because if you're going to

(15:35):
pay someone that sort of money, they've got to be
Nathan Cleary. Now that is for me. I'm not criticizing
Dylan there. For me, Dylan's a terrific player. Dylan is
a great sign for the Newcastle Knights, but not at
that price cause he's not the sort of player they need.

Speaker 5 (15:52):
But he needs to understand now too, that this is
an hard thing that players overlook a little bit is
when you sign that contract, there becomes responsible ability of course,
you know, and expectation. So you know, yeah, you're signing
the thirty million dollars deal, you're setting yourself and your
family up. But with that now you're going to be
critiqued on every minute of every game for the next
ten years.

Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yep.

Speaker 5 (16:13):
And so you can't really get the shits if someone's
you know, if people are having their opinions, because when
you sign the deal, you know that's.

Speaker 3 (16:19):
Going to happen. Yes, that's right.

Speaker 5 (16:21):
What's your concern? Are you concern now what you concern
with Newcastle? Because you're a Newcastle obviously Newcastle legend, So
what's what's your concern there?

Speaker 1 (16:30):
My concern is Braith, is that it was it was
an put it this way. I think sometimes with the
clubs they get so far down the line with the
player negotiations they actually lose perspective of it. And I've
seen it like this is why Melbourne is such a
great club. Years and years ago two thousand and five
season they got into a bidding war with Manly for

(16:53):
Mattie Orford backwards and forwards and went from Maddie ORFs
on four four hundred grand went to four fifty men,
They went five hundred, Storm went five twenty five and
kept going and going and go on and go, and
certainly they get to eight hundred and Melbourne realized and
they went They just pulled the pin and they said,
we're gonna we'll have to go in another direction. That was,
you know, suddenly they got a cent. They stepped away

(17:14):
and had a sense of perspective. Newcastle needed to kill
really bad because they'd gone out for big players off
and they've missed Leah Thompson. They offering great money. He
decided to go elsewhere. There was a stink around the club.
But they've gone. They've gone here. I've gone ten years
for one point three million dollars. You could offer Dylan

(17:35):
maybe four years, maybe five years, and would to take it.
I just don't get the figure. I don't get the length.
And like I said before, it's a good signing. It's
good signing, but at that price and what it does too,
what it does to their salary cap. You know, you
talk about being top heavy. If they're seeing Kalen and
that side together next year, then too, there's some other

(17:56):
blades playing for scraps and there's some other very good
players coming through.

Speaker 3 (18:00):
What A S.

Speaker 1 (18:00):
Fletcher Sharp think you know what you know Dylan Lucas
you know be coming off soon and some other players.
It's just what it does going forward to the club
and the thinking about it is, Braith. So we got
your kalon and you know Dylan began. Still need a
really quality player to get to hold the steering whell
steer the ship. There's nothing left. Yeah, that's my concern.

(18:26):
Just be sorry I had to go into that, but
that's what ours Newcastle legends do.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
Yeah, I was just I don't worry.

Speaker 4 (18:33):
I was going to jump in when you said Newcastle legends,
don't worry, I was thinking about it, deprecation. I just
let it go, said, I put in our ship on
you as it is. Before we go into some of
your career, Braith. Uh, just on your management stuff because
I I in the lead up to this, I rang
Monster and I wanted to because I was trying to
remember when was it exactly you.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Got into player management? Because I wanted to.

Speaker 4 (18:54):
I knew we had a manager beforehand. He'd been around
First Go for a long time and I was trying
to get it out of him. When did you remember
when Brace sort of took over? He said it was
after twenty twenty one season after he messed up.

Speaker 5 (19:05):
Actually, yeah, yeah, at the Hub we started the company
with golfers, you know, probably eight years ago, and then
we slowly were always going to move into rugby league.
But Cameron, it was after he had that incident the
Mad Monday and then he was you know, the rehab
and punishment from Melbourne and all that sort of thing,

(19:26):
and then I think that he just decided that he
needed a bit of change. Me and him were just
communicating as mates over you know, about talking about goal
for whatever else, and then it turned into like, you know,
would you be interested in managing me? And then we
kind of got it done just casually. It was pretty
pretty casual. But you know, I've been proud of him,

(19:48):
you know, where he's come from where he was. Then
when I did sort of have the conversations with him
at the start, it was like, mate, I'm a new
I'm new in this business. I don't have many clients,
I don't want many clients. But if you're going to
come on board, you know, you've got to pretty much
change your ways from where he was, you know, and.

Speaker 3 (20:07):
He knew that himself.

Speaker 5 (20:10):
So you know, it's been a pleasure to manage him,
you know, like we don't know what he's like. He's
you know, he's all over the shop a bit. He's American,
he's one of us, he's one of the boys. But
he's in terms of intellect rugby league intellect, there's not
many better, you know more, you know as much as me.
But when I talk to him after games or before

(20:33):
a game, the detailer, when she goes into in terms
of oppositions and even his own play, his next level
really is elite. And that's when like, I've got to
know him at a personal level now, even his work ethic, like,
because everyone looks at him as this loose, you know, funny,
sarcastic character, which he is, and he's a bit of
a pest at times around the group and all that

(20:53):
sort of things. But he expects perfection. He demands it.
He's worked, he works hard for it, and there's not
many smarter guys in the game of Doesn't.

Speaker 1 (21:04):
That just show the benefit of a good football education,
having a great coach you can teach you that sort
of stuff. Some people, unfortunately, go through the whole career
and never understand the game fully. And if you look
at an example of that, an extension of that is
Tim Chun's was one of the great educators and regular
league back in the day with the Canberra side, revolutionized
a lot of stuff.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
Now you look at the.

Speaker 1 (21:25):
Players, the players on that side that have gone under coaching,
it's been astounding. I mean, including Craig Bellamy. You know,
it's understanding those details and I think sometimes players underestimate
that break you young Jonah peasant, what he'll be learning
down there, which is so important and be very easy
for him to take the rubles and go somewhere else.

Speaker 5 (21:44):
Yeah, that's right, but he's realized just on that with Joan,
he realized that he's better off in that system longevity,
his intellects quite high. Bellamy actually said to me that
he's the smartest. I shouldn't probably say.

Speaker 3 (21:57):
This, I do it because Coopsy that's great. I love this.

Speaker 4 (22:02):
It gets passed down from general, it gets as you know,
it gets passed down from old.

Speaker 5 (22:06):
But yeah, he said, he's you know, he's the smartest
half he's ever coached, and he sees him as a
coach after footy already he's only played a few first
grade games, but you've had Cooper Cooper cronchor and everyone
down there. That's a big call. So but you know,
he's only young, and he's had a few injuries, Jonah.
But that's yeah, I think that that's where, like you know,

(22:28):
players beyond their years make the decisions based on you know, intellect,
but also longevity in the game and think forward, because.

Speaker 3 (22:37):
That's a big call.

Speaker 4 (22:38):
Like Jonah, jonahs young, but he's also at a time
where he's ready for first grade. It would have been
so easy for him to take a contract and get
double triple as much money and play first grade.

Speaker 3 (22:48):
Now, at some point.

Speaker 1 (22:49):
You've got to cash at chips. You just can't do
it too early. I've seen this a million times. I've
seen young players sometimes players you know, in their mid
twenties and not so much young players, and they're sitting
as the second string Harpe, just sit behind. But it's
in a really strong system, and they come in and
they win grand finals. They do this, and all of
a sudden, eventually they cash their chips in the next
place they go to.

Speaker 3 (23:09):
Fuck.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
Now, yeah, that's difficulty.

Speaker 4 (23:12):
Yeah, on Jonah, like you said, I remember, I listened
to a potty he actually did a while back, and
he says, it himself. The best thing about Melbourne is
like you get an instant humbling when you go to Melbourne,
Like he spoke about his first I think it was
his first preseason down there, and it was like he
went from a joint where he was a junior at Newcastle,
Pez was playing under eighteen's origin. Pez was like a

(23:35):
real gun coming through it. New We Melbourne were able
to sign him and you probably go from a big
fish in a small pond, you think you're going better
than you are, and then you go to a town
where no one knows who you are, you walking down
the street, and you go into a team where you're
getting absolutely flogged. And Pez probably he was. He was
quite young eighteen seventeen when he came into the first

(23:55):
grade squad to start training. But if he'd stayed in
Sydney probably wouldn't have gone straight into first grade full
time training and going in at an age where he
probably wasn't ready to train with first graders. But he
was instantly humbled and realize how hard it is to
make it, and that's put the spear in Oh, it's
nothing to do with I think I actually think it

(24:15):
happens with most Sydney teams, like most Sydney teams probably
don't elevate the eighteen to twenty year olds into their
first grade squad as early as Melbourne do. And I
think it probably get loves them into a little bit
of a false sense of security because they think, I'm
killing it in this in this grade, I'm killing it,
playing underaders.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
I'm killing it playing under a clear.

Speaker 1 (24:34):
Pitch of Melbourne of like succession, a clear pitch of
how they do it, timelines.

Speaker 5 (24:41):
And then like and you go back to salary caps.
They find a way to keep them all at the
right price.

Speaker 3 (24:53):
Cabinet.

Speaker 5 (24:56):
But they're a club where players, and I know for
a fact players will take less to stay in the
group to win premierships and have that bond that they've
got that we're.

Speaker 2 (25:05):
Talking about the other day.

Speaker 4 (25:06):
Like you take every one of the Spine members down there,
perhaps Harry Munster hughes it.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
They're all leaving. They're all million dollar players.

Speaker 3 (25:14):
Peraps could have went this year to Para or wherever
a lot more money. He stayed. He only signed one.

Speaker 4 (25:19):
Year, one year extension, which in itself.

Speaker 3 (25:22):
You know, like he could have left for a lot
more money.

Speaker 1 (25:24):
It's been a strange relationship that one perhaps some alboun
for a long time.

Speaker 3 (25:27):
It's never been.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
It's always been. I mean if you go back when
they signed it from the Tigers, and then all of
a sudden he found himself at the bottom of the pile,
behind drinking and behind Nico and then behind Hughsey, behind
Billy not trying to him and no one would take him.
So there's always you know, there's always been I wouldn't
say unsettled there, but he's never quite been able to.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
Really, he's been eccentric.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
Is unique, unicorn unique meaning when.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
It was across this like an a century kind of dude.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
Like out there, he's introverted.

Speaker 4 (26:01):
So he's really and he says that himself, like there's
there's been social situations where we're in a group setting
and he'll actually say I'm an introvert to everyone.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, but he's perhaps is a great dude. Perhaps is
a really good dude. I love I love playing alongside Pats.

Speaker 4 (26:17):
I loved him as a teammate, but he definitely like
until you get to know and you know what it's
like when you get to when you come to a
new when you go to a new club. You've always
got teammates who are a little bit like it takes
you three or four months to understand what they're like.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
Around.

Speaker 4 (26:32):
Yeah, but like people are, there's so many different personalities
in a rugby league squad. Perhaps has like got a
very unique personality. He's very different, like he spends a
lot of time on his own. He lives like a
fair while out like from where all the other boys live,
so he's kind of isolated.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
He loves loves reading.

Speaker 4 (26:49):
He used to breed stick insects back in the day
in two thousand and eight and we first got there
normal he bought stick in sects and they accidentally made
it laid eggs, so then he just started breeding.

Speaker 3 (27:01):
I mean you like reading as well. Penthouse for us.
Spot goes to school.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Different clubs, but you've been to a Now you're a
South junior initially?

Speaker 5 (27:10):
Were you in South Junior? Played for Member Lions. Well,
my uncle was George Piggins, so I had no option. Really,
my dad played a game for South first grade, so
and I went to every game.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
Tragic Tragic House Sydney supporter.

Speaker 2 (27:26):
She went for South going.

Speaker 5 (27:27):
Yeah, I was born in South Jersey and it was
you know, I just loved them.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
It was my favorite player actually.

Speaker 5 (27:36):
At one point, and Les Davidson, Phil Blake, Craig Coleman,
Michael Andrews like that was that was my kind of
when I was only really young man.

Speaker 3 (27:49):
But I still remembered it.

Speaker 5 (27:50):
So and then I played all the lower grades of
South We won the SG Ball Grand Final, which was
pretty special there when I was when I was kind
and then I I actually left it played rugby union
for just for full time. What position did you play there,
fly half fly aff, Yeah, and I was And my

(28:12):
dad actually wanted me to play rugby union instead. He
thought I was better at it, so I went. I
gave up for a year and went and played rugby
union and golf. And then the full back, the fullback
got injured for South SG Ball the year we won it,
and they rang me and said Denny loft Us, his
name was the coach. He rang me and said, mate,
do you want to come back and play league? And

(28:34):
I just loved league more like I just, so I
went back and played him and at fullback. I remember
we beat Paramatta in the final. Luke Burton that that
team which was the Gun team which I was playing
fullback which I never even played before.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
So did you speed back then?

Speaker 5 (28:49):
That was a long time, very long time ago. I
had I don't know how I played it now. And
then I had remember had that one game for the
Roosters full back disaster frediism's a few of those. That
was a you did make a good center. That was
That was the day that Freddy made me full back.

(29:11):
He pulled me in Perc into the office on a
Thursday for a Saturday night game at Penrith whatever it
was called back then, and he said both, He's going
to put your full back this week, and me and
Pierce started pissing out.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
So we thought he was We thought he was joke. April.

Speaker 5 (29:27):
Honestly, he has none I'm serious, you know, and we're like, okay,
And then I remember standing out there and like in
the Captains running, I'm standing there kicking balls and I'm
don't even know where to stand, and I'm thinking, what,
you know, I didn't know this is going to be
a disaster. And then it starts pissing down the night
of the game and I'm just standing back there, going, oh,

(29:48):
this is awful. I think Michael Jennings even made a
break and I'm like, hey, am I going to catch him?
You're talking about speed? I wasn't fast in the hearts
full back, but no, that was a disaster.

Speaker 2 (29:59):
How did to go? I was a bad night.

Speaker 3 (30:02):
Do you have a favor? If you want to laugh
and and have a look at the highlights?

Speaker 1 (30:06):
Walk off and you're ring your family member and so
you know, you record all my games.

Speaker 3 (30:13):
I was filthy after it.

Speaker 4 (30:14):
Yeah, but you so you started the Bulldozo NRL.

Speaker 3 (30:18):
Yeah, so yeah, going back?

Speaker 5 (30:19):
So yeah, then I come back and then my dream
is to play for SOUS. That was my I didn't
there was no other team, and then before they got
kicked out of the competition. So it was way back then.
My uncle come up to me and he was the
president of the house and he said, mate, bad news.
He told me before anyone knew. He said, we're gone.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
You know. He goes, you know, I.

Speaker 5 (30:42):
Was sixteen, I think sixth round sixteen. He said, you're
gonna have to go, mate, And I said, really, he goes,
we've got We're gonna have no first grade team. So
he he actually picked where I went. He wouldn't let
me go the roosters.

Speaker 3 (30:56):
You guys, wherever you want go the roosters going. That's
pretty much what happened.

Speaker 5 (31:00):
And he had a good relationship with Punchy Nelson and
the guys at the Dogs, so he sent me there
and then that's how I landed at Canterbury. And then
it was it was amazing that the you know, the
experience I had there, the professionalism, but just the I've
very united, very family orientated, trained hard like really got

(31:20):
me disciplined and into my training and turned me from
a boy you knew, man.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
How long did it take race from you arriving at
the Bulldogs to play in first grade really quickly?

Speaker 5 (31:29):
Yeah, about a year and a half. So how old
were you in your day? It was against Newcastle Now
it was actually a one off para matter. I think
Sticky and Brad Clyde and they were all playing first
grade at the time for the Dogs and I think
it was Origin time and they called me in and
I just come off the bench. It was a one
and I was just like playing first grade well like

(31:51):
I was a baby.

Speaker 3 (31:53):
Yeah, and then I played the whole next year after.

Speaker 1 (31:56):
That, as you trained renowned like stup the late Steve
folks renowned him and Billy Johnston when you went there
and like you're talking about Melbourne and their army camp's
been tortured. I think Canterbury were the first side to
really inflict that sort of punishment on their players.

Speaker 5 (32:14):
I was shocked, you know, like they used to just
call me the pretty boy soft cock from because my
car I had this, because I signed this contract.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
I thought I was cool. It's this little white to
a salika. It was the two door. It was the
most embarrassing CARDI rock up to Bill Moore and when
you got Darren Briton, Craig Polling Mound and all those
blokes there, they just looked at me and look at.

Speaker 5 (32:39):
And they got out of the car with your hair
sleep back and they just put me straight in the line.

Speaker 3 (32:44):
But they you know, like the yeah, the training there, Billy.

Speaker 5 (32:52):
Johnson was just an animal and they just wanted to
break out.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
That was there. They wanted to break you.

Speaker 5 (32:57):
And you know that that first session and there Gary Carden,
who was under Billy at the time, he flogged the
shit out of me until I was vomiting into the
bin next to the real machine. All that, but it
was kind of a system they had where if you
turned up then you know, if you got through the session,
you didn't complain, and you turned up the next day,
then you're there. You're welcome. But a lot of guys

(33:18):
don't turn up that next day. They just go home
and say Mum or dad, they can't do it. Yeah,
it's kind of a system they had there, and you know,
if you're either a bulldog or you weren't. And then
once you got in there, and you know, Billy like
the training we do is crazy, like we'd ride one
hundred k's, we'd do biathlons, triathlons because Billy was a

(33:38):
mad cyclist and boxer, and Spokesy was a mad cyclist,
triathlete and fitness freak himself and fanatic. So you know
that even the Polynesian guys and that Maddie Utah on
a bike going around Centennial Park falling off bikes. And
then you know doing swim leagues they could and swim.

(34:00):
A lot of the guys that don't have to wear
their fins and some of the some of the ship
that went down there, but they were like next level,
next level.

Speaker 1 (34:09):
I remember Billy, we uh try nations to Billy was
the trainer and there was myself and a few of
the boys who were the ems in the first couple
of weeks and like Billy would take me out every
single night. Come on, let's go out, and we go
out to be three or four o'clock and two hours
later I have to go on sleepy banging on the door,
get me up doing boxing. It was just it was
both the best and the worst. And every time you

(34:31):
get me, every night you get there and so mate,
you good job.

Speaker 3 (34:34):
Mate.

Speaker 1 (34:34):
Come we'll go out again. We go out again and
do it the next one. But I won't do it. It
just it just went on. I never learned my lessons.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
Well I knew what was coming for your night out. Yeah,
I mean it's worth worth it.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
It's so worth it.

Speaker 4 (34:43):
What about who was like the I suppose who was
the rat pack? Who was the young boys? That that's
squad was s P W and Willy and your age?

Speaker 5 (34:52):
Yeah, Will Sonny was like a lot younger than us,
but he was in the he was in the pack.
He was just a young kid. He rocked up and
he looked like Tarzan at age seventeen, liked long had
and just ripped up and you know, and he's a
good man, Sonny, but he was also.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
Yeah, we were loose.

Speaker 5 (35:15):
We were loose, like we had myself for any Willie
Mason okay, really really.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
Tongue convinced me we were we were we were.

Speaker 5 (35:25):
We had fun, you know, like we we trained hard,
played hard, like what you just said there with Billy,
Like we'd go out into the cross till four in
the morning, have to be training by eight, and we
just find a way to get there. We'd have to
do malcolms and whatever else and we'd do it half honestly,
we do it half cut and then you know you'd.

Speaker 3 (35:44):
Have the rest of the day off. But we just try.

Speaker 5 (35:46):
We you know, we had a good time. But we
we trained hard, you know, and we just wrote it.

Speaker 3 (35:50):
But j T was in there. There's a few of us.
It was a good game.

Speaker 1 (35:58):
Two thousand and four years wanted. I remember about pretty bit.

Speaker 3 (36:01):
A third of the way through.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
The season, the U Blokes played the Tigers out of Campbelltown.
I turned up and was a few of the boys
coming back from injury in the reserve grade side with
Sonny Bill Williams running a tour and Jonathan Thurston to
say he's won yeah game.

Speaker 4 (36:17):
Yeah, yeah, bloody, what about that? That Premiership. Like, you're
you're still quite young in your career and you're coming
up against Freddie Fitler, was Brad the other five as? Yeah,
were you pretty like as? Were you a confident bloke
or were you quite intimidated by that?

Speaker 3 (36:31):
No? I was confident.

Speaker 5 (36:33):
Yeah, yeah, I was confident, Like he was my favorite
player too, and I'm coming up against him in a
Grand Final. You know, I always had a like and
I think this is why there's a lot of people
did judge me a little bit back then, but I
was I was confident, had a little bit of arrogance.
But I look back on it and I think it
got me to where I was, Like, you know, I

(36:53):
think it didn't come across the best at.

Speaker 3 (36:55):
Times, but it was just the way I was.

Speaker 5 (36:57):
It'd always sort of had a lot of success as
a young oak and back myself and had confidence and ability.
So I was was definitely confident. Wasn't intimidated by playing him,
although he did smash me first. I dropped it nearly
the first touch. You come charging at me from Marker
and he was all over the top of me, into me,
just hammering me about it, and you know, but it
was all it was I look back on it was like,

(37:18):
you know, it's moments like that you never forget, you know.
And then we ended up winning the game and I
got the ring with number six on. It was Freddy's
last game too, so it was.

Speaker 4 (37:26):
That Freddy's last game.

Speaker 5 (37:27):
Yeah, and you know, here I am wearing the you know,
the Premiership ring with number six on it, which was cool.

Speaker 3 (37:36):
Yeah, but yeah, it was. It's surreal when you look
back and when you're in the moment.

Speaker 5 (37:43):
When you're in the moment, you just kind of think
it's normal, you know, like you don't think it's that
big of a deal, and then you look back on
it all a few years after and you go, wow,
that was huge, you know, But when you're in it,
you just think it's normal.

Speaker 3 (37:56):
You do, you do.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
It's always like those things, you look back and you
get a bit of perspective. Like the next move break
you're talking about sitting in a the either storm is
that you go to the roosters, who are the arch
enemy of of the Bulldogs at the time, but the
principal enemy, the historical enemy of South's.

Speaker 3 (38:20):
That was That was that tough.

Speaker 5 (38:22):
That was that was the hardest moment in my career.
It was so big, and because I wanted to stay
at the Borders. There was a lot of people don't understand,
but we with that team. I just mentioned, you know,
the cap we had no they had no money for me,
and the Bulldogs wouldn't say that because it looked bad
if they said they couldn't afford me or wanted or

(38:43):
they didn't have any money for me. So they kind
of said going to move on, but really they'd sign
really in Sonny. I didn't have a cent so I
had to go. And to this day, a lot of
Dogs fans think I just walked out. I didn't. I
had to go. So then it was where do I go?
And Souse had just been reinstated, so that was really fresh.

(39:05):
They didn't really you know, they didn't really have an
established team.

Speaker 3 (39:08):
They're rebuilding.

Speaker 5 (39:10):
And then I've got the Roosters, you know, Ricky Stewart,
who's my origin coach at the time, you know, take
you know, I'm meeting with him and Gindel and Politis
and Brus and you know they're there, you know, and
now I'm taken over from Freddie, you know, so there's
kind of that opportunity there, and then I remember that
the house. My uncle's the president of House, and they're

(39:32):
throwing the kitchen sink at me and he's offering me
everything possible, and I'm thinking to I, I was a
Souse supporter too, so I wanted to I wanted to
go there, and I said, I'll only go there if
you if you I think they're trying to get awfored
at the time, and Maddie Bell and I said, if
you can get orphaned and Bell, I'll go, you know,

(39:54):
I'll definitely. That's enough for me to definitely go to Souse.
And then they just missed both of and I'm like,
I can't go there by myself.

Speaker 3 (40:02):
It was a.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
Patchwork team those early years. Yeah, it wasn't getting themselves
established again. It was a very very difficult time because
you aren't necess like so coops when you When I
kicked out of the competition, they lost all their contracted players,
so they had.

Speaker 3 (40:15):
To rebuild it. They had to do a complete, completely rebuild. Yeah, yeah,
so we did.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
Joey and I did a favor said it before. George
reached out to Joe and I through a third party,
and so we're really struggling to track players would you
mind coming out in the media or was helping with
their court case as well, come out of the media,
and just to clear that if we get back into
the comp that we were going to sign with Souse
and we went yeah, yeah, we know, so principal that

(40:42):
were afraid to tell life.

Speaker 3 (40:44):
That's good.

Speaker 4 (40:45):
It seems like back in that day fans probably took
it a lot more personally.

Speaker 5 (40:49):
Like it seems like we know Souse fans are like yeah,
like they are as loyal like they there. I mean,
I've been one of them right there. They they see
me crazy right there. They are crazy loyal and they
are red and green eyed. They just didn't they hated me.
They hated me. I remember the game I played not

(41:10):
I think we played them not long after when I
was still at the Dogs, Like as I signed. Oh,
they just bowed me every time I touched it, spat
on me in that I was walking up like it
was that's hard for a young bloke. Yeah, now I was,
you know, I underrest again, I was so young. I
underestimated the impact of the decision, like what like I
really like it was the hardest decision I was about

(41:32):
to make. I wanted to go there I really did,
Like it was my dream to play for Souse from
the second I was born, and just things just didn't
fall into place. It was was it was almost impossible
to make the call. And I was getting this another
thing because I went to the Roosters that like, you know,
he's getting paid more. No, the deal Souse had for
me was it would have set me up for life.

(41:53):
Like it was crazy. It was a crazy deal. And
but for me, it wasn't about the money. It was
about I was in the Origin team. I wanted to
play finals and all that sort of stuff, you know,
and I was just coming to twenty four to twenty
five peak at that time. I throw yourself.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
Into a rebuild, you like, I've come from a premiership
winning side, ambitious, playing for Australia playing and all of
a sudden put yourself into a team. At the time,
as I said, it was patchwork. There was no guarantees how.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
It was going to go. You understand that. How tough
was it your mum?

Speaker 5 (42:24):
It was hard for the family because Mum and George,
brother and sister and they're they're like and you know
George is struggling now, but even Marm and Nole and
they're best friends, you know, and even my mum and
George were the closest siblings out of all of them.
So and they are still today. But there was a
fracture there for a while because me and George were
close too and telling me uncle that I'm not going there.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
Did he take it real bad?

Speaker 3 (42:46):
Like? Did he take it? Uncompromising? Man? George?

Speaker 5 (42:48):
Well he did, you know what, he wasn't too bad
like he Shane Rigardson took it worse.

Speaker 3 (42:55):
Rich from he was crying because.

Speaker 5 (42:59):
It was such a big because down Rich I didn't
take too but it was. It did fracture us a
little bit there, but you know a few years later
then he then he supported, he was fine after a while.

Speaker 3 (43:21):
It was it was just a tough time.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
I know, people like people from that. I maintain this
when you go through certain things in your life, you
hit past your fifties, you actually get a perspective and
you go Rugby league is the most important thing of
the least important things, Like it's really people I get
their identity off of, but you get it into perspective,
you know, like when you see things that happen in
certain people's lives and things like that puts it.

Speaker 5 (43:45):
In you know, I changed everything is when Crow and
Holmes the courtsh after him, he was like, you know
what it's It's not everything, you know, because he got
screwed over by them. So I could tell his perspective
on why, you know, I made my decision where I
le ended. He kind of he pulled back from Sea
House quite a bit, and I think that that changed

(44:08):
everything a lot too for him in his life.

Speaker 3 (44:11):
I know that really hurt him, imagine, and he didn't
he didn't look at the game the way he used to.

Speaker 4 (44:18):
It's funny now like I think most of the young
players in the NRL now probably see it for what
it is, which is a business. Like where it hearing
you guys talk about the game, probably from I would
say probably pre twenty ten, before it started to player
started to see it like that. It does seem like
it was a real loyalty like family, but like you

(44:41):
didn't want to offend anyone, and you probably didn't see
you would never think the club would treat you like
a pawn.

Speaker 1 (44:49):
Well, I was just at a physio and the young
blake he was treating me. Yeah, he just couldn't believe
what I was benching.

Speaker 3 (44:54):
But I've got this yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
What off Man.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
And the young Blake asked me. He said, oh, you
know you played for the Knights. Yeah, you still love
the club and I yeah, but I look back at
it now. I love the city, I love the people,
I love my teammates. A club changes all the time,
it evolves, it evolves around.

Speaker 3 (45:23):
You know, that's what your link is.

Speaker 4 (45:25):
Do you because hearing you talk about South, hearing talk
about the Bulldogs, you played for the Roosters. Obviously you
played for the West Tigers. Looking back, now, who do
you see yourself as?

Speaker 3 (45:35):
Like?

Speaker 4 (45:35):
Do you have an is there a certain clubway yourself?

Speaker 3 (45:40):
You can't sit on the fience. You've got to choose one.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
All I love the last nobody called reedy. You're really
goosing yourself, really really gets that likely worked.

Speaker 5 (45:54):
You know, like this is an impossible it's impossible coops.
Like I spent six or seven years of both, but
like both of them want to comp with one captain
the other for four or five years. I love them both,
like for what they've done for me the position. I
mean now, even with Fox and three sixty in life,
I wouldn't have without either of those clubs, like they
are my clubs. I love them forever. I can't pick

(46:17):
one or the other, you know, like I know Buzz
has fun with it on three sixty, but I want
them both to do well.

Speaker 3 (46:22):
But when you like, I find it new. Kind of
made a good point there.

Speaker 5 (46:26):
When you're in our role now and you sit back
and you're working the industry like we do, you kind
of lose like you want to. You're not as obsessed
with it, like you're more look at it from objectives,
Like yeah, objectives objective.

Speaker 3 (46:41):
You're you're not.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
It's hard to explain. You don't live and die off
every result, you know, like it doesn't really impact me
as much if they win or lose.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Yeah, the most important thing is what your break down.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
Yeah, that's it. That's what I enjoy.

Speaker 1 (46:55):
Yeah, what did two great sides play?

Speaker 3 (46:57):
That's what That's what you love.

Speaker 1 (47:01):
Emotional just still like a Barchie chicken the shrimp fry
with a thousand dolan sauce. I was shattered when I
actually realized one thousand dollars. I actually thought it was
like a mashed up when I was younger, like you know,
seafood mix and realized it was a mayonnaise with tomatoes ketchup.

Speaker 3 (47:18):
Yeah, yeah, making shattering.

Speaker 2 (47:21):
Can I ask you a question, Matthew quickly? Is any
penny still around?

Speaker 4 (47:24):
Because someone told me the other day it's completely shut down?

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Is there any truth to that? Shut down?

Speaker 3 (47:29):
Still around? Best chicken around? That's yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:33):
This isn't a library neither.

Speaker 3 (47:35):
Yeah, this isn't any penny.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
A Newcastle steggles. Now you've come to the boondocks. Out
this way and one thing out this way, you sit
and you get a fair bit of privacy.

Speaker 3 (47:48):
It this way. Now.

Speaker 1 (47:49):
In the suburbs, break papers like the Daily Mail seem
to have an obsession with you.

Speaker 3 (47:55):
I don't know, they're not interested in the fact that
I drink with sixty year old men. But does that, like.

Speaker 1 (48:00):
When you talk about impacting your mom and family? Does
that is just an annoyance.

Speaker 5 (48:05):
It's just an annoyance. I've dodged them pretty good lately,
which is good. It's you know, it's hard with relationships.
You know, you can't just go we You know, if
you want to go and have dinner or a couple
of drinks, you got to be wary of someone taking
a photo because then it ends up in the paper
when you.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
A wife, When did that start?

Speaker 3 (48:34):
Well, I mean it starts when you when you marry
Jodie Gordon.

Speaker 5 (48:37):
You know, like at the time that was that was
wasn't quite under the radar, right, like Jodie. I met
Jody back a long time ago, and you know she
was obviously home and away and she was with Ryan
Stokes and so she was quite the personality when I
met her, right, she was in Australian TV and that
sort of thing.

Speaker 3 (48:58):
And then that that's when it really amped up.

Speaker 5 (49:00):
I mean, to be fair, I still already had it
before then, just because I think because of my uncle
and then there's always there's always been something around me.
I don't know it from the second I played it.
Maybe as I played at a young age. I don't know,
but there was kind of always attention, whether good or bad,
you know, and it's just yeah.

Speaker 3 (49:21):
I think maybe dating a few high profile women help.

Speaker 1 (49:24):
I remember anything that Alex thought Beckham. Beckham said about
Alex Ferguson when he started dating Posh Spice. He said
to him, you know this decision will follow you for
the rest of your life. Now that's an exaggeration. If
you have that is one of the things that has
defined David Beckham. Now if he had married Ronda next door,

(49:45):
then you know, the whole Beckham thing would not be
exactly what it is regardless of him and been a
good food.

Speaker 3 (49:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (49:51):
We look at Travis Kelcey, right and Taylor like everyone
thought everybody who knows sport knows.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
What Travis kelcey is.

Speaker 4 (49:57):
But then you put him into you marriag the biggest
pop star in the world. I mean, he's dating the
biggest pop star in the world. Now all of a sudden,
anyone everyone on earth knows to Travis kelcey is, whether
they know him a was an NFL player or his tas.

Speaker 2 (50:08):
For his boyfriend. Like, it's a pretty.

Speaker 4 (50:12):
Actually, And you know, I didn't realize I haven't felt
this probably until I left footy and joined the radio
show where it's not really a sporting show. But you
don't realize how many people have no idea actually about sport,
or how many people just don't even care about sport.
Like the world is, especially Australia. Australia is a massive place.

(50:33):
The amount of people that listen to listen to the
radio show who don't listen, they're just invested in people's
relationships and.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Behind that Colin Jackie, that's that's I did a bit
of stuff with them years ago. They're great and I
listened to you guys all the time. But Colin doesn't
give a shit about sport. But like people are obsessed
with just with the gossip and rumors and relationships and just.

Speaker 1 (50:58):
And you know that that's what things. That has added
to the sport too, if you like. I remember, like
I always loved English soccer growing up, but I lost
touch with it for years until I went over to
England with the Kangaroo Tour started to understand Canton and
all these people. When you understand the personalities, it brings.

Speaker 3 (51:15):
You to the sport.

Speaker 1 (51:16):
And there's a lot of people who you know, oftentimes
who will follow rugby league that don't necessarily love the
game inside out, but they love something. Bill Williams love
Breathing Master, they love Nathan Cleary and that's why they
follow their.

Speaker 3 (51:29):
Sides and follow the sport.

Speaker 1 (51:31):
That's why personalities are so important.

Speaker 3 (51:33):
Yeah, so it is annoying.

Speaker 5 (51:35):
Yeah, it's annoying because you I think I could be
down like I got done at Couldie and this was
a couple of easygo and I was just having a
drink with like me and a couple of a couple
of girls and the camera. The guy's got a part
of me and just the girl and he's cut the
everyone else out. And then then now and then all

(51:56):
of a sudden, you know you're in a relationship. I
could have just met this person and asked to Woozy,
he's in a relationship.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
She didn't.

Speaker 5 (52:05):
They find out who the person in the photo, and
then all of a sudden, you're getting married in Vegas.

Speaker 4 (52:08):
It's like happening all like, Yeah, you go on an
innocent trip over to Bali and it just happens to
come inside.

Speaker 2 (52:17):
That was my That was one of my favorite.

Speaker 3 (52:21):
Yeah, an Aster and friends.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
Those people didn't they didn't see it.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
You got snapped in Bali and they made they created
an angle that you were gone over there with a.

Speaker 3 (52:31):
School desperate em happened to himself.

Speaker 1 (52:35):
Laurie and Gordon we went to the Gold Coast for
a VV promotion and we've all met at the hotel
and it's made nice ole day and so what you reckon?
Boys would stan down to have a swim. Yeah, we
walked down there as we get to the beach, we
get the shirts off and we're walking down there to swim.
All these all these people start going to least.

Speaker 3 (52:52):
We realized schoolies was ye, sure, didn't Gordon Jordan for sure?
I think said that two thousand and six was the
best year of school is.

Speaker 1 (53:05):
I was.

Speaker 3 (53:05):
I was with Harry and that Yeah, we had a
good night.

Speaker 5 (53:13):
And then it was the only rule. I've been there
for three or four days, and we ripped in that
and I had a good one. And then I woke
up my famous red hot in the morning. I'm like,
what's going on here? And then it's like embrace enjoying.
He's the tool, he's going out of schoolies, And I'm like,
fucking seriously, we had a good laugh.

Speaker 4 (53:32):
How do you Yeah, like you gotta you've got to
laugh at it. But how do you handle a lot
about stuff? Like how do you individually have a lot
of stuff?

Speaker 3 (53:39):
Now? I don't give a ship.

Speaker 5 (53:41):
I used to let it impact me, like I think
it's to helped me as a person too, Like I
used to really, even as a player, I used to
worry about all that, you know, like people's opinions and
you know, whatever, criticisms but I don't.

Speaker 3 (53:55):
I do not care. I just don't care anymore.

Speaker 5 (53:57):
Coops like I love what I do, you know, I
you know, I feel like I do right two beautiful
young girls. You know, I'm pretty confident in my morals
and values and all that sort of stuff. You know,
I don't really listen to the outside noise anymore. It
doesn't impact me.

Speaker 3 (54:15):
Everything you just said.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
That is what I'm not. You have two kids you're
proud of, You're very comfortable in your morals.

Speaker 3 (54:24):
To finish with it before you do.

Speaker 1 (54:25):
Loves of the boys were curious playing Set of Origin
with Uncle Joey.

Speaker 3 (54:30):
Yeah, how was that was? That was an eye opener.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
Of course, two thousand and five.

Speaker 3 (54:37):
Yeah, it was. It was. It was cool.

Speaker 5 (54:40):
I mean Joey he was you know, we all know
he's loose and loves a drink and a good time,
but he was he hard worker, you know, and he
instilled a lot of work ethic and I got to
see how the best do it behind the scenes, which
was for me. It was like an apprenticeship kind of
thing at the time. And and then I just couldn't
believe how far ahead he was thinking during games, Like

(55:02):
it was like a game of chess with Joey's kind
of setting up a certain player at one like he'd
be going away to get back at you know, either
a middle forward or whatever it may be. And then
and then as soon as he'd sort of catch them out,
then he'd get to an edge and catch someone happening
out there, and he just it was just like a
game of chess. And I really learned a lot from him,
like just thinking three or four players ahead, but also preparation,

(55:25):
you know, and attention to detail, you know, like we
are passing. You wanted the ball out in front every time,
so I was catching it with two hands, not on
my chest, and just simple things like that, you know,
footwork and kind of were I receiving the ball, and
you know, even to kicking, you know, when he when
you sort of shape it to the outside post and

(55:46):
kick it off his inside foot everything. I kind of, yeah,
I learned a lot from him, and I still I
still get it. He's doing work with pears at the moment.
You know, he's a That was the rule I have,
Like I never played with anyone close to his ability ever,
and I didn't afterwards either that that series, he was

(56:09):
phenomenal yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:11):
Well they talk about like it's it's pretty well.

Speaker 2 (56:13):
It was his comeback series, right, you just come back.

Speaker 3 (56:16):
And well comula through intercept.

Speaker 5 (56:19):
Yeah, in the first and then me and him, I
got called in, so that was your debut. And I've
played before, but I got called in for the to
play in the halves with Bas, and then Bas went
down with the back injury, and then Joey came in
and then we played the next couple of games together
and went being bang.

Speaker 3 (56:39):
But I was just riding away. But that's how that's
how he came back.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
He tells a story the mate. It was terrifying, he said,
just just sort of cruising along in the training, he said.
And Joey turned up that second game and he said, mate,
if it wasn't the right spot, he said, he just
screamed at me. He said, I was just total, totally
on edge.

Speaker 3 (57:01):
He said, it was. It was scary.

Speaker 4 (57:02):
Well, the boys say like generally start of origin camps
are quite cruiser, like they try to keep morale high,
get you to game day.

Speaker 2 (57:08):
It's all about connection.

Speaker 4 (57:10):
It sounds like when Uncle Joey came in was a
little bit different, like it was almost like your club training,
like it was quite intense, or it.

Speaker 5 (57:17):
Was very intense. Yeah, like it's but like you have
a good time. Yeah, he's on the back of the
bus with his can of coke.

Speaker 3 (57:27):
Yeah. Actually, glad you said camp.

Speaker 2 (57:31):
Well he did that.

Speaker 3 (57:32):
It's quite a bit he get there.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
Sometimes we would leading into the finals and ninety eight
and we're sitting there, we've lost a couple of games
in a row, and Joey goes. Joey's sitting there telling
the group we need to go onto alcohol band, we're unprofessional,
while he's having a large McDonald's coke and with alcohol
in it. And then turned up Lake for training the
next day and we said what happened with the alcohol band?

(57:55):
He said, mate, look, they don't work.

Speaker 4 (57:59):
We got a little segment you for you have to
finish off. It's called Loan Survivor. All right, Matthew usually
runs it, but he always MUCKs up. How we explained
it to the guests. So what happens is we give
you a category. It might be best teammate, it might
be funnest teammate, and then we go through a few
and you pick one until we're left with one, and
then that's that's the winner of that category.

Speaker 3 (58:18):
This tends to over explain it.

Speaker 2 (58:20):
This is best origin teammate for you.

Speaker 4 (58:23):
Okay, we've just touched on origin, but you know you
don't know what there might be surprising there anyway, Mark
o'merely or.

Speaker 2 (58:29):
Nathan heimash.

Speaker 3 (58:34):
Colleague, and I've got to go. Yeah, I played with him.

Speaker 2 (58:40):
Too, Ogre or Danny Badeiros.

Speaker 3 (58:44):
As a player, you can justify it.

Speaker 4 (58:46):
Heavy you want as your origin teammate. It can be
Bedsy or Steve Menzies be Bedsy or Mark Asnier.

Speaker 3 (58:58):
I'm pretty close.

Speaker 4 (58:58):
I'll go Guess Dazz or Jason Rolls.

Speaker 2 (59:03):
Rolls last twenty four hours.

Speaker 3 (59:05):
I'll stick with gaz on this.

Speaker 4 (59:07):
Gazz or Craig fits given, Fitz fits your Anthony Minicella.

Speaker 3 (59:12):
Stick with Fizzy Fitz.

Speaker 4 (59:14):
Your Paul Gallon, Fitz Fitz, your Andrew John's Joey.

Speaker 3 (59:19):
Oh okay, woll okay. I thought you.

Speaker 4 (59:22):
I thought you might have edged him out just because
you played with fifty for longer.

Speaker 3 (59:25):
That was it.

Speaker 4 (59:25):
But finishing Yeah yeah, no, no, no, we left here nice
left him out.

Speaker 3 (59:35):
We always have been good. I appreciate you coming over.
Made three sixty nights. That's great job. Enjoyed it.

Speaker 4 (59:44):
Thank your brave well said, school is next year, next year,