May 18, 2025 • 40 mins
Josh Addo-Carr looks back on his rise in rugby league, from early challenges to his current chapter with the Parramatta Eels. He shares career highs, the impact of Storm’s culture, and learning from legends like Billy Slater. From army camps to locker room banter, Josh gives an honest look at what shaped his game.
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0:00-Intro
2:45-Parramatta
7:00-Career
14:00-Storm First Year
17:00-Army Camp
24:30-The Big 3
28:30-Storm Depth
29:30-Billy Slater
33:30-Dressing Room
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
My parents.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm not living with them. I'm just staying with them.
I'm looking I'm taking care of them at the moment. Yeah,
because I don't know if you know, but these two
late you know there, they're getting old.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Let's hope you do look after me when I'm like
mid seventies and I'm actually shooting myself.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
You to wipe my ass, change my nappy, all that
sort of stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Look forward to.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm sure the home I put you in obviously when
i'm living.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Truth right.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Also, I'll make sure i'll redecorate your bedroom upstairs when
i'm up there as well. It'll be good fun just
through out the work bench, mate, I'm going to get
all the boys in here. Fox's family is going to
move in. I'm in here, Brandon.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
The monsters.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I don't want them. That'd be horrible. Josh had a car, mate,
Good to have.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
You any good?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, mate, I don't know if you know how to
work a mic before, if you work too.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Far away, yeah, you get it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
You'll be able to hear yourself in the We call
these things cans. Cans.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
They're away.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
No, you're not allowed. Just when you laugh, go all
the way back there. What have you been doing? What's happing?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Not much, bro, just family time with the kids. Missus.
Father again, huh father again? Well done? Another little boy,
Jack Jada Black?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Were you hoping is there? Are you thinking about? Were
you hoping there to be a girl? Because you've already
got a little boy. I want to try full of boys, bro,
you just want all boys.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I already got my girl right fighting troop by the graces.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I think the same too, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Make sure they look after the trouble.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, that'd be good. But they all play footy?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You want them to.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't want them to. But if they love it,
then you.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Were the same, right dude, You probably didn't want You
didn't want us to play footy.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I was happy to do whatever you wanted to do.
But look in an ideal world. I remember having a
conversation with Jack wants to mate, listen, why don't you
go go to the States to get a college education?
And he was like, nah, Dad, you know Friday nights
I corrupted you sitting every Friday night, me drinking on
the couch watching Friday night football.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It just bled into you. Blokes.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, what do you do? You choose your own path anyway.
I can't tell you what to.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Do exactly, bro. And if you tell, if you try
to tell your kids what to do, you know what
they're going to do. Fox. Let them pick their own path.
I give them enough road to trip over.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Thanks for the gifts to by the way.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, let's try it, man.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I think I love this green. You know, green is
my color. Green, Green is my color. I mate, I
get attracted door things green. It's a roll leg green.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, I love it. I appreciate it. It's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Let's talk quickly. But Paramatta, right now, how are you
enjoying time over and paramounter?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I love?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, just the people, the player group, the coaching staff,
everyone behind administration there. Transitioned really well into the team.
I knew a lot of the boys and the coaching staff,
so love and I know we're not getting the results
at the moment, we're not far off, but just just
loving the way we want to play in the stole
of foota we want to play.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
But I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
You've come from clubs with good fan base. Melbourne had
a good fan base, Bulldog's got a crazy fan base.
Paramatta like there is. That's as big a fan base
as called.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The Sleeping Giant.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, right, how's the Roles files going Jason Rolls?
Obviously you had him as assistant coach at Melbourne. You've
got a good relationship with him. Has you been going.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
He's been going good man.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
You know, he's the same as when we were at
the Storm. But I don't think not much has changed.
But he's been good.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But this is still not alluding to what he used
to put on the powerpoints when he was an assistant coach.
But yeah, used to call Billy Billy Walters used to
call it the greatest showman because he had a really
good dummy. But he used to take used to do
these things like at the start of every meeting. It
was just like you know that one mate in a
group chat who always somehow gets the sickest videos. Let's
(04:09):
get sent to him. He'd always just put this real
like sickening video just to get the room laughing, and
then he'd have everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Does he still do that?
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Phil Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls, probably the greatest, one
of the greatest coaches history of sports. When he used
to do the videos for the Chicago Bulls with Jordan
and all those blokes, he used to like sort of
cut together into the film scenes from the Wizard of
Oz and everything. Get them laughing.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Oh really like that? He was really imagining.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
If I mean, if you're gonna sit there in a
team meeting for anyhow, you may as well be able
to have a bit of a laugh.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
And you want energy before the meeting too. I think
that's what rosal. He makes the meetings and training fun.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Got to hear some of the coaches, Foxy. Just imagine
sitting in a meeting with that for an how and
a half.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, you know, we just.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
We sort of like, you know, I think we're better
than that, just going off. Yeah, I wonder some people
sit there, you know? Am I wasting my life?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah? What about the playing group? What about the boys
that you haven't seen? You a lot of them coming in.
But how is the because every playing groups like different
every you have loose characters in there, what's the paramatter?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Like? Let sleep, bro, I feel like we're a close bunch.
You know, they're good, They're good bunch of boys.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Who's your game?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Uh? One?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Or two senior player, you've got to basically after all
of them.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
That's true because we live we live all over Sydney
bro We always try to catch up with a cafe
before training before captains run.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
But I feel like we're all close group.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Did you play with Mitch at the Tigers?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Yes? I was that the titles with Mitch Mitch.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's We always.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Talk about it. Back in the days, we had a
pretty good side.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oh yeah, you had a well like back in those
days to a lot of you young guys who are
all like sort of scattered around in the NRL now
and leaders at their respective clubs, but you guys were
like you were probably the you guys were the rat
pack of the West Tigers and now you're all like,
you know, good family man all your respective clubs. But
(06:16):
I imagine you'd have some cracking stories, not for not
for the.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Like what, he's a good players, a good kid.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He's a very good kid.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
He keeps to himself, but I feel like over the
last couple of weeks he's really coming out of the
shell and has a laugh at the boys, comes out
the breaky like I said, and he's definitely a shigning like.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Tear Blake, I reckon, you get on really good with
He's an old player who went to Union for years.
Scotty wise Man or one of the assistants.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Scotty how good is love him?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Because I had the time of up in lenox Head
when Covid when Covid.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Here, Oh yeah, was he up there?
Speaker 1 (06:58):
He was?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
That's why who I did a little pre season because
I last stayed in Sydney and everyone had to go
to melbur.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You and George Jennings, Yes, yeah, that's right. I remember your.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Storm said, oh, we got like a couple of hours
to pack all that stuff up and drive down to Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I said, I can't, like I don't know, I had
something on or whatever.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
But end up getting stuck in Sydney and they were like, oh,
you have to move to to lenox Head for three
or four weeks, have a little mini pre season up
there because there was a green zone.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And Sydney was a red zone. Yeah that's right, Yeah,
I had all these little zones.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I remember when you did it. Yeah, all the boys
were off because you guys were remember we were in
we were in Melbourne and it was like piercing down
rain and Foxy and Jenks were in Where was that Lennox?
And it was like every day they just post pictures
at the beach and just the locals made.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Us so fun for they cooked to the surf. I
don't have to surf. I don't even know how to swim,
but a surf I was.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I'm trying to get out there. But I'm just you know,
I'm not the fittest person at all. I'm trying to.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Make your a Lando.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Bargain with a crack. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, why is he going to full circle? Why is
he played under twenty one for Paramount of President's Cup
that's called back in the day. Then he went away
went into the union coaching union with the war Tars Wallabies,
English Ruby Union back of Paramount. Tremendous fella.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
He's so smart, like he comes up with little drills
that we can work on, like within our game. I'll
sit down with them all at the time, and obviously
it was part of the union there for a bit
and Rosie give me heads up just to try to
give him a hand and a few areas and that's
something I really enjoyed. Try to coach the boys and
help the boys and help our coaches as well.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And let's go to your und our old journey for
a week. Let's start right in the beginning. You start
at the Sharkis of your South juniors.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yeah right, he went Mattreville Light, didn't you?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Did you come through with any of the boys there.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There's a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Adnamshan Or Blake, Tyron Phillips, Aaron Gray, Dylan Walker.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Reno went there, didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Boy Cord?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
What was Blake like in school?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
He's just stubborn brother.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
I played so much football with Adam through school obviously
through Souse as well.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I've known him since under elevens or something.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
He's a good player, He's freak. He's so good.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
But if you if you looked at us two back
in the day, you think, oh no, there's two followers
and never making you know what I mean, like all
the two rat.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Bays and fifteen. You know what, it's just good to
see that.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
You know, he he's stuck by his dream and he's
a feeling man now and he's back in.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Sydney and enjoy his foot.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, great places come out of Matroville, so all once
spoken about. But back in the day, Michael Whitney, who
was a left hand let's Australian cricketer.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Actually he was the guy one of the major reasons
South got back in the competition, massive south Man.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
But also the Ollow brothers.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, Steve, Gary, Gary and Mark Loave It three brothers
who played for the Wallabies. Now the mainstay of the
eighty four Grand Slam Mark Keller. Many believe him to
be the greatest union player of all time. Naturally, really, yeah,
they came through the greats playing rugby league.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
They all played Wallabies together.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
All played Wallabies together on the same side.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's pretty good. But I wanted to ask the Sharks
because you played under twenties at the Sharks, yep, did what.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Were the did the Sharks?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Like I've always wanted to know. I always wanted to
ask you, did the Sharks want to keep you there?
Or like did something happen or because you end up
at the obviously debut at the Tigers. But I thought
I'd imagine you would have been a junior that like,
if you were coming through their ranks, they would have
wanted to retain it, right.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I wasn't a so how it all started for me?
Speaker 4 (10:45):
I signed up online because I was gone through a
bit of stuff when I was younger, just had a
year off foot and I signed up on the line
for a trial at the Sharks. The Bulldogs and the
Sharks tried out for both and I think it was
like one hundred players to try out for the under twenties,
and that's how sort of all started for me. And
I was the only play out of like one hundred
players that get picked out of that troll to stay
(11:08):
with the under twenty side. And I was like, I
think I was I didn't even I wasn't meant to
play round one under twenties. And then with one of
the wingers pulled up sick or something and ended up
getting the crack there and scored I think two three
tries against the Gold Coast Times and that's sort of
helped started for me and kept my position there. Played
(11:28):
fullback a bit of five eight there as well. Yeah,
fullback center wi mister fixed back.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
He's the passing going on John West Bro.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I really enjoyed my football there, Bro.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
But yeah, Flano was the head coach there, stayed there
for two years. They just wanted to sign me for
was Cup after after twenties. But Melbourne and the Tigers
wanted to sign me for first grade for both one year,
and I just thought it was the first grade contract.
Never really trained me first grade at the Sharks as well,
(12:06):
So I just wanted to give it one more crack.
That's that was my attitude towards it. Just give it
a last last crack.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And that's why I went to the the So what
so Melbourne were circling you then, Yeah, they wanted to
sign me for one you deal to go down there,
but I was like, I wasn't stable at the time,
like just living was. So I was like, I'll give
it one last crack here in Sydney with the West Tigers.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Then I played nine games there and yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Remember that Sunday like hard over against the same game.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, because you'd signed with Melbourne two weeks before.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That, right was captains run day before?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So the day before, oh wow, day before the Tigers.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
No, No, they didn't know. That's what I mean, like
Tigers are always the last enough, no last side.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Because I was obviously going really well in this of
Ours Cup and I wasn't getting a crack and and
it's melturne storm but they offered me, I think a
three deal or something. And still if I don't take,
you know, and yeah, I'm signing the contract day before
Captain's run. And then the next day I didn't even
know I was going to play. They all told me
or David, David's out, You're in, but they.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Didn't telling And the back of it, I'm like, I
just signed.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It's an incredible coincidence though, that your first grade to
Boo and his first grade to against each other, and
you blokes would actually form one of the great wing combinations.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
It's crazy when I look back at it.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Now, do you like still speak to him just on Instagram?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I just reply to his stuff here and there.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
He's still not crazy down he's in.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I think he's in Japan at the moment.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
I think he signed with like overseas quiet, but every
now and then we touch base.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
But yeah, it's one of the great mysteries. He hasn't
dominated union. I thought that when he went there to
here we Go, he did.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
A real bad hamstring remember when he first went and
he was out for like nearly the whole year. And
I don't think he's like I think like they've struggled
to rehabit for a while. I think he's sort of
come in and out of the side, like he's injured
a lot of the time.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
So Fox, just when you went to I don't want
to jump too far ahead here.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You just tell me if I've gone a little bit too.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You go to your plans, you can see you can
see who the alpha.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And the.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Bloke behind us.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
When you went.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
So when you went to Melbourne, what was the first
conversation you had with with Craig as far as the
expectations he had on you.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
It was at the front of his house with that
cafe across the road from his house.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
In Oh yeah, what is that?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
To be honest, I can't remember, but.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I think I was telling him at the time, like, okay,
I can't remember what the common station was until I
got the first day of pre season.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yep. He's like, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Can't be doing all this Larry stuff after trials and sweet.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah done, but no problems. But the first ever meeting.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I was so worried about, like moving to another city
or another state. He's like, look, mate, if it doesn't
work out, we can we can send you back home
with no stress. So you don't need to worry about that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh really, he always gave you that option, Like.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Yeah, I always that, Yeah, give me that option. But so,
and that's probably the only thing I remember from that conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Did you ever have that temptation to go back or
did you love it straight away?
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Rather the first year I was struggling. I didn't know
anything about tax and all that kind of stuff. So
I went brought a brand new car, brand new highlus.
I didn't know anything about tax I thought of the
multimnion at the time.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
But yeah, so I bought a brand new car.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I was paying a fortune for that, and then I
have to obviously live in a house and I was
living off like one hundred dollars tow hundred bucks a
week and I was struggling.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I ring my best man.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
I said, but I don't think I can stay down anymore,
because I was living off two hundred two hundred bus
or one hundred bucks a week or whatever it was.
And I almost almost moved back. My best man was like, no,
I just stay down to stick to it. And that
was probably just before the season started. So I didn't
know whether I was dayborn.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
So so you didn't know like obviously that Melbourne preseason
must have been like a shock to the system for you,
because look, letting people know like Foxy is a is
a sublime athlete, he's a fast twitch man, and in
the gym you can like throw weight around like because
you're powerful, spots power. But when you were still be
(16:43):
the one effort man, because you do a lot of
conditioning games, heaps are running like for a long period
of time and say like the ball, get out the
fox and you'd go one hundred meters and score. But
then for the next five minutes in the game, Foxy
was just he was out like you would So that
first pre seas it must have been that's a minute
man's moments moment.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Man.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yeah, it was very tough, but believe it. And I
was pretty I was actually pretty fit. How skinny I
was before I went to Melbourne. That's when it just
hit me, like a ton of bricks, just the way
they trained and how the intensity of training like after
a recession, but like you could only walk put their
conditioning games into third h whatever into like we'll find
(17:29):
we'll finish on.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Running.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Yeah, I'll be away at the back like it was
just so it's just a mental thing. Like, yeah, just
don't stop moving sort of thing. But I remember when Craig,
because Craig didn't come back to training for like two
or three weeks in the preseason, and the first session back,
I think it was the hardest day. It was like
a Tuesday or something, and we did the session and
we're doing M A S. And I was way at
the back, and you know when you're real tired by
(17:54):
your head starts going off.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, the squibvel.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Yeah, He's like, your head's not gonna make you run
fast or something.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Some stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So we used to I love the noises used to
make we always we used to impersonate all the time
when we were running, because you go fun like the
two starting wingers. When I got there the next year,
when we were doing mass, which is like the worst
part of the sash because it's just my numbing running
and it's mentally that hard because it's not at least
conn games, like you're thinking about footy, so you're not
focused on running. But it'll be Foxy Foxy at the back,
(18:33):
just going and then surely next to him and surely
takes his boots off and he just would run barefoot
and just just be cruising. It was so funny.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
What about the work we're having to do? The work
site stuff?
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Early on Fox, Oh, I was a laborer brother before
we went the Bulders, I was all right, ah.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
You're wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So you were across the word pro.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I was already cross it.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
But the tough thing was obviously getting uper three or
four cock or whatever it was to.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Do gym and then and then go and work all day.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
I was actually blessed with them with the work I
had because we had a concretor, but he didn't make
a start till like eight thirty. So when we're finished,
when we finished training in the gym, I mean one
of the boys would go to Hungry Jackson to sleep
in the car park for about an hour or two.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Did you yeah, yeah, So who do.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
You work with that?
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
I can't Tony. I think it was Tony. He was
a he was a concretor.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, yeah, far out because that is that work program
is so tough. What did you do the end when
you did Army camp that year, because obviously first players
every it's pretty well documented, do a big Army camp.
Was that a team the whole team one? Or was
that just all the new players.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And I just saw the new players because we had myself, myself,
Jerome Juzzy two.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He that was our first year there. So Jerome's never
done that because he's back.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, Jeromes Hughes, the only person who plays in the
Melvin Streamer still hasn't done a proper Army camp.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Hasn't heard him.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, he used to be hurt every pre season. He
have a surgery Liz Frankie out of Gary Jack one
and he just could never put him in because the
physios were like he'll break down. Yeah yeah wow, And
now it's just too far gone. I think he's just
like he's not a dallim.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Now.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Was it was it Foxy Camp?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It was? It was. It was very very hard. I
don't three days no sleep. You know. We had a
good crew. That was the thing.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Like we had the best thing about the Army camps,
like you get good stories and good laughs out of them,
because no matter what you do, you're gonna fail and
do penalties in the Army camp. So I probably should
have won it, but bells are don't given things.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Who did when you're on.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I was just edited through that the whole throughout the
whole you.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Would have been good for Anna.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
The first night killed me, but we walked we walked
up to the thousand stairs.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
I think we did about three laps of that and
that killed me. But after that I was I.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Remember there are stories of two we because I did
the one the year after you and the boys were
saying two. He was like just a machine.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Though.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
There were some nights when two we would pick up
like some of the boys and just put it, have
him over his shoulder, and he'd be like soldering on
with him too. He's had a man mountain.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Like he because I was his partner on the thousand steps.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Yeah, and yeah, you have a big drum of water.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Yeah, Bro'm back.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I can't walk up this because I was at the back.
Hole it from the back, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
And he goes, it's all right, my brother, that's all right,
picks up what his shoulder, brother puts the both on
the thing like that.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, yeah, seriously, He's like, it's all good, my brother.
I got to you. I got to that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Nothing phases to like everything. Two he is, you might
ask might be having the worst week of his life. Yeah,
and you just go brah seki my brother, Yeah, my
brother And then he's having a really good week and
how good is that? Mate? You just scored four tries?
How are you going? I can seeking. My brother always
is always the same ade.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
It was always the same fresh ass and just cruisy.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah he's so good.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
What are they like on the sea, Like the says
blokes on that camp, do they get in your face?
And yeah, you got to.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Rip in from the very very start. If you rip
in from the very start, they leave you alone. But
if you're just like just not not putting the work in,
I'm not bringing energy in that, they'll fucking get into
your other whole camp.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Who was the guy on the camps boys? Which was
there anyone that really struggled they went after in yours caups?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Apart from yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I remember, very low blow, very cheap for that. There
was one bloke and I think he's played first grade
at the Warriors. Actually he didn't. They were tipping him
to be the next Suley. You remember Junior Retover. They got
him out of Fiji and he was he was a winger. Yeah,
he was huge a he was six foot seven. He
(22:51):
was a man mountain like he was a could run too,
just didn't really love training back then, and they just
went after Junior. Yeah, and I remember we had to
so Brandon Smith won our camp, right, and remember that
on day two with you go right, they might get
foxy up and you've got to rank everybody from last
(23:12):
to first on how they've been at the camp with
like a brutal honesty. So you just got a hammer.
The ones that have been bad, you pull them up
straight away. You you haven't done this, You haven't done this.
Junior come last on everyone's reviews. But Brandon. So, Brandon
got told by the army guy because Brandon was killing it.
They said, you're the like you know, we can see
that you're the leader of this group. You hammer who
he thinks last, and you go after him. You set
(23:33):
the tone. And Brandon goes out there. He goes, yes,
sweet fuck it, Brandon. Brandon just starts going, yeah, Junior,
you haven't done this. This this, you know, I wouldn't
want to lay the boot up next to here. Oh no,
And me and Harry are looking at each other going
holy shit, but this is ruthless. And Harry was up next.
(23:53):
Harry Grant so Harry's going, I've got to follow this,
and he's going, yeah, I wouldn't. He goes seeing what
I've seen this, I wouldn't play alongside yet, like I
would not like Sabuda hammered him. Anyway, Junior was the
last person like he you know, everyone sort of hammed him.
I felt bad because he just wasn't a good trainer,
like he was a gun player. And then Junior gets
up there and he goes, okay, guys, and he was
(24:16):
last after everyone just hading him, and he goes, okay, guys.
So my last is Brandon. And just because Brandon hammered
him and went really personal, he put Brandon laugh and
hammered Brandon. And Brandon was sitting there going like clearly
he was going to win it. All the army guys
you could see them actually laughing because I was like,
(24:38):
he's just hammerding him because he like is off branded.
It was funny, man.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
That is so good. What about you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
The big your first interaction with like Smitty Coober Crunk,
Billy Slater.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Yeah, that must have been pretty What was that like
going to training watching those plays?
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Yeah, I back then, but I just loved playing football.
I didn't know, I didn't know what fill in the
space was. I didn't know what time in the town
of Shape was, like all that kind of stuff. But
me and Bill and Coops and Smithy like how professionally
they were and like just just genuine people. I remember
I remember meeting Cam and I was shaking his hand.
(25:16):
I say, Bro, I'm Josh and He's like, hey man, I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Cameron, and I'm like, bro, I know you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
It just blew me away that like he introduced himself
with his name. He could have just been arrogant, like
knowing that I knew who he was already, but that
just blew me away in itself, you know, just just
to show like what type of person he was. Even
Coops and Bill were the same as well. So there's
probably a standout moment there when I first moved to
the club.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Did they Like a lot of people always say, you
know how and you would have seen it when you
come back to Sydney clubs and stuff, the culture of
a club where it's like you're in a team meeting
and all the big dogs talk. But I imagine it
would have been and you probably would have been the
first few weeks you're in there. You've got Cooper Kronk,
Billy Slade Up, Craig Bellamy, Cameron Smith, the Bromidge Brothers.
(26:01):
You're probably sitting there going, I don't want to say
a word, but they probably they actually forced you to speak,
Like I imagine that would have been a bit of it,
Like you would have been so rad on having to
talk give your opinion.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
And it was because I hate, like I know what
I'm seeing like in video and that. But like Bells
would be like, Josh, what do you reckon here? And
I'm like, oh, man, I don't know, but yeah, I
like come to a point but where I was just like, mate,
I don't know, like you know what I mean, Like
I wouldn't beat around the bush because like a head yeah,
(26:34):
and then like straight made, I don't the boys would
start this cracking up.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
He'd appreciate that, would yah, Yeah, that's what I mean.
Like I didn't beat around the bush. I'd be like
fu made, I don't actually, but.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah, I remember at that time, Bells were talking about
retiring and you could see why because we had.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
You can see you can see why because.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
The senior players how much they took over video. They
drove the standards of train and fucking bells are just
kicking back, just collect the money sort of thing, you know.
But yeah, I remember I remember that period, just thinking
about retirement because of all the senior players. But obviously
he really enjoys.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
What he does.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, But.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Whenever you go to a new club or you might
gant it when you're younger, going at it in the
first grade, you're looking for that breakout performance where yeah, yeah,
proved everyone I belong. Do you remember do you remember
a moment or anything Foxy in Melbourne?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Fuck, probably not too after probably the Grand Final, you're right,
the first Grand Final against Cowboys. I just yeah, against
the Cowboys. Yeah, I just felt like it wasn't my position,
just yeah, just I don't know, just yeah, looking back
at now, I just felt like the wing spot was
my position to probably he won the Grand Final.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
You know. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Didn't feel comfortable.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, I never felt like it was yeah right, yeah,
like I just I don't know why, but yeah, looking
back at it now, I just never felt comfortable in
terms of that's my position. Yeah, you know what I
mean say comfortable, But yeah, I just felt like there
was boys that were killing it in reserve grade. I
train and that probably deserved the spot as well.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
It keeps you sharp, they've done it, it does, but yeah,
it does.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
They showed so much evidence in training and how much
boys are putting in and it's just like, fuck, you know,
I need to do that too, yep.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
And that's what I think. I'm so great about the storm.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
When you've got depth in the club, everyone's up on
their toes, you know, like you never when you never
really feel like, yeah, well.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I imagine like you would if you if you had
a half a nigga, you know, now, like you get
a half a nigger, you go, I can't train for
a couple of days. They want to get this right
back then, Like you know, if you have a couple
of days off, or you have a game off and
somebody goes in and scores a hat trick, like that's
your position to lose, you know, I mean, like they
keep him in there. So how many did you miss
(28:57):
many games that year?
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I miss nothing?
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Did I didn't miss gave for fucking free. I'm pretty
sure three three years unless they pulled me out to
give me a rest, you.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Know what I mean. I never was an injine or anything.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
But yeah, Bells will be like, oh I just have
the week, I'll get ready for the finals or something
something like that.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Other than that, we're talking about keeping sharp and like
you know, at a club like Melbourne where there's so
much depth and so much going on. Evidence of that
is remember Billy had about eighty months up with that
bad shoulder. I remember seeing him down at the twenty
sixteen Melbourne Cup and I saw him and his wife Nicole,
and he just looked down and I want to said, Billy,
(29:35):
how you going, mate? We're having a chat and I said,
you're right, made everything O came and he goes, oh, no,
really said mate.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I sort of.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
He said, you know, Monster took my spot last year
at fullback and I sort of feel like a lot
of people are writing me off. And then I was like, mate,
your fucking Billy Slater anyway. But that's how he felt
in himself.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
It just shows the type of guys.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
And then the next year that that season up on
his toes and feeling unsure.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Mate. I don't think they have ever been a more
successful season.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
He won everything, Bill, Yeah, every award, every trophy, he
held them all.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, even like you'd know this foxy too, Like I
remember my first year twenty eighteen. It was the year
after the Grand Final and he'd come back that year,
you know, won everything. And then the first few weeks
there he invited me and Harry over for dinner just
to make us feel comfortab we moved him down the
road from where him and Nicole lived, and Dad said
(30:28):
he was sitting there cooking dinner and in between tosses
of the saucepan would do like push ups for shoulder rehab.
He had like one of those elastic bands tied against
like the tetawel rack, and would just be like talking
to us while like just trying to keep his shoulder strong.
Like the amount of work that slats he puts in.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
Full time, professional, full like full lot.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Like it's a good example for kids in that because
I used to go home, I'd have like a little
Kentucky bucket. You know, I'll be like you go home
and too, if you want you to put a couple
of wilkilos on yeh sweet. He didn't say how I
do it, but I'll be down like wicked wings and
mash plaid on grave. I'll be pumping.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Them between wicked wings. You don't push up.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Harry's rubbing me.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Out really like he's he's he's my biggest mentor.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Like I learned everything off everything I know.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Now like he he taught me and I still bring
to my game now, Like everything that I teach to
younger players.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I learned off Bills. Yep, learned off the best fullback
in the world. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
I probably haven't said that to anyone, but like looking
back at an hour, like you got me thinking, like
he was my biggest mentor in terms of being an
outside back. And b he's a he's a man, Like
he's a good person, he's a good player. But yeah,
he invited my family over for dinner and how good
is this house? Does He's just beautiful, beautiful, soul, beautiful
(31:53):
for and I'm so grateful for him because I probably
wouldn't be the player I am today without got.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
The whole stud there now too, and yeah, fwine, sex
just all around him.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Yeah, but yeah, excellent. But you just sparked my area.
Then when you're talking about what you tell young players,
because you are you probably only played a couple of
years at Melbourne when a lot of that young crew
started to come through, like, yeah, you know perhaps and
you know a lot of the stars you see today,
(32:22):
like you know, perhaps even Hughsey who hadn't played a
lot of first grade Harry, but you were very good
at communicating and like coaching a lot of us young
players there, which which is you weren't considered like the
oldest player there, but I imagine you would have learned
a heap off the big three that year, and then
you started communicating so much and helping out the young boys.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
Yeah, especially on the field. I wasn't the best at
educating players with everyone in like a meeting room, but
on the field, like I'd be like, I'll be so
into zone that I knew what I was talking about
in them, but in the meeting, I'm like, oh, it
just so rattled.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
You don't want to get shame.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Yeah, I don't want to shame, but yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Just get just being older and obviously being around a
lot longer, just just getting the reps in every day,
it's just maybe even more comfortable, and it just feels
so much more comfortable speaking the meeting and all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Now. So yeah, but back, yeah, back in a strong
days like I was like, but on the field like
I'm sweet as yeah, yeah sweet.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
He was the loudest on the field. Yeah, like you'd
be counting, you would be sledging everyone, you'd be yelling out.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
The tackle, count bringing the vibe he was.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
He was a massive trendsetter in Melbourne, like the amount
of state. Like you see your Let's Trot brand now
before you even turned it into a brand and the merged,
he was I reckon. He said it for two years
straight and we were going, he's not shutting up.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
This is going to be a clothing company.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
One day did we know he was setting up he
was marketing it through the playing group, and then all
of a sudden he here we go. But you used
to always you'll like that.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
We love it, Yeah, we love it.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
All the talk about you had the funniest saying a
question boys in the dressing room in the Belbourne Storm,
because it seems to me, I think a lot of times,
you know there is it seems like a pecking order.
We've got the really experienced guys, you know, but generally
in a dressing room, is everyone sort of equal in there,
even if you're a young guy, not like do the
(34:19):
younger players, like have a ride if they see something
in the video and they went, Craig, can you just
hold that for one second?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
How is that?
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Like?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
How do they respond to that?
Speaker 4 (34:28):
I remember what stands out for me. I remember when
Coops first come to the Storm, Like Coops would be like,
I've got a question, Craig, what do you what are
your thoughts here? Like they made it so comfortable for
the young boys to have a say or ask questions.
And that's that's what the Storm do. They make you
feel comfortable, make you feel wanted. But yeah, I can
(34:51):
just remember, like when you.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
First come to the club, they'll always ask questions, did
I do the right thing? Inveriably? He would say no.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Always tells about the biggest spratt. I think Coop got
a massive stray one day from being late.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Oh yeah, do you remember that shit? So you'll probably
remember this Geelong Camp. My first year in Gelong Camp,
me and Sammy Cassiano, we were late for a meeting
when I slept in. I said, I can reveal it now.
I said that I had been told the wrong meeting venue,
but I'd actually slept past my alarm and I'm running
around trying to find where it is and Sammy Cassiano
(35:29):
I crossed him. He was riding a Razor scooter and
I went cass and he goes, what's up, bro, And
I went bro, we got a meeting and he was
like shit. So then we went and we were running to
the meeting. Me and Sammy cat two polar opposite. Sammy
was like at the end of his career and one
hundred and fifty kilos. I was at the start of
my career in sixty kilos and I walked in. You
can imagine whoeverone was off, not Sammy. Everyone was off
(35:50):
me because then belly Ate was like where you be
and we said, oh, you know, we thought the meeting
room was here. He goes right sweet. Next morning, remember
we all had to get up at four and we
did a wrestle session on It was all technique, but
it was still everybody was up early and we did
a wrestle session in the middle of the park at
Geelong and it was the worst day out for me.
(36:11):
They put me with Jesse Bromich Nelson and Sammy Cassiano
just to teach me a lesson. Even though Sammy was
late too. They refused to pull Sammy up obviously, and
I got palmp day like I was getting absolutely palmel
but I was never late again. I will say that
they do have a great knack of if you're going
to do something wrong, they make sure you never do
(36:32):
it again.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
A tea at Foxy one hundred and eighteen games the
Melbourne Stool ninety six tries. I'm just trying to think
there's not many in the modern game better strike rates
than that.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Must have been a time sitting like.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
In that game, just going man, just sitting there and playing,
just going amongst all those ways.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Again, how good is this?
Speaker 4 (36:55):
This footy was so fun ra like straight out just
love obviously playing trained as well, just love rocking up
every day. But I just back then, I was just
so blown away by the players I was around and
people I was around, the coach, star Frank Ponisi. I
was around the best of the best, and everyone brought
(37:15):
the best out of each other.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Yeah, and that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
They the Storm played to everyone's strengths. They figured out
everyone's strengths and then they played to that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Yeah. It's a good point because you talking about the
connection you had like that left edge for a few
years there majority of your career where it was Monster,
can he be Kenny Brummage, Chuzzy justin Olum and then
you on the left.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Around Curtis was there before Juzzys Well, Curtis Scott, the
Curtis Scooter was there. Scooter was there, Yeah, but he
moved on and Juzzy come in and then we had
a like we I think there's five years old, was there? Well,
we're the best attacking and defensive side for I'm pretty sure,
if not maybe one year will probably second, I'm pretty sure.
(38:00):
Well yeah, well the best defensive and attacking side.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Well, I remember like when I had come up to
first grade, majority of the time I was on the
right because it was like Hughsey who had gotten hurt.
But I think only one game I went on the left.
And how easy or not easy, but how easy you
guys make it for your half like Monster used to.
Because Monster wasn't a good organizer. You guys used to
(38:25):
organize the whole shape and the edge four. Monster he
could just do his own thing, and then when he'd
come out, you guys would already be on formation. You'd
just tell him about what play you guys are running,
like it it's so different to a lot.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Of other edges Like that is incredible. People who don't
know it's usually the half that dictates the shapes and
the calls.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
But you like, wow, that's not that's it. That's the
connection we had. We knew that Monster would organize the middle.
But because we always played in big games was always loud,
the three of us would always fall into some shape
outside him and Kenny, Kenny Broblems would be always be
the closest to him, so he would be the link
men to Monster in our edge. And we even like
(39:02):
because it was so loud and we're trying to scream
like our plays, we come up with silent sign language
like we yeah, like we had this thing like we
had to see I won't.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Say it, but there's a play that starts to see but.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
There's a player that starts to see that that we did.
We like this.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
We like pointed to Kenny and then Kenny would pointed
to Monster and if there was a if there was
an offload or something, we'd just fall into the shape
because that's good.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Yeah, so wow, that's but there was such a good
culture of like also, if Juzzy saw something, everybody was
so had such a high i Q of what the
defense were doing. Like Fox you would say, oh, the
wing is tight, and then let money know, next player
will do an early kick for me, like and then
Juzzy would be like, oh, I can see the center's
(39:47):
jamming at the moment, so let's.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Do this place quickly.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Jazzy, Juzzy justin Olm, justin Olm.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah sorry, so yeah, yeah, yeah, Jazzy just but it
was it's just so it's such a good culture that
you guys created, like a news your own little gang.
You review all your own footage, and you guys would
just be trying to get better every week, like that
(40:12):
right Edge that year, Well those two years kind of
chopped and changed different Beau people go in and out,
but you guys were like the core of that squad,
Like nobody sort of got chopped and changed out of
that left Edge.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
Like we had so much fun and we enjoyed working
hard for each other and it was so enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
It was yeah, we'll just we just love playing.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
That's the end of part one, right that time to
jump over for part two, which I hope you enjoy
every bit as much.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
I know you will
My parents.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm not living with them. I'm just staying with them.
I'm looking I'm taking care of them at the moment. Yeah,
because I don't know if you know, but these two
late you know there, they're getting old.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Let's hope you do look after me when I'm like
mid seventies and I'm actually shooting myself.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
You to wipe my ass, change my nappy, all that
sort of stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Look forward to.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I'm sure the home I put you in obviously when
i'm living.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Truth right.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Also, I'll make sure i'll redecorate your bedroom upstairs when
i'm up there as well. It'll be good fun just
through out the work bench, mate, I'm going to get
all the boys in here. Fox's family is going to
move in. I'm in here, Brandon.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
The monsters.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I don't want them. That'd be horrible. Josh had a car, mate,
Good to have.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
You any good?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, mate, I don't know if you know how to
work a mic before, if you work too.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Far away, yeah, you get it.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
You'll be able to hear yourself in the We call
these things cans. Cans.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
They're away.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
No, you're not allowed. Just when you laugh, go all
the way back there. What have you been doing? What's happing?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Not much, bro, just family time with the kids. Missus.
Father again, huh father again? Well done? Another little boy,
Jack Jada Black?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Were you hoping is there? Are you thinking about? Were
you hoping there to be a girl? Because you've already
got a little boy. I want to try full of boys, bro,
you just want all boys.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
I already got my girl right fighting troop by the graces.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I think the same too, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Make sure they look after the trouble.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yeah, that'd be good. But they all play footy?
Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
You want them to.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I don't want them to. But if they love it,
then you.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Were the same, right dude, You probably didn't want You
didn't want us to play footy.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I was happy to do whatever you wanted to do.
But look in an ideal world. I remember having a
conversation with Jack wants to mate, listen, why don't you
go go to the States to get a college education?
And he was like, nah, Dad, you know Friday nights
I corrupted you sitting every Friday night, me drinking on
the couch watching Friday night football.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
It just bled into you. Blokes.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, what do you do? You choose your own path anyway.
I can't tell you what to.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Do exactly, bro. And if you tell, if you try
to tell your kids what to do, you know what
they're going to do. Fox. Let them pick their own path.
I give them enough road to trip over.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Thanks for the gifts to by the way.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
Yeah, let's try it, man.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
I think I love this green. You know, green is
my color. Green, Green is my color. I mate, I
get attracted door things green. It's a roll leg green.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, I love it. I appreciate it. It's awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Let's talk quickly. But Paramatta, right now, how are you
enjoying time over and paramounter?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I love?
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Yeah, just the people, the player group, the coaching staff,
everyone behind administration there. Transitioned really well into the team.
I knew a lot of the boys and the coaching staff,
so love and I know we're not getting the results
at the moment, we're not far off, but just just
loving the way we want to play in the stole
of foota we want to play.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
But I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
You've come from clubs with good fan base. Melbourne had
a good fan base, Bulldog's got a crazy fan base.
Paramatta like there is. That's as big a fan base
as called.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
The Sleeping Giant.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, yeah, right, how's the Roles files going Jason Rolls?
Obviously you had him as assistant coach at Melbourne. You've
got a good relationship with him. Has you been going.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
He's been going good man.
Speaker 4 (03:40):
You know, he's the same as when we were at
the Storm. But I don't think not much has changed.
But he's been good.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But this is still not alluding to what he used
to put on the powerpoints when he was an assistant coach.
But yeah, used to call Billy Billy Walters used to
call it the greatest showman because he had a really
good dummy. But he used to take used to do
these things like at the start of every meeting. It
was just like you know that one mate in a
group chat who always somehow gets the sickest videos. Let's
(04:09):
get sent to him. He'd always just put this real
like sickening video just to get the room laughing, and
then he'd have everyone.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Does he still do that?
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Phil Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls, probably the greatest, one
of the greatest coaches history of sports. When he used
to do the videos for the Chicago Bulls with Jordan
and all those blokes, he used to like sort of
cut together into the film scenes from the Wizard of
Oz and everything. Get them laughing.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Oh really like that? He was really imagining.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
If I mean, if you're gonna sit there in a
team meeting for anyhow, you may as well be able
to have a bit of a laugh.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
And you want energy before the meeting too. I think
that's what rosal. He makes the meetings and training fun.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
Got to hear some of the coaches, Foxy. Just imagine
sitting in a meeting with that for an how and
a half.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, you know, we just.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
We sort of like, you know, I think we're better
than that, just going off. Yeah, I wonder some people
sit there, you know? Am I wasting my life?
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Yeah? What about the playing group? What about the boys
that you haven't seen? You a lot of them coming in.
But how is the because every playing groups like different
every you have loose characters in there, what's the paramatter?
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Like? Let sleep, bro, I feel like we're a close bunch.
You know, they're good, They're good bunch of boys.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Who's your game?
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Uh? One?
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Or two senior player, you've got to basically after all
of them.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
That's true because we live we live all over Sydney
bro We always try to catch up with a cafe
before training before captains run.
Speaker 1 (05:45):
But I feel like we're all close group.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Did you play with Mitch at the Tigers?
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Yes? I was that the titles with Mitch Mitch.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's We always.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Talk about it. Back in the days, we had a
pretty good side.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Oh yeah, you had a well like back in those
days to a lot of you young guys who are
all like sort of scattered around in the NRL now
and leaders at their respective clubs, but you guys were
like you were probably the you guys were the rat
pack of the West Tigers and now you're all like,
you know, good family man all your respective clubs. But
(06:16):
I imagine you'd have some cracking stories, not for not
for the.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Like what, he's a good players, a good kid.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He's a very good kid.
Speaker 4 (06:29):
He keeps to himself, but I feel like over the
last couple of weeks he's really coming out of the
shell and has a laugh at the boys, comes out
the breaky like I said, and he's definitely a shigning like.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Tear Blake, I reckon, you get on really good with
He's an old player who went to Union for years.
Scotty wise Man or one of the assistants.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Scotty how good is love him?
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Because I had the time of up in lenox Head
when Covid when Covid.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Here, Oh yeah, was he up there?
Speaker 1 (06:58):
He was?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
That's why who I did a little pre season because
I last stayed in Sydney and everyone had to go
to melbur.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You and George Jennings, Yes, yeah, that's right. I remember your.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Storm said, oh, we got like a couple of hours
to pack all that stuff up and drive down to Melbourne.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I said, I can't, like I don't know, I had
something on or whatever.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
But end up getting stuck in Sydney and they were like, oh,
you have to move to to lenox Head for three
or four weeks, have a little mini pre season up
there because there was a green zone.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And Sydney was a red zone. Yeah that's right, Yeah,
I had all these little zones.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I remember when you did it. Yeah, all the boys
were off because you guys were remember we were in
we were in Melbourne and it was like piercing down
rain and Foxy and Jenks were in Where was that Lennox?
And it was like every day they just post pictures
at the beach and just the locals made.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Us so fun for they cooked to the surf. I
don't have to surf. I don't even know how to swim,
but a surf I was.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
I'm trying to get out there. But I'm just you know,
I'm not the fittest person at all. I'm trying to.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Make your a Lando.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Bargain with a crack. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, why is he going to full circle? Why is
he played under twenty one for Paramount of President's Cup
that's called back in the day. Then he went away
went into the union coaching union with the war Tars Wallabies,
English Ruby Union back of Paramount. Tremendous fella.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
He's so smart, like he comes up with little drills
that we can work on, like within our game. I'll
sit down with them all at the time, and obviously
it was part of the union there for a bit
and Rosie give me heads up just to try to
give him a hand and a few areas and that's
something I really enjoyed. Try to coach the boys and
help the boys and help our coaches as well.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
And let's go to your und our old journey for
a week. Let's start right in the beginning. You start
at the Sharkis of your South juniors.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Yeah right, he went Mattreville Light, didn't you?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Did you come through with any of the boys there.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
There's a lot of us.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Adnamshan Or Blake, Tyron Phillips, Aaron Gray, Dylan Walker.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Reno went there, didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Boy Cord?
Speaker 2 (09:06):
What was Blake like in school?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
He's just stubborn brother.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
I played so much football with Adam through school obviously
through Souse as well.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I've known him since under elevens or something.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
He's a good player, He's freak. He's so good.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
But if you if you looked at us two back
in the day, you think, oh no, there's two followers
and never making you know what I mean, like all
the two rat.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Bays and fifteen. You know what, it's just good to
see that.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
You know, he he's stuck by his dream and he's
a feeling man now and he's back in.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Sydney and enjoy his foot.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
Yeah, great places come out of Matroville, so all once
spoken about. But back in the day, Michael Whitney, who
was a left hand let's Australian cricketer.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Actually he was the guy one of the major reasons
South got back in the competition, massive south Man.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
But also the Ollow brothers.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Yeah, Steve, Gary, Gary and Mark Loave It three brothers
who played for the Wallabies. Now the mainstay of the
eighty four Grand Slam Mark Keller. Many believe him to
be the greatest union player of all time. Naturally, really, yeah,
they came through the greats playing rugby league.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
They all played Wallabies together.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
All played Wallabies together on the same side.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's pretty good. But I wanted to ask the Sharks
because you played under twenties at the Sharks, yep, did what.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Were the did the Sharks?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Like I've always wanted to know. I always wanted to
ask you, did the Sharks want to keep you there?
Or like did something happen or because you end up
at the obviously debut at the Tigers. But I thought
I'd imagine you would have been a junior that like,
if you were coming through their ranks, they would have
wanted to retain it, right.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
I wasn't a so how it all started for me?
Speaker 4 (10:45):
I signed up online because I was gone through a
bit of stuff when I was younger, just had a
year off foot and I signed up on the line
for a trial at the Sharks. The Bulldogs and the
Sharks tried out for both and I think it was
like one hundred players to try out for the under twenties,
and that's how sort of all started for me. And
I was the only play out of like one hundred
players that get picked out of that troll to stay
(11:08):
with the under twenty side. And I was like, I
think I was I didn't even I wasn't meant to
play round one under twenties. And then with one of
the wingers pulled up sick or something and ended up
getting the crack there and scored I think two three
tries against the Gold Coast Times and that's sort of
helped started for me and kept my position there. Played
(11:28):
fullback a bit of five eight there as well. Yeah,
fullback center wi mister fixed back.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
He's the passing going on John West Bro.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
But I really enjoyed my football there, Bro.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
But yeah, Flano was the head coach there, stayed there
for two years. They just wanted to sign me for
was Cup after after twenties. But Melbourne and the Tigers
wanted to sign me for first grade for both one year,
and I just thought it was the first grade contract.
Never really trained me first grade at the Sharks as well,
(12:06):
So I just wanted to give it one more crack.
That's that was my attitude towards it. Just give it
a last last crack.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
And that's why I went to the the So what
so Melbourne were circling you then, Yeah, they wanted to
sign me for one you deal to go down there,
but I was like, I wasn't stable at the time,
like just living was. So I was like, I'll give
it one last crack here in Sydney with the West Tigers.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Then I played nine games there and yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Remember that Sunday like hard over against the same game.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah, because you'd signed with Melbourne two weeks before.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That, right was captains run day before?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
So the day before, oh wow, day before the Tigers.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
No, No, they didn't know. That's what I mean, like
Tigers are always the last enough, no last side.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Because I was obviously going really well in this of
Ours Cup and I wasn't getting a crack and and
it's melturne storm but they offered me, I think a
three deal or something. And still if I don't take,
you know, and yeah, I'm signing the contract day before
Captain's run. And then the next day I didn't even
know I was going to play. They all told me
or David, David's out, You're in, but they.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
Didn't telling And the back of it, I'm like, I
just signed.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
It's an incredible coincidence though, that your first grade to
Boo and his first grade to against each other, and
you blokes would actually form one of the great wing combinations.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
It's crazy when I look back at it.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Now, do you like still speak to him just on Instagram?
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I just reply to his stuff here and there.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
He's still not crazy down he's in.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
I think he's in Japan at the moment.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
I think he signed with like overseas quiet, but every
now and then we touch base.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
But yeah, it's one of the great mysteries. He hasn't
dominated union. I thought that when he went there to
here we Go, he did.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
A real bad hamstring remember when he first went and
he was out for like nearly the whole year. And
I don't think he's like I think like they've struggled
to rehabit for a while. I think he's sort of
come in and out of the side, like he's injured
a lot of the time.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
So Fox, just when you went to I don't want
to jump too far ahead here.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You just tell me if I've gone a little bit too.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
You go to your plans, you can see you can
see who the alpha.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And the.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Bloke behind us.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
When you went.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
So when you went to Melbourne, what was the first
conversation you had with with Craig as far as the
expectations he had on you.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
It was at the front of his house with that
cafe across the road from his house.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
In Oh yeah, what is that?
Speaker 1 (14:48):
To be honest, I can't remember, but.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I think I was telling him at the time, like, okay,
I can't remember what the common station was until I
got the first day of pre season.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Yep. He's like, yeah, you.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
Can't be doing all this Larry stuff after trials and sweet.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah done, but no problems. But the first ever meeting.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
I was so worried about, like moving to another city
or another state. He's like, look, mate, if it doesn't
work out, we can we can send you back home
with no stress. So you don't need to worry about that.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Oh really, he always gave you that option, Like.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
Yeah, I always that, Yeah, give me that option. But so,
and that's probably the only thing I remember from that conversation.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Did you ever have that temptation to go back or
did you love it straight away?
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Rather the first year I was struggling. I didn't know
anything about tax and all that kind of stuff. So
I went brought a brand new car, brand new highlus.
I didn't know anything about tax I thought of the
multimnion at the time.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
But yeah, so I bought a brand new car.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I was paying a fortune for that, and then I
have to obviously live in a house and I was
living off like one hundred dollars tow hundred bucks a
week and I was struggling.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
I ring my best man.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
I said, but I don't think I can stay down anymore,
because I was living off two hundred two hundred bus
or one hundred bucks a week or whatever it was.
And I almost almost moved back. My best man was like, no,
I just stay down to stick to it. And that
was probably just before the season started. So I didn't
know whether I was dayborn.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
So so you didn't know like obviously that Melbourne preseason
must have been like a shock to the system for you,
because look, letting people know like Foxy is a is
a sublime athlete, he's a fast twitch man, and in
the gym you can like throw weight around like because
you're powerful, spots power. But when you were still be
(16:43):
the one effort man, because you do a lot of
conditioning games, heaps are running like for a long period
of time and say like the ball, get out the
fox and you'd go one hundred meters and score. But
then for the next five minutes in the game, Foxy
was just he was out like you would So that
first pre seas it must have been that's a minute
man's moments moment.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Man.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Yeah, it was very tough, but believe it. And I
was pretty I was actually pretty fit. How skinny I
was before I went to Melbourne. That's when it just
hit me, like a ton of bricks, just the way
they trained and how the intensity of training like after
a recession, but like you could only walk put their
conditioning games into third h whatever into like we'll find
(17:29):
we'll finish on.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Running.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Yeah, I'll be away at the back like it was
just so it's just a mental thing. Like, yeah, just
don't stop moving sort of thing. But I remember when Craig,
because Craig didn't come back to training for like two
or three weeks in the preseason, and the first session back,
I think it was the hardest day. It was like
a Tuesday or something, and we did the session and
we're doing M A S. And I was way at
the back, and you know when you're real tired by
(17:54):
your head starts going off.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah, the squibvel.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
Yeah, He's like, your head's not gonna make you run
fast or something.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Some stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
So we used to I love the noises used to
make we always we used to impersonate all the time
when we were running, because you go fun like the
two starting wingers. When I got there the next year,
when we were doing mass, which is like the worst
part of the sash because it's just my numbing running
and it's mentally that hard because it's not at least
conn games, like you're thinking about footy, so you're not
focused on running. But it'll be Foxy Foxy at the back,
(18:33):
just going and then surely next to him and surely
takes his boots off and he just would run barefoot
and just just be cruising. It was so funny.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
What about the work we're having to do? The work
site stuff?
Speaker 4 (18:46):
Early on Fox, Oh, I was a laborer brother before
we went the Bulders, I was all right, ah.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
You're wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So you were across the word pro.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I was already cross it.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
But the tough thing was obviously getting uper three or
four cock or whatever it was to.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Do gym and then and then go and work all day.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
I was actually blessed with them with the work I
had because we had a concretor, but he didn't make
a start till like eight thirty. So when we're finished,
when we finished training in the gym, I mean one
of the boys would go to Hungry Jackson to sleep
in the car park for about an hour or two.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Did you yeah, yeah, So who do.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
You work with that?
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (19:26):
I can't Tony. I think it was Tony. He was
a he was a concretor.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, yeah, far out because that is that work program
is so tough. What did you do the end when
you did Army camp that year, because obviously first players
every it's pretty well documented, do a big Army camp.
Was that a team the whole team one? Or was
that just all the new players.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And I just saw the new players because we had myself, myself,
Jerome Juzzy two.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He that was our first year there. So Jerome's never
done that because he's back.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Yeah, Jeromes Hughes, the only person who plays in the
Melvin Streamer still hasn't done a proper Army camp.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Hasn't heard him.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, he used to be hurt every pre season. He
have a surgery Liz Frankie out of Gary Jack one
and he just could never put him in because the
physios were like he'll break down. Yeah yeah wow, And
now it's just too far gone. I think he's just
like he's not a dallim.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Now.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
Was it was it Foxy Camp?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (20:18):
It was? It was. It was very very hard. I
don't three days no sleep. You know. We had a
good crew. That was the thing.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Like we had the best thing about the Army camps,
like you get good stories and good laughs out of them,
because no matter what you do, you're gonna fail and
do penalties in the Army camp. So I probably should
have won it, but bells are don't given things.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Who did when you're on.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I was just edited through that the whole throughout the
whole you.
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Would have been good for Anna.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
The first night killed me, but we walked we walked
up to the thousand stairs.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
I think we did about three laps of that and
that killed me. But after that I was I.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Remember there are stories of two we because I did
the one the year after you and the boys were
saying two. He was like just a machine.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Though.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
There were some nights when two we would pick up
like some of the boys and just put it, have
him over his shoulder, and he'd be like soldering on
with him too. He's had a man mountain.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Like he because I was his partner on the thousand steps.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Yeah, and yeah, you have a big drum of water.
Speaker 2 (21:23):
Yeah, Bro'm back.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I can't walk up this because I was at the back.
Hole it from the back, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
And he goes, it's all right, my brother, that's all right,
picks up what his shoulder, brother puts the both on
the thing like that.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, yeah, seriously, He's like, it's all good, my brother.
I got to you. I got to that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Nothing phases to like everything. Two he is, you might
ask might be having the worst week of his life. Yeah,
and you just go brah seki my brother, Yeah, my
brother And then he's having a really good week and
how good is that? Mate? You just scored four tries?
How are you going? I can seeking. My brother always
is always the same ade.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
It was always the same fresh ass and just cruisy.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah he's so good.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
What are they like on the sea, Like the says
blokes on that camp, do they get in your face?
And yeah, you got to.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
Rip in from the very very start. If you rip
in from the very start, they leave you alone. But
if you're just like just not not putting the work in,
I'm not bringing energy in that, they'll fucking get into
your other whole camp.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Who was the guy on the camps boys? Which was
there anyone that really struggled they went after in yours caups?
Speaker 1 (22:30):
Apart from yourself?
Speaker 2 (22:30):
I remember, very low blow, very cheap for that. There
was one bloke and I think he's played first grade
at the Warriors. Actually he didn't. They were tipping him
to be the next Suley. You remember Junior Retover. They got
him out of Fiji and he was he was a winger. Yeah,
he was huge a he was six foot seven. He
(22:51):
was a man mountain like he was a could run too,
just didn't really love training back then, and they just
went after Junior. Yeah, and I remember we had to
so Brandon Smith won our camp, right, and remember that
on day two with you go right, they might get
foxy up and you've got to rank everybody from last
(23:12):
to first on how they've been at the camp with
like a brutal honesty. So you just got a hammer.
The ones that have been bad, you pull them up
straight away. You you haven't done this, You haven't done this.
Junior come last on everyone's reviews. But Brandon. So, Brandon
got told by the army guy because Brandon was killing it.
They said, you're the like you know, we can see
that you're the leader of this group. You hammer who
he thinks last, and you go after him. You set
(23:33):
the tone. And Brandon goes out there. He goes, yes,
sweet fuck it, Brandon. Brandon just starts going, yeah, Junior,
you haven't done this. This this, you know, I wouldn't
want to lay the boot up next to here. Oh no,
And me and Harry are looking at each other going
holy shit, but this is ruthless. And Harry was up next.
(23:53):
Harry Grant so Harry's going, I've got to follow this,
and he's going, yeah, I wouldn't. He goes seeing what
I've seen this, I wouldn't play alongside yet, like I
would not like Sabuda hammered him. Anyway, Junior was the
last person like he you know, everyone sort of hammed him.
I felt bad because he just wasn't a good trainer,
like he was a gun player. And then Junior gets
up there and he goes, okay, guys, and he was
(24:16):
last after everyone just hading him, and he goes, okay, guys.
So my last is Brandon. And just because Brandon hammered
him and went really personal, he put Brandon laugh and
hammered Brandon. And Brandon was sitting there going like clearly
he was going to win it. All the army guys
you could see them actually laughing because I was like,
(24:38):
he's just hammerding him because he like is off branded.
It was funny, man.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
That is so good. What about you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
The big your first interaction with like Smitty Coober Crunk,
Billy Slater.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
Yeah, that must have been pretty What was that like
going to training watching those plays?
Speaker 4 (24:55):
Yeah, I back then, but I just loved playing football.
I didn't know, I didn't know what fill in the
space was. I didn't know what time in the town
of Shape was, like all that kind of stuff. But
me and Bill and Coops and Smithy like how professionally
they were and like just just genuine people. I remember
I remember meeting Cam and I was shaking his hand.
(25:16):
I say, Bro, I'm Josh and He's like, hey man, I'm.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Cameron, and I'm like, bro, I know you know what
I mean.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
It just blew me away that like he introduced himself
with his name. He could have just been arrogant, like
knowing that I knew who he was already, but that
just blew me away in itself, you know, just just
to show like what type of person he was. Even
Coops and Bill were the same as well. So there's
probably a standout moment there when I first moved to
the club.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Did they Like a lot of people always say, you
know how and you would have seen it when you
come back to Sydney clubs and stuff, the culture of
a club where it's like you're in a team meeting
and all the big dogs talk. But I imagine it
would have been and you probably would have been the
first few weeks you're in there. You've got Cooper Kronk,
Billy Slade Up, Craig Bellamy, Cameron Smith, the Bromidge Brothers.
(26:01):
You're probably sitting there going, I don't want to say
a word, but they probably they actually forced you to speak,
Like I imagine that would have been a bit of it,
Like you would have been so rad on having to
talk give your opinion.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
And it was because I hate, like I know what
I'm seeing like in video and that. But like Bells
would be like, Josh, what do you reckon here? And
I'm like, oh, man, I don't know, but yeah, I
like come to a point but where I was just like, mate,
I don't know, like you know what I mean, Like
I wouldn't beat around the bush because like a head yeah,
(26:34):
and then like straight made, I don't the boys would
start this cracking up.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
He'd appreciate that, would yah, Yeah, that's what I mean.
Like I didn't beat around the bush. I'd be like
fu made, I don't actually, but.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Yeah, I remember at that time, Bells were talking about
retiring and you could see why because we had.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
You can see you can see why because.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
The senior players how much they took over video. They
drove the standards of train and fucking bells are just
kicking back, just collect the money sort of thing, you know.
But yeah, I remember I remember that period, just thinking
about retirement because of all the senior players. But obviously
he really enjoys.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
What he does.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
Yeah, But.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Whenever you go to a new club or you might
gant it when you're younger, going at it in the
first grade, you're looking for that breakout performance where yeah, yeah,
proved everyone I belong. Do you remember do you remember
a moment or anything Foxy in Melbourne?
Speaker 1 (27:33):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (27:34):
Fuck, probably not too after probably the Grand Final, you're right,
the first Grand Final against Cowboys. I just yeah, against
the Cowboys. Yeah, I just felt like it wasn't my position,
just yeah, just I don't know, just yeah, looking back
at now, I just felt like the wing spot was
my position to probably he won the Grand Final.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
You know. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Didn't feel comfortable.
Speaker 4 (27:57):
Yeah, I never felt like it was yeah right, yeah,
like I just I don't know why, but yeah, looking
back at it now, I just never felt comfortable in
terms of that's my position. Yeah, you know what I
mean say comfortable, But yeah, I just felt like there
was boys that were killing it in reserve grade. I
train and that probably deserved the spot as well.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
It keeps you sharp, they've done it, it does, but yeah,
it does.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
They showed so much evidence in training and how much
boys are putting in and it's just like, fuck, you know,
I need to do that too, yep.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
And that's what I think. I'm so great about the storm.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
When you've got depth in the club, everyone's up on
their toes, you know, like you never when you never
really feel like, yeah, well.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I imagine like you would if you if you had
a half a nigga, you know, now, like you get
a half a nigger, you go, I can't train for
a couple of days. They want to get this right
back then, Like you know, if you have a couple
of days off, or you have a game off and
somebody goes in and scores a hat trick, like that's
your position to lose, you know, I mean, like they
keep him in there. So how many did you miss
(28:57):
many games that year?
Speaker 1 (28:58):
I miss nothing?
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Did I didn't miss gave for fucking free. I'm pretty
sure three three years unless they pulled me out to
give me a rest, you.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Know what I mean. I never was an injine or anything.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
But yeah, Bells will be like, oh I just have
the week, I'll get ready for the finals or something
something like that.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Other than that, we're talking about keeping sharp and like
you know, at a club like Melbourne where there's so
much depth and so much going on. Evidence of that
is remember Billy had about eighty months up with that
bad shoulder. I remember seeing him down at the twenty
sixteen Melbourne Cup and I saw him and his wife Nicole,
and he just looked down and I want to said, Billy,
(29:35):
how you going, mate? We're having a chat and I said,
you're right, made everything O came and he goes, oh, no,
really said mate.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I sort of.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
He said, you know, Monster took my spot last year
at fullback and I sort of feel like a lot
of people are writing me off. And then I was like, mate,
your fucking Billy Slater anyway. But that's how he felt
in himself.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
It just shows the type of guys.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
And then the next year that that season up on
his toes and feeling unsure.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Mate. I don't think they have ever been a more
successful season.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
He won everything, Bill, Yeah, every award, every trophy, he
held them all.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Yeah, even like you'd know this foxy too, Like I
remember my first year twenty eighteen. It was the year
after the Grand Final and he'd come back that year,
you know, won everything. And then the first few weeks
there he invited me and Harry over for dinner just
to make us feel comfortab we moved him down the
road from where him and Nicole lived, and Dad said
(30:28):
he was sitting there cooking dinner and in between tosses
of the saucepan would do like push ups for shoulder rehab.
He had like one of those elastic bands tied against
like the tetawel rack, and would just be like talking
to us while like just trying to keep his shoulder strong.
Like the amount of work that slats he puts in.
Speaker 3 (30:48):
Full time, professional, full like full lot.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Like it's a good example for kids in that because
I used to go home, I'd have like a little
Kentucky bucket. You know, I'll be like you go home
and too, if you want you to put a couple
of wilkilos on yeh sweet. He didn't say how I
do it, but I'll be down like wicked wings and
mash plaid on grave. I'll be pumping.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Them between wicked wings. You don't push up.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Harry's rubbing me.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Out really like he's he's he's my biggest mentor.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
Like I learned everything off everything I know.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
Now like he he taught me and I still bring
to my game now, Like everything that I teach to
younger players.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
I learned off Bills. Yep, learned off the best fullback
in the world. You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (31:30):
I probably haven't said that to anyone, but like looking
back at an hour, like you got me thinking, like
he was my biggest mentor in terms of being an
outside back. And b he's a he's a man, Like
he's a good person, he's a good player. But yeah,
he invited my family over for dinner and how good
is this house? Does He's just beautiful, beautiful, soul, beautiful
(31:53):
for and I'm so grateful for him because I probably
wouldn't be the player I am today without got.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
The whole stud there now too, and yeah, fwine, sex
just all around him.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
Yeah, but yeah, excellent. But you just sparked my area.
Then when you're talking about what you tell young players,
because you are you probably only played a couple of
years at Melbourne when a lot of that young crew
started to come through, like, yeah, you know perhaps and
you know a lot of the stars you see today,
(32:22):
like you know, perhaps even Hughsey who hadn't played a
lot of first grade Harry, but you were very good
at communicating and like coaching a lot of us young
players there, which which is you weren't considered like the
oldest player there, but I imagine you would have learned
a heap off the big three that year, and then
you started communicating so much and helping out the young boys.
Speaker 4 (32:44):
Yeah, especially on the field. I wasn't the best at
educating players with everyone in like a meeting room, but
on the field, like I'd be like, I'll be so
into zone that I knew what I was talking about
in them, but in the meeting, I'm like, oh, it
just so rattled.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
You don't want to get shame.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Yeah, I don't want to shame, but yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Just get just being older and obviously being around a
lot longer, just just getting the reps in every day,
it's just maybe even more comfortable, and it just feels
so much more comfortable speaking the meeting and all that
kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
Now. So yeah, but back, yeah, back in a strong
days like I was like, but on the field like
I'm sweet as yeah, yeah sweet.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
He was the loudest on the field. Yeah, like you'd
be counting, you would be sledging everyone, you'd be yelling out.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
The tackle, count bringing the vibe he was.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
He was a massive trendsetter in Melbourne, like the amount
of state. Like you see your Let's Trot brand now
before you even turned it into a brand and the merged,
he was I reckon. He said it for two years
straight and we were going, he's not shutting up.
Speaker 3 (33:48):
This is going to be a clothing company.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
One day did we know he was setting up he
was marketing it through the playing group, and then all
of a sudden he here we go. But you used
to always you'll like that.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
We love it, Yeah, we love it.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
All the talk about you had the funniest saying a
question boys in the dressing room in the Belbourne Storm,
because it seems to me, I think a lot of times,
you know there is it seems like a pecking order.
We've got the really experienced guys, you know, but generally
in a dressing room, is everyone sort of equal in there,
even if you're a young guy, not like do the
(34:19):
younger players, like have a ride if they see something
in the video and they went, Craig, can you just
hold that for one second?
Speaker 1 (34:24):
How is that?
Speaker 4 (34:26):
Like?
Speaker 1 (34:26):
How do they respond to that?
Speaker 4 (34:28):
I remember what stands out for me. I remember when
Coops first come to the Storm, Like Coops would be like,
I've got a question, Craig, what do you what are
your thoughts here? Like they made it so comfortable for
the young boys to have a say or ask questions.
And that's that's what the Storm do. They make you
feel comfortable, make you feel wanted. But yeah, I can
(34:51):
just remember, like when you.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
First come to the club, they'll always ask questions, did
I do the right thing? Inveriably? He would say no.
Speaker 3 (35:01):
Always tells about the biggest spratt. I think Coop got
a massive stray one day from being late.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Oh yeah, do you remember that shit? So you'll probably
remember this Geelong Camp. My first year in Gelong Camp,
me and Sammy Cassiano, we were late for a meeting
when I slept in. I said, I can reveal it now.
I said that I had been told the wrong meeting venue,
but I'd actually slept past my alarm and I'm running
around trying to find where it is and Sammy Cassiano
(35:29):
I crossed him. He was riding a Razor scooter and
I went cass and he goes, what's up, bro, And
I went bro, we got a meeting and he was
like shit. So then we went and we were running to
the meeting. Me and Sammy cat two polar opposite. Sammy
was like at the end of his career and one
hundred and fifty kilos. I was at the start of
my career in sixty kilos and I walked in. You
can imagine whoeverone was off, not Sammy. Everyone was off
(35:50):
me because then belly Ate was like where you be
and we said, oh, you know, we thought the meeting
room was here. He goes right sweet. Next morning, remember
we all had to get up at four and we
did a wrestle session on It was all technique, but
it was still everybody was up early and we did
a wrestle session in the middle of the park at
Geelong and it was the worst day out for me.
(36:11):
They put me with Jesse Bromich Nelson and Sammy Cassiano
just to teach me a lesson. Even though Sammy was
late too. They refused to pull Sammy up obviously, and
I got palmp day like I was getting absolutely palmel
but I was never late again. I will say that
they do have a great knack of if you're going
to do something wrong, they make sure you never do
(36:32):
it again.
Speaker 3 (36:33):
A tea at Foxy one hundred and eighteen games the
Melbourne Stool ninety six tries. I'm just trying to think
there's not many in the modern game better strike rates
than that.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
Must have been a time sitting like.
Speaker 3 (36:45):
In that game, just going man, just sitting there and playing,
just going amongst all those ways.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Again, how good is this?
Speaker 4 (36:55):
This footy was so fun ra like straight out just
love obviously playing trained as well, just love rocking up
every day. But I just back then, I was just
so blown away by the players I was around and
people I was around, the coach, star Frank Ponisi. I
was around the best of the best, and everyone brought
(37:15):
the best out of each other.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Yeah, and that's what I love.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
They the Storm played to everyone's strengths. They figured out
everyone's strengths and then they played to that.
Speaker 2 (37:25):
Yeah. It's a good point because you talking about the
connection you had like that left edge for a few
years there majority of your career where it was Monster,
can he be Kenny Brummage, Chuzzy justin Olum and then
you on the left.
Speaker 4 (37:38):
Around Curtis was there before Juzzys Well, Curtis Scott, the
Curtis Scooter was there. Scooter was there, Yeah, but he
moved on and Juzzy come in and then we had
a like we I think there's five years old, was there? Well,
we're the best attacking and defensive side for I'm pretty sure,
if not maybe one year will probably second, I'm pretty sure.
(38:00):
Well yeah, well the best defensive and attacking side.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Well, I remember like when I had come up to
first grade, majority of the time I was on the
right because it was like Hughsey who had gotten hurt.
But I think only one game I went on the left.
And how easy or not easy, but how easy you
guys make it for your half like Monster used to.
Because Monster wasn't a good organizer. You guys used to
(38:25):
organize the whole shape and the edge four. Monster he
could just do his own thing, and then when he'd
come out, you guys would already be on formation. You'd
just tell him about what play you guys are running,
like it it's so different to a lot.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
Of other edges Like that is incredible. People who don't
know it's usually the half that dictates the shapes and
the calls.
Speaker 4 (38:41):
But you like, wow, that's not that's it. That's the
connection we had. We knew that Monster would organize the middle.
But because we always played in big games was always loud,
the three of us would always fall into some shape
outside him and Kenny, Kenny Broblems would be always be
the closest to him, so he would be the link
men to Monster in our edge. And we even like
(39:02):
because it was so loud and we're trying to scream
like our plays, we come up with silent sign language
like we yeah, like we had this thing like we
had to see I won't.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Say it, but there's a play that starts to see but.
Speaker 1 (39:14):
There's a player that starts to see that that we did.
We like this.
Speaker 4 (39:17):
We like pointed to Kenny and then Kenny would pointed
to Monster and if there was a if there was
an offload or something, we'd just fall into the shape
because that's good.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Yeah, so wow, that's but there was such a good
culture of like also, if Juzzy saw something, everybody was
so had such a high i Q of what the
defense were doing. Like Fox you would say, oh, the
wing is tight, and then let money know, next player
will do an early kick for me, like and then
Juzzy would be like, oh, I can see the center's
(39:47):
jamming at the moment, so let's.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Do this place quickly.
Speaker 3 (39:49):
Jazzy, Juzzy justin Olm, justin Olm.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Yeah sorry, so yeah, yeah, yeah, Jazzy just but it
was it's just so it's such a good culture that
you guys created, like a news your own little gang.
You review all your own footage, and you guys would
just be trying to get better every week, like that
(40:12):
right Edge that year, Well those two years kind of
chopped and changed different Beau people go in and out,
but you guys were like the core of that squad,
Like nobody sort of got chopped and changed out of
that left Edge.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
Like we had so much fun and we enjoyed working
hard for each other and it was so enjoyable.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
It was yeah, we'll just we just love playing.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
That's the end of part one, right that time to
jump over for part two, which I hope you enjoy
every bit as much.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
I know you will
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