June 29, 2025 • 44 mins
The boys catch up with Roosters gun & NSW Blue Connor Watson to relive wild stories from their past, his rise through the NRL, and the moment he got the Origin call-up. With Game 3 around the corner, Connor gives a raw look into Blues camp life and what’s coming next.
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0:00-Matty's Home Dramas
2:00-Car Sponsorship
5:00-Catch Up
10:30-Byron Bay
16:00-Sydney
17:00-Roosters 2025
26:00-Positional Changes
31:00-Leaving Newcastle
34:00-Injuries & Lows
35:00-NSW Blues Debut
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, Gooday, guys, it's Maddie John's Yeah, look at it.
You can tell I'm just not myself at the moment,
a little bit down, but I tell it'll cheer me up.
Hitting the follow but on our podcast with the Family
podcast and backstage so you don't miss any of the
good stuff we've got coming up. And thank you guys,
Thank you again for listening to the podcast and giving
us your support. Good on you, guys.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What was it a slip at the other day or something.
You're saying that you come back from a weekend away
and he's, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
She went. She goes were go for a week. She
has all these these idealism about faking going and we'll
going to the city. We'll have it a romanic. Okay,
yeah great. Anyway, anyway, I ducked off and she did
a thing that I came back late, and then she
went berserk. I said, fucking made half. Now, I like
to guys, suppose a romanic. And we did the same
thing the next day. Yeah, she got me playing the pokeys.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, we just do mate. They played poking and now
they're fighting about something that like just has started just
from like dad losing his credit card. It's just it's
just so stupid. They just both of you are just idiots.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I love how you're like at the point now your
friends who me and Dad, like, you know, like it's
like looking at a couple, but you know.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Like, oh yeah, I look real when like when your
parents used to fight when you were young, you go.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Oh no, it's gonna end. It's going to end.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And now I just go like, just get over. Dad's
sleeping on the couch like three nights and it's just
like and then he's gone, mate, like what about her?
And then she'll be like what about him? I'll be like,
you're both just as bad as each other. I couldn't
even care less.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Sleeping on the couch, just next social cat up on
the grille.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Seriously, not the good kind, uh. Connor Watson, Welcome to
the podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
We got you on a bye week?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I would say, Matthew, I would say somewhat a part
of the family. Connor, Yes, close personal friend, you know,
ex teammate of Jack.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Dad probably looks at you as somewhat have done. Yeah, someone,
what do you get up to on a bye week?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Not much we got because we've got the whole week off.
But I was just thinking as I drove up here.
Do you remember when you took us for that half
session down the parking Do you remember? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah,
it didn't really help that much.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
I really do that one. You've played about every position.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Coaches when there was a new counsel. Boys come down.
They're so enthusiastic the coaching stuff. Yeah, wow, great, you go, mate.
You know this is when you shift a ball, dow'n
have to do block formation. Just get it there, bing
ding ding. Oh yeah, this is a revolutionary. This is great.
I didn't use it at all. Waste my time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I feel free to get that mic into your no, no, no,
we're going to talk about your podcast as back in
the day. But you haven't done a podcast in a
long time, mate, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Been a little bit. It's been a while. Yeah, I
actually can't remember.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
The last one I did would have been that was
obviously with two five seven. We're gonna we're going to
touch on all that, but that like a gang, No
that was that was wasn't that like your house number?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
House number? Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah, And then it
ended up the house always got egged because we basically
gave their house number, didn't actually get ye house cars.
It didn't help when I had first went to Newcastle
and part of my deal was club car and rock
up get the club car, and it's just like everywhere.
I can't remember what the sponsor was, but it was
(03:31):
just like Newcastle Knights sponsored by or whatever.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Who's driving around now Braddy.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I saw Braddy up in Newcastle the other day driving past,
and the other reason I knew it was him because
I had Massive Night's logo on the door. It was like, mate,
you can't be getting around it. Yeah, people were just
hamming your car. You have a few bad games.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And I knew you guys like knew where I lived,
so I wasn't far from like I was in Hamilton South,
so you got the sort of housing commission block just
up the road there. And I'm just fit in my
garage one so I couldn't hide the car. So just
out the front of my house was this Night's car.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
I had a car sponsorship at the Nights in two.
Connor turned up at the car yard. I won't going
to say the name of it. Of course it might
still be there, but I walked straight and walked up
to the place, says do you yeah, mate, you know they're
going to give you a car for twelve months turned up.
They pointed to it. It was a like a nineteen
eighty two Ford Falcon kids, and it had wires coming
(04:29):
out of the tire. One of them and ask Trusha,
this is true. I couldn't if I put my foot
on the brake without having my foot still on the accelerator,
it would actually conk out, it would stop. So I
used to have to pull up at a light, put my
foot on the brake or put the handbrake on, keep
the foot on the accelerator. Then these and I and
the other thing. The driver's door didn't open, so I
(04:51):
had to jump through the window like dukes have haz.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
His style every time, every time in and out.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, oh that's shit.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
What was Why didn't you? Why would you even keep it?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Because beggars can't be chooses, That's true. Begars cannot be choosers.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We don't see much obviously, you're in the eastern suburbs now.
We don't see as much of you as we would
like to these days. But we actually saw each other
not long ago, a few weeks ago, had a bit
of a night out.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, it was good. It was good to see you again.
It was it had been a little while. That's why
I felt bad the other day when I rang you
and I didn't realize because I knew you sold the
old house. Yeah, yeah, I drove past it. I was
visiting one of my mates the other day. I was
telling you. Yeah, I didn't actually realize you guys still
lived in COOLROI so I brushed. I brushed it the
other day. But yeah, it was good to see you.
The other week I come down sort of. It was
(05:41):
a day day or two after a game, right.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, you guys had just beaten was it Saint George Day,
which is a good win.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah. So I saw you the night after the game,
I think, and then the next day you're still out
east and yeah, I had something on it. I can't
rememb what it was, but I was just I was
just cruising and Semi Walks has called me. I didn't answer,
you know, like just I knew what. I knew what
the boys were up to though they're on the beers.
(06:10):
I was like, nah, I don't even want to answer
the phone, and get like yeah, get my arm twisted
into this, and then semi text my missus and goes, hey, Keanna,
can you tell Kinnor to call me? It's urgent. So
I'm thinking, oh, I know what's happened to you.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I've freaked out.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I've called him, and he goes, hey, mate, We're just
at the end of your street. I'm with Cooper, me
Mark Cooper, see, well, come down. I was like, you're serious.
You made me think that something's happened. Like I'm freaking
out here calling you because I'm worried about you, and
then you're just down the end of my streets. So
I went down and ye saw the boys.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
We had a good laugh for a couple of hours.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, it was a great couple of hours. And I
don't know, have you told that story which one?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeahah, yeah, we told told it on the family partty
before you can sell it.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Was that funny. We're just we're sitting outside it started
poor rain to n yeah, and then this like group
of girls just come out and then they're just sitting
there like waiting for an uber. We didn't pay too
much attention to it, and then turned around, I was
like one of the girls had almost died. She's like
passed out in the in.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The gut told me, yeah, kissing down on her like
the rain was. She was nearly drowning in the rain.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Yeah. So then we've tried to like trying to move
her under the cover. There's a few of us that
have gone over to grab her, but because she's full passed out,
she was heavy, dead like dead way yeah yeah, hard
to carry just like limbs, limbs flying everywhere. So we've
moved onto the seat and I'm not sure what's happened
because she's it's almost like she she wasn't. It wasn't
(07:40):
like she was drunk passed out. She's just fully gone.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
It was like she'd fallen slip, but she was like
vomiting too.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
But I heard amongst all that she recognized you boys.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah. Well, so she wakes up and Cooper's there like
helping her. First thing she like looks up and she goes,
is that Cooper John's.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
And all the boys remember.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
After this, her uber rocks up and me and Connor
put her arms over each of us, like we're carrying
off our bloke who just hurt his knee off the field,
like two yellow shirts. We're dragging her off and we're
trying We're in the rain at this stage, getting pissed on.
We're just trying to get her in the uber. And
remember she was like she must have been a massive
footy fan because she kept saying to Connor. She kept
going like, Connor like been loving, be loving what you're
(08:22):
doing this season and kind of like, yeah, good on,
you're good on your buddy, trying.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
To push her in and she's going, do you see
yourself as a nine? Or I was going, she knows what.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
It was.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I could have you know what, Connor, I should have
been there because I was with Coop the night before
and I was just settling in. I was having a
ball and all of a sudden he goes goes, oh
your car's here. I went mad, I didn't order a car's.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
He finished, yeah, we were at Brandon's and I said
it's time for beginning to go.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Yeah, because Mum was texting.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Me, so she was like, oh, mate, you know, send
Dad again. Of course you also, and we've told this
a fair few times, but you also came me you
Jack and a lot of the boys had a big
Byron Bay trip back in twenty twenty after the Melbourne's
Grand Final. We had a Big Boys trip planned. We
have obviously won the Grand Final then basically turned into
(09:20):
Melbourne's Mad Monday. You and Sammy Verrels had we've planned
this for ages. You boys felt that uncomfortable coming up.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I remember rocking up because it was when I had
done my Achilles that year, so the club had sent
me up to do my myb like rehab at the
you know they got the surfing headquarters up there.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, the surfer golf.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So I went up there and just trained in there
for a week because they've got like all the trampolines,
great gym and stuff, and they've got good physios there.
So the club were just like, as part as your rehab,
let's get you up there, get your away from the facility,
and then they were luck then you can have a
week off after that. So planning this trip, gone up
to Kingscliff Storm had then gone and won the camp
and I had no idea what I was walking into really,
(10:10):
And I remember, because I was training, I was like
a day or two late. So I've walked in maybe
on day two or three, and I've just like walked
in through the house and then I've just like literally
walked in on the storm mad Monday, and I was
expecting to be there with a couple boys, but it
was like the whole twenty of was.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
To be fair, you handled yourself very well, because it
would have been very easy boken another team to just
go to Verels kind of did go to water the
first time. I remember Sammy like, We're all sitting out
the back with music and that, having a laugh, and
sam we just kind of went to bed because he
was like, oh he was feeling he was uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
But this is the great thing, isn't about the game.
There is a real camaraderie and a brotherhood in the game,
and the fact that you can walk in somewhere. You
can walk into a pub tomorrow and it might be
aside the most despised team that you don't get along with,
you've been sent off as soon as you walk in there.
Everything everyone's so inclusive.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, it is pretty cool because because the Brummage boys
were there, Jesse and Ken and Kenny and Vels hadn't
met him before. But then like obviously after a few
days on the piece, you just become mate with everyone.
And he was saying like because he was always kind
of scared of him on the field. He was a
young player of Sammy and he always faced Jesse in
the middle. Jesse would like just like rough him up, and.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
He did the same thing to me, you know when
like you do a kick chase and you go to
do like an escort. Every time he just like shoved
me in the back or try and push me over. Yeah,
same thing always.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
And then he said the next year after he was like,
every time I played Jesse, it was like it was
way better, like you just like yeah, still like still
rough me up, but he roughed me up in like
a friendly way, like just a forearm and rub it
over your nose.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
He's not being mean spirited. Now he's someone chuckling behind me.
They want to add the.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
I'm just having flashbacks to the next morning when the
Brubbish brothers woke up together.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
I just they can they can handle their own.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
The Rummish boys.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Oh they're good drinkers, yeah, yeah, don't get don't get enough.
They don't get enough wrap when like you know, and
in podcasts and stuff, they go, oh, you know, who's
who's the good drinkers? And you know, by far everyone
goes up munster and cheese and those kind of lads,
the Brummish boys. Gee there undercover.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Yeah very just take the top off the bottle and
don't put it back on. Yeah, they're just steady, you know,
they're just steady away.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Just good. Yeah, obviously responsible.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
I'll say this right there is there is. There is
a certain degree of fools gold with some of the drinkers.
And I'll use the Queensland as an example. People will go, oh,
make the Queensland boys, they can put away case in point.
Gordon tallis known as big drinker, and yes he can. However,
it's four x gold.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
It is.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
It's four x gold and four x only mid is.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Mid strength. Yeah, no, it used to be four x
has another one. It's a marone can that's a full strength,
but you never see it. But the drink of Queensland
is four x gold. They all drink it. I don't
get that. If I'm going to have a beer like,
I drink it for one reason to get a buzz.
Like if I wanted to drink for the taste, I
drink Pepsi Max.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
A buzz rough Field.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
So with Gordon sometimes we'll get there before the last
show and we'll drink tekula and vodka shots before. It's
a bit of a celebration of sorts. And we had
one year Gordon to start banging him back and he
sat on the couch and Mate, he was gone. He
couldn't even talk Yuh.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Yeah, that's a byron for one.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Sorry, because I don't want to let this story go
and miss uh, I think it was the last night.
And you've you've befriended some hippies and we kind of
can befriend like people anywhere as well. Condor is a
friendly guy. He's had a friendly face. Yeah, and he's
taken us all to this what do we call it,
like a hostel, almost a commune.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
It was a full.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Commune and you were only allowed to be in there
if you live there. And we've walked in, Mate, there
were hula hoops, there were hacky sacks, there were bean backs,
there was an acoustic guitar tantric sex and Connor was
just like follow my lead everyone because we were just
like six seven footballers, like so out of our depth.
We were dressed like in our ones, in our best kit.
Everyone else was dressed in like skirts and eggs. Yeah,
(14:12):
like horrible stuff. And you're befriended a bloke. I think
the bloke's name was Tim.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Actually, you've got a great memory because it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Was one of so much.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's a good pointed season player of the year, see that.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
What I'm glad that you brought that up.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Did the commune stink? Because I think about hippies is
I always think themselves. Come on, guys, have a shower.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
But they were like tents, like there were people were
living in tents and there was a big bonfire and
acoustic guitar. And you become friends with this bloke named Tim.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Remember because there was no grow so yeah, the bar
was the bar was shut, so uh basically anyone who
was in there. They just had like bottles of wine.
And then I got talking to this Tim dude. Yeah,
we had a few bottles of red that he that
he didn't shared with.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
He had some hidden some hidden bottles. And the way
that now it's it's an excellent way to be fraying
a hippie. What kind of did was he goes, He's like,
what's your name, Tim? I'm condor And he goes, Tim,
can I tell you something? Can be honest with you
for a sec He's like there's something about you. He's like,
he's like me and you, and he was like an old.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
He was like an old.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
It would have been like forty plus spr forty plus,
like he was old. And he was going, your vibe
me and you. I just feel like I've been drawn
to you out of everyone at this commune. I'm drawn
to you, like I feel connected to you. And he
was like, and he was going, dude, I was about
to say the same thing, and then he was like, oh, anyway.
It kind of was like just louveed him up, loved
him up, and he goes, is there any like, is
(15:39):
there any grug around? And he's like, for me, my mates,
oh bloody earth, here, bring out this like it was
it was a shanty of a bottle as well, like
it wasn't and I hadn't been aging for a long time.
This red and he started sharing with this all. We
ended up getting booted because somebody realized that we didn't
live there.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's funny, hippies, acoustic guitars, hula hoops, tent. Sure you
weren't in hell.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
We weren't in hell, but it was good fun.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
That was our last night and we all had to
sort of vacate the next week.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Connor socially like towns like which you had known. When
you're playing one team in one city towns the players
sort of draw together all the time and go out together.
They come like family. What about you when you have
a night out in Sydney, is it a lot of
times with teammates or is it a little bit different
dynamic in Sydney.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, it still is, Mattie. I think there's probably something
when I come back from New he to the Roosters
and I've been away for a while, like probably felt
like when I first come back, it's just because people
live all over Sydney. It sort of it's not like
in Newcastle. You know, we'd finish training and'd be like,
(16:47):
all right, boys, let's go get a coffee. Pretty much
everyone would be there because it's ten minutes to get
everywhere in Newcastle. Where in here after a long day,
you know a lot of the time some of the
boys are going to go out west to Crnala. Yeah,
just sort of initially I felt like struggle with that
a little bit. But as time's going on and I
(17:07):
feel like this group that we've got at the moment
is probably the most connected we've been as far as
you know, like if there's anything on, boys are really
making the effort to sort of be there. And you know,
even I find that as time's gone on in the game,
you know, from when I started, like people have changed
(17:28):
a lot, Like the young guys have changed a lot,
and you know, they probably don't enjoy going out for
a beer as much as when I first started, like
we all did. So it's also finding ways to connect
other than going for beers because not everyone drinks, and
the guys, like you know, there's a lot of young
guys that are you know, religious and they don't drink,
(17:49):
and it's also finding how do you connect with these
young dudes away from just going to the pub and everyone.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's a good point, but yeah, I remember like that
was that was the connecting fact when I first come
into grade too. It was like get down train hard
all week and then everyone down at the part and
it was just like being.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
The connector no alcohol speaking of hell again.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yeah yeah, but like you said, like you're probably right,
it is more like beach and coffee. Yeah, it looks like,
especially every in the East.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It's funny, Connor, I wonder whether this year in particular,
what to make just pull tight of the roosters is
the fact, first time for a long long time with
the Roosters there were low expectations. The pressure has just
been taken off a little bit. Hence I can see
the reason why you blake you and join yourself so much.
I thought the previous couple of years, you just you know,
(18:37):
you have your wins, and there'd be times where the
cider was playing well, but you never just looked on
top of your own game. Where this year you can
just see a real joy and enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, yeah, I do agree, Mattie. I think you know,
and that's not saying we haven't been close to the
last few years. It just feels like this year it's
just like we're a really tight knit group. I think
the thing that's probably cost us the last few years
has you know, we've been able to score points sort
of from anything, really like we're out of our own end.
(19:07):
Like we've got great attacking players. We've always had these
big superstars, you know, like Joey both the Joey's. You
lose those sort of guys, and there was a big
shift in our mentality this year. During pre season, and
it probably didn't show in the trial game and then
round one because we got done by fifty in both
of those. But it was like playing more complimentary attacking
(19:27):
footy for our defense. Gotcha, yes, because last year was
like we can score points from anything, so let's push everything.
But then you win by forty. But you also let
in twenty twenty four points, which we did a lot.
Where I feel like our defense is in a way
better place this year, and it's and defense is what
wins premiership.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And our tear it and the irony is you're attacking better.
It's very interesting you say that because you know, you
know to let people know what you'd say in there.
The equation is you can only make how good your
defense is dictates how many errors you can make in attack.
If your defense is poor, then you've basically got to
(20:08):
be you've got to be complete and around ninety to
ninety five percent. But if your defense is really strong
and allows you to take more risks. And it's funny
watching you in those previous years, that makes sense because
you're channeling so much energy into your attack and in
a lot of ways the attack suffered because of it.
This year it looks like, right, we're made doing on defense,
We're made doing on the things that really matter, kick, chase,
(20:31):
all that stuff. And as a consequence, like your attacks
really picked up because it's less structured.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Yeah make sense. Yeah, well I think you saw that.
And on the weekend against the Cowboys, like a lot
of the trials we scored was like offload to three
short passes and then you know Marky goes and does
like he's freaky fair. Oh yeah, Billy scores that try
out on the left. But also though like we're under
no illusions of like there's still so much more work
(20:58):
to be done, more growth as a side, and you know,
like the last couple of weeks have been really good,
but we need to find that consistency. And although our
football is more complimentary at the moment, our YARDI jerrors
are still killing us a bit. Like you've seen it
in games where you know, the first forty minutes we've
(21:19):
turned over a lot of ball and we've defended awesome,
Like we've defended our goal line really well, and you're
going at halftime and you're like, come on, boys, we
need to hold the ball. But like great defense, everyone's
moving so well on the goal line, like you know,
they don't look like scoring, but eventually you turn over
that much football and you give that much possession. Like
we've been run down I don't know how many times,
but after the sixtieth minute, in that sixtieth to seventieth minute,
(21:44):
until the last couple of weeks, we've been really poor
where you know, we've had leads going into that and
you know that's when we want to close out games,
but we haven't been able to. And I don't know
if it's because like we're running out of steam or
we're just giving them too much ball. But for us,
the biggest thing is you don't want to be conservative
in your football and you don't want to go away
from you know, what makes us great, but we also
and you don't want to be like boys we need
(22:05):
to hold the bok because then everyone's tight. Yeah yeah,
but you need to find the balance of okay, like
let's be happy to just get out of our own
and get a good kick away instead of oh, like
there's a half opportunity to score. Yeah, because we can
get like I don't know, Rugula League, like it's in
such a place now where you know, it's just so
reliant on live boar and like breaking teams down later
(22:29):
in the game. Yeah, yeah, in that sixtieth to eightieth minute.
But you can't do that if you don't.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, it's hard when you have when you have like
the attacking, like the young gun attacking threats to yours
that you've got like Mark no one, I need to say,
Robert Toyer, who's been grouse.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Like he's really seen in a hugo.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
And the halves, like the best thing about them is
they probably don't think long like the long game. They
think like now, and that's why they come up with
such mad players like you've seen Markey Marx. Markey, Mark
has been phenomenal. Like that, try you set up.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Earlier in the like no one else is doing that.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Most wingers are probably just trying to either get down
or throw a back infield.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
That's what's good.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Like he comes up with some ras sometimes, but that's
because he's wanting to, like he's thinking about a tackle.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
They're talking at the moment. The word going around he'll
play next year with the Roosters and then he'll go
back to union that they want him back, I mean
for the Raby Union. As far as winning the World
Cup or having an impact in the World Cup. They
must be looking at him, mark at the Roosters playing
playing for the Roosters, getting it, getting stronger in certain
areas of games, and rubbing their hands together. If they
(23:34):
can get him back, that's that's pretty It would have
been like, you know, he's an outstanding player and outstanding athlete,
but there's certain areas in rugby league that you can
see he's improving week in week out. But it's funny
kind of what you just said there. It is so
true in the modern game is that you want to
consolidate the points you've got. You don't want to be
(23:54):
being frivolous with the football. But the moment you try
to shut your own game down and just focus and
tie on defense, I'll just run you down. But you know,
kind of it must be just I just thought. Started
the year, we interview with Angus Crichton and we asked
him there, is it nice to look at the expert
predictions at the start of the year, not you know
(24:15):
all those count, but just to not see a lot
of those guys have you in the eight Most of
times you pick up and you're looking, mate, Roosters win
the comp, win the comp, and they say, we don't
you know, you don't worry about the outside noise, but
it does. It sweeps in just the lower expectations, particularly
for the younger Blakes. It just makes you. You enjoy
your football a lot more.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Yeah, have to you do.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah, it's actually funy. It's pretty petty of for me.
But I remember, like seeing some stuff on Instagram. I
screenshot at it just so I like would have that
and in my memory pain. But yeah, heaps everyone everyone,
Everyone wrote us off. But I also knew the way
we're training, like what sort of what we're capable of,
(25:00):
because you do, you lose a lot of talent. But
the club spent a lot of money on the academy,
all that, you know, the units they've got, all the
all of those young guys living in units together, and
I think they had to, I guess, show faith in
in the work that they've done there and rely on that.
And now you're starting to see guys like you know,
see who's been in our team for a fairweile and
(25:20):
he's he's great young player. He's got so much more
growth in him too. I think Blake Steep's come through
Benaiah who played hooker on the weekend for US. Two
of those great kicks ye kick the twenty that bounce
back like Celessie as well. Yeah, there's some other guys
(25:41):
that have sort of like stood up, like young Taylor
who's played a few games for US, the front rower. Yeah,
you go and like say it like there's all of
these guys that they've shown faith in and and you're
starting to see I guess some of the fruits of that.
So yeah, but I think the biggest thing for us
is just finding that consistency week to week. And you know,
(26:02):
for me, like early days, I can remember good one week,
terrible the next because just this constant battle of you know,
my football probably has got more consistent in the last
couple of years, and you know that comes with experience
and time and you know that there's going to be
a few teething issues with this.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Has been nice?
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Has it been nice?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Now?
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Like you've cemented a role, like because you've played a
lot of different positions. You played fullback for a stint
there the early days at the Rooster's Lock fivetes.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Did you play at the nights.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
That one year where they it was funny because I
played it the year before, so Kaitlyn was injured for
a game where he hurt himself for a game, and
then I moved to fullback in it, I think with
us and the Dogs and ended up scoring two tries
and I think from there Brown he was like, oh,
maybe we moved kind of a fullback and.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
It's up there with the time that breath went to
fullback once.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
But is it any nice?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Like it seems like the last couple of years you've
you've really found your role in at nine, like because
people probably didn't know whether Roosters is going to play
as a forwardeen. It must be nice having that sort
of consistency you can train there all year.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Right, Yeah, yeah, I think I still think Locke's my
best position. Yeah, yeah, I do. I think the freedom
of Locke is it just enables me to like run
the ball a bit more. I can also being like
a half full back and a hooker, like you know,
I can be another link man through the middle. But
it has been good this year just to sort of
(27:33):
pretty much focus on nine and thirteen mostly nine. You know,
we've sort of cheese going on to souths Now, but
the emergence of Benaiah like will probably mean that I'll
play more thirteen towards the back end of the year.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Can I ask you on that on the move to
the Roosters and as yourself and Kurt me and remind
me so much. You know, you're so similar in a
lot of ways in the fact that you know, watching
you guys, the ability to play really fast and sometimes
even kind of you know, not tickling the brakes enough,
you know, playing that thrust all the time. And I
(28:06):
think both years were like that at Newcastle, but particularly Kurt.
I was watching Kurt at Newcastle sometimes come on, mane,
you got to squoeze the breaks. Everything was full tilt
all the time, both of you. You're going to the
roosters and Kurt going to the dogs. I'm suing you
just slow down a little bit more and far more selective.
Is that something that Robbo worked on with you.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I don't know if it were, like, yeah, we definitely
spoke about it, because I think that's the reason why
you know, I've moved around so much. Was the way
that I played was like my strength, but it was
also what brought me undone and you know, like we
can talk about probably when I was out here doing
the halves stuff. It was all just one hundred miles
an hour. And with that, you know, you create, you
do some good stuff, but then you also do a
(28:50):
lot of bad stuff as well. And I would just
like do some yeah, great things, and then I would
just make some of the dumbest and worst mistakes ever.
And I don't know if it was like me just
playing more football and just realizing you didn't need to
be in a rush, but even earlier in my career,
I just felt like generally I was in a rush
with everything, you know, like I wanted to be a
(29:11):
starting player and all this sort of stuff. But as
it's worked out, you know, being moved around and just
being more looking at it, like from taking a step back.
And I think having injuries probably helped this as well,
because they just made me slow down. They forced me
to slow down and actually appreciate that I'm living out
my childhood dream. Like just even playing off the bench
(29:33):
is great, and it doesn't matter what position, as long
as I can go and have an impact on a
game and just get out there. I was just yeah
excited to do that, and I feel like freeing myself
up from that expectation or from aiming for this big
goal of wanting to do this and score tries every
week and do this, and just worrying about the present
moment and just actually going out there and having fun,
(29:56):
but also understanding how hard the game is as well,
because you know, like you've got to be in that headspace.
It's not like you've got to be willing to work hard.
But just going out there and enjoying myself was like,
I don't know, a weight lifted off me, and my
football has just got more consistent because of that, which
is weird. It's not contradictory right now, but it's true.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
The temptation in even team sport is to focus on
yourself because it's so cut cutthroat to get there and say, mate,
I need to do this, I want to do this.
If when you just settle and just become part of
the team, make the enjoyment just goes through the roof,
doesn't it. When when as opposed to going you wanting
people to meet your demands, it's a it's a huge difference.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
And when you look back in your decision now, like
of because it was it was a bit of a
hard decision at the time or your mate to that
NEWI at Newcastle. I think Newcastle maybe even come up
with more money than the Roosters at the time, but
you decided.
Speaker 4 (30:50):
To go to the Trickies.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Now being there for a few years, like looking back
on that decision and where you're at now, how do
you see it?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, it's so funny because if you ask me like
two years after going back to the Roosters, I would
have been like, why did I come back here? Yeah,
because that was when I had so that first year,
I didn't realize that one of my last games at
the Nights, I'd done like a little tear in my
pateel attendant. And then so that next year at the Roosters,
(31:18):
like I was playing okay, but I was playing on
one sort of leg and kept just hurting this ptel attendant.
And then that next preseason then I ruptured it, and
then I've missed the whole year at the Roosters. And
then I can remember even saying it to like my
missus and just being like why did I come back here?
Like yeah, like what have I done? But I think
(31:42):
it just shows you you just don't, I don't know,
you just can't ride the highs too much and ride
the lows too much because you just never know what's coming.
Just honestly, just I just stayed, like just try to
stay the course. I was very lucky. I had, you know,
great people, great support network around me, because like after
(32:02):
that year when I had the knee, like it almost
looked at one point that I was going to have
to go to the Super League to keep playing, because
it was honestly, like I remember one day, so the
roosters are essentially said to me, you know, like, there's
not we don't really have space for you here. Next year,
Sandon was going really good, so I sort of thought
he was going to be in that utility role with
(32:22):
Luke still being there in the halves. And then I
remember I was like, god, an off from a Super
League club, and my financial advisors like, mate, you got
to take it. You've got a mortgage, this sort of stuff.
I was like losing my mind. And then so I've
rang Chimesy Steve Gillies, my agent. I'm like, mate, I
(32:46):
was like, like, surely there's an NFL club out there
who's willing to take a chance on me. And I
remember he texted me and he would just like send
me screenshots of the text messages from the club, from
the club, That's all I said. It was like kicking
a man while he was down. I kept getting like, no,
we're all good. Thanks, No, we're all good. Thanks, No,
(33:06):
we're all good. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
You're supposed to protect.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah. Well he was just like I guess this is
this is the reality, Like this is where you're at.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
It's honest. Yeah, yeah, And I just.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Couldn't believe how quickly like I'd sort of gone from
you know, like love of my football up at Newcastle
and then this thing with the knee happens, and then
all of a sudden I was like, you know, my
own RL career is over. And then it was only
really that Gus was Gus Good. Was like I went
and sort of had a chat with him, and then
the dogs were like looking at bringing me over there,
(33:36):
and then from there the Russes did manage to find.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
In that funny though, like like that a low so
often is followed by your highest heighth advice versa and
pour our young check balls, stop four tries the week
before probably the greatest moment, and he's up there in
his life and then the next week does his a
cl like you know, I mean, it's.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Just it is, It's an unforgiving game, and like you said,
sometimes those lows can last two years, these long term injuries. Yeah,
you know, I mean you do an acl or and Achilles.
People don't realize how hard mentally.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
That ship is.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Yeah, well that's guys like you know BRAI like Jade
and Brayley, Billy Smith, like they've gone through like two
a cls Achilles, Like I think Billy's had three Billy's
I can't remember, it's two or three a cls. But
then he also had the foot what's the big one
in the foot Liz Frank, So he had one of those,
like and then just for him to steal like we
see how good he's playing now, and it was always
(34:37):
it's always been there for Billy, but just for him to, yeah,
stick through all of that because it has just been
so easy for guys like that to throw it all away.
But we'll talk about what.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Are your highs?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Last year?
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Made State of Origin run that's a rapid rise, that's yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Yeah, what was that?
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Like?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Did you did you because your your form was outstanding,
they had to put you in the role, But did
you expect Like, how surreal was that few sort of
going through all that and then coming into an origin spot.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yeah, it was. It was pretty wild, to be honest.
I just like because every year, you know, I would
always do my your goals or whatever looking at the
and you'd always say like state of origin, state of origin.
But no year I was like, really a chance because
I've never played consistent footy enough to actually warrant even
(35:26):
being talked about. But that year, going like going into
last year, I think my goal was like play every
game for the Roosters and then be in the origin discussion.
Was like I had it. I wrote it up in
my mirror in my bedroom. And Round one Roosters didn't
get Yeah, yeah, both of us. So it was like
(35:50):
New South Wales cut for the first couple of weeks
and I'm just thinking, oh god, there's going to be
a long year. And then so obviously couldn't play every
game at n L for the Roosters, but then round
three got caught up, and yeah, just was like let's
just go and have fun, like don't put any pressure
(36:11):
on yourself, kind of that mindset that I was talking
about before, and then yeah, ended up just stringing enough
good games together. And then I remember after probably like
five or six weeks of playing, and Robbo sat me
down and he's like, Okay, it's getting pretty close to
our origent selection. Just like so you know, like Madges called
me and he's looking at you, and I was like,
(36:32):
what the hell? Really? Yeah, yeah, because you know some
of the journeys you run, like Danny Widler lives in Bondo,
so running to him down the main street, He's like, mate,
I'm hearing your clothes to Origin. And I just thought like, yeah, yeah,
these guys journeys like they're probably he's probably just like
saying like maybe he's heard a whisper. It's probably not
actually a chance. And then yeah, and in reality, I
(36:54):
just thought that ship might have sailed. And I just
think it was very lucky timing from me. You know,
Magic come in with this new philosophy, wanted to bring
a new squad in. I was playing well enough, and
just the timing of everything it just worked out. And
then YE had to be able to play well actually
because I'd heard I was closed. But then we played
Magic Ground maybe so Robbo's told me that the week
(37:17):
after we've played, and then I've gone and I've fractured
my larynx in my throat, and then so now you're
going to miss four weeks. And I missed the first
Origin because of that, And then once I got in,
I was thinking, Jesus, I've been this close to getting
picked for Origin and now I've gone and fractured my laryx,
and then thinking, you know, if they go good and
they win, like, I'm probably a chance of not getting
(37:38):
picked now, and then yeah they didn't. Obviously Sue got
SimBin and they lost, and then Mad just picked me
and then sort of said, you know, luck, you probably
would have been any first game if you didn't have
the throat injury.
Speaker 4 (37:49):
And it's funny sliding doors.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
If you play first game and they get beat, yeah,
you don't know who. You don't know who gets dropped
like it they look for answers, had you.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
I was walking in to training for the first ever
the Blues, and we spoke to a few of the
boys that have been here before. It is for people
that want to know what it's like. It is like
walking to a new school yard, isn't it. It's just mate,
you're shitting yourself.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
One hundred percent. I can remember how nervous it was
for the first training. It was like you know when
you first started training with the NURL squad.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Yeah, it was looking at all your heroes.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, I was like, man, I haven't been this nervous
for training for eight nine years far out and then yeah,
just remember like first pass, now, this first past, now
this first like.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
You just go, don't drop it. Yeah, first of camp
I walked into I think it was Laza. I walked
in one camp and one of my first ever one.
Laso is just you know, kind of the game, but big, gruff, angry,
cranky guy. I remember walking and I'll see Lazo and
go fucking lost Lazzo and I got a Lazo hair
going yes did you blokes play? Yes? Cowboys? I just
(39:03):
go I said, wow, we got boot he gus fucking
dogs just walked off. Fuck yeah you have. But going
in there, who was the guy that sort of settled
your well?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I guess like me and Gussie are pretty tight, so
going in there with him, I think we might have
even got picked up in the same car together. So
just sort of gone out there with him and Spencer
as well, like yeah, those guys spending done the first one,
so he sort of knew what he was going into
the second Origin camp. But those guys were just yeah,
that the ones that I guess initially yeah, made me
(39:44):
sort of feel comfortable. But I just remember the whole
week was like the biggest blue I got so stitched
up to fire out. It was funny. So we got
there and like, no one really says like, this is
what we're doing. They're just like, go upstairs, you gotta
sign your contract and then just get checked out by
the physios and they'll give you your gear bag. And
(40:05):
I can just remember rocking up there, like even just
the news cameras at the hotel. You're thinking, Jesus is
like different intensity. It just comes with the whole week.
And then I walk upstairs Zero big serios like, which
is good because I've known zero for a long long time.
Have like and there's a lot of guys that I
knew that I'd played with or played sort of against,
and you know, you're friendly about that camaraderie before players,
(40:27):
so you know guys, you've had beers with guys before
that sort of stuff played, you know, junior rep stuff
with different people, and Sira goes, here's your gearbag mate.
And then so Madges called me and mue in because
you wanted to show us this video, which was pretty cool.
And then that is like all right, so we'll go
be downstairs in five minutes. We're like, we're going to
(40:47):
go over and do the media stuff. So going to
my gearbag and I'm like looking through it and I'm thinking,
I can't be late to be downstairs, Like this is
your first thing, don't you can't be late. It's got
five minutes. I'm going through my gearbag. I'm looking for
shorts and everything's in packages and stuff and it's hard
to get like a read. So I'm ripping everything. It's
making a mess everywhere. And I try these shorts and
I'm like looking at these can't be right. And I'm like, well,
(41:10):
and look at the time. Go bro, you've got a minute.
You gotta get downstairs on text us, what are you
wearing to go? Just just wear shorts and like a
polo and a jumper, So go downstairs. I'm telling you,
these shorts are that tight, the game shorts. Nah. I
walked down into the team room. Everyone's looking at me.
They just start cracking up. SiO, give me the woman's shorts.
(41:32):
So that time on me, like the medium is yeah,
because I don't know if you've got the he reckons,
you've got the W and the M confused, I reckon Yeah,
And I've just walked into this team room and there
just everyone's cracking up.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
You got given the.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Year film sitting on the bench, you know, and that
in that game too, you know, everything's in the balance
waiting for the call.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
We'll see the game to actually made. He was the
one where we'd had that really dominant first taf YEP.
So I was just sort of thinking like, yeah, go it, like,
don't't blow it. Yeah, don't blow it, like you know,
and then it was just once I got on, was
just like just enjoy this, like just soak it up,
like take them on to do it sort of just yeah,
(42:16):
back yourself and get into your first tackle and first run,
similar to like when you make your first grade thea boo.
You know, you just sort of like, I just want
to get out there and make your first run on
first tackle. But game three was probably a bit more Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
When you go on, So you go on, the game
is in the balance, so how you feel them when
you're staying there with the touch judge about to go
on the field.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, just sort of you know, because you play the
game one hundred times through your head. You're sitting on
there for sixty minutes and then cause your cause your name,
and you just yeah, just sort of want to go
in and just not put any pressure, like you know.
It's it's that contradiction of you want to go out
(42:54):
there and you want to perform. But I think for me,
I know I'm at my best when I don't like
I just go out there and be in the mote.
Just yeah, go on the flow. And I just wanted
to get out there and yeah, just try and contribute
in any way possible, and whatever I was doing in
that moment, just nail it. So whether it was that
pass or like you know, where it's yeah, a pass
(43:15):
you run, or just get my first tackle. Make sure
I win my first tackle. Get your step.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
It was a crazy finish that game too, Like that
was the one where you hit Angus Crichton.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
He does a horrendous offload to you.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Yeah, and then I.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Trolled along the ground hand grenade to Romi. Romi goes
through find Bradman to score that mad match winning try.
Like that must have been some like talk about a
dream first series in Origin?
Speaker 4 (43:39):
Was that was that? That's as good as it gets.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah. I just remember after the games being like, what
the hell has happened? Yeah in the last you know,
like we talked about the sort of the twelve months before,
and just thinking like if you told me this had happened,
like this is going to happen next year, I just
would have been like, you lie, mate, No, there's no way.
So just for it all to happen, I was just yeah,
so grateful and just try to really enjoy everything as
(44:03):
much as I could.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Well would I tell you terrific, Blake. That's the end
of part one, right, that's time to jump over for
part two, which I hope you enjoy every bit as
much I know you will.
Yeah, Gooday, guys, it's Maddie John's Yeah, look at it.
You can tell I'm just not myself at the moment,
a little bit down, but I tell it'll cheer me up.
Hitting the follow but on our podcast with the Family
podcast and backstage so you don't miss any of the
good stuff we've got coming up. And thank you guys,
Thank you again for listening to the podcast and giving
us your support. Good on you, guys.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
What was it a slip at the other day or something.
You're saying that you come back from a weekend away
and he's, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
She went. She goes were go for a week. She
has all these these idealism about faking going and we'll
going to the city. We'll have it a romanic. Okay,
yeah great. Anyway, anyway, I ducked off and she did
a thing that I came back late, and then she
went berserk. I said, fucking made half. Now, I like
to guys, suppose a romanic. And we did the same
thing the next day. Yeah, she got me playing the pokeys.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Yeah, we just do mate. They played poking and now
they're fighting about something that like just has started just
from like dad losing his credit card. It's just it's
just so stupid. They just both of you are just idiots.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
I love how you're like at the point now your
friends who me and Dad, like, you know, like it's
like looking at a couple, but you know.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Like, oh yeah, I look real when like when your
parents used to fight when you were young, you go.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Oh no, it's gonna end. It's going to end.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
And now I just go like, just get over. Dad's
sleeping on the couch like three nights and it's just
like and then he's gone, mate, like what about her?
And then she'll be like what about him? I'll be like,
you're both just as bad as each other. I couldn't
even care less.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Sleeping on the couch, just next social cat up on
the grille.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Seriously, not the good kind, uh. Connor Watson, Welcome to
the podcast.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
We got you on a bye week?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I would say, Matthew, I would say somewhat a part
of the family. Connor, Yes, close personal friend, you know,
ex teammate of Jack.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Dad probably looks at you as somewhat have done. Yeah, someone,
what do you get up to on a bye week?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Not much we got because we've got the whole week off.
But I was just thinking as I drove up here.
Do you remember when you took us for that half
session down the parking Do you remember? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah,
it didn't really help that much.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
I really do that one. You've played about every position.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Coaches when there was a new counsel. Boys come down.
They're so enthusiastic the coaching stuff. Yeah, wow, great, you go, mate.
You know this is when you shift a ball, dow'n
have to do block formation. Just get it there, bing
ding ding. Oh yeah, this is a revolutionary. This is great.
I didn't use it at all. Waste my time.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
I feel free to get that mic into your no, no, no,
we're going to talk about your podcast as back in
the day. But you haven't done a podcast in a
long time, mate, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Been a little bit. It's been a while. Yeah, I
actually can't remember.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
The last one I did would have been that was
obviously with two five seven. We're gonna we're going to
touch on all that, but that like a gang, No
that was that was wasn't that like your house number?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
House number? Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah, And then it
ended up the house always got egged because we basically
gave their house number, didn't actually get ye house cars.
It didn't help when I had first went to Newcastle
and part of my deal was club car and rock
up get the club car, and it's just like everywhere.
I can't remember what the sponsor was, but it was
(03:31):
just like Newcastle Knights sponsored by or whatever.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Who's driving around now Braddy.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
I saw Braddy up in Newcastle the other day driving past,
and the other reason I knew it was him because
I had Massive Night's logo on the door. It was like, mate,
you can't be getting around it. Yeah, people were just
hamming your car. You have a few bad games.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
And I knew you guys like knew where I lived,
so I wasn't far from like I was in Hamilton South,
so you got the sort of housing commission block just
up the road there. And I'm just fit in my
garage one so I couldn't hide the car. So just
out the front of my house was this Night's car.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
I had a car sponsorship at the Nights in two.
Connor turned up at the car yard. I won't going
to say the name of it. Of course it might
still be there, but I walked straight and walked up
to the place, says do you yeah, mate, you know they're
going to give you a car for twelve months turned up.
They pointed to it. It was a like a nineteen
eighty two Ford Falcon kids, and it had wires coming
(04:29):
out of the tire. One of them and ask Trusha,
this is true. I couldn't if I put my foot
on the brake without having my foot still on the accelerator,
it would actually conk out, it would stop. So I
used to have to pull up at a light, put my
foot on the brake or put the handbrake on, keep
the foot on the accelerator. Then these and I and
the other thing. The driver's door didn't open, so I
(04:51):
had to jump through the window like dukes have haz.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
His style every time, every time in and out.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, oh that's shit.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
What was Why didn't you? Why would you even keep it?
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Because beggars can't be chooses, That's true. Begars cannot be choosers.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
We don't see much obviously, you're in the eastern suburbs now.
We don't see as much of you as we would
like to these days. But we actually saw each other
not long ago, a few weeks ago, had a bit
of a night out.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, it was good. It was good to see you again.
It was it had been a little while. That's why
I felt bad the other day when I rang you
and I didn't realize because I knew you sold the
old house. Yeah, yeah, I drove past it. I was
visiting one of my mates the other day. I was
telling you. Yeah, I didn't actually realize you guys still
lived in COOLROI so I brushed. I brushed it the
other day. But yeah, it was good to see you.
The other week I come down sort of. It was
(05:41):
a day day or two after a game, right.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yeah, you guys had just beaten was it Saint George Day,
which is a good win.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah. So I saw you the night after the game,
I think, and then the next day you're still out
east and yeah, I had something on it. I can't
rememb what it was, but I was just I was
just cruising and Semi Walks has called me. I didn't answer,
you know, like just I knew what. I knew what
the boys were up to though they're on the beers.
(06:10):
I was like, nah, I don't even want to answer
the phone, and get like yeah, get my arm twisted
into this, and then semi text my missus and goes, hey, Keanna,
can you tell Kinnor to call me? It's urgent. So
I'm thinking, oh, I know what's happened to you.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
I've freaked out.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
I've called him, and he goes, hey, mate, We're just
at the end of your street. I'm with Cooper, me
Mark Cooper, see, well, come down. I was like, you're serious.
You made me think that something's happened. Like I'm freaking
out here calling you because I'm worried about you, and
then you're just down the end of my streets. So
I went down and ye saw the boys.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
We had a good laugh for a couple of hours.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah, it was a great couple of hours. And I
don't know, have you told that story which one?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeahah, yeah, we told told it on the family partty
before you can sell it.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Was that funny. We're just we're sitting outside it started
poor rain to n yeah, and then this like group
of girls just come out and then they're just sitting
there like waiting for an uber. We didn't pay too
much attention to it, and then turned around, I was
like one of the girls had almost died. She's like
passed out in the in.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
The gut told me, yeah, kissing down on her like
the rain was. She was nearly drowning in the rain.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Yeah. So then we've tried to like trying to move
her under the cover. There's a few of us that
have gone over to grab her, but because she's full passed out,
she was heavy, dead like dead way yeah yeah, hard
to carry just like limbs, limbs flying everywhere. So we've
moved onto the seat and I'm not sure what's happened
because she's it's almost like she she wasn't. It wasn't
(07:40):
like she was drunk passed out. She's just fully gone.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
It was like she'd fallen slip, but she was like
vomiting too.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
But I heard amongst all that she recognized you boys.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah. Well, so she wakes up and Cooper's there like
helping her. First thing she like looks up and she goes,
is that Cooper John's.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
And all the boys remember.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
After this, her uber rocks up and me and Connor
put her arms over each of us, like we're carrying
off our bloke who just hurt his knee off the field,
like two yellow shirts. We're dragging her off and we're
trying We're in the rain at this stage, getting pissed on.
We're just trying to get her in the uber. And
remember she was like she must have been a massive
footy fan because she kept saying to Connor. She kept
going like, Connor like been loving, be loving what you're
(08:22):
doing this season and kind of like, yeah, good on,
you're good on your buddy, trying.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
To push her in and she's going, do you see
yourself as a nine? Or I was going, she knows what.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
It was.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I could have you know what, Connor, I should have
been there because I was with Coop the night before
and I was just settling in. I was having a
ball and all of a sudden he goes goes, oh
your car's here. I went mad, I didn't order a car's.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
He finished, yeah, we were at Brandon's and I said
it's time for beginning to go.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Yeah, because Mum was texting.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Me, so she was like, oh, mate, you know, send
Dad again. Of course you also, and we've told this
a fair few times, but you also came me you
Jack and a lot of the boys had a big
Byron Bay trip back in twenty twenty after the Melbourne's
Grand Final. We had a Big Boys trip planned. We
have obviously won the Grand Final then basically turned into
(09:20):
Melbourne's Mad Monday. You and Sammy Verrels had we've planned
this for ages. You boys felt that uncomfortable coming up.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
I remember rocking up because it was when I had
done my Achilles that year, so the club had sent
me up to do my myb like rehab at the
you know they got the surfing headquarters up there.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, the surfer golf.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So I went up there and just trained in there
for a week because they've got like all the trampolines,
great gym and stuff, and they've got good physios there.
So the club were just like, as part as your rehab,
let's get you up there, get your away from the facility,
and then they were luck then you can have a
week off after that. So planning this trip, gone up
to Kingscliff Storm had then gone and won the camp
and I had no idea what I was walking into really,
(10:10):
And I remember, because I was training, I was like
a day or two late. So I've walked in maybe
on day two or three, and I've just like walked
in through the house and then I've just like literally
walked in on the storm mad Monday, and I was
expecting to be there with a couple boys, but it
was like the whole twenty of was.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
To be fair, you handled yourself very well, because it
would have been very easy boken another team to just
go to Verels kind of did go to water the
first time. I remember Sammy like, We're all sitting out
the back with music and that, having a laugh, and
sam we just kind of went to bed because he
was like, oh he was feeling he was uncomfortable.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
But this is the great thing, isn't about the game.
There is a real camaraderie and a brotherhood in the game,
and the fact that you can walk in somewhere. You
can walk into a pub tomorrow and it might be
aside the most despised team that you don't get along with,
you've been sent off as soon as you walk in there.
Everything everyone's so inclusive.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, it is pretty cool because because the Brummage boys
were there, Jesse and Ken and Kenny and Vels hadn't
met him before. But then like obviously after a few
days on the piece, you just become mate with everyone.
And he was saying like because he was always kind
of scared of him on the field. He was a
young player of Sammy and he always faced Jesse in
the middle. Jesse would like just like rough him up, and.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
He did the same thing to me, you know when
like you do a kick chase and you go to
do like an escort. Every time he just like shoved
me in the back or try and push me over. Yeah,
same thing always.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
And then he said the next year after he was like,
every time I played Jesse, it was like it was
way better, like you just like yeah, still like still
rough me up, but he roughed me up in like
a friendly way, like just a forearm and rub it
over your nose.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
He's not being mean spirited. Now he's someone chuckling behind me.
They want to add the.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
I'm just having flashbacks to the next morning when the
Brubbish brothers woke up together.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
I just they can they can handle their own.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
The Rummish boys.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Oh they're good drinkers, yeah, yeah, don't get don't get enough.
They don't get enough wrap when like you know, and
in podcasts and stuff, they go, oh, you know, who's
who's the good drinkers? And you know, by far everyone
goes up munster and cheese and those kind of lads,
the Brummish boys. Gee there undercover.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Yeah very just take the top off the bottle and
don't put it back on. Yeah, they're just steady, you know,
they're just steady away.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Just good. Yeah, obviously responsible.
Speaker 1 (12:23):
I'll say this right there is there is. There is
a certain degree of fools gold with some of the drinkers.
And I'll use the Queensland as an example. People will go, oh,
make the Queensland boys, they can put away case in point.
Gordon tallis known as big drinker, and yes he can. However,
it's four x gold.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
It is.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
It's four x gold and four x only mid is.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
Mid strength. Yeah, no, it used to be four x
has another one. It's a marone can that's a full strength,
but you never see it. But the drink of Queensland
is four x gold. They all drink it. I don't
get that. If I'm going to have a beer like,
I drink it for one reason to get a buzz.
Like if I wanted to drink for the taste, I
drink Pepsi Max.
Speaker 3 (13:09):
A buzz rough Field.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
So with Gordon sometimes we'll get there before the last
show and we'll drink tekula and vodka shots before. It's
a bit of a celebration of sorts. And we had
one year Gordon to start banging him back and he
sat on the couch and Mate, he was gone. He
couldn't even talk Yuh.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Yeah, that's a byron for one.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Sorry, because I don't want to let this story go
and miss uh, I think it was the last night.
And you've you've befriended some hippies and we kind of
can befriend like people anywhere as well. Condor is a
friendly guy. He's had a friendly face. Yeah, and he's
taken us all to this what do we call it,
like a hostel, almost a commune.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
It was a full.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Commune and you were only allowed to be in there
if you live there. And we've walked in, Mate, there
were hula hoops, there were hacky sacks, there were bean backs,
there was an acoustic guitar tantric sex and Connor was
just like follow my lead everyone because we were just
like six seven footballers, like so out of our depth.
We were dressed like in our ones, in our best kit.
Everyone else was dressed in like skirts and eggs. Yeah,
(14:12):
like horrible stuff. And you're befriended a bloke. I think
the bloke's name was Tim.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Actually, you've got a great memory because it.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Was one of so much.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
That's a good pointed season player of the year, see that.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
What I'm glad that you brought that up.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
Did the commune stink? Because I think about hippies is
I always think themselves. Come on, guys, have a shower.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
But they were like tents, like there were people were
living in tents and there was a big bonfire and
acoustic guitar. And you become friends with this bloke named Tim.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Remember because there was no grow so yeah, the bar
was the bar was shut, so uh basically anyone who
was in there. They just had like bottles of wine.
And then I got talking to this Tim dude. Yeah,
we had a few bottles of red that he that
he didn't shared with.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
He had some hidden some hidden bottles. And the way
that now it's it's an excellent way to be fraying
a hippie. What kind of did was he goes, He's like,
what's your name, Tim? I'm condor And he goes, Tim,
can I tell you something? Can be honest with you
for a sec He's like there's something about you. He's like,
he's like me and you, and he was like an old.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
He was like an old.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
It would have been like forty plus spr forty plus,
like he was old. And he was going, your vibe
me and you. I just feel like I've been drawn
to you out of everyone at this commune. I'm drawn
to you, like I feel connected to you. And he
was like, and he was going, dude, I was about
to say the same thing, and then he was like, oh, anyway.
It kind of was like just louveed him up, loved
him up, and he goes, is there any like, is
(15:39):
there any grug around? And he's like, for me, my mates,
oh bloody earth, here, bring out this like it was
it was a shanty of a bottle as well, like
it wasn't and I hadn't been aging for a long time.
This red and he started sharing with this all. We
ended up getting booted because somebody realized that we didn't
live there.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's funny, hippies, acoustic guitars, hula hoops, tent. Sure you
weren't in hell.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
We weren't in hell, but it was good fun.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
That was our last night and we all had to
sort of vacate the next week.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Connor socially like towns like which you had known. When
you're playing one team in one city towns the players
sort of draw together all the time and go out together.
They come like family. What about you when you have
a night out in Sydney, is it a lot of
times with teammates or is it a little bit different
dynamic in Sydney.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, it still is, Mattie. I think there's probably something
when I come back from New he to the Roosters
and I've been away for a while, like probably felt
like when I first come back, it's just because people
live all over Sydney. It sort of it's not like
in Newcastle. You know, we'd finish training and'd be like,
(16:47):
all right, boys, let's go get a coffee. Pretty much
everyone would be there because it's ten minutes to get
everywhere in Newcastle. Where in here after a long day,
you know a lot of the time some of the
boys are going to go out west to Crnala. Yeah,
just sort of initially I felt like struggle with that
a little bit. But as time's going on and I
(17:07):
feel like this group that we've got at the moment
is probably the most connected we've been as far as
you know, like if there's anything on, boys are really
making the effort to sort of be there. And you know,
even I find that as time's gone on in the game,
you know, from when I started, like people have changed
(17:28):
a lot, Like the young guys have changed a lot,
and you know, they probably don't enjoy going out for
a beer as much as when I first started, like
we all did. So it's also finding ways to connect
other than going for beers because not everyone drinks, and
the guys, like you know, there's a lot of young
guys that are you know, religious and they don't drink,
(17:49):
and it's also finding how do you connect with these
young dudes away from just going to the pub and everyone.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
It's a good point, but yeah, I remember like that
was that was the connecting fact when I first come
into grade too. It was like get down train hard
all week and then everyone down at the part and
it was just like being.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
The connector no alcohol speaking of hell again.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Yeah yeah, but like you said, like you're probably right,
it is more like beach and coffee. Yeah, it looks like,
especially every in the East.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It's funny, Connor, I wonder whether this year in particular,
what to make just pull tight of the roosters is
the fact, first time for a long long time with
the Roosters there were low expectations. The pressure has just
been taken off a little bit. Hence I can see
the reason why you blake you and join yourself so much.
I thought the previous couple of years, you just you know,
(18:37):
you have your wins, and there'd be times where the
cider was playing well, but you never just looked on
top of your own game. Where this year you can
just see a real joy and enjoyment.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Yeah, yeah, I do agree, Mattie. I think you know,
and that's not saying we haven't been close to the
last few years. It just feels like this year it's
just like we're a really tight knit group. I think
the thing that's probably cost us the last few years
has you know, we've been able to score points sort
of from anything, really like we're out of our own end.
(19:07):
Like we've got great attacking players. We've always had these
big superstars, you know, like Joey both the Joey's. You
lose those sort of guys, and there was a big
shift in our mentality this year. During pre season, and
it probably didn't show in the trial game and then
round one because we got done by fifty in both
of those. But it was like playing more complimentary attacking
(19:27):
footy for our defense. Gotcha, yes, because last year was
like we can score points from anything, so let's push everything.
But then you win by forty. But you also let
in twenty twenty four points, which we did a lot.
Where I feel like our defense is in a way
better place this year, and it's and defense is what
wins premiership.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
And our tear it and the irony is you're attacking better.
It's very interesting you say that because you know, you
know to let people know what you'd say in there.
The equation is you can only make how good your
defense is dictates how many errors you can make in attack.
If your defense is poor, then you've basically got to
(20:08):
be you've got to be complete and around ninety to
ninety five percent. But if your defense is really strong
and allows you to take more risks. And it's funny
watching you in those previous years, that makes sense because
you're channeling so much energy into your attack and in
a lot of ways the attack suffered because of it.
This year it looks like, right, we're made doing on defense,
We're made doing on the things that really matter, kick, chase,
(20:31):
all that stuff. And as a consequence, like your attacks
really picked up because it's less structured.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Yeah make sense. Yeah, well I think you saw that.
And on the weekend against the Cowboys, like a lot
of the trials we scored was like offload to three
short passes and then you know Marky goes and does
like he's freaky fair. Oh yeah, Billy scores that try
out on the left. But also though like we're under
no illusions of like there's still so much more work
(20:58):
to be done, more growth as a side, and you know,
like the last couple of weeks have been really good,
but we need to find that consistency. And although our
football is more complimentary at the moment, our YARDI jerrors
are still killing us a bit. Like you've seen it
in games where you know, the first forty minutes we've
(21:19):
turned over a lot of ball and we've defended awesome,
Like we've defended our goal line really well, and you're
going at halftime and you're like, come on, boys, we
need to hold the ball. But like great defense, everyone's
moving so well on the goal line, like you know,
they don't look like scoring, but eventually you turn over
that much football and you give that much possession. Like
we've been run down I don't know how many times,
but after the sixtieth minute, in that sixtieth to seventieth minute,
(21:44):
until the last couple of weeks, we've been really poor
where you know, we've had leads going into that and
you know that's when we want to close out games,
but we haven't been able to. And I don't know
if it's because like we're running out of steam or
we're just giving them too much ball. But for us,
the biggest thing is you don't want to be conservative
in your football and you don't want to go away
from you know, what makes us great, but we also
and you don't want to be like boys we need
(22:05):
to hold the bok because then everyone's tight. Yeah yeah,
but you need to find the balance of okay, like
let's be happy to just get out of our own
and get a good kick away instead of oh, like
there's a half opportunity to score. Yeah, because we can
get like I don't know, Rugula League, like it's in
such a place now where you know, it's just so
reliant on live boar and like breaking teams down later
(22:29):
in the game. Yeah, yeah, in that sixtieth to eightieth minute.
But you can't do that if you don't.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
Well, it's hard when you have when you have like
the attacking, like the young gun attacking threats to yours
that you've got like Mark no one, I need to say,
Robert Toyer, who's been grouse.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Like he's really seen in a hugo.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
And the halves, like the best thing about them is
they probably don't think long like the long game. They
think like now, and that's why they come up with
such mad players like you've seen Markey Marx. Markey, Mark
has been phenomenal. Like that, try you set up.
Speaker 4 (22:59):
Earlier in the like no one else is doing that.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Most wingers are probably just trying to either get down
or throw a back infield.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
That's what's good.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Like he comes up with some ras sometimes, but that's
because he's wanting to, like he's thinking about a tackle.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
They're talking at the moment. The word going around he'll
play next year with the Roosters and then he'll go
back to union that they want him back, I mean
for the Raby Union. As far as winning the World
Cup or having an impact in the World Cup. They
must be looking at him, mark at the Roosters playing
playing for the Roosters, getting it, getting stronger in certain
areas of games, and rubbing their hands together. If they
(23:34):
can get him back, that's that's pretty It would have
been like, you know, he's an outstanding player and outstanding athlete,
but there's certain areas in rugby league that you can
see he's improving week in week out. But it's funny
kind of what you just said there. It is so
true in the modern game is that you want to
consolidate the points you've got. You don't want to be
(23:54):
being frivolous with the football. But the moment you try
to shut your own game down and just focus and
tie on defense, I'll just run you down. But you know,
kind of it must be just I just thought. Started
the year, we interview with Angus Crichton and we asked
him there, is it nice to look at the expert
predictions at the start of the year, not you know
(24:15):
all those count, but just to not see a lot
of those guys have you in the eight Most of
times you pick up and you're looking, mate, Roosters win
the comp, win the comp, and they say, we don't
you know, you don't worry about the outside noise, but
it does. It sweeps in just the lower expectations, particularly
for the younger Blakes. It just makes you. You enjoy
your football a lot more.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
Yeah, have to you do.
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah, it's actually funy. It's pretty petty of for me.
But I remember, like seeing some stuff on Instagram. I
screenshot at it just so I like would have that
and in my memory pain. But yeah, heaps everyone everyone,
Everyone wrote us off. But I also knew the way
we're training, like what sort of what we're capable of,
(25:00):
because you do, you lose a lot of talent. But
the club spent a lot of money on the academy,
all that, you know, the units they've got, all the
all of those young guys living in units together, and
I think they had to, I guess, show faith in
in the work that they've done there and rely on that.
And now you're starting to see guys like you know,
see who's been in our team for a fairweile and
(25:20):
he's he's great young player. He's got so much more
growth in him too. I think Blake Steep's come through
Benaiah who played hooker on the weekend for US. Two
of those great kicks ye kick the twenty that bounce
back like Celessie as well. Yeah, there's some other guys
(25:41):
that have sort of like stood up, like young Taylor
who's played a few games for US, the front rower. Yeah,
you go and like say it like there's all of
these guys that they've shown faith in and and you're
starting to see I guess some of the fruits of that.
So yeah, but I think the biggest thing for us
is just finding that consistency week to week. And you know,
(26:02):
for me, like early days, I can remember good one week,
terrible the next because just this constant battle of you know,
my football probably has got more consistent in the last
couple of years, and you know that comes with experience
and time and you know that there's going to be
a few teething issues with this.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Has been nice?
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Has it been nice?
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Now?
Speaker 3 (26:20):
Like you've cemented a role, like because you've played a
lot of different positions. You played fullback for a stint
there the early days at the Rooster's Lock fivetes.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Did you play at the nights.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
That one year where they it was funny because I
played it the year before, so Kaitlyn was injured for
a game where he hurt himself for a game, and
then I moved to fullback in it, I think with
us and the Dogs and ended up scoring two tries
and I think from there Brown he was like, oh,
maybe we moved kind of a fullback and.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
It's up there with the time that breath went to
fullback once.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
But is it any nice?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Like it seems like the last couple of years you've
you've really found your role in at nine, like because
people probably didn't know whether Roosters is going to play
as a forwardeen. It must be nice having that sort
of consistency you can train there all year.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Right, Yeah, yeah, I think I still think Locke's my
best position. Yeah, yeah, I do. I think the freedom
of Locke is it just enables me to like run
the ball a bit more. I can also being like
a half full back and a hooker, like you know,
I can be another link man through the middle. But
it has been good this year just to sort of
(27:33):
pretty much focus on nine and thirteen mostly nine. You know,
we've sort of cheese going on to souths Now, but
the emergence of Benaiah like will probably mean that I'll
play more thirteen towards the back end of the year.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
Can I ask you on that on the move to
the Roosters and as yourself and Kurt me and remind
me so much. You know, you're so similar in a
lot of ways in the fact that you know, watching
you guys, the ability to play really fast and sometimes
even kind of you know, not tickling the brakes enough,
you know, playing that thrust all the time. And I
(28:06):
think both years were like that at Newcastle, but particularly Kurt.
I was watching Kurt at Newcastle sometimes come on, mane,
you got to squoeze the breaks. Everything was full tilt
all the time, both of you. You're going to the
roosters and Kurt going to the dogs. I'm suing you
just slow down a little bit more and far more selective.
Is that something that Robbo worked on with you.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I don't know if it were, like, yeah, we definitely
spoke about it, because I think that's the reason why
you know, I've moved around so much. Was the way
that I played was like my strength, but it was
also what brought me undone and you know, like we
can talk about probably when I was out here doing
the halves stuff. It was all just one hundred miles
an hour. And with that, you know, you create, you
do some good stuff, but then you also do a
(28:50):
lot of bad stuff as well. And I would just
like do some yeah, great things, and then I would
just make some of the dumbest and worst mistakes ever.
And I don't know if it was like me just
playing more football and just realizing you didn't need to
be in a rush, but even earlier in my career,
I just felt like generally I was in a rush
with everything, you know, like I wanted to be a
(29:11):
starting player and all this sort of stuff. But as
it's worked out, you know, being moved around and just
being more looking at it, like from taking a step back.
And I think having injuries probably helped this as well,
because they just made me slow down. They forced me
to slow down and actually appreciate that I'm living out
my childhood dream. Like just even playing off the bench
(29:33):
is great, and it doesn't matter what position, as long
as I can go and have an impact on a
game and just get out there. I was just yeah
excited to do that, and I feel like freeing myself
up from that expectation or from aiming for this big
goal of wanting to do this and score tries every
week and do this, and just worrying about the present
moment and just actually going out there and having fun,
(29:56):
but also understanding how hard the game is as well,
because you know, like you've got to be in that headspace.
It's not like you've got to be willing to work hard.
But just going out there and enjoying myself was like,
I don't know, a weight lifted off me, and my
football has just got more consistent because of that, which
is weird. It's not contradictory right now, but it's true.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
The temptation in even team sport is to focus on
yourself because it's so cut cutthroat to get there and say, mate,
I need to do this, I want to do this.
If when you just settle and just become part of
the team, make the enjoyment just goes through the roof,
doesn't it. When when as opposed to going you wanting
people to meet your demands, it's a it's a huge difference.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
And when you look back in your decision now, like
of because it was it was a bit of a
hard decision at the time or your mate to that
NEWI at Newcastle. I think Newcastle maybe even come up
with more money than the Roosters at the time, but
you decided.
Speaker 4 (30:50):
To go to the Trickies.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Now being there for a few years, like looking back
on that decision and where you're at now, how do
you see it?
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, it's so funny because if you ask me like
two years after going back to the Roosters, I would
have been like, why did I come back here? Yeah,
because that was when I had so that first year,
I didn't realize that one of my last games at
the Nights, I'd done like a little tear in my
pateel attendant. And then so that next year at the Roosters,
(31:18):
like I was playing okay, but I was playing on
one sort of leg and kept just hurting this ptel attendant.
And then that next preseason then I ruptured it, and
then I've missed the whole year at the Roosters. And
then I can remember even saying it to like my
missus and just being like why did I come back here?
Like yeah, like what have I done? But I think
(31:42):
it just shows you you just don't, I don't know,
you just can't ride the highs too much and ride
the lows too much because you just never know what's coming.
Just honestly, just I just stayed, like just try to
stay the course. I was very lucky. I had, you know,
great people, great support network around me, because like after
(32:02):
that year when I had the knee, like it almost
looked at one point that I was going to have
to go to the Super League to keep playing, because
it was honestly, like I remember one day, so the
roosters are essentially said to me, you know, like, there's
not we don't really have space for you here. Next year,
Sandon was going really good, so I sort of thought
he was going to be in that utility role with
(32:22):
Luke still being there in the halves. And then I
remember I was like, god, an off from a Super
League club, and my financial advisors like, mate, you got
to take it. You've got a mortgage, this sort of stuff.
I was like losing my mind. And then so I've
rang Chimesy Steve Gillies, my agent. I'm like, mate, I
(32:46):
was like, like, surely there's an NFL club out there
who's willing to take a chance on me. And I
remember he texted me and he would just like send
me screenshots of the text messages from the club, from
the club, That's all I said. It was like kicking
a man while he was down. I kept getting like, no,
we're all good. Thanks, No, we're all good. Thanks, No,
(33:06):
we're all good. Thanks.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
You're supposed to protect.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Yeah. Well he was just like I guess this is
this is the reality, Like this is where you're at.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
It's honest. Yeah, yeah, And I just.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Couldn't believe how quickly like I'd sort of gone from
you know, like love of my football up at Newcastle
and then this thing with the knee happens, and then
all of a sudden I was like, you know, my
own RL career is over. And then it was only
really that Gus was Gus Good. Was like I went
and sort of had a chat with him, and then
the dogs were like looking at bringing me over there,
(33:36):
and then from there the Russes did manage to find.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
In that funny though, like like that a low so
often is followed by your highest heighth advice versa and
pour our young check balls, stop four tries the week
before probably the greatest moment, and he's up there in
his life and then the next week does his a
cl like you know, I mean, it's.
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Just it is, It's an unforgiving game, and like you said,
sometimes those lows can last two years, these long term injuries. Yeah,
you know, I mean you do an acl or and Achilles.
People don't realize how hard mentally.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
That ship is.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Yeah, well that's guys like you know BRAI like Jade
and Brayley, Billy Smith, like they've gone through like two
a cls Achilles, Like I think Billy's had three Billy's
I can't remember, it's two or three a cls. But
then he also had the foot what's the big one
in the foot Liz Frank, So he had one of those,
like and then just for him to steal like we
see how good he's playing now, and it was always
(34:37):
it's always been there for Billy, but just for him to, yeah,
stick through all of that because it has just been
so easy for guys like that to throw it all away.
But we'll talk about what.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
Are your highs?
Speaker 4 (34:47):
Last year?
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Made State of Origin run that's a rapid rise, that's yeah.
Speaker 4 (34:52):
Yeah, what was that?
Speaker 1 (34:53):
Like?
Speaker 3 (34:53):
Did you did you because your your form was outstanding,
they had to put you in the role, But did
you expect Like, how surreal was that few sort of
going through all that and then coming into an origin spot.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yeah, it was. It was pretty wild, to be honest.
I just like because every year, you know, I would
always do my your goals or whatever looking at the
and you'd always say like state of origin, state of origin.
But no year I was like, really a chance because
I've never played consistent footy enough to actually warrant even
(35:26):
being talked about. But that year, going like going into
last year, I think my goal was like play every
game for the Roosters and then be in the origin discussion.
Was like I had it. I wrote it up in
my mirror in my bedroom. And Round one Roosters didn't
get Yeah, yeah, both of us. So it was like
(35:50):
New South Wales cut for the first couple of weeks
and I'm just thinking, oh god, there's going to be
a long year. And then so obviously couldn't play every
game at n L for the Roosters, but then round
three got caught up, and yeah, just was like let's
just go and have fun, like don't put any pressure
(36:11):
on yourself, kind of that mindset that I was talking
about before, and then yeah, ended up just stringing enough
good games together. And then I remember after probably like
five or six weeks of playing, and Robbo sat me
down and he's like, Okay, it's getting pretty close to
our origent selection. Just like so you know, like Madges called
me and he's looking at you, and I was like,
(36:32):
what the hell? Really? Yeah, yeah, because you know some
of the journeys you run, like Danny Widler lives in Bondo,
so running to him down the main street, He's like, mate,
I'm hearing your clothes to Origin. And I just thought like, yeah, yeah,
these guys journeys like they're probably he's probably just like
saying like maybe he's heard a whisper. It's probably not
actually a chance. And then yeah, and in reality, I
(36:54):
just thought that ship might have sailed. And I just
think it was very lucky timing from me. You know,
Magic come in with this new philosophy, wanted to bring
a new squad in. I was playing well enough, and
just the timing of everything it just worked out. And
then YE had to be able to play well actually
because I'd heard I was closed. But then we played
Magic Ground maybe so Robbo's told me that the week
(37:17):
after we've played, and then I've gone and I've fractured
my larynx in my throat, and then so now you're
going to miss four weeks. And I missed the first
Origin because of that, And then once I got in,
I was thinking, Jesus, I've been this close to getting
picked for Origin and now I've gone and fractured my laryx,
and then thinking, you know, if they go good and
they win, like, I'm probably a chance of not getting
(37:38):
picked now, and then yeah they didn't. Obviously Sue got
SimBin and they lost, and then Mad just picked me
and then sort of said, you know, luck, you probably
would have been any first game if you didn't have
the throat injury.
Speaker 4 (37:49):
And it's funny sliding doors.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
If you play first game and they get beat, yeah,
you don't know who. You don't know who gets dropped
like it they look for answers, had you.
Speaker 1 (37:58):
I was walking in to training for the first ever
the Blues, and we spoke to a few of the
boys that have been here before. It is for people
that want to know what it's like. It is like
walking to a new school yard, isn't it. It's just mate,
you're shitting yourself.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
One hundred percent. I can remember how nervous it was
for the first training. It was like you know when
you first started training with the NURL squad.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Yeah, it was looking at all your heroes.
Speaker 2 (38:25):
Yeah, I was like, man, I haven't been this nervous
for training for eight nine years far out and then yeah,
just remember like first pass, now, this first past, now
this first like.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
You just go, don't drop it. Yeah, first of camp
I walked into I think it was Laza. I walked
in one camp and one of my first ever one.
Laso is just you know, kind of the game, but big, gruff, angry,
cranky guy. I remember walking and I'll see Lazo and
go fucking lost Lazzo and I got a Lazo hair
going yes did you blokes play? Yes? Cowboys? I just
(39:03):
go I said, wow, we got boot he gus fucking
dogs just walked off. Fuck yeah you have. But going
in there, who was the guy that sort of settled
your well?
Speaker 2 (39:20):
I guess like me and Gussie are pretty tight, so
going in there with him, I think we might have
even got picked up in the same car together. So
just sort of gone out there with him and Spencer
as well, like yeah, those guys spending done the first one,
so he sort of knew what he was going into
the second Origin camp. But those guys were just yeah,
that the ones that I guess initially yeah, made me
(39:44):
sort of feel comfortable. But I just remember the whole
week was like the biggest blue I got so stitched
up to fire out. It was funny. So we got
there and like, no one really says like, this is
what we're doing. They're just like, go upstairs, you gotta
sign your contract and then just get checked out by
the physios and they'll give you your gear bag. And
(40:05):
I can just remember rocking up there, like even just
the news cameras at the hotel. You're thinking, Jesus is
like different intensity. It just comes with the whole week.
And then I walk upstairs Zero big serios like, which
is good because I've known zero for a long long time.
Have like and there's a lot of guys that I
knew that I'd played with or played sort of against,
and you know, you're friendly about that camaraderie before players,
(40:27):
so you know guys, you've had beers with guys before
that sort of stuff played, you know, junior rep stuff
with different people, and Sira goes, here's your gearbag mate.
And then so Madges called me and mue in because
you wanted to show us this video, which was pretty cool.
And then that is like all right, so we'll go
be downstairs in five minutes. We're like, we're going to
(40:47):
go over and do the media stuff. So going to
my gearbag and I'm like looking through it and I'm thinking,
I can't be late to be downstairs, Like this is
your first thing, don't you can't be late. It's got
five minutes. I'm going through my gearbag. I'm looking for
shorts and everything's in packages and stuff and it's hard
to get like a read. So I'm ripping everything. It's
making a mess everywhere. And I try these shorts and
I'm like looking at these can't be right. And I'm like, well,
(41:10):
and look at the time. Go bro, you've got a minute.
You gotta get downstairs on text us, what are you
wearing to go? Just just wear shorts and like a
polo and a jumper, So go downstairs. I'm telling you,
these shorts are that tight, the game shorts. Nah. I
walked down into the team room. Everyone's looking at me.
They just start cracking up. SiO, give me the woman's shorts.
(41:32):
So that time on me, like the medium is yeah,
because I don't know if you've got the he reckons,
you've got the W and the M confused, I reckon Yeah,
And I've just walked into this team room and there
just everyone's cracking up.
Speaker 4 (41:44):
You got given the.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Year film sitting on the bench, you know, and that
in that game too, you know, everything's in the balance
waiting for the call.
Speaker 2 (41:55):
We'll see the game to actually made. He was the
one where we'd had that really dominant first taf YEP.
So I was just sort of thinking like, yeah, go it, like,
don't't blow it. Yeah, don't blow it, like you know,
and then it was just once I got on, was
just like just enjoy this, like just soak it up,
like take them on to do it sort of just yeah,
(42:16):
back yourself and get into your first tackle and first run,
similar to like when you make your first grade thea boo.
You know, you just sort of like, I just want
to get out there and make your first run on
first tackle. But game three was probably a bit more Yeah.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
When you go on, So you go on, the game
is in the balance, so how you feel them when
you're staying there with the touch judge about to go
on the field.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Yeah, just sort of you know, because you play the
game one hundred times through your head. You're sitting on
there for sixty minutes and then cause your cause your name,
and you just yeah, just sort of want to go
in and just not put any pressure, like you know.
It's it's that contradiction of you want to go out
(42:54):
there and you want to perform. But I think for me,
I know I'm at my best when I don't like
I just go out there and be in the mote.
Just yeah, go on the flow. And I just wanted
to get out there and yeah, just try and contribute
in any way possible, and whatever I was doing in
that moment, just nail it. So whether it was that
pass or like you know, where it's yeah, a pass
(43:15):
you run, or just get my first tackle. Make sure
I win my first tackle. Get your step.
Speaker 3 (43:19):
It was a crazy finish that game too, Like that
was the one where you hit Angus Crichton.
Speaker 4 (43:23):
He does a horrendous offload to you.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Yeah, and then I.
Speaker 3 (43:26):
Trolled along the ground hand grenade to Romi. Romi goes
through find Bradman to score that mad match winning try.
Like that must have been some like talk about a
dream first series in Origin?
Speaker 4 (43:39):
Was that was that? That's as good as it gets.
Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah. I just remember after the games being like, what
the hell has happened? Yeah in the last you know,
like we talked about the sort of the twelve months before,
and just thinking like if you told me this had happened,
like this is going to happen next year, I just
would have been like, you lie, mate, No, there's no way.
So just for it all to happen, I was just yeah,
so grateful and just try to really enjoy everything as
(44:03):
much as I could.
Speaker 1 (44:04):
Well would I tell you terrific, Blake. That's the end
of part one, right, that's time to jump over for
part two, which I hope you enjoy every bit as
much I know you will.
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