Leaving Souths And Rebuilding The Brisbane Broncos Adam Reynolds

Hey guys, welcome back to Abs and Flows, where we talk about the highs and lows on and off the field.

Today joined by Brisbane Broncos captain, Adam Reynolds. Hey bro, what's up?

Not much bro, not much. Just living life up here in Brizzy.

I'm up here for a couple of days and I've been bouncing between Gold Coast and Sydney a lot.

The weather hits different up here, doesn't it?

Yeah, I was talking to a mate actually down in Sydney the other day and he was saying it was pouring down rain.

And it was only 21 degrees up here, but it felt like it was 30, you know.

Obviously the humidity and whatnot plays a part in that, but yeah, it's pretty hard to beat the weather.

What is the big differences between Sydney and Brisbane from a personal life standpoint and obviously football?

Yeah, personally, I think from a lifestyle point of view, obviously the weather's a lot different.

There's a lot more land out here, so not everyone's living on top of each other.

Everyone seems to be happier because the weather's a bit better.

They are nicer up here, aren't they?

They are nicer. It's been a bit odd the last two days though with Origin.

They're a bit sad.

They're a bit sad, but not me. I'm happy.

But no, life in general is just good up here.

And then obviously the footy side of things, you know, like a one-town team.

Obviously Dolphins came in, put a bit of heat on us there, but you still feel love all over the city and, you know, the state of Queensland.

Yeah, obviously you're just out injured at the moment. What's the latest updates on that?

Yeah, slowly getting through rehab.

It's been a pretty lengthy process. I'm about six weeks post-op, so got full range of movement back,

which came back pretty easy.

I thought it was smooth sailing and things are going to happen really easy,

but then obviously the strength side of things is where it starts to slow down.

So I've been in the gym trying to get the guns a bit bigger.

Yeah, it's a lengthy process still. Obviously you want that tendon to slow down and heal.

It's, yeah, a slow process, but I'm enjoying it.

I'm enjoying the process of working through, getting my body right, getting the other parts of my body right,

doing a heap of fitness.

This is getting back fit. The body's looking a bit better.

And then on the other side of things, I can do a little bit of coaching, helping out with our halves and,

you know, voice my opinion where I think is needed.

Yeah, obviously that grand final last year, it's a great spectacle to watch.

You're probably on the wrong side of it and being the captain of it.

What's going, what's like going through that type of experience and what's the sort of psychological scars

that carry over into the next year?

Because I look at Penrith and U.S. Souths when they were there, they played Parramatta and Brisbane.

All those teams have come second.

Those next years.

Yes.

It's a bit of a, I don't know what it is.

Do they automatically think they're going to make it back?

What's that experience been like for the grand final to where you are right now?

Yeah, it's been a different one for me.

Obviously the first time I lost the grand final was a bit different.

I changed clubs, new city, new team.

So I had a fresh start.

I had a lot of new players around me, which I could completely shift my focus to other things.

This time it's been a little bit different with obviously, you know, staying at the same club,

trying to right the wrongs.

Right.

I suppose we've had a fair bit of turnover in player movement.

So we've got a lot of young players in the squad still.

Yeah, it's obviously disappointing to go through those emotions and whatnot.

But I think as a team, you can learn from those mistakes.

Kevi done a wonderful job in reviewing it after the season, which didn't feel like doing it at the time.

So you had to watch the whole game?

Not the whole game.

We watched parts of the game where we were pretty poor on the back end of the game there.

And rightfully so, we needed to watch it to learn from it.

There was no point just losing the game and not learning from it.

So from that point of view, it was great to sit down, watch it, you know, puts a bit of fire in the belly to

obviously go out there and try and rectify what went wrong and build on, you know, that performance.

But yeah, a lot of young, fresh faces in the squad.

A lot of players have moved on.

So it's been a challenge.

We've had a fair few injuries, suspensions, all those sort of things that hasn't made life easy for us.

But at the back end of the year, I'm sure.

You know, to pay dividends.

Yeah, for sure.

Which one hurt more, the Souths one or the Brisbane one?

Probably the Brisbane one, to be honest.

I think the position we were in, you know, 20 to go up by 16, had pretty much one hand on the trophy.

And then, yeah, obviously the masterclass from Cleary kicked in in that last 20.

But knowing that we were pretty much had one hand on the trophy, the Souths one, we'd fought our way back to sort of get there.

I had a chance to kick the goal at the end, unfortunately missed it and had a shot at field goal.

Which missed that as well.

So, yeah, they're both very disappointing.

Probably saying the Brisbane one hurts a bit more is probably wrong in saying that because they both, you know, hurt just as much as each other.

Yeah, they both would have been nice, wouldn't they?

When I think about you as a captain, and I know you're very good at being a captain, and those experiences, like what do you actually say?

Or do you just end up saying nothing?

Or what's it like?

Well, I think everyone processes it different after the game.

It was pretty quiet.

Everyone was obviously shattered and disappointed that the game didn't go the way we wanted it to.

Look, super proud of the performance from the team throughout the whole season.

I don't think the grand final overshadows what season we did have.

So we need to obviously celebrate that as a club and as a team, because we'd come a long way.

We'd missed the eighth the year before.

Year before that, I think we were 14th or 15th.

So the club's come a long way and just, you know, giving back to our fans and, you know, there've been some

tough times there with one wooden spoons at the club.

And they sort of didn't have the celebrations that the clubs deserved for such a long time.

Such a big, powerful club, proud club.

It's built on history and, you know, great performances.

And to obviously try and get the club back to that standard is what will chase them.

But yeah, obviously still got that fire from the loss.

Do you reckon, as a more experienced vet guy now, is it easier to take those losses now?

But is it harder to take those losses now than it would be for someone like, say, Reece Walsh, who's like, oh, I'm going to lose.

Yeah, I think it's harder to take those losses now than it would be for someone like, say, Reece Walsh, who's like, oh, I'm going to lose.

You know, mate, if you think about, because I think when you're at the start of your career, you're like, oh, shit, we're always going to get back here.

You've been through those experiences before.

Like, you've got the sort of mental skill set to go, all right, this is how we sort of move on.

What do you reckon will be harder?

Yes and no. A lot of kids these days sort of just get over things really quick and easy, which I see as both positive and negative.

Depends how you use it, I suppose.

For me, winning the grand final in 14, I probably didn't appreciate it as much as I should have.

Like you said, I just think it happens every year.

We'd been in two preliminary finals and we'd won the grand final the third year.

So you just think it's going to happen, you know, throughout your career.

And it wasn't until pretty much you went through the next seven or eight years where I didn't play in a grand final.

And then to get back there and then obviously lose it, that hurts.

You know, for a young fella to obviously experience that for his first or second year, I don't know if it would have the same pain.

But I think it's going to be tough.

Yeah, I think it's going to be tough.

But they all hurt, no matter what stage of your career you're in.

But yeah, I think it's on the individual to obviously, you know, process it and go through their emotions the way they deal with it.

And then once we come back as a group, we sit down and go, all right, what do we want to achieve out of this?

How are we going to get back to where we've been?

Because it takes a lot of hard work and there's no shortcuts in the NRL.

You've got to put in the hard work.

What excited you about coming to Brisbane?

Because I remember looking at the team and you coming up here and I was just a little bit like, like I knew they had

talented young kids and you've unlocked all that for a lot of these guys coming through.

But what excited you?

What could you see that we couldn't?

I just love the challenge.

I knew there was a talented team there.

I knew there was talented individuals.

You play against them the previous year, the year before that, and you go, geez, this is a good side.

They're just not getting the results on paper.

There's certain sides like that in the NRL now and you go, well, they're going to be a good team in two or three years time.

And I could see sort of evidence of that when I was at South.

And that probably made my decision a bit easier when they come knocking.

Kev, he'd done a terrific job in coming down.

Him and Dave, the CEO, turned up in my living room and pretty much pitched an idea to me.

And it struck pretty much straight away that I wanted to be a Brisbane Bronco.

And yeah, it's just, I don't know, this connection that I had with Kev as well made the job a lot easier.

But I think just the challenge of going from a bottom team to try and create the history that they've had at that club.

And get back to the success where they know they should be.

Yeah, obviously with the individuals that were in that team as well.

Yeah. What's Payne Haas like?

Because you watch him play and he does a lot of great things, but he doesn't do any interviews or he's very low key.

What's he like?

Behind closed doors, he's like a big kid, eh?

Is he?

Yeah.

Like, I can't say half the stuff he says on here, but always playing jokes, always chipping people.

Like, yeah, very, very different to what you see on the football field.

Oh.

In the media when he does do some interviews.

But yeah, just works extremely hard on himself, his body.

Never seen anyone fitter than Payne.

Just the mental toughness that he has to push through tough times on the field and off the field.

You know, just speaks volumes of the man.

What's his next evolution as, like, I know he's picked up maybe five Player of the Year's here.

He's regarded as potentially the best prop in the game.

How does he evolve to that next tier of being potentially the best prop of all time?

Is it a time conversation?

Does he have to switch some things up?

No, I don't think so.

I think he's doing things that no other prop's done.

And if he keeps doing that for the next five, ten years, however long he's got left in the game,

he's already put himself in the conversation and he's only 24, 25 years of age.

I seen he got questioned the other night about Origen not having a decent performance

and pretty much come out and showed them in the first 30 minutes he'd run for 150 metres or whatnot.

And, you know, skittered a few blokes and sort of set the platform for the Blues.

But, yeah, if he keeps doing that and keeps progressing, he doesn't have to do anything different than what he's doing now.

He's already been the best prop in the game for the last five, six years, so why change what's working?

Yeah, I feel like, like, I remember when Ryan James went on one of those big try-scoring sprees

and I look at Adam Fanua, Blake and probably Fisher Harris in that same sort of category,

but I feel like Adam always ticks over tries for some reason.

And I don't understand why, like, Payne hasn't scored more.

And I know he's doing everything else.

But I feel like if he pushes block shape a little bit wider or something like that, like, I feel like he could have one of those.

He could have one of those seasons where he gets, like, 10 tries.

That's little things that we're tinkering with his game a bit.

Yeah.

You know, a few more offloads, a few more off-the-cuff sort of things.

But you've got to remember that Payne's a big part in laying our platform.

So he's always, you know, setting up the play, the ball before the try.

A lot of people don't understand and realise the amount of work he gets through in a game.

If I need Payne on play two, play three, after a five, ten minute arm wrestle, I just, hey, Payne, need you here.

And he's straight there.

No question.

No questioning.

Where do you want me?

Like, straight into his own.

But you've got other forwards who look at you and sort of say, don't come looking for me.

Yeah, they always start to glaze over a bit.

You're in a tough patch.

But he just gets through it.

And it's probably him not being selfish.

Yeah, not being selfish.

Like, he doesn't put himself in that position to score tries.

He's always doing what the team needs first rather than what he needs to do or, you know, the individual accolades.

But yeah, he's such a big part of our club.

And obviously, when he's not there.

The presence is pretty much felt widespread.

Reecey Walsh, obviously, wonderful talent to watch and the way you guys run shape, unlocking that.

What's it been like, obviously, playing with him and helping him develop his game into the superstar he is right now?

It's been good and bad.

Frustrating at times.

Where do the frustrations come from?

Him thinking that he can do absolutely everything in every play.

I remember the first time he turned up the train at Bronx and pretty much he was trying to be in every play.

So like swinging around the right, swinging around the left.

Supporting up the middle in everything, like gassing himself to the max.

And I remember telling him, just chill a little bit.

Sit back, watch the game, see where you can insert yourself.

Or if you have a carry to the right side, stay there.

Let me work away from you and come back to you.

He's such an explosive player.

So dangerous, a ball in hand.

He's a freak.

He's doing things that no one in the game has ever done.

And he's only going to get better.

That's the scary thing.

He's still working.

He's working extremely hard in his game.

He watches a lot of footy.

He's a footy nerd.

He watches pretty much every game across the weekend.

And he's always texting, ringing, trying to look for new ways to break down defences.

And that's something that I love about him.

I love that, yeah.

So he really thinks about his footy.

And obviously being in an origin camp now, Billy Slater is only going to help him.

And hopefully he brings that form back to the Bronx.

Same question.

Like how do you elevate his game to that?

He's already one of the best fullbacks in the game right now.

But where's his growth?

Yeah, I think just maturing is his growth.

You look at everything he's doing for the past two or three years, and there's not many

fullbacks in the game that have had that sort of season in them.

And for him, he's only at the start of his career, so he's only going to get miles better

from where he is now.

Just picking and choosing the right times when to throw that pass, when to run, when

to kick.

He's got a great kicking game on him.

Yeah, he hits them sweet, eh?

He's got a big boot.

Yeah, huge.

A really big boot.

He's a good ball kicker.

He hits them sweet.

He's trying to challenge me.

But no, he's...

Love everything about his game.

He's chirpy.

He talks.

He's not afraid to let people know where they should be or where they shouldn't be.

He backs up what he says, which is rare for a young fella to do.

Yeah.

I heard someone say healthy confidence in himself, and I think he's got that.

Ezra Mamm, obviously, I remember you talking about him before, because I remember he had

all those 5-8s rolling through for a period, and I was like, who's going to be your pick

for the season?

And you said him straight away.

He's come out and done great things.

Yeah.

Obviously, what's it been like playing with him and developing his game, because he's

your right-hand man.

Yeah, he's been good.

He's just...

He's like a sponge.

He just takes in everything you say.

You know, still learning the game, still pretty raw in the way he goes about his business,

but you don't want to lose that raw ability, so it's about tinkering little things, not

big things.

All seeing what he can do over the past two seasons.

Wide fours.

He's not afraid to take you on.

He's tough.

He's fast.

He's skillful.

And he's not afraid.

A lot of players go into a game and scared to make mistakes or hesitant to take on a

wide four or a wide three to over-call your main halfback or a set play.

He's got it all in him.

So he's a bit like Walsh.

It's about maturing as well, knowing when to throw the pass, when to run.

But yeah, you certainly don't want to take that raw ability away from those blokes, because

that's...

NRL teams these days are so structured and can defend any shot.

They've seen it hundreds of times, but it's the stuff that you haven't seen that sort

of throws you off balance a little bit there.

Reece and obviously Ez both got it.

Yeah, 100%.

I was just thinking, now when I look at your team across the board, and this is a random

question, but all young, good-looking dudes in the city.

Yeah, you're up there too, bro.

In a city like Brisbane, how do you control, and you guys have had success, how do you

control the outside noise of all those boys?

Yeah, it's so hard.

It's so hard.

I've never seen anything like it.

I came from South where I thought we had a lot of people watching training sessions.

We'd get 50 people to a training session maybe every day.

Bronx, you got 200 plus.

School holidays, forget about it.

You got 1,000 people there.

Walshie, Ricky, Ez, Cobbo, these blokes are megastars in Brisbane.

And it's sort of getting to that stage now where it's heading towards the APL sort of

thing.

So we pretty much get stopped after every training session.

You spend 30, 40 minutes with every fan, which is great for the game, but it's hard

because we've got to get to the next session and you don't want to let those fans down.

But even like, I took Walshie to get a suit before Dell EMs last year and said, mate,

I've got to get to this.

I was in the shopping center at Chermside and pretty much walking through the shopping

center.

It's a 100-meter walk.

Would have taken him close to 40 minutes to get there.

Yeah, got you.

I forgot about the old man here.

I'm just straight to the shop, so don't worry about me.

But no, the way he handles himself around, like all the young fellows at Bronx, they

handle themselves with class.

They've always got time for the fans.

They're always respectful.

They know what it means to obviously be a Bronco and have that badge on your chest and

do it with pride.

So obviously, when we've come to success, everyone's worth a little bit more money.

You have to let some boys go.

Do you feel like you guys got a premiership window over this next two years, three years?

I certainly believe we do, yeah.

We've got some young players in the squad.

The Bronx do a fantastic system with their Pathways Academy.

So pretty much kids jump in this academy.

You learn all the shapes.

You learn everything that the DNA is about the Bronco.

And they're just all on the same page.

Kids are getting stronger, faster, fitter, developed quicker.

And then you throw them into a system with our first grade.

The expectation is you get up there and you do your job.

Mm-hmm.

Evidence of that.

You know, Xavier Willison, Ezra Mamm, Brendan Piacura.

These blokes have stepped up, come into that system, and then gone to another level.

There's only another batch of young kids like that coming through and putting pressure on

those boys now.

So the higher we can hold the standards at the club, you know, the better it's going

to be.

I'm sure Penrith have the same sort of pathway system, and evidence is there.

When you develop these young kids and you put pressure on the top, you're going to get

success.

Does Penrith press you off?

They're so good.

Oh, yes and no.

Like, I appreciate greatness.

Like, I appreciate-

Because you were there for a couple of years at Salves, remember?

Like, everyone used to get up to play Salves.

Yeah.

And when you've been there and you understand that everyone's hunting you every week, and

for them to keep delivering, you've got to admire it.

Like, I look at some of the players in their squad and you just go, geez, like, they keep

delivering, keep delivering, keep delivering.

Mm-hmm.

You know, your Martin, Liam Martin, your Lewis, your Clearies, your Edwards, everyone.

Toto, Crichton, even though he's gone to Bulldogs.

Like, these blokes live and breathe football and they demand success, and you see that

in the rep arena.

Mm-hmm.

And that's probably where you get the appreciation for these guys, you know, seeing them deliver

on the big stage as well.

Yeah.

What did you think of the game on Wednesday?

Obviously, you loved it.

Loved it.

Yeah.

I copped it in game one.

I was a bit chirpy after game one, saying it's going to be great to win it at Suncorp.

Yeah.

But yeah, I just think, from an origin point of view, it's been a bit of a loss.

Yeah.

It's been a bit of a letdown.

Obviously, game one, it was pretty much over after 10 minutes.

Game two, pretty much over after 25, 30 minutes.

Mm-hmm.

So, from a spectator point of view and a fan of the game, I'd like to see a close game,

a true, probably origin battle.

Mm-hmm.

I'm hoping we get that at Suncorp, which I'm sure we will.

That would be sick, eh?

What did you like about Mitch's Moses game coming into there?

I asked Fozzie the same question yesterday, and like the balance between Nico Hines and

Mitch is like a very different style.

Yeah.

And all halves play the game differently.

What did you think of his game?

Yeah, I liked it solid.

Just done his job.

Didn't worry about what else was going on.

I liked how he demanded all the boys around him.

You see in clips there where he set up a try.

They had sort of a double shape on the half.

Edwards out the back.

I think it was Edwards' try.

And you can see him barking orders from five, 10 seconds before the actual play happened.

They had something else set, and he's demanded the ball and what shape he wanted.

And I think that gets a lot of respect from your players when you're barking orders like

that.

Mm-hmm.

And he owned the game.

He had his fingerprints all over it, and it was his team at the end of the night, and

he delivered.

Yeah, it was sick.

Hey, it was good to watch.

And obviously, I support Queensland now, too.

Straight up.

Moving up there one day, so it should be good.

How much has your game changed over the course of your career?

Obviously, you've always kicked the ball pretty well, but how do you see football through

your eyes that you've got now?

I think I've matured a lot more.

I understand the game a lot more than when I did when I first came in.

Yeah.

I mean, I had such a simple role, and this is Madge and his brains.

He just wanted me to be real simple, have a lot of clarity around what my job was, was

kick well, make your tackles.

Everything else will come off the back of that.

You'll get confidence in your running game.

You'll get confidence in barking the team around the park, which I've pretty much done

that from a young age anyway.

But he just made me feel so comfortable within my role, and I had John Sutton alongside me,

so he was-

He had some guys around your age.

Yeah.

I had some good leadership around me as well, so I didn't have to really go outside of my

lane and do too much.

Sort of a role and a message that I continually bark these days is just stay in your lane

and do your job.

If you do your job, you don't have to worry about anything else because everyone else

will do their job.

It's so true.

As soon as I think about your role or trying to do your job for you, well, I'm taken away

from what I do the best.

Yeah.

I think I see the game and understand the game a lot better than what I do.

Yeah.

I think I see the game and understand the game a lot better than what I do back then.

So from now then, not a lot has changed in terms of speed, all those sort of things.

But in terms of what I know on the field and how to get a team around the park and what

needs to be done when and where, yeah, it's a lot greater now than what it was back then.

I think about the game now, and we had this conversation yesterday of how much the game

has actually changed, and we were talking about 2020, how it's speed everything up.

How do you feel like the game's changed as a whole?

Because when we come out of the game, it's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot different.

Yeah.

It's a lot greater now than what it was back then.

I think about the game now, and we had this conversation yesterday of how much the game

has actually changed.

Yeah.

And we were talking about 2020, how it's speed everything up.

How do you feel like the game's changed as a whole?

Because when we come through it was all defensive orientated and you kind of had to have big

full backs.

And guys like, potentially like Pappenhausen might have not made it through during that

period, but now the game's sped up, and an early ball to the centre is a good play.

like the young small fullbacks that come back in and then nippy like how do you feel like the game

changed yeah exactly like you said i think it's sped up a lot obviously the six again rule and

all that sort of stuff that's been coming um there's a lot more fatigue in the game at back

into halves um you know i think players are getting smarter in how to isolate defenders

in attack um that's all the attack point of view like everything's smarter the shapes are getting

run better and more frequently too more frequently yeah you're not a back when i first

debuted you wouldn't throw the ball around unless you were in the other half now teams are throwing

the ball around on their own 20 um they're not afraid to throw the ball around take a few more

chances um so it's got a bit more expansive from that point of view um i'm a big believer in defense

wins comps um and the teams who still get the defensive patterns down right are the teams

are going to be there at the back end of the year there's evidence with penrith

there all the teams that have won the comp has been pretty much in the top two teams

um from when i started so not much has changed on the defensive end if you can nail that down you

you're going to be a good team what about kicking game like when i was in the nrl like i like

i never had the sweetest boot but i would always try and struggle to find like ground and stuff and

i just didn't have like like technique-wise i could hit a ball pretty sweet but like kicking

in the game is a completely different experience and you probably do it better than most

what is the art of kicking just practice a lot of practice um

it's

also using what you have around you to help you as well um i get into my fullbacks about tipping

me up where where the fullbacks are where the wingers are you know left wingers left wing is

up so you got the hook back yeah uh fullback's sitting over on you also reese is behind you

telling you yeah i i had it more with gi i had that connection i think the older i've gotten

um it's more of a placement type of kick now so we're trying to trap teams down in their corner

um and we've got one of the best kick chase edges in the comp

ricky

a madman yeah he's a nut case um so you you sort of stick and use to what you zou

sorry you still can choose to what works best for the team and what your advantage is

it's so hard for a team to come out of their own end you know if you're getting bashed constantly

to tackle two tackle three inside your own 20 you just go when's this gonna end yeah um so

the more we can sort of suffocate teams in that sense of view i'll stick to doing that kick things

aren't going right i'll test them out with a floater or a spiral bomb or yeah whatnot or if

you want to change up momentum you might kick early in a set um and then on trial line seven

tackle rules sort of ruin the kick these days so you look to run a bit on last or if you find a bit

of space you might roll one in behind the line you know tackle early to sort of you're just trying to

play with defenses um you want to dictate to them and not let them dictate to you and the more you

can get them second guessing the better you're going to be what's better the head of floater

or spiral uh i don't know a bit of both yeah you mix them up um i was hitting those inside

torps there for a little bit um it's just sort of fullbacks are so smart and that they're good

under the high ball these days so you've got to try and give them something that they haven't seen

before i've been sort of working on this sort of helicopter looking one yes i try and get creative

but it doesn't always work how do you do a helicopter kick i'm just trying to think of it

oh you sort of hit the belly uh flat flat belly

the inside of your foot and sort of try and get it moving so yeah it still goes pretty high because

you hit the belly it gets up there pretty high yeah um doesn't always come off sometimes so it

turns into like an inside top um but you just got to give fullbacks a look at something different

because end over ends they've mastered that spirals they've sort of mastered that at the

moment floaters they're handling them pretty well so just trying to test them out in different um

sort of looks at what they're getting yeah i feel like um like cause fullbacks are so good right now

hit a sweet kick and it lands on the spot but their feet are like planted in the ground like

that's almost like a like a micro win you know what i mean they're not like flying onto it and jumping

and getting momentum yeah like especially if they catch and drop that's half a win yeah well you're

trying to just maximize how much kick chase you can get into there so you want to land it as far

as you can close to the trial line as you can and hopefully they don't catch it on a positive note

so like you said getting up for it or on the run um you want to maximize the meters that you take

off them through the set and if we can

you know hold them inside their 10 for two tackles well we're pretty much going to have

them kicking from inside their half so yeah that's a win for us we get the ball back on the full and

we're straight into you know playing some footy it's important to have variations of kicks because

obviously i go for the roosters and we've got kerry and walker and roosters have always just

kicked that end over in land on it's like i'm not saying it's boring and it's like gotten him

success but when i look at you and nafe and the way you can see it kicks off it makes a difference

yeah it's just about having a bit of fun with it too you know yeah um it's a little challenge within

it you know half and fullback i'm trying to get an area out of you i'm trying to break your

confidence uh if you get them earlier it's the best if you can get them early you just keep going

back there because you know you're going to get another one yeah um and then if he starts catching

him you test the winger out and you might go back to him so it's it's little games within games that

um i quite enjoy you know later at the stage of my career where's josh mansell

for him i was watching the bronx play started this year you weren't playing but they played

canberra and that young fullback was playing yeah and all i was thinking i was like

lucky ren's not playing because you could have potentially scarred that dude yeah the boys are

having pretty good days i admire that kid man he's he's tough he's resilient um he got tested out

pretty much early on he had an error early on in the game i think it may have led to a try

um young jock madden hit some pretty sweet he hits him yeah he's hitting him sweet hey that

night yeah another young kid there hits him even better so yeah um he hits him better than both of

us uh so yeah it's obviously yeah we you want to a young fella on debut like that you want to test

him out early would you feel bad after that yeah i think it's a good idea yeah i think it's a good

idea after a while yeah after the game yes sorry mate yeah um not during the game because he's

trying to win um i'm sure he'd understand that he'd appreciate that as well he's uh he's got a

big future in the game that kid yeah he's tough he's tough i remember running it back at kobe

heather and it got lined up yeah and kobe can hit um pretty much bounced up straight back into the

game um and he's only what 18 19 years old so gotta respect today you gotta respect that yeah

yeah but i wasn't lucky himself

it was hard at the start um didn't want to leave in the first place uh we obviously talked about

trying to get another year there nothing about money uh pretty much just security um couldn't

come to an agreement there so obviously pretty much knew my time had been up at the club

um talking to wayne he sort of gave the club raps about brisbane um and then obviously having the

conversation with with kevin dave um just made it so much easier to obviously move i was close to

had a meeting with fitzy um and the board and obviously liked the direction that they were going

in um but for me as a family getting away from sydney was um you know a big part of obviously

the move as well um yeah that sort of self experience was a weird one to go through and

even just looking from the outside in like i just really got over eh that's what i feel like

it worked out well it worked out well for me look i'm happy where i am now um i used to throw out some cheeky tweets on yktd.com

i used to throw out some cheeky tweets on yktd.com

it's tragic

like yourself set at the bottom of the table and stuff so

is it like when you see yourself struggling is it like a sign of a relief or do you

feel sorry for him or early on it was early on i was happy i'm not gonna lie

yeah they're struggling yeah i'm happy but now i've got a lot of mates that side and

obviously i've i've struggled in seasons as well and you know the pain and it's a

long one that it brings yeah um and you don't want to see your mates go through that uh i still want

talk to a lot of them regularly and um yeah when they were struggling this year i had a soft spot

there for him i wanted to see him do well um just didn't want him said well doing well against the

bronx the other night um but no they're sort of working their way out of it they're coming good

um yeah i feel for a lot of them especially young locky gets injured um pretty much doesn't get

another opportunity there and um he's on the other way yeah now he's on the other it's scary

it shows how like ruthless like sports can be well that's just business at the end of the day

you know what i mean um and you know they're chasing results they want to be a club that wins

they pride themselves on being at the top of the table and um you know they needed to make changes

and you know the business is ruthless yeah you can't be too comfortable wherever you are what

does brain bring back to the club do you think uh i reckon a hard edge just a hard edge um

he holds the players in such a regard where they need to do their job and he demands that

responsibility and he's got to be able to do it and he's got to be able to do it and he's got to

be able to do it and he's got to be able to do it and he's got to be able to do it and he's got to

respect um if you're not doing your job then you'll find someone else he he pretty much blunt

and tells you that to your face um yeah everyone respects him they want to play for him um

he generally cares about the player um and the person that's you know away from the game so

when you get that respect um you know you go out there to do your job and you don't let him down

yeah that's pretty crazy because i was looking at um i remember when hubby farmworth and

flagler went over to ready i was like oh they've gone too early

like yeah they're not going to be like a challenging side for a while but you look

at redcliffe now and obviously we must just fall back on wayne doesn't it well you look at the

start the first year they came into the comp and they were manned down like crazy they had

no players they had suspensions injuries and they still fought in pretty much every game

and that's just the way in bennett coach side they always fight they get up for games

he gets you believing in yourself like no one other like he's just unreal at how he gets you

feeling about yourself and the confidence that he he breeds amongst the group and then obviously you

throw in a couple of games and then you're like oh my god i've got to do this i've got to do this

i've got to do this i've got to do this i've got to do this i've got to do this i've got to do this i've got to do this i've got to do this

a couple of key quality players um you know their halves are playing great football um hammer's

playing unreal he's playing out of his skin they've got strike on the edges they've got

an experienced forward pack that just you know a tough resilient they just keep coming

so there's always going to be that that hard edge and they're always going to be tough to beat

um but yeah pretty much didn't know they were going to get this much success early on yeah

i love one of my favorite games to watch is when you go up against selves and the reason why it's

so funny is because it's like you've got their whole playbook you probably read their

their whole playbook to be fair and i remember the first couple games you're just picking them

apart like they're jamming you're throwing over the top you're kicking when you're shifting off

the sideline you're jamming up from the edge and trying to put your shots on what's those games

like yeah you got a good shot two way yeah i got one got one did you get joy oh no i can't

worry okay but i hit joy on one of them get out you get up um no we always have a run and

battle with each other i remember i missed game one i'd covered and he was into me at the media

and starting a little war here um and then every time i've played him i've got trying to get stuck

into him so um no i enjoy those games they're fun i like playing against my mates i pretty much know

what they're going to do um but the strength of them everyone knows what they're going to do yeah

they still do it yeah they're relentless with their preparation they go over it

thousands of times so they're always going to break you down or beat you in some areas of the

game um fortunate enough for me i pretty much knew the the black

book there and um yeah i think when you know your mates you go harder like it's

that personal battle yeah for sure um yeah it's always fun i remember running down cody

um it was the inside joke that i was the slowest half in the car i ran him down so it's officially

cody now who would be the slowest half on the gaunt oh geez don't know billy walters no he's

a hooker now he's kind of smooth he's like um yeah i think about that like he moves pretty smoothly but

feel like he's still like jinx and get through the line he's crafty man he's so crafty yeah um

he's sort of under not a lot of people know how skillful and how crafty he actually is

um he does so much work for us as as a hooker um we don't use him up enough now we should um

and then that's again you've got so many guys around you know when you got pain you got patty

then you got you and ezra then all the boys out wider telling us there's a lot of head

noise yeah there's a lot of noise um no but he's got his own skill set you know and we need to

appreciate that and um encouraging him to you know play his brand of football as well which

he has done in the last couple of weeks and he's he's probably been our best player over the last

month what do you think of the game as a whole like do you like the direction it's heading with

more teams coming in potentially an 18th we used to talk about this in the past where you were saying

like we need to make some moves over in america um maybe even conferences like how do you see

the game as a whole because i know you love sports and i know you love regular league

think we're heading in the right direction um i love how the land is just experiments and just

gets things done um i think we can go to 18 teams and then keep it at 18 teams i'd like to see it

spread across the whole of australia though not just east coast of australia and new zealand i

think new zealand could have another team perth could have a team um the png team sounds cool

that would be cool i've been over there recently i know how much they love their rugby league

very passionate whether they're based in australia or australia they're based in australia they're based in

cairns or wherever they'd be based um that could work so there's a lot of options it'll be a tough

sale to get guys to move to port mores being you know what i mean i don't think they'd be living in

port mores but i think they'd be in cairns or somewhere else and they'd play their games out

of there which sounds a bit more logical but um yeah obviously spending some time over in png you

just got to see how much footy means to that that country um they live and breathe rugby league and

it's it's certainly have you been over there no it's crazy

different beast um we talk about passion here in new south wales and queensland well png leaves that

for them yeah for sure um so yeah it only makes sense to obviously involve them in in our game

season too long um i'll say no when i was younger i'd say yes but no the older i get the better

i'm enjoying it enjoying the challenge of the

the week in week out it's the nrl it's tough it's going to be you know slog fest and um i think it

makes it sweeter at the back end of the year when you you see teams drop off and you're still going

and get that sense of achievement but um no i like it i like the way it's set out i think they're

doing everything spot on i like our origins smack bang in the middle of the year um you know we have

our rep football at the end of the year um yeah it's i reckon it's a good balance what would you

change about the game um no more six against nah nah i i wouldn't change i wouldn't change it

I'd stop making new rules.

I think it confuses a lot of people.

A lot of people are hard on rest these days,

which I don't think is fair.

We ask so much of them to look at the ruck,

to get them onside, to penalties, to, you know,

they're running the game too.

Their fitness levels have got to be higher.

They're officiating every part of the game,

and then we throw in new rules on top to, hey, learn this.

You've got three, six weeks, whatever it is, to learn it,

go out and officiate it the right way.

And we've got to remember they're humans too.

Not every player has a good game every week,

so we've got to expect a ref to have a bad week as well.

I think the game's in a great space at the moment.

We look at other codes,

and I don't think they're having the same rise as what the NRL is.

Yeah, it has been a big rise.

I was talking to Quade two podcasts ago,

and just watching Rugby Union almost fall off the cliff,

it's been pretty scary to look at.

But NRL, I feel like it's just getting better and better.

Question for you.

Obviously, you've got all the young, talented boys coming through.

How do you balance?

And I'm big on this because of personal branding and starting businesses.

And I know you're moving your own way in the background.

What's the conversations like that with the boys?

Are you doing too much, or everyone go out and make as much money as you can?

Because it's something that wasn't really around 10 years ago.

It was sort of, yeah, 10 years ago,

you wouldn't even think about doing anything other than playing football.

It's coming more and more.

Common these days that people are venturing out and doing their own things.

And I love it.

I reckon it's great to express and show what you love doing.

I mean, like, you've started your own clothing brand.

You know, other people out there are starting their own clothing brands.

And it's important to have a life away from football as well.

You don't want to be so solely focused on rugby league.

I think when you're too involved in it,

you sort of fall down a trench of just getting fatigued and tired.

And, you know, not really giving everything you can to what you're supposed to do.

And you need to compartmentalise and have that venture away from football

that excites you about life.

So when you do come back to football, you want to give it everything as well.

And I think it's, we're in a stage now of our careers

where you can maximise and make the most of your own brand.

Yeah, I love seeing people go out there and try new things.

How do you maximise your own brand?

Going out and networking, learning new things.

I'm getting into a bit of photography at the moment.

I'm working a little bit in the media.

You know, going out there and meeting new people,

getting involved in different business ventures and all that sort of stuff.

So just trying to get a guide on what else is out there in the real world.

Not everything's rugby league and it might not be everything for my life.

If things don't work out, I'm going to try and get a guide on what else is out there in the real world.

If things don't work out in rugby league, then I've got to have something else to fall back on.

So it's about finding what you're passionate about

and then just going out there and working on it.

What's some of your passions outside of footy?

I've been doing a bit of interior design lately.

Have you?

I've been renovating the house a little bit here and there,

which not a lot of people would know.

I'm a sneakerhead. I collect sneakers.

I was into me cards not long ago.

Still got a few laying around if you want to buy them.

I'm in the media working a little bit.

So I'm learning different parts of life, which I love doing.

And then obviously I've got the family there at home too,

which takes up a lot of time.

The girls are getting into their own sporting careers now.

So it's about obviously giving back there and letting them have their time as well.

How much longer can you see yourself playing?

I've got another contract for next year.

I don't know if that'll be it, but that's 50-50 at the moment,

whether that'll be the last year or not.

Is that like mentally?

No, not mentally.

Mentally, I'm probably in the best space I've ever been.

Loving where I'm at, love the club, love the city.

Just physically, whether this time next year, I'm still in the same headspace.

Everything gets a little bit harder the older you get.

The younger kids get a little bit better.

It's just about whether I'm delivering for the team

and I still have the same impact I do today.

You feel like you could?

Yeah, I can't see any reason why not.

It's only time will tell, I suppose.

What's changed in terms of your preparation

from when you first started to where you are right now?

Jeez, where do I start?

Everything.

Back then, I used to just get up, go to training, not stretch,

put the boots on, go out and train,

kick 100 to 200 balls after every session.

No stretch, no warm-down, no ice baths, nothing.

These days, I'm pretty much living in a sauna.

Got an ice bath at home, got a sauna at home,

stretching all the time, pretty much on the physio bed every morning,

doing sort of injury prevention, rehab sort of stuff before sessions.

After sessions, I'm recovering, doing all that sort of stuff.

I'm big on my diet these days.

Wasn't so big on it back then.

So, yeah, all those little things.

And I think I wish I'd done it a lot sooner in my career

because I know the impact and how much my body feels right now

and it should be the opposite.

It shouldn't feel worse.

So, yeah, probably it's a complete 180.

I know you like to look at a lot of sports outside of,

like you're big into basketball, I'm assuming NFL and stuff as well.

What's some aspects of their game,

whether it be the way that they've treated media from the outside world,

do you think we could add to the NRL?

I like how in the NFL, every team has their own media hub sort of thing.

So, every city has their own media.

So, they pretty much filter.

They filter what goes in and what goes out.

A lot of press that we have, and it's negative press,

but I understand also that that sells papers, that gets views,

that does all that sort of stuff.

But I'd like to see it change a little bit in the narrative

where we're not all bad, we're not all up to no good.

A lot of boys spend a lot of their time in going out to charities,

going to visit sick children,

doing a lot of good.

Good stuff that sort of doesn't get filtered through.

And I know you've done a little bit of work with that in the background

where you shared stories and stuff,

and just probably the mainstream media obviously recognising that

and just delivering it from time to time would be nice.

Do you think it'll change?

No.

You were saying all that, I was like, that sounds nice,

but I can't see it changing.

It's just too ruthless, man.

I understand it though.

Yeah, I get it.

That's one thing I've enjoyed working in the media.

Yeah.

Working both sides of the game

and you understand the influence that the media has over the game

and how from a playing point of view you can sort of treat the media

and how you can, you know, not butter them up

but just get them on your good side and treat them well

because they've got a job to do as well.

And it's just about us recognising that as players

and working in with it, not sort of pushing them away

because then they're only chasing you.

Yeah, that's a good point.

I remember one of the boys said that,

like he goes, make friends with the media early

and sometimes you need them.

So you sort of play that game.

Obviously, you get back from injury.

Hopefully, the Broncos start flying.

Who's some of the big threats you see this year?

I think Penrith, obviously, there.

Melbourne.

I like Canterbury.

They're doing something well.

The leadership of Stephen Crichton's been amazing.

He must be that good, huh?

Yeah.

You even see it in the Origin Arena.

You know, the presence that he has

and the...

the attitude that he breeds amongst that group.

It just filters the way through

and he's doing the same thing at the Bulldogs.

They're all believing in themselves.

They're all playing a brand of football

and I'm sure that's coming from the coach as well.

But yeah, you're seeing, you know,

that mentality of where he was at Penrith.

He's just taking that straight to the Bulldogs

and he's had an immediate effect.

Yeah, not many people...

Like, you can show a sign of a good team,

like say Melbourne for back in the day.

Like, they had all the good players

and once those players leave,

they go to other clubs.

A lot of them would struggle,

maybe besides like Gareth Willip or someone like that.

Same thing with Penrith.

Like, there's a lot of guys that have left

who have still been great players.

Like, you think Matt Burden, Kikau,

but like someone like Crichton,

he must be something just a level above

all those other guys in terms of like

what he actually brings to the club

because he's changed the whole dynamic.

It just looks infectious.

It does, yeah.

Everything he does, he does it with purpose

and it's no different than what he was doing at Penrith

but he's just in a new system

and then obviously,

I don't know,

the blokes there must have been sick of losing and whatnot

and they see he brings in this confidence

and they just want to be on that level.

So, he makes everyone around him better.

So, he's physically dominant in the games

and all that sort of stuff.

He's vocal.

But when you've got blokes like that,

I remember having G.I. in our side

and everyone would just raise, you know,

five, ten percent because, you know,

geez, we've got G.I. here,

we've got Semi here.

These boys that we can just get there and help.

It breeds confidence.

Yeah.

And it just,

it just brings everyone up around him

and I think that's, you know,

probably been his biggest asset to that club

is having that effect over the whole club

as a playing group.

What was the biggest lesson you learned from G.I.?

Just how ruthless he could be in games.

Some games you just need something

and you look like you're not doing anything at all

and I'd say,

hey G.I., I need you here.

Like, I need a big run.

I need an offload.

I need something.

Just inspire the group

and he'd go out there and do it.

Like, whether it was through his defense,

his physicality,

you know,

running the ball back,

creating a half break,

get a quick play of the ball,

run the front foot from there.

Just anything to just sort of change the momentum in a game,

he could sort of do it.

The flick of a switch

and in big moments,

he wanted his hands on the ball

and sort of learnt that from the big fella.

Yeah, that's cool.

I think about your centers now,

super talented

and Salon Cobbo and Katerny Staggs.

Sometimes when you play center,

you can drift in and out of games.

How do you keep those guys excited?

You just got to give them clean ball or what?

Yeah, you just want to keep them in the game.

Like you said,

you just want to set up plays to just get them ball

because you know how damaging they can be.

Sometimes we've got less attackers than defenders

and they still make things happen.

And that's sort of the scary part about where our team is.

Sometimes we can rely too heavily on that

rather than actually working hard and getting things done.

We inspire.

But we try and get the individual to do it

rather than the team to do it.

And yeah, obviously the two centers that we have

can score from anywhere in the park.

So it's just about trying to keep them interested in the game.

Because it's probably the downside of talent, hey?

Because say someone like, say Latrell, for example,

he can turn it on whenever he wants

because you can know you can do that.

You can sort of pick and choose when you play.

I've seen a shift in Katerny since coming to the club though,

which he was doing a lot of that just waiting out there

and get me the ball and all that sort of stuff.

But now he's having those tough carries out of his own end.

He's competing hard on kicks.

He's physically dominant in defense.

So he's getting himself in the games other ways

than what he used to.

And that's sort of the development he's had

over the last 12, 24 months.

Selwyn's only just moved from wing to center.

He's going to be scary.

So it's just about, yeah, trying to keep him engaged

and keep him focused.

Cobbo loves to drift in and out.

That's just the nature.

Yeah.

Back character.

But he's so similar to G.I.

When you need something, you sort of look for him to inspire.

Do you feel like your attacks opened up since coming to the Broncos?

Because when I would watch Rabideau's play,

like a lot of the play was drop it off, 7-3, 7-6-1 on the long.

I feel like there's heaps of tries that get scored down the right side now.

Do you feel like your games opened up?

Or is it my mind just playing tricks on me

that the left side was just so dominant at Rabideau's?

Because I wouldn't have the numbers on it.

Yes and no.

A lot of that stuff was me setting up for Cody to work his magic.

And that's what was working at CS, so we kept doing it.

It's also important to have that variation

where you want to go to the other side as well.

It just opens the whole field.

It opens the whole field, yeah.

We've got a great balance now.

Kevvy's got us playing a great brand of football

where we like to set up two points of attack at all times

and be a threat, genuine threat, right across the park.

And then it's just about picking and choosing.

When you've got that moment, you need to deliver.

It's an exciting brand of football that the boys love to play.

Oh yeah, so cool to watch.

Kevvy, obviously he's had a lot of bad raps about him

when he first came into first grade coach.

You probably know him better than most.

What do you actually like about him as a coach?

Yeah, love him.

I don't think the club's where it is unless Kev is at the reins.

He demands success.

He's a winner.

He's very passionate about the club.

He understands what the Broncos culture is

and the DNA that lives in the joint.

He's getting us playing a brand of football

that is not only exciting for us to play

but for the fans to watch.

And I love that about Kev.

He's always thinking.

He's always coming up with new ways to reinvent the wheel.

He's got this very similar to Wayne

how he gets the boys believing in themselves.

And it's such a great trait to have as a coach.

And not many coaches out there would have it.

Just getting the boys to believe in himself,

play for the jersey.

Yeah, I don't think the club would be where it's at today

unless Kev was in charge.

Do you see yourself being a coach after footy?

Yeah, one day.

I can see it.

It's a lot of hard work, a lot of learning along the way.

I see the hours that our assistant coach has put in,

how long Kev's in the building every day.

His first one day is the last one to leave.

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

And I think you need to earn the respect of your peers first.

It's not something you just walk into.

You've got to put in the hours

and you've got to obviously learn what works, what doesn't work.

It'd be nice one day, but certainly like me hair colour.

I feel like all coaches all end up being grey after a while.

Grey or bold.

I think like Kev.

He was a good-looking dude and now he's a first-grade coach.

You see them age pretty quickly.

Yeah, well, the stressors it must put you under.

I can't imagine.

I sit up in the box with Kev at times

and you see what I think.

You do all the preparation through the week

and at the end of the preparation you have your final say

and then you pretty much hand the keys over to the team.

You're not out there with the team

and you've got to just expect that you've got all the work done through the week

and that they're going to deliver.

It's not an easy thing

because you're always questioning whether you've done the right thing or the wrong thing.

I remember having this conversation with Wayne, Madge,

whether they've prepared us well enough.

There's always that question mark,

have you done enough or have you done too much?

So there must be a fair bit of head noise being a head coach.

Yeah, I remember normally saying about BA one time.

So BA would finish the game, they'd go home, re-watch the whole game,

get the video cut and then by the time,

you're in video at 8 o'clock in the morning.

So they've stayed up the whole night.

I was like, fuck that.

That was like Madge.

Yeah, he would be one too.

Yeah, it was, yeah.

Like the dedication that they go through

and they put on themselves to obviously go out there

and they want to execute and win every game

and they hold that standard so high that when you don't deliver,

it feels like they've let the team down or vice versa.

Do you reckon his style of coaching,

like I know he's transitioned a bit with being a rep coach

and it's very different.

It's a different skill set.

But do you reckon him learning those lessons,

because I heard the type of stuff you guys used to go through

at the Rabbitohs, like how hard it was and training and shit all the time.

Do you reckon his style of coaching will change

if he moves back into the NRL?

I don't know.

The rep arena is so different because you've got so many great players

and everyone's pretty much their best in their position.

And in form too.

Probably just figuring out, yeah, everyone's got their own routines.

Everyone's got their own diet.

I think it's just about bringing the team together

and that's something that Kev does so well.

So I think he's obviously learned that from the rep arena

and brought it back to the Broncos as a head coach.

We've got such a good team that love being around each other.

The atmosphere and the culture at the club is so great

that it just feeds down from top to bottom.

And it's probably been through Kev

that we've all earned that D&O.

Probably last question.

What do you want your legacy to be as a football player?

Sneaky ring would be nice too, eh?

Another ring or two would be nice.

I'm not one for the individual accolades.

I love team success.

I love seeing my teammates get rewarded with rep honours

or all the sort of things that come with it.

I just want to be someone that,

they liked playing alongside someone

that they could trust as a mate.

Yeah, just there for a good time, I suppose.

All right, bro.

I just want to say thanks for jumping on.

All the best for the injury and comeback

and happy to see you boys in the finals.

Thanks, brother.

Bye.

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