Hey guys, welcome back to Ebbs and Flows where we talk about the highs and lows on and off the field.
One of the hardest men to get in rugby league.
Nafozi, how are you bro?
I'm good, thanks mate.
Great win on the weekend.
No one probably expected it coming.
You've been behind the scenes there.
What was that win like?
I certainly didn't see a result like that coming.
You know, the Warriors have been playing pretty good footy.
You know, probably not as well as they would have liked.
But they've been up for the last month.
And yeah, we were coming off the back of two losses.
And confidence was probably a little bit down.
But yeah, we responded super that day.
Like it was, it just all came together.
You know what it's like.
You're involved in games like that where everything just comes together on the day.
And that's what happened.
Defensively, we were strong.
Attack, everything came off.
And yeah, awesome game to be involved in.
What's the buzz like?
And around the training now?
Easy coming in after a win.
Yeah, boys are smiling and up and about.
I mean, yeah, coming in off the back of a win like that.
Yeah, gives everyone a great confidence booster.
And yeah, now we're just, we got the bye this week.
And then hopefully we can continue that form after the bye.
Who's got off of the bye?
That'd be a good little test.
Yeah, so look, we haven't, a couple of things.
I don't think we've gone back-to-back wins this year.
It's been a pretty inconsistency.
Just a new, from our standards.
And then we haven't responded well after bye.
So yeah, good test for us, especially up against them.
Is it hard playing up on the Gold Coast?
Because obviously, like the lifestyle, and there's a similar lifestyle down in Manly,
but like Sydney's a bubble of rugby league.
Have you found it hard to adapt to the lifestyle up there and playing good footy?
No, I haven't found it difficult.
But, you know, I think just the position the club's been in,
obviously the last few years has probably made it more challenging.
the club itself is doing everything within its powers to turn that around
and have some really successful years in the coming years.
And I believe that we can do that.
But yeah, lifestyle-wise, it's been great, mate.
I've loved the move.
It's been awesome.
It's a great, great city to live in.
Great mates here now.
The boys are awesome.
And yeah, just as I said, the final piece of the puzzle is success on the footy field up here.
What's your form at the moment?
Obviously been in great form.
What do you put that down to?
Oh, I'm just, yeah, I'm just trying to, I guess, play as well as I can for the club.
I mean, they gave me an opportunity.
They, you know, gave me a contract to come up here and be a part of it.
And yeah, I just feel like I want to repay them.
You know, I want to, you know, leave a great legacy at the club and, you know, perform as well as I can.
So I'm just holding myself to that standard.
David Fafita, what's it like?
Obviously one of the most talented guys in the game.
How's it been sort of playing with him?
And how do you get the best out of him?
Like you're an experienced half.
You play very direct.
He likes to drop under and skip across.
How do you find that nice balance?
And what are those conversations like?
Oh, he's a special player, Dave Fafita.
Everyone knows it.
And I guess we all talk about his size and speed and power and skill set that he possesses.
But yeah, he truly is a freak athlete.
I don't think I've ever...
Played with a guy that is as big and powerful but can move as well as Dave can.
If you watch him closely in games, even at training, you see it all the time.
But his zero to 10 metres is so quick.
And the way he can move on his feet, it's...
You know, he can nearly move as well on his feet as, say, like a Jaden Campbell or AJ Brimson.
It's just crazy, but a man of that size.
So he's obviously a super athlete and nearly impossible one-on-one to stop.
So I guess my role is...
You know, playing in the halves is just trying to isolate him one-on-one with defenders
because you're going to need two or three guys to stop him at all times.
But close to the line, if he's one-on-one, he's scoring.
You just can't contain him.
There's nothing you can do, eh?
Nah, like, as I said, he is just like a super impressive athlete.
And yeah, he loves his footy, though.
He's really, really an excitable guy about his footy.
He loves learning.
He loves, you know, applying himself.
As well as he can each and every day to get the best out of his footy career.
And those are the sort of guys you want around your club.
What sort of looks are you giving him?
Let's dive a little bit deeper.
Do you like to play off like a wider, like a 7'3", 6'4"?
Or do you like giving him a wide 4 or something?
Yeah, it's a good point.
I reckon with Davey, he's nearly more dangerous when you're coming from a wider field position
just because they can't get the numbers to help him.
I suppose on short sides, you're sort of shortening that field up.
And it probably doesn't give him or allow him the amount of space that you can from a bigger shift.
But he's good from anywhere on the field.
I mean, like coming out of yardage, he's super.
He's just going to charge and take the metres.
And then once we get up over halfway, yeah, we'll probably tend to shift a little bit
from wider field positions with him.
Yeah, because I'm thinking about me playing half and he's across from me.
Winning at half full, like halfway up the field, and they're getting early boards.
It's a yuck place to be.
Because you know you've got heaps.
You've got heaps of field behind you, but you're like, fuck, where's my centre?
It's very isolating as a half.
Yeah, and then if you're on the try line and you're telling your centre to jam,
out the back on the full back, well then you're isolated even more.
You want your centre to sit with you, to help you defend him.
But then if you do that, then you're going to get pulled apart out the back.
You played with some pretty gifted back rowers.
Who's been some of your favourites?
Fuck, that manly left edge was spectacular.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, in my early days, obviously had Chocky Wattmell there and Tony Williams.
Mate, he, not too dissimilar to Dave, like an absolute freak of a specimen.
Like, just, yeah, super powerful, fast, explosive, skilful.
Had Chocky Wattmell, who again was a freak of a footballer.
Then I had Hoz, 2013.
And, yeah, look, I've been blessed, yeah.
I've played with a number of great back rowers at different clubs.
What do you learn from playing at Manly?
Because whenever I watch Manly from afar, and they've always been one of my favourite teams to watch,
because none of them have ever been scared to play football.
And, like, when you played, and I remember we used to play years,
like a lot of your forward pack would come out the line and try and put shots on you.
And it was, defensively, when you look at it now in terms of systems,
it wasn't a great system, but the fear that they would put into you,
and, like, you could put on.
And Skivvy could put on a shot.
And, George, like, I think that intimidating factor was annoying.
Plus, you're rolling out into Brookie, and it's fucking heavy as fuck,
and people were shouting at you.
What did you learn about playing at Manly in the early days?
Yeah, I reckon just being a footy player.
That was what you learnt.
Like, as you spoke about, there wasn't too much process involved.
You know, those guys were just out-and-out footy players who wanted to hurt people.
And, yeah, like, yeah, they would just go.
Go after players.
You know, it was baseball bats out, baseball helmets on, and just teeing off.
And that was, I think that's what that Manly team was sort of renowned for during that era,
was we're going to kick you into a corner, and then we're going to absolutely wail India
and give you everything we got and pick you up and drive you back
and just do it over and over again.
And then they were fortunate enough to possess the skill off the back of it
that if you gave them enough ball down that end, they were going to score.
You know, so they just, they had the best of both worlds.
And I was, you know, very blessed as a young bloke to come into that footy team.
Because a lot of their skills, like, when you watch them, like, pass a ball,
a lot of them aren't very, like, silky either.
So, like, Snake would be out the back, and he'd tip it on.
Like, sometimes he'd throw passes to me, bro, and they'd be like, topspin.
You know what I mean?
Like, technically, they're not.
Chalky was another one, like, uncoordinated.
And I reckon Guffo's got a bit about that as well.
Yeah, to a degree.
I mean, they were, they just knew how to use the ball, you know,
if you could say that.
They just knew when the ball needed to get to space and how to get it there.
And, yeah, they were silky players to play with.
Yeah, let's talk about that team a little bit.
One thing that sort of rattled me when I went to Manly,
and I never played first grade there,
but I thought Skivvy was, like, this really big dude,
just because of the way he played on the field.
And you meet him in real life and humble, like, you're standing in the Kiwi Islander, boy.
But we'll talk about a killer, Jamie Lyon.
He was my favourite at the club, just someone who was fun.
Wasn't, like, your normal type of leader?
He sort of, like, softened everything around?
Like, everyone would be talking serious and you would say something fun.
But what's the type of leadership skills you learned from someone like him?
Yeah, I guess he was very, you know, action-dominated killer.
He didn't say a lot, as you spoke about.
He was a jovial sort of a character.
And when he did say something, it was to lighten the mood
and sort of, I guess, take the seriousness out of the situation.
So, look, but in saying that,
he knew when he did that.
And when he did give the boys a spray,
if we were off, you know, early on in a game,
everyone's eyes lit up, you know.
It was uncommon for a killer to really come down hard on the players.
So, he used that to his advantage at times.
But, yeah, I think his leadership style was very much
I'll stand up in the big moments and follow me, boys.
And things that stand out for me are just moments late in games, you know.
All tight contest.
And he would just come up with the magic play.
You know, with two minutes to go on the clock,
whether it be a flick pass, a chip kick.
And then other games where he had to ice a goal kick from the sideline.
He just, he knew in big moments how to lower his nerves,
keep everyone calm, and just come up with a special play.
You need a rag-rig on him too, eh?
That was the thing.
He wasn't renowned for his weight, that's for sure.
You know you're a good centre when you're winger.
Usually he picks up, like, top try score of the year.
Your mate DCE, obviously you guys come into the competition.
Two-part question.
First of one, is it jicking it's good winning a comp early in your days?
We talk about that all the time.
Look, we're great mates still now.
And, yeah, we always catch up and talk about our, I guess,
our playing days together and still now.
But, yeah, I think it's a hard one.
And, I mean, if you had your preference, you'd probably rather win one late.
Just because it probably puts it into perspective a bit more for you.
And, you know, you've journeyed and you've been through the highs and lows
and you've been able to stick at it and persist and come out on top.
I think that that would be an incredible feeling
and something that I'm definitely still chasing.
But in saying that, you're never ungrateful to win a competition.
You know, I mean, some blokes play their entire careers
and don't get the opportunity to ever play in a grand final or win a competition.
It's very hard to do that.
So, like I said, you know, to win one, both of us at a young age together,
I think it's pretty special.
You know, we came into, I guess, an established footy team
at that young stage of our careers.
They had won a competition in 2008.
They'd played in the grand final the year before in 2007.
So they were a top quality footy team.
But it's not like you're rolling in as like a prop off the bench or something.
You know, seven, six, pretty important.
Well, that's the thing I was just about to touch on.
You know, people often say,
geez, you know, you were blessed to come into that footy team.
And there's no denying that we were.
They were an incredible side and Desi had done a wonderful job.
But I think it sort of overshadowed
the sort of footy that we did play that year.
Like the two of us, you know, we were able to come in
and at that young age of sort of 21, 22,
and as you said, as a seven and six,
and actually really stamp our mark on a lot of those games that year.
So that's something I think we're both, you know,
extremely proud of at the same time.
Obviously, we're really guided and helped by those players around us
that had been there and done it.
And that obviously alleviated
a lot of our pressures and nerves.
But yeah, proud of the sort of footy we were able to play.
How did you learn your style of football?
Because obviously you play the game like really tough.
And you're playing it at like a young age
and you're playing above your weight
and probably above your experience as well.
Like where'd you learn that from?
It's a good question.
A lot of people wouldn't know,
but I was an outside back as a kid.
You know, I was signed at Manly as a 16 year old
and I played, I think,
right centre at Estee Ball.
And I guess around that point,
I'd sort of made Australian schoolboys
and probably the knock on me was,
shit, is he going to be big enough to play centre in the NRL
or fast enough for that fact to play centre?
And the answer was probably no.
So through the, you know,
I sort of finished Estee Ball that year
and went up to Jersey Fleg.
The coach at the time, Dave Penner,
was coaching Fleg.
And he was sort of,
he's sort of the reason why I ended up moving
into the halves in the first place.
He was just short on halves
and in the under 21s comp
and basically said to me,
I reckon you could make a fist to 5'8".
mate, I can't kick or pass,
let alone organise a team, ball play.
And he said, nah, I'm telling you,
if you just find your style,
and you work hard as a running 5'8",
which is what I was early on in my career,
if you remember that,
all the way back then,
then he said, I think you can be all right at it.
And I'm not sure on the conversations
between him and Desi at the time,
but that sort of,
that next 18 months was crucial.
I sort of, around 16 and a half to 18 and a half
when I made my NRL debut
was that transition into that 5'8 role.
But I was just a running six
to answer your question around my style,
I think I realised what my strengths would be pretty early
and I wasn't blessed with, you know,
a fancy passing game,
fancy kicking game.
But my first pre-season,
I went in with that,
with all the NRL guys under Desi
and I remember just digging deep into the line
and just giving Snake heaps of clean ball out the back
I vaguely remember Snake, you know,
saying to me after the session,
Frick, I just love how far you're digging into the line
and you're just looking short and hitting me out the back
and I've just got all this time to play these three-on-twos,
he just said, I'm loving it.
And I think that's how I sort of, you know,
got me chance in the NRL in the first place.
I think in the end,
I just had that one style, that one play
and I just stuck to it.
Obviously, I had a running game as well,
I could, you know,
take the line on it,
and then my game just evolved.
I think during that next two or three years,
Joey came on board at Manly,
which me and Daly were absolutely blessed with.
He came on as a halves coach,
the greatest number seven the game's ever seen
Des brought him on to train me and Daly up
and pass on all his knowledge and skills
I just evolved my game over time
through all those little areas,
areas and bits of information that I was passed on.
Yeah, what was Joey teaching you?
I remember just little things like
he was so good at getting the poles out
teaching us how to kick from A to B defender,
start on B defender,
go back at A or kick over to C defender
and those things at times
just did repetition after repetition
are things that are still used today now,
all these years on.
It's just embedded in you
you just add certain things over time
and that's what I've managed to do
the fundamentals of what Joey taught both of us
through those two or three years
I remember when I was like coming through 20s
and moving into first grade,
like I played like kind of a little bit,
a little bit too lateral
because Benji was the guy
and I remember I pulled me to the side one time
do you watch much footy?
I watch it all the time
watch Kieran Foran play
I'll play it against Fozzie,
like I know how he plays
watch him like a bit closer
I knew you play tough
what's so good about it?
the forwards are all specter
and the outside backs will love playing with you
and I always remember him saying that
and I just come back from injury
from breaking my foot
I was with Rubes for like six months
so I was fucking solid.
I was still like 90 kgs
but I was like benching 150
and I remember watching your game
and you had these two plays
and I copied them in reserve grade
and two weeks later
I was off in first grade,
I love hearing that.
just like run first
and everything great
comes off the back of that
and I just started doing that
I ended up in first grade,
we won like five games in a row,
and shit like that
then the old bright lights come along
and you start going,
start going sideways again.
and it gets harder
What's it like hearing guys
like someone like,
like I've just said that
and no one's ever heard
that story before
but someone like Luke Carey
he said that you were
a result of growing up.
What's it like hearing that
and you're playing against these guys?
You're younger than me too.
That's the funny thing.
I feel like I've been around forever.
it's very humbling.
that you can leave
a legacy with people
have had a positive impact
on people's lives
and rugby league careers
I probably get a bit embarrassed
or give compliments like that
and say that they've looked up to me
that they've watched my vision
at the end of the day,
I was doing exactly the same.
I've had my idols
and the guys that I've
aspired to be like
still to this day
it's part and parcel of it.
that you want to emulate
and that you want to be like
that's so great about our game.
Who are you guys you looked up to?
chopped and changed
obviously being a young Kiwi boy,
I idolised the All Blacks
probably up until I was 10 years old
my idol as a kid was like
Christian Cullen,
like these great All Black players
probably around sort of 11 and 12
it was Stacey Jones,
Henry and Robbie Paul,
sort of Kiwi rugby league legends
as I got into my teens
and I moved over to Australia
in my rugby league journey
all of those guys
all parts from their games of footy
and add them into mine.
I always think of Cooper Cronk,
and I don't mean to say it's disrespect
and I'm sure you'll say it as well,
like the amount of talent he had
what he'd done in the game
and he was another guy
that I used to look up to
like Shawnee Johnson was coming through
and he would do some freaky shit
and I would just be like,
where can I plug myself in
and still be an effective half
and he was an important one for me.
you hear this story about Cooper,
everyone brings it up,
he was playing Queensland Cup
for Norse Devils at the time
and he was sort of moving from
13 to 9 to 7 to 6,
they didn't really know
what position he was going to be
but went down to Melbourne
and Craig turned him into
arguably one of the greatest sevens
won the amount of competitions
and became such a
incredible halfback
at icing big moments
and it was all manufactured.
about it like that.
Norms used to always say this,
when he gets out of structure,
when someone gives him an offload
where can I place,
where's the post,
give me two points.
I'm still like that,
like when the boys start playing
when you're a manufactured half,
it doesn't come natural to you,
the game gets messy for you.
when you watch natural halves,
you can see that they love it
starts to take place,
I can relate to Cooper for sure,
that's what he was thinking
let's talk about natural halves,
obviously had a great game
I've interviewed him before,
but when I interviewed him,
I feel like the ball
always bounces your way.
how was your convo?
before the podcast,
what do you have to do after this?
very selective with his words.
he's pretty quiet,
he's starting to come out of his shell,
and he's certainly going to have to
and a half moving forward,
he's a special player,
He is a silky mover.
just the way in which he glides
across the field,
he sees defenders that,
pop out of the line,
he can just take advantage of so much
because he's just got such an array of skills.
he's completely and utterly naturally gifted
like I've never seen.
he's going to just
work extremely hard on his game
super talented footballer.
He was saying when he was a kid,
him and his cousin used to play,
they used to play a chipping game,
but they had to get it back in one bounce.
And he was talking about,
I've heard Dennis Rodman talk about,
when you see so many shots go up after a while,
you know where the rebound's going to go.
So he must just have a,
like a sixth sense for that.
he's got a knack of it,
He just knows how the ball's going to bounce.
He knows where and when he needs to pop up
on a footy field.
special footballer.
I see him as a fullback
and you'll probably come into that position.
How do you maximise his potential?
he could be elite
and he's still a great player,
how do you get the best out of him
every single game?
Because he can win you games.
it's just about staying on the footy field
as much as he can.
Because as you said,
if he's playing consistent footy,
he's nearly one of the best ones in the game.
in terms of ability
and just strike power,
he's up there for me,
I put him up there,
with some of the best ones
I've played with,
I don't think I've seen a,
over the first sort of,
like their first,
Like when AJ explodes,
he explodes quicker than
any player I've seen
and his footy IQ's really,
Like he really understands the game
and he wants to continually learn
it's just been the fact that,
probably let him down
at certain stages
so we haven't seen
but he's only 25.
I feel like he's been around forever.
So you get the feeling
start to maximise,
he could be winning
obviously Grand Finals
one of the Titans'
greatest players.
You obviously come from Manly
and you look at the phase
of where young players
How much more professional
it's a business now.
there's so much money
The product's so good.
the standard of footy
but I think the reason
for that is just,
how professional players are
and because players
are more professional,
they can train harder,
they can train for longer,
you can squeeze more
your product of your game
going to continually
get better and better
that just comes down
to professionalism.
Is the season too long?
I don't really have a say
on it one way or another.
they've got it right.
if you shorten the season
then how long's your off season
at the end of the day?
how long are you giving
10 to 12 weeks off.
I'm an older bloke,
I think some of the younger ones
only get six or eight
so I understand that.
I think the rule is eight,
then obviously once you
that's pretty good
in the real world,
if you're getting 10 weeks
that's pretty handy,
I think if you start
shortening the season
and you're going to
shorten the pre-season
how much time through a year
are you going to have,
idle time are you going
and then young kids
I think it's probably
the fact that they start
the season and sort of,
trial games in Feb
and finishes up in,
I think they've pretty much
got the balance right.
Is all season too long?
I think it's bang on.
a good amount of time
get your body right
for the next campaign.
it's a good break.
because I look at it
most teams will do
eight weeks before Christmas
that December 21st session,
everyone's ripped
the opposed session's amazing.
Then you've got to do
another eight weeks
before you get into trials.
the way I see it is like,
boxers and UFC fighters,
that's how long their camp is
So you're doing double that.
I'm not saying it's harder
or anything like that.
But just to get ready
And it's interesting
to watch it sort of play out
where some teams taper off
and they build towards the season.
Where another team
I'd love to see all the data
That'd be interesting.
that's the thing I,
I think high performance teams
are constantly trying
and try and save the energy
and the conditioning
and save the legs
or do you go harder
get better athletes
pre-season's something
I think will continually
evolve in our game.
eight weeks pre-Christmas
is something that,
the game talking about
from my point of view
they've got the balance right.
I might have been near,
like when Manly were doing it
and they're going down
and sort of breaking it up
and doing a lot of different
because like you said
it is a long slog
and if you're just out there
on the footy field
running around cones
fuck it gets old pretty quick.
I think if you're having
a 16 week pre-season
it can get a bit mundane.
How much has the game changed
from when you started
like a playing style?
I think the biggest change
obviously happened
when they brought in
it sped the game up
and you could feel the change.
I remember vividly thinking
shit will I survive
like this rule change
you just all of a sudden
a lot more endurance
you remember what it was like
when you could just
and have a minute breather
and find your breath
and things like that
the game's definitely changed
since when I came in
even to the point where,
one of the biggest change,
you don't take three hit-ups
You get crucified
one too many hit-ups
It's like play on,
where you can play
on the footy field.
There's not really
such thing as yardage
You almost can pull
the trigger from anywhere
and you don't really
to then set up again.
Because when I played
like the shape I like
a five-five split
and I'll go into the line
the back of the more so.
but when you think about it
like say we're coming
so we're rolling to right,
if you're on the left edge
to have a look at the shape
that we're running anyway.
so you can just pick it up.
from our point of view
to then have a shot.
eyes up constantly.
And that's changed
you remember back in the day,
it was almost like
You were happy sometimes
to go five hit ups
and just complete high.
And win a game 6-4.
And now you don't see
too many score lines
I feel like the game
attacking base now.
So you're sort of
winning games 30 to 28
It's not uncommon
to see those score lines
as in back in the day
ridiculous score line.
I remember that game
against the Roosters
round one of 2013 finals.
that was one of the best games
I've ever watched.
that's a classic example of it.
Like you just wouldn't see that now
You wouldn't see a 4-0 game
just hard fought battles.
just teams just staying
and waiting for a cracker.
When I think about that era,
like when I played,
I was very defense orientated
you know what I mean?
say fullbacks for example,
the little man's come back
and that wouldn't have happened
a couple years ago
because you would have had
to have a decent sized body
because you're in the arm wrestle
and you got like GI
and even Darius Boyd's
like a pretty solid dude.
Snake was a bit small
but he could get by.
But like you see Pappenhausen
you know what I mean?
I reckon that's probably
got to do with the,
sped the ruck up so much.
how slow the wrestle was?
you could manipulate it
so much back then.
You could go two up top,
third man in on legs,
slow to the ground,
and then all of a sudden
it was a five second,
six second play the ball,
your line was set,
you were getting forward.
it was hard to attack against
because then what you're saying,
your little men are back
because the ruck's
a bit more free flowing.
I don't think it's as set
And even like playing as half,
like an early ball to a center
is like a great play now.
Like back then it was like,
centers always want the ball,
and you're looking up
and you've got a wide ball
that's already set,
you're going to get jammed.
you don't really need shape anymore.
You can just zing it across
and there's space out there.
I honestly reckon that
period through COVID
where they made those adjustments
they started to want to speed
things like that.
it brought the little men
The scoreline started to become,
or the game started to become
more attack focused
and it just suited
those sorts of players.
it's a good time to run?
Because this is where I used to struggle
because I get caught
playing traffic cop,
and they always say,
you know a half's in form
when he's running.
You know what I mean?
I feel like you've always
had the balance right.
it's an interesting one.
I definitely feel like
a hell of a lot more
robust and explosive.
probably first option
I think it's the old saying,
when it's a quick ruck,
I think at the end of the day,
you become the best option
you've got a bit of ruck
one of those guys still
or get right into the line
they'll slide off
when you throw that dummy
or something like that.
a lot of my runs,
I'm not sure I've ever
running at the point.
I thought you would,
I might dig into the line
and in the last minute
I just feel them slide
and it becomes a run.
But I think it's the work
before you get the ball
and the early work
that then allows a run.
I don't know if that makes sense,
What does early work mean?
the shape that you want
when you're setting that up
I think then it's pulling
it's pulling the defenders
it becomes a bit more obvious,
where the space might be,
But then in saying that,
I guess what you're saying
when you do see a wide A
you are going to premeditate
the run for sure.
slow man getting back
big space in behind it,
you're just going to show,
and then take off,
and back yourself
or something like that.
I suppose it's that balance
What did you think
of the game last night?
Did you see that coming?
I thought New South Wales
pretty red hot team
and I just thought
they would have learnt
a lot from that game one
I probably didn't
suspect the blowout
would be as big as it was,
especially at halftime.
I didn't see it going that way,
but I thought the Blues
What did you like
about Menchie's game?
I just love the fact
that he was in the thick
of it from the get-go.
he didn't take time
he was confident.
he backed his ability
and from all reports
that's what he's done
since going into camp.
He's just basically
taken the reins of the team,
and I'm running the show
and you could see
and I think that's when
is at his absolute best
him being dominant
all the confidence
he's one heck of a footballer
Do you think someone,
do you think someone
a wonderful player
but once you get in
and you've played
and footy world cups
and stuff like that,
I look at someone
like Tommy Dearden
two or three plays
but he nails those plays
every single time
then when you get into
those bigger moments
and you recognise
and everyone's fatigued
like you can take on
and Jimmy had the like
and duck and palm
like those are the
two main plays he has
when you watch someone
like Nico Hines play
That's a really good analogy
I reckon you're bang on
still finding his style
a lot of people forget
he was a fullback
wasn't he at Melbourne
he's signed at Cronulla
and it takes you a while
hone in on your craft
gifted footballer
that he's got an array
on the footy field
but it'll probably
he's probably still
to play consistently
because he's almost got,
he's got too many options
when I watch Nico play
he's just front foot
when it's a retreating line
and he's got ruck speed
there's no one better
like he's just at ya
and he's got the kick
he's got the pass
his growth will be
how he manipulates
he doesn't have ruck speed
and as you spoke about
in those big games
especially in game one
you're not having ruck speed
and you're not getting
the free flowing footy
that you might be used to
I think that's just part of his,
a lot of people forget
I think of the age
like I'm not sure Nico's
even played a hundred games yet
might it be just around
that sort of mark
when I was at that stage
and truly learning
and what worked best
for me in games of footy
there's no denying that
and he will have a,
as the sort of guy
and he's super dedicated
and he wants to learn
and seems to be like
a sponge with information
he just wants to take it
and constantly get better
he'll have a huge,
where he's finding his style
what's your thoughts
on Nathan Cleary?
his career's been phenomenal
really hasn't it?
something like that
played in four grand finals
won three of them
completely and utterly dominated
and the big stage
and consistently played
great footy over,
seven years of his career
or something like that
it's been really awesome
I haven't had heaps
to do with Nathan
but every time I've met him
and everything you hear
is just how hard he works
and you just can't help
so incredibly hard
and they reap the rewards
and I think in his case
that's just an example of it
he's a great example
to all the young halves
because I was coached
and like Ivan's always been
like super inquisitive
and someone had a great
when you walk into the room
you wouldn't know
which I thought was a great
way to explain him
so like even when I caught up
with some of those
at the start of the show
like I was happy to see him
and I obviously wanted
to ask him a thousand questions
but he was asking me
all the questions
not about football or anything
he just wanted to
leave that conversation
that was like a little bit
make him like a little bit smarter
you know what I mean
and I feel like Nathan's
very much like that
like he'll ask about
social media stuff
but there's no arrogance
because they're continuously
just wanting to learn
he definitely strikes you
he just seems like
a super human being
can't spot him up to
he's a good defender
he's good on the double D too
he's a tough bugger
he's not afraid of defence
he gets his head in there
let's talk about him
why is he so good
I think highly competitive
like super competitive
I think that's one of
Daly's great traits
I think that he's
really high standard
that's what makes him
the player that he's been
and he wants to be
the best that he can be
I think people get thrown off
because he's so polite
you know what I mean
politely competitive
you know what people see
of Daly in the camera
there's a grit and determination
behind the scenes
that if you know him
you know that there's
there's a deep fire
that's what's allowed him
to have the career
all the other things
he's professional
he looks after his body
hasn't had many injuries
well put together
he ticks a lot of boxes
and like a big ass
he's not too big up top
he's big through his ass
giving him an advantage
with his running game
and his kicking game
and things like that
it's all like swerve
it's not really like
a big step or anything
it's kind of awkward
he's learnt how to get himself
he just knows how to
he can swing momentum
they're pretty sweet
there's been certain
areas of his game
that he's dominated
I think for a long
he'd be one of them
and to go with the other
skill sets he's got
two areas that he's
he's been super in
because he'll swing
from the right side
he knows the hook
powerful position
kicker in that sense
kicking straight on
Joey is like that
Daly's often said
that he generates
around the corner
in his early stages
and try and get him
to kick straight on
and over the ball
he doesn't like that
he knew his style
loving his half shots
plays the seven position
in a very different way
I sort of liken him
the quarterback position
he'll set up his shades
with the forwards
coming out the back
and he just sets up
it's hard to stop
played alongside him
his transformation
super in the sense
had to manufacture
what his greatest
strength has been
I reckon there would be
a particular style
to become an elite
kicker in the NRL
his overall decision
because you've got to
remember he was a
to have all those
it probably sums up
well I just reckon
he's someone that
doesn't get to him
he's probably been able
to take in the information
Ballyake and Melbourne
and grow his game
hasn't been flustered
by all the information
and also like losing
hasn't been there
like most of the year
but I didn't know
like once you remove
Pappenhausen and Munster
and Melbourne still
sit at the top of the table
and he's probably
the main reason for that
he's pretty special
an interesting story
which stands out for me
and I won't forget it
and we hadn't been
playing all that well
in the pool games
in the quarter final
and Fiji were beating us
and we were tipped
roll on to the semi
they had a good side
the talk was that
they wouldn't really
challenge us too much
mate we were losing
we found ourselves
and it was almost like
because I was on the bench
so I didn't come onto the field
we were playing pretty poorly
and I remember thinking
like New Zealand out
in the quarter final
this will be a huge story
won't forget this one
and I'll never forget
Madge talking to the boys
about how we were going to
and there was still
Husey's simplicity
that turned that game
was him basically
he got the boys in tight
we're not going to try
and score in the first 10 minutes
and turn this game around
you just focus on
this is what he's saying
to the forwards basically
you just focus on
carrying the ball
as hard as you can
and you get me down the field
and I'll just keep
putting it in the right corner
and we'll wait for them
and then we'll get
our opportunities
but that might take
Melbourne coming out
that was the long game
we get into the grind
he's in the system
he knows it's a long game approach
and Fiji eventually
just come up with errors
and it was a master straight
and I just thought
that was a really pivotal moment
looking at Jerome's career
like a hell of a lot
and dominate a game of footy
get the notepad out
what was that Melbourne saying
playing for the Kiwis
and we played you
in the warm up game
looking at your team
and Roos has just
and you and Shawnee
are going to win it
but what was it like
playing for Kiwis
what was that experience like
it's a dream come true
every time I get to play
it's what I've wanted to do
since I was a kid
to still get the opportunity
I was fortunate enough
you could have been
I captained the Kiwis
when I captained New Zealand
I hadn't quite turned 23
I'll never forget that day
Stephen Kearney gave me
the reins that day
had gone down with an injury
yeah I just think
every time I've pulled on
the black and white jersey
really pivotal moment
at a moment that I'll never forget
there's been some special campaigns
we beat the Aussies
and then obviously
the Pacific champs
was super special
it was like playing in the middle
I actually enjoyed it
it was really funny
how that panned out
wasn't expecting to get the call up at all
Dill are the halves
and have been for the last couple of years
we've got some good halves coming through
and then Brandon Smith
and Marshall King
Kiwi Nines coming through
they were ruled out
they were unavailable through injury
I've got a great relationship with Madge
I really admire the guy
we had some conversations
and he just said to me
sort of did for us in camp
thinking about bringing you in
that 14 role again for us
I actually changed his mind
I remember after that conversation
I said Madge I'm in
I'll never turn up
the opportunity to play
for the Kiwis mate
but I remember saying
what's your thoughts
about starting me at nine
geez you're mad Fos
what's your reasoning behind that
I'm not going to create
for you out of nine
what I am going to do
I'm going to give you
I'm going to give you energy
hopefully give you some hit
I'm going to give you some hit
and then when the game opens up
bring on a natural nine
that can manipulate the run
I'm not going to be able
to do that for you
and I remember him saying
geez that's not a bad point Fos
I ended up starting
it was really cool
it was just interesting
I think it worked
has been six or seven
and to go into a test match
being able to play
in the early part of the contest
better for the side
once the game had opened up
I don't think I could really
add much value there
in the middle of the park
young Mitch Kenny vibe
me and Norm was laughing at
worked really well
is obviously when the boys
have a shot down the end
you know how the middle
of the nine holds the middle
and you guys could just
play shape on shape
and it was quick too
because obviously
you'd be able to see it
if the four man's
but that edge to edge shape
it worked out well
being able to shift
me playing in the middle
I could hold that
centre part of the field
and get the ball to
I know we've talked
about Jerome Hughes
but who's one guy
that really stood out
that kind of surprised
it might have been
with training ethic
it might have been
a speech on the field
that really stood out
obviously Fisher Harris
was really special
watching him come in
someone that stood out
actually with him
ultimately at the
end of the day we
feeling good about
talking to someone
days off training
struggling mentally
performers on the
because i like when
i think about you
still playing good
interesting because
eventually mine i
higher because of
fall was almighty
not dealt with it
just think there's
there's certainly
like when we were
training and that
um how's everything
going in your life
really talk about
conversations up but
it's always good to
they up to behind
i think if you can
understand and get
to know each other
triggers if someone
don't want to sit
around and bag it
um always raising
are you scared of
transitioning out of
it'll be a big change
not playing anymore
what what part of
transitioning scares
you is it like losing
the identity of being
a footballer is it
just playing the game
idea like the the
tough you know not
not getting up for
games and not having
that constant thing
to look forward to
i think it become a
flatlined in your
won't be as as we
roller coaster so
there'll be parts of
really positive and
it but yeah no i'm
obviously i think
i'll stay involved in
rugby league yeah i
i'm a rugby league
nut so i'd love to
you know i'd love
and develop players
and and be involved
in that space but
achieve and do as
because i was like i
just wanted my own
back that was kind
of like my big thing
travel in october
when go to bali when
everyone else goes to
bali i want to go
remember transitioning
out and i went for
like six months and i
felt fucking lost
structure yeah because
we'd literally been
told what to do where
to play how to play
what to say in media
for like i was in
there for like eight
nine years and like
structure again so
when i left i used
to plan my week out
like football was
planned out so it'd
be like exercise six
to eight like shit
reckon that's a big
one i reckon a lot of
footballers go i can't
wait to retire and
just not have that
structure it's bullshit
no that's you become
so used to it that
you need that in your
life and i know i'll
be no different and
in right recently i've
just got back into
training and i've
always tried to train
on my own and it's
like it goes against
everything we've ever
players so i've joined
this gym and there's
a community there and
like in my mind i
think i don't want to
train with these guys
they're not footy
boys they don't know
what we talk about
shit like that but you
find yourself having
way more interesting
conversations while
working out they make
you feel like a part
yeah it's just hard
to replicate that 80
minute bowel fucking
and then a chalky
milk after a game
last question i forgot
gordon coming over
interviewing him soon
that interesting like
coming over i think
a lot more of going
to be coming over
mark and i'm going
he's going to the
basically aussie's
your role going to
too sure yet what
with with a bloke
like that but i i
certainly know that
um part of it will
developing helping
coach him into his
him have you watched
seen the highlight
highlights package
it's good bro he's
tough yeah he looks
afraid of contact
skillful and things
like that i think
he's going to really
enjoy the transition
i think he's going
my yeah role into
next year will be
knowledge onto him
and hopefully help
fast track that a
what's what's the
think of it because
quade thinks he's
going to do really
leaguey apparently
he's got like this
really crisp silky
pass he goes he'd
be one of the best
he goes who's the
best passer in the
think would be the
wide forward that
across everyone's
pretty crispy pass
fucking crisp too
mullins like left
pierce is probably
there's been some
biggest change for
him well it's hard
haven't played much
it's hard for me to
comment but yeah i
think i think our
game in general is
probably a little
obviously like end
obviously extremely
the physicality of
illusion of space
you start playing
face pretty quick
see his skill set
into rugby league
inject himself in
started this year
goes he goes i was
surprised like how
where you look at
captain's run it's
like aaron smith's
passing very much
like nfl like it's
very technical like
do different things
was training with
around effort and
if like energy and
stuff like that and
he goes i thought
there was going to
analysis and i was
there is but it's
yeah it's so true
it's it's hard yeah
jumping on i know
you don't need too
really enjoyed our
chat and chopping it
about better shape
and obviously a lot
of experiences you've
gone through so i
appreciate your time