¶ Upper Crust
I'm I'm the most I'm becoming the most organized over data? Is that right, Dake?
How many can I'll get on my plate?
You know what else is on my plate? Bro?
This is running by the way.
Yeah.
What about that alarm clock that goes off every morning on four thirty and keeps up?
I know that I did it for years?
Yeah, I know you don't do it now though?
Did it go off at four thirty this morning? A little bit later?
A little bit later? I shouldn't have dog do that. We're starting to get out. Let's do a big emotional intro that we do for everyone justin Horror aka Scope Eels Legend mainly Seagle's Legend media behemoth doing excellent.
Emerging, Yeah, emerging behind the Darth Vader that his dent and camp.
But welcome to the potty mate, Thanks boys, thanks for having me.
Good on your mate?
Yeah yeah, because you know it wasn't an easy drive over it. You were saying that, and you've invoiced just for the fuel that you need to come over here. The tolls, you.
Know, I'll settle for an uppercrust pie. Oh yeah, mate, that was so. I used to just live around the corner in my first year of Manly and a freaking that frequent that a couple of times after a big night.
How good is that?
A few beers in the next morning, a Sunday morning. Nothing, Yeah, what type of pie? What you get? The chicken and white wine? One?
Oh, white wine?
Yeah, I'm a steak, onion and cheese.
I a steak and cheese would be one number two. I don't hate it, but just nice and simple for the pie. In saying that chicken and white one probably not not simple for people, but it was the signature one. So when I got Overary, everyone told me you've got to try it, and then obviously it was.
Yeah, yeah, letting people know if you want the best pie, I think in New South Wales, upper crust, the northern but.
It's got best pie in Australia three years running. Yeah wow, your suit on the side, I'm sorry, you can't spell. When you go past the site, the side of the premise.
It does they advertise it. When you go up there at lunch time like any any day of the week, still packed mate, line around the corner like literally for so long, and it's like you've got to get there. Don't go between eleven thirty and twelve thirty. I'm gonna tell you something because you like, you'll be line enough for ages. What else they do? Excellent stuff apple pie with whipped cream on top of Okay, yeah, yeah, it's seriously.
If I was going to mix it up spinach and recorder, I don't want just like a nice spinach and recorder roll. So that was another option. Sometimes a pie and a spinach. Yeah, just depend on.
I forgot to carry. I like the carry pies. I've just got into them, and the paper steak pies. But carry pies I'm sick for it.
Curry ones are really good. I find it weird that like we're the only well not the only one, but we're one of the only countries that really like does the pie because America don't that you call it to mining thing a pie in America. It's like that pumpkin pie and things like that.
The areas that have had a tradition of coal mining have pies because the pie originally the pastry that was just a cover for what's had within the pie when they go down the coal mines, So it was to protect whatever was in So back in the day they would open up the pastry and not in the pastry just so it's just like a lead inside. It was. It was basically, yeah, like the lid removes the lid and then the contents to protect from the gold the coal dust.
Really so is there any.
And then someone along the somewhere along the way, someone decided this is the whole thing. It's the same with battered fish. The batter on a fish was to protect the fish when they went down the mines.
Yeah. Wow.
Because New Zealand do good pies too, Yeah, really good, really good one.
There.
Will Warbrick when he came over to Storm from New Zealand used to say, whenever we go get a pie, boys, and he goes Naji, the pies in New Zealand the way way better in New Zealand. Just be like grateful for the pie you're eating right now.
A lot of Kiwis will back that up, like Kiwi's that's bakeries and fish and seafood. They're going to claim that.
Yeah, they take it personally, they do.
Yeah, Will Water. The seventh player for all bakes.
¶ Byron Bay Trip
Moses Leo, who's debut A Couples.
Good to see him get a start, Yeah, really good. The more that come across the more that we'll come across.
That makes sense, correct, Yeah, yeah, setting a standard.
It's got nothing to do with setting a standard, setting a.
Trend trend exactly.
Mate.
We had Cheese on the podcast a little bit ago and we told some good Byron Bay stories. Your name come up a couple of times because, of course when we went to Byron Bay after the twenty twenty Grand Final, you were up there as well with a little crew. Some good memories. I remember you were up there with Corey Norman, James c Giaro, Chicko.
Was Chicka, Yes, Chico was there in a different group, but yeah.
The same year he was up there and Maddie Moylan.
And Moya so our crew, so Toddy Carney was there as well, and maybe there was like a Chicko become really good mates with these boys from Cranella and I believe one of them was either on their bucks or something like that going up So me, Normany and moys that jumped on last minute and just got our own little place and then we end up running to you guys and yeah, and then could jump it on the back end of jumping on.
It was funny, remember we were because it was Melbourne Cup. It was to remember we were there Melbourne Cup. We ended up we all bought like blazers, like two dollars up shot blazers and we went to this pub Drumswick Hotel or something like that that was and we watched the Melbourne Cup. We had a massive day and we come out of the pub and they were remember the group of homeless people that were sitting there and they
all had instruments. No, they were homeless. They were sitting on milk crates that doesn't move.
They're homeless.
Yeah maybe I don't know.
But we didn't clarify that, did we. But we just started you just started getting the gate out. You didn't you grab one of.
The the guitar with him because Cheese was like, that's who Cheese running and goes bra there's a group of homeless people out there and they've got a guitar. And he knew I played a little bit.
He goes, let's go.
So we went out there and we started playing Better be Home soon a crowded house and.
For people who haven't got home, I know, for the homeless.
And remember there was the guy playing like the flute and all you boys were sitting there in arms seeing and it was a great night, mate, that was a great moment, Like, yeah, the day was awesome, but I remember sitting around. I think I've got it recorded for sure, I remember. And then and then it not only went from there. We all got in the van and some sort of uber system together and we're just bounting out songs like oas this Wonder War on the on the
way home. It was Yeah, that was a that was a good little and yeah, I think it was off the back of the Melbourne Cup.
So yeah, better be home soon. It should have been hope to get her home soon.
Well, the rest of us were okay.
Soon.
But remember normally as well. Jack actually reminded me when I was when we were talking about Byron storys before this, I believe did normally like have a bit of an accident that trip as well, like urinated the bed.
That's something like and and yeah, that's something normal would do though, so that doesn't stand out like even though that's like a story for Byron, potentially that's something he would be doing. Jackie, you from memory.
He stayed at our place and we had the double mattress downstairs. It was a mattress on top of a lounge that he'd fit on, and I believe he pissed the He pissed the bed so much that night that there was actually it went through both mattresses and there was a puddle of piss underneath the double mattress.
It was.
It was awesome.
That's why I don't remember it, because we'd come over the next day and I sort of didn't have as big one as Normy obviously, and you guys and he crashed at your place, Me and Moyser come over in the morning to potentially and I remember you were going, come on, like he's been here for a while. He wouldn't that homeless crew.
That was the night that one of my favorite memories of it, where I was sitting there. It was me, me, Shandle and Normy and somebody we all our shirts off, sitting behind like the table, playing music, and somebody go, I think it was Connor Watson. Connor Watson goes, hey, look that's Shandor. That's Shandor at twenty one. That's Shandor at thirty one, pointing to Shandal that and then points at normal and goes and that's Shandor at forty one
and everyone was laughing. Everyone's laughing and Shandor lent in to Normy and he goes, I will never not have abs. Everyone needs to call him because he had normally had that just notorious pot belly. Yeah mutters, Yeah, it would have never had a never had a set.
That's what that's my nickname for him, mutters because the mudguts, like he was the only one half in the game that could get away with the mudguts and still play at a high level.
There's a field and going around at the mat. It's a story in the Sport. Oh it's a big one. It's a magazine associated with the New York Times, and they explained the dadboard off mahomes. They was saying that people who Cameron Smith's another one. Yep, he just said before Normy Cameron Munster. Cameron Munster in the fact that they said, they're almost like a Swiss army and if they can do it, a little bit of everything makes them.
¶ The Dad Bod
Yeah, well, I remember money Munster said when he actually lost weight and got people found it easier to tackle it because he was so thick around the gut, like just from his poor diet habits at the time that he was actually so hard to like, you know what it's like to try to wrestle someone. You try to get double underhooks and then pop the loll back. He was so thick that you couldn't pop his lower back because it was like a lot of belly.
Yeah.
Well, I mean if you look at fighters, if fighters go down sometimes just a kilo or to lose a little bit, it gets to a point from fitness to you start to lose strength.
So even with the UFC fighters I'm thinking about it now, is we're talking about like Habiben and Makachev and all those guys like they're they're not totally ripped, are they They're really good mauls and wrestlers. But and the other one with the quarterbacks is there's a Tennessee Titans quarterback called Will Levice. Yep, he's way too ripped his mechanics and that it doesn't suit it.
So Brock Jarvis when he was fighting, like Thurman said, but he's before the fight, Keith Thurman said, he's too repped. He's got too much muscle, he can't move. And yeah, it's interesting, we said I seen one before. What was it when we're talking about something coup you said something before. I'm trying to think NFL might have been NFL. And
¶ DCE's Wedding
we'll come back to you're.
Talking about money. He's talking about money.
In the underreap, we're sort of peace in this rule. What are you talking about a little bit? It was worthwhile saying, but I just forget what it was. I just continue true Deli True Evans before we talk about his current plight. Daily's wedding. It seems to be that seems to be sort of the point that's almost the pebble in the pond, that where the reverberation started. A certain mc they're pointing out that gez des Hazle is here, but not Anthony Seuerbold and certainly not Tony mess I reckon.
He's brought this up on every podcast the last four weeks. He's relentless.
A lot of people have been bringing it up with me because of the relationship as well, so a lot of people have been trying to get information you were outstanding to by the way, and Jack you clipping up that the pod you did with Brad Parker about me dressing to go to Warfie. So many people sent me that little Luki Stowe sent me that originally and I had a good laugh.
You kept an unnecessary astray there, Yeah, because you were dressed. Look, you weren't in a standard suit. You were dressed like you were going to Warfie. But I don't think Parks was referring to you when he was trying to throw you under the bus.
I know, loocause you're going after him and he's trying to deflect, so he's trying to deflect away. So there was me and a couple of the Islander boys, Sipley and Perseco. We were a little bit more underdressed than others. But Jackie, I know you're behind it. You put it in the clip that you're me money in chairs and they're in a bag of fruit as well. They're looking the mickey and I'm standing there looking like I'm going to walk next.
For what fit for what? That's what I was going to say. You know, people aren't ripped. It's like, I mean, what is fitness fit for what? So if you can play rugby league, if fits for rugby league, you fit for UFC, you're fit for running four hundred meter. They're
all different. Yeah, Hence let's continue for instance, have you ever been the peaky of powers when you're playing rugby league and you're fit for rugby league, but then you walk up a set of stairs with your wife and she's fine and you're exhausted.
Yeah, yeah, you know what fit for what I was
¶ NRL Training
actually thinking, I didn't know where you were going. Without the start, I thought, well, I we'll cut this out. But I do understand what you talk about now, because I was thinking about this yesterday. You went from Paramatta to Manly, which we're going to get into. But every rugby league team they all train hard, but they all kind of do different drills which are kind of hard.
I remember going from Melbourne, who trained really really hard, but then going to Manly, who train very hard as well, but the running type of stuff they do more long distance stuff, and it felt like even though I was fit from my time in Melbourne, it felt like I was like seventeen again shit fitness because it was just my body was not fit for that kind of running.
It was completely different because we had Steve Kerney and Brad Arthur from Melbourne, so we trained you guys. They were trying to implement that Paramatta when I was there, so it it took a massive adjustment, Like the training was completely different at Manly. But the one thing I sort of remember from from that time is we would getting sort of similar to what you're saying about money.
I would have been about a Paramatta about ninety five ninety six kilos during the Kearney and when Brad Darthur took over, because we would we would just you know, those wrestle sessions. They found a shed out at Paramatta that they tried to replicate what Melbourne had been doing. Yeah, it was a really high intensity sort of setup. And then when I got to Manly, like we trained hard, but everyone loves the skin up and it's like the
older boys had the runs on the board. So like, especially during my time keep before you got there, it was the older boys. Yeah, the older boys would come in three days a week in pre season, which I loved, but whenever they come in the intensity of those sessions would be top tier. And then us younger guys we would try five days a week like normal. But you know,
it's just completely different. Like Donnie knew, Donnie Sinch and Jeff Twovy and that they knew that they had the runs on the board, so it was it was tweaked a little bit different to suit more of the older boys, and then I imagine like it would have changed the regime change and was Donnie still around when Donnie moved on?
Yeah, he's moved on. Yeah, that's so funny that you say that. I can't believe that they so how many of the boys would only come in three times? So that's from November.
To what till December? After Christmas? Yeah, everyone would start back together, so Monday TOOS Monday, Wednesday Friday would be the Sessions day rock up and then obviously all the rest of us do Tuesday on Thursday. But that was Brett Glenn, Steve Matdeye, Anthony Walmo, Jamie Lyon. This is this is like a couple of years. Maybe Chucky was playing Australian in the Australian team, so we didn't even see him at all. Jason King, Brent Kyte, Maddy Ballen.
So there was a large portion that's half your first guard to me. Yeah. Yeah. But so because Donnie gave them the freedom, a lot of them would still turn up on the Tuesday and Thursday and going the gym and just do their own stuff. They'd be visible. They might come in do a little morning session and take off, but they could they had the runs on the board, and we knew, like Donnie knew that he wasn't They
weren't going to let him down on the field. Then we'll just rip in and Tuesdays and Thursdays would be a bit of a downer. But Monday, Wednesday, Friday was the mickey, like we would all be up and yeah they'd be and they'd be flying, and yeah, we got to we've got the best out of it.
It's interesting to say about that about when Blake's got the runs on the board or yeah, the muscle memory.
They've been training for a long long time. I remember at Melbourne's Alex Corvo, who was the strength conditioner there for a long time, he was saying when they would bring young players in from coming down from Brisbane or wherever is, that they would train them in high volume in the weight room, so'd be like five sets to sixteen slow and things like that, and he said what it was about was building your base so that when they're at the club for five six years, they can
come back in mid January putting those in the clock. Now, but it's really interesting when you blokes are talking about that different ways of training. One of the big mysteries when I was coming through was that you could run four hundreds, eight hundreds, two hundreds, you know, ten one hundreds all pre season, NonStop. You could be fit as you've ever been, But as soon as you get on out on the field, you knack it. And we used
to say, right, what is match fitness? Well, match fitness is wrestling a lot of ways.
Isn't it.
Yeah, Like it just wasn't done really in the nineties.
And even now, like even it doesn't matter how big your preseason is. Now come trial game one, Like, no matter how much wrestling you do, how much running, you're still so gassed. Obviously they do it because it helps like prepare your body for a big season. It stops injury prevention and things like that. But nothing like that. There is no training you can do that replicates gets your match fitness up.
The Wigan boys when we're at Wigan, there are a couple of the blokes that used to go to this legendary place in We're going to do some wrestling. It was called the snake Pit, and they called it that. There was a bloke who was a really legendary trainer there, and the bridge Wich Bulldogs would be there sometimes, David boy Smith from the British Bullets. It was a wiganer they reckon. They went in there once and Brett Hart was in there. So yeah, a few of the boys
used to go and train in that place. It sounds sounded to me a little hardcore. You know, you wouldn't really, Yeah, it was probably pretty hard core.
I don't know what you're alluding to. I'm not talking about. I'm not talking about, you know, wrestling where get your hooks in. I'm talking about you know, bloke's getting held in in certain holes and screaming.
Oh god.
The current manly side. Would you consider yourself a manly Are you a manly fan or a paramount of fan?
Spent three three three three split of them, probably more mainly because we had more success there.
What I wanted to ask you, because this year is started phenomenally. You're a former back roller for the mainly Seagulls played. You've played off chairs perform just only slightly different, only slightly different. Still, you broke as many tackles as him.
¶ Daly's Backrowers
Audio thoughts on the Big Fail because he's got every string to his bow.
Yeah, I love it. I remember when he first hit the scene. You know, could only you know, last thirty or forty minutes before the big fellow gas out, which is understandable. But he's you know, he's really developed into a proper eighty minute back row who can be just as effective at the start of the game as he
is at the back end. Now you look at that on the weekend when he it's the you know, the the losing by a fair beer sixty five minute chez I think throws him aboard just nothing doing bang wushka, fine sabi and puts him away like a couple of the back rollers now in the competition on the other side, Ali Katoa, Villiarmi kickl on the left.
Yeah, even like Jake Preston.
Yeah, he's a weapon.
He could play, but not not the mold of that Katoa. And but he's smart to know how Yeah yeah, but just goes hard to like. But Amole, I feel like this year he's got he's got a work rate that he hasn't had the ye's gone. He's always been a game breaker, but you've seen the first few rounds like his defensive efforts like he's he's not it's not just blokes running at him and he's flogging him like he's chasing blokes and like just blokes are running sideways backwards get away from him.
Yeah. I thought a really good sign in the off season was when they promoted him to vice captain or part of the leadership group. So it must have shown how much work he's put in over the last couple of years under Seves and he must have had I'd imagine it would have been disrupted did he play for Tonga, he would have. Yeah, so he must have had a really good January February gone into the season because that was announced, And yeah, a great sign for Hemole and
chairs on that right. Edgewall currently.
The rooster, but he not love with I look at Himlee, and I think to myself, like at the moment, it's feed to Malee early. He wants the ball early. But for him, if he takes that next step in his career and actually starts to take a leaf out of say Preston or Britain Nicker's book and actually start to
whack mate, honestly, he's unstoppable. Like you saw the difference a few years ago with David Feeder operating on that left, and he was a player just like, oh, give me the ball early, and then all of a sudden he had a really good twelve months because he had Kieran foran teaching about the science of the game, you know, and that's that's like Preston, Jacob Preston. Would he survive if he just kept getting the ball early? You know? Maybe, but would he be as good to play it? No
way in the world. It's learning that sort of science of the game with a lot of players. It's next step.
Yeah, how much did like you've played with Chas, how much of an impact does Chess have for his back rollers?
Because I imagine it was tough. I really struggled because I started with Kieren on the left, so when I was on the left, Kieran as you know, like it was krying it there as well for us here.
He just got to the Titans. H have some salary cap for me.
Big money signing from the Dylan Brown of Manly. Fozzy was so detailed prepared before games and then would even just see cues as the game was on flowing, so he might tell me becuzzy you're going to be getting it mad He get it, Maddi's inside shoulder. A couple of plays before we're going to I want you to lay that line, but we've got something else coming to the right. So I was like, always had a plan with fozz with chairs. There was none of that, and
that was maybe it's changed over time. He's probably got better better at over the years, but I used to just have to react. And there was a couple of games we were really struggling, so Tubs and Dave Penner, where he was the assistant coach, He's like, here, you're going on the right and I said, oh, yeah, no, it's just trying to figure it out, but yeah, we'll get there. And they said, oh, well it's not working. We're going to flick your back over to the left.
So I spent some time back on the left, and then out of necessity, i'd actually been sort of just fell out of favor a little bit in fifteen, and then in order to get myself back in the team, I had to play on the right. And I actually ended up fitting finishing twenty fifteen really good with him, because I started to realize, all right, you just got to be ready for everything. It's not. It's not like Fozz so his mannerisms and and you know he'd start sharp as he looks like he's about to tack in
behind the markers, but then he'd kick out. All right, So now I'm dropping under. Just little things like that I got, I had to get better at. And it's a little bit different, like I said, a little bit different.
With Yeah, I always found that. I found that very surprising when I got to mainly like for someone who you know, played Australia, played Origin, Chez wasn't a big like of community, a communicator for what he was going to do. He was just so off the cuff and it was like you the players around him need to know what he's going to do. Like he's still very much like that, Like you know, he would just float and he's so good. He's got such a good iq of just reacting to the defense, which a lot of
people don't. Munster's got that. Remember when Trent le Aero first went into first grade, he played on the left edge with Munster and they really struggled for the year because Trent was someone that needed to know like I'll do whatever you tell me, but I need to know, like what you need to tell me, and Money go yeah, yah, sweet and wouldn't tell anything and then just take off, yeah, and then just take off and like he just do.
We used to call it mun ball, which is like only not even mone knows what he's doing, So how's the defense going to know? But then Train obviously moved into the middle and he was like, oh, I found my game. So it benefited me so much more because in the middle it's so stocked, standard structured. But you see Sean Blaher on that left edge. Now he's very good at reacting to what Money does.
Yeah.
Well, that's what makes a great combination, isn't it. Like if you look at Chairs and Kieran. You've got Kieran who can set structure up and tell you who's getting to it and be really thorough. And then on the other side of the field you got a wild a maverick who just jumps around. You can find that happy you meet him in Melbourne twenty seventeen. He had Cooper Krank operating around the field and you had Munster who was just playing completely on instinct. It's a great combination.
Otherwise you've got two halves here trying to play halfback.
That's why. So before I moved over there, that was the year that Gift he had moved on Glenn Stewart. So Glenn Steward and Jamie Lyon that was his right edge to begin his career. They're just out and out footy players. Yes, Like I've seen you talk about him before Matty in years past. Like they were just really like top tier park footy players. You know, they play
exactly what's in front of him. So like Glenn Stewart had a few moves that he would work each game, but off you know, those three on that right edge, whatever they've seen and if it was if they got numbers, it didn't it didn't matter. No one had to felt like they didn't have to say anything and they were just in sync and they'll just take like they'll just go after it mate.
I mean, it was so good for Dali when he got in there. You have for Blake's a great running game. I have the advantage line, you know, dip out if he likes what he sees, take him on if he doesn't feed Glenn early, Yep, it's a great way.
Glenn would just sit there. We used to have a playoff. What was called still maybe something like Freshly short side fresh or something. We used to sit there and imagine they've changed the name now. Glenn would sit there three on three and then you know, if he got three on three or even two, like they're taking it, but he'd just go, Chess, let's go. And then Chess would just start ripping from the open side of the plate
down the short side, and then I just crowded. And then you know that silky little play that used to do at the back of the center that was just always off the calf. That wasn't that was never planned really, that was just whatever Gifty saying did.
Imagine like when you're doing edge v edge of training, if you're on the left edge defending those four was that just a nightmare?
It was the best. Like that's why improved so much in thirteen and fourteen, Like I just learned how to play like rugby league, even though I couldn't execute the same as what those those guys did. It was just learning the game. So like there was and the battle between Stevie Mattowe and Jamie Lyon, they used to be really competitive against each other. So training, you know, I always say this all the time, like training sessions were
harder than games. Sometimes wow, Like it was just on and it was a great environment and I'd just be observing everything and just trying to you know, I try to do those moooths. I said, you enjoy a little short side fresh of this week and you get like just put it in the back pocket, even the tools. Yeah, just from me inside three men.
Look at Jamie Lyne. I haven't seen many more pure footballers than killer. I mean you're talking about dad, like James Draham. I've said before it turned up when he turned up a Saint Helen's from we wore they went look at this blog and they did fitness and he was so far behind everyone. But as soon as the ball hit his hands over her and went sheesus Christy with.
This bloke played against him for a couple of years before we got there. He's a player that I didn't appreciate enough until I got there. Just a really good gym and really good locker room guy. He's obviously our skipper, but just yeah, he dusted us up so much on that left first right, just training, just doing little moves and subtleties that you're just like, wow, Like I got
¶ NRL Market
to see it every pretty much every week.
You know what about the market at the moment we're talking about this before the podcast, and you know, like the DCE situation, which we've spoken about, don't I spoke to you a bit. It's when we're on the radio to say, there are so few quality pure number seven's out there that I thought there is no way that mainly are going to allow him to wander out the
door if someone pinch him. And now what the Dylan Brown contractor has done to the rest of the market suddenly got locky Galvin, some people saying five years, a million dollars a year lock He must be going Jesus, I could just sit on my ars and my price is going to go up. And then you've got a little bit of a story. The Fletch said to me,
as we're recording this just recently on Isaiah Atoa. That might be proven wrong as this is put out, but talk that he's unsettled at the Dolphins, well, the reason he's unsettled just to say his managers had to look at the money going around and thought to himself, mate, I could probably get one point three A mean one point three million a year for Isaiah.
Yeah, yeah, especially because I've seen the clip when you're talking to Fletch about it. He just did his deal too, So there might be a little bit of frustration from not only the players if they've just got a deal done because of the Dylan Brown situation, but even the manager's gone Jesus could have put it a little bit more or how can we figure out a way to sort of get this reupt.
Because he is a player. They just can't let go no Dolphins, so they have to find any means possible to keep him in that club.
Yeah, you look at the hearts coming through in the next five years when your Chess's and that sort of the leaders that are in there now, Monster's hues he come towards the end, it's Katowa Galvant like, they're going to be the next you know, they're going to be the next Origin Stars. And if you don't retain those blokes, now there's going to be They're going to be in a world I heard for ten years who is playing against them?
But you know, on the manly situation again with DC, what has confirmed probably the madness of letting him go is have a look at the difference and this guy is not a seven, but he's a clever player operates in the middle of the field. Have look at the difference that Dylan Walker made when he came on the field the other day from Aramund. Immediately he got into that middle field, he alleviated the pressure off Hawkins and Dylan Brown and make his past selection. Everything changed, the
tempo of their attackers went through the roof. That's purely experienced.
Yeah, yeah, he's a free Dan Brown end up running about eighteen times off the back of that.
Didn't he make You just saw the difference scope because he just took the pressure of him as far as decision making and pushing the side around the park.
Hey, going back to let's go back to into your VID of your career for a sec. Started a paramount up some of the players that you played with, because the I think the skipper when you were there was Matthew's colleague Nathan hein Marsh.
The first year was Kaylo Nathan Caylis and then Heindi eleven twelve.
What was because Heindi is a Matthew, He's a look he was an outstanding player three hundred gamer, but his personality I find he would have been a very strange sort of captain mate.
I was always all right with Heindi. For some reason, he was hard on younger guys, like he was a bit of an old school.
Very old school guy.
Yeah, and he tries to keep it up now on the show sometimes with players. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know, because I'd spent a lot of similar to you guys, Coop and Jack, because you
¶ Scopes Career
spend a lot of time around n ROL players. Because of my dad playing first grade, I probably didn't get as star struck early on that which some players go through when they you know, when they start off, they can be a bit tentative. So yeah, I never really felt like that with Heindy, but I used to see him sometimes. He used to put it on and and you know, he's the sort of guy to you know, might put someone on show but then give you a wink like when they walk past and all that sort
of stuff. But yeah, he was mad. He was good. He was good. He was at the back end, a legend of the club. What's that that old award when it was like the fans voted.
For him every single year, like he hated it getting club into They did not.
Like it because then you know it was like, yeah, the nicest guy in the w Ward basically in which he was like he was, you know, he was a legend. He was really good to the fans. Unreal player. You know, the Premiership thing sucks for him, but you know he did everything else. But yeah, he was. He was good. I got I got along with him some of the
other boys. You know, I took a little bit to get used to Haindi, but I was always We used to sit next to each other in the in the auditorium and we do like video sessions and that, and he says tell these like shitty little jokes. Weren't funny.
He's not funny.
It was not funny at all. But I'd laugh at how awkward it was, because you know, he's a three hundred game, he's an origin player, trying to get on his good side. He's trying to be quirky. And then it would just get crickets and I would just be going.
Yeah, like there's quirky, and there's quirky. That's doubly quirky when you're sitting in there yard. God, that's not even funny. Here's the strangest opendons on things sometimes. Mind it. We'll get there on the show and he'll just say something before and I'll say, do you really mean that?
Yeah?
Yeah, I said, mate, that's that's that's fair enough. Just go with it. It was a negative.
One was Jared Haynes was he was there, a young Jared Haynes there as.
Well with you Hainsey. So me and Haines were really close because we went to school together. And then also he lived with my family, so my parents were house parents with Paramatta for a six year period and when Hainesy first hit first grade, he was living in Campbelltown with his mother and it was too far to travel, so they moved him in with our family, and yeah, he went on that crazy run he moved. So he lived two thousand and seven and eight with us and then O nine was the.
D M Ye yeah, yeah right, that was incredible nine watching him at start of that year. Dean Leanson played him at six. I believe he was playing him at six, And we commentated a game one night and like scope, he was uninterested, like he was standing out there like I've been watching the game. Game, mate, look at the talent. This guy is completely wasting the talent that God gave him. And then they moved him back to fullback halfway through
the season. Jesus tear. What you talk about greatest runs? He Calen Pong, Barber, Ben Barber, Tommy Turbo and I
¶ Haynes Run
think I think that is the greatest run I've ever seen.
Yeah, yeah, if you go maybe probably further in the year than Turbo because it was like a ten week period with ains, right, Like the start of that year was pretty bad. Like I was in the full time squad at that time, so like people forget the start of the year, how the form was and probably you know what you're alluding to there, Maddy, But when he went on that run, that was there's probably no I
haven't seen anything like that in my footy career. The energy around, like the crowds, you know, the one, the one that stands out is to the prelim final against the Bulldogs. That's the best atmosphere I've ever been involved in. And I wasn't even a player. I was just part of the squad at the time, so we all would get to you know, it's like you get you get tickets and you sit there and I remember looking around, I think it felt like it was one hundred thousand.
I don't have to they brought it in by that stage at the call, but it was Bulldogs first Paramatta to go onto the Grand Final and it was electric and incredible. And that was the backer then and.
D of the run of what hang fiery team like the fans of those two clubs are as fire as you get.
Well, the Roosters at that point that week brought over a young South African kid. He was a fullback and they were trying to they were going to sign him, and I remember I was talking to Peter. It was Peter Solom and Bryan Smith at the time, and they brought him over here to just have a look and say, mate, run through some drills and we'll see what you think. And I said, oh, you know, you could see his very talent kid. Then they said we're going to what
we're going to do tonight. We're going to take him to the Paramatta versus the Bulldogs and just tell him, I mate, this is just a normal game. Well it did the reverse. He went there with the nature of the crowd, how hostile it was, and then this type of game it was and when there's no fucking way I'm signing, I'm not sign I'm not signing. I'm going to need this game.
Yeah, because you and you and dad actually shared a teammate crossing roads Tamana tahu Oh Yeah, yeah, yeah, man, I was looking when I was looking at that squad, but T would have been in the back end of his career there.
He was the opposite behind you. He was really welcoming to all the young Easter. I felt like T went out of his way to make sure we all felt comfortable. And that sounds a baud if you just listening to the body now, but like there's a quirky side to what haines. He was in that old school manner, but I think T wanted to make sure, especially maybe being
Kiwi as well, that was maybe a factor. But yeah, T was awesome, and I was very lucky because I went from Tamaara to Steve Maddeye in the centers and I was a back roller and I played on their edge, so there was a certain level of protection that I felt when I played with those two. But T was unreal and then we had a pretty cool moment. They must have got him back in twenty ten because then we played in the New Zealand Maltis together at the end of the year in an exhibition game and he
was our captain. He was our co captain. Him and Clinton Torpy had never played for the New Multi before but at the back end of their career and they wanted to represent that side of their family. So yeah, that would have been twenty ten.
Were talking about the good players there. Clinton Torby was some sort of player, but Timmarna like just just freakish. The presence he had on his edge. Now when he really matured as a player and he became as good in defense as attack made, the presence he had it
was terrifying. Remember two thousand and seven, there was a Grand Final qualifier at the Telstradome whatever it's called, the Marvel Stadium down there, Paramatta versus Storm and two was against Israel and he just tore his role to pieces. Melbourne won the game, but Timarna was the best player in the field by mile. I remember at full time belly A went up and grabbed Timaa because it was
Timara's last game three. He went back to Union just grabbed him and said, mate, I've fucking never seen a performance like that before he was.
He was amazing because like we all like from your time, Matie, and you know when he started Newcastle he was this highlight reel on the on on the wing and the flick passes from kids and all that. By the time he got to us. I remember twenty ten. Actually there was a game where Sammy Burgess first year and he smokes Daniel Mortimer like proper, got him bad and then and he was our left he was my left edge half and then Tamarna went after and got Sammy your
beauty in that game. Just there's a bit of a payback, yeah, because Sammy was a right edge back rower when he first got avery and then he I think maybe puts some moret he took it to the line. Sammy smokes him and then Tomato made sure he got payback for our age.
We'll try to find that Jack, We'll try to get that vision. Is that the Eels in comparison to Manly You spoke about beers at Manly put on a little bit of weight. Is it work hard? Play hard? Because there's so many different cultures of different teams based on you know, the players you got in and the culture of the club manly is very much like that. You train hard, but you get on the beers with all the boys. Was paramatta like that, No, No, it was opposite. It was another way around. Yeah.
Well, the year so that because Steve come from Melbourne and he was trying to implement the Melbourne way, he's a lot more detailed. The first year was a little bit loose, not loose as in probably wasn't as strict and we enjoyed a beer. Like my first year felt like, you know, we had some good times and you know, I'm a rookie and going out and enjoying all that sort of stuff. Then Steve Kerney arrived and he had
a strict no drinking policy after the game. So no matter wherever we went, if we traveled, we never went out and you weren't allowed to have terms. You recover in the morning, you do recovery, so completely different regime.
So with that, so not even with that meaning you go the whole year basically without drinking.
The whole the whole You could have a drink on the following day if the schedule allowed it. But he was pretty like Steve was pretty full.
I think that can be counteractive.
Yeah, yeah, because it's like and letting people know that rarely do you get seven day eight day turnarounds. When you do get him, you're like, far, this is awesome. We can have a beer, which is like if you play Saturday the following Saturday, so to push it back another day, you're not allowed to drink after the game. There'd probably only be three times a year.
Like, we're young too, so we had some rap bags in the team, well, sneaking away, having.
A skin feel free to throw on the bus, but.
We weren't ready. Matur Wren was leading the way. You can't get in trouble now, so there was a laugh at it now. Yeah, yeah, there was. There was a bit of a game where you know, I would break away and you know then you know, try to test the rules as much as and and look, you think you getting away with it too at the time because you're young, and they know, like they're finding out when we're sneaking off to the cross or something after a game when we're not supposed to, and there's a certain
amount of rules. But yeah, that was the rule though, and and and yeah, those a couple of rough years. We weren't winning games as well, so as you know, as you know, sometimes you know, after after a loss, sometimes you just want to have a schooner and just get some stuff off your chest and with others.
Sometimes the answer is that the bottom of the of
¶ Parramatta
like a bottle.
Literally Saturday Night Live, a couple of beers.
Yeah, Shane Gillis, Shane Gillis the other one a little bump. Not that we can done that sort of thing, absolutely not, no, no, But I remember when we were at Melbourne, same thing, a few rat like we had a little bit of a rat pack and we go out like, no, you're not supposed to go out seven day turnaround sometimes, you know, let's go out six day turnarounds. We're supposed to review
the next day. And we go out. Now stupid to us, we go to the one place that we're really hooked up at and that was the Albion in South Melbourne because Robbie Kerns was part owner of it. So the Kurrn Dog, we ring the kern Dog. He's at home
having dinner with his family mate. You get us in yeah, by the Oath boys, like like we thought we were going to get away with it when we're going to an old Player's Club who was still employed by the club, and we'd roll in the next day, all we winking at each other, like telling stories to the locker room. We'd go up to the video session and then then be like, hey, yeah, can I can Coops Munster, Harry Brandon, Can you guys just stay back as well? And we're going, Oh, ship, you think.
You're getting away with it when you're winning too, right, if you're winning, you think you can sneak in there and then and then you're just like, there's no way we're getting away with it. But you're young, naive, You're naive, Yeah, you don't. You're good too much, good fun.
So what were the circumstances and going to mamily then? Were you let go buy eels or do you do? You just go for it.
I've got the punt. I got the punt from Sticky, So join the club, Ricky. Yeah, this is this is one of my like one of my most famous stories that I've told on podcasts now over the years. But we'll pretend like, yeah, first this is the first time for you guys, so and your audience potentially, but do you remember the story about Ricky Stewart having the board up the head projector the projector and it was like nine names on it, and he's like, you guys, you
know you're not required at the club. Did it all together in front of the players as well, that where that was still going to stay at the club, and yeah, so if you can find another spot, yep, so go chat to your managers. You're not going to be required next year probably, I think it was even you can go as as quickly as you want anyway, So that was a whole big deal. I was. I was pre board,
so I was. He punted me before he'd even rocked up, so before he'd got to the club, he had to get there and see you know, nine or ten players and figure out all right, I don't want anything to do that.
So you were p o G.
You were pre overhead, pre overhead, pre overhead. So he just called my manager before it even arrived at the club, hadn't had a conversation with us, and then goes, look, he's not he's just going to be playing yourself wells Cup next year. If you want to find a gig and all that, then you can you can do that. So it was a blessing in disguise It worked out
really well for me because I went to Manly. But there was a period of about two months where because he was so and I respected that about him now like whether he meant that for me to to go on to greener pastures or whatever it was. But because I got clarity so early on, I could make the decision go to Manly. It worked out really well for me in hindsight, went to the Grand Final the next year after I wouldn't spoon year the year before, so it gave me the time to sort of plan and
figure it out. But the two months from about maybe July into October, I didn't have a club, so I was like every under started back preseason and I wasn't back doing Like I didn't have a club and I was going to probably go to Super League early, so got to figure it out, got to Manly and yeah it worked out really well.
Yeah right, because Twos was your coach the whole What about Twos?
Like how close I was sitting there before the twenty thirteen Grand Final, you placed leading in a half time. Now, if you're going to win that game, which looked very likely, that halftime is by far the better team, Like where where does twos. What's twos doing now? I mean that second half. It just shows you how quickly things change.
Yeah, even like Brad Arthur right from a couple of years ago. You know, he gets like different circumstances, he gets dusted, but then he's gone within a year or two.
I want to ask you about that scope playing for Paramatter, do you feel the pressure?
Probably not to my level, because but I understand I know, like the top tier guys did I know, like Jared Felder, obviously he stands out. He was not only an important player for Paramatter but league wide, especially when I made that decision to go to the NFL. Now, just because I guess my level will play like where I stood in the locker room, I always just knew that like I was, the pressure for me was fighting to make the seventeen each week, So I always had that pressure
every week. I didn't really feel any external pressure around club pressure or anything like that, even though I understood the history because my dad was a Paramatter, he will play it too, So I understood the history, but not the pressure to just sort of live up to any expectations or the long drought of what parody Matter had gone through.
It's the most boom it will bust club in the league. If you go back certain years, like two thousand and one they made the Grand Final, they dropped off from there the golfs one like two thousand and two thousand and nine and twenty ten, dramatic drop off and we've we're like twenty twenty two they made the Grand Final against Penrith and the next two years after that really again dramatic drop off.
They miss it the eight and then battling for the spoon in twenty four. Man, it's crazy how it just that happens like that. Yeah, it really is.
How some sides just maintain and others just golf a cliff. That's the end of part one, right that, time to jump over for part two, which I hope you enjoy every bit as much I know you will.