Connor Watson | Part 1

Yeah, Gooday, guys, it's Maddie John's Yeah, look at it. You can tell I'm just not myself at the moment, a little bit down, but I tell it'll cheer me up. Hitting the follow but on our podcast with the Family podcast and backstage so you don't miss any of the good stuff we've got coming up. And thank you guys, Thank you again for listening to the podcast and giving us your support. Good on you, guys.

What was it a slip at the other day or something. You're saying that you come back from a weekend away and he's, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

She went. She goes were go for a week. She has all these these idealism about faking going and we'll going to the city. We'll have it a romanic. Okay, yeah great. Anyway, anyway, I ducked off and she did a thing that I came back late, and then she went berserk. I said, fucking made half. Now, I like to guys, suppose a romanic. And we did the same thing the next day. Yeah, she got me playing the pokeys.

Yeah, we just do mate. They played poking and now they're fighting about something that like just has started just from like dad losing his credit card. It's just it's just so stupid. They just both of you are just idiots.

I love how you're like at the point now your friends who me and Dad, like, you know, like it's like looking at a couple, but you know.

Like, oh yeah, I look real when like when your parents used to fight when you were young, you go.

Oh no, it's gonna end. It's going to end.

And now I just go like, just get over. Dad's sleeping on the couch like three nights and it's just like and then he's gone, mate, like what about her? And then she'll be like what about him? I'll be like, you're both just as bad as each other. I couldn't even care less.

Sleeping on the couch, just next social cat up on the grille.

Seriously, not the good kind, uh. Connor Watson, Welcome to the podcast.

We got you on a bye week?

I would say, Matthew, I would say somewhat a part of the family. Connor, Yes, close personal friend, you know, ex teammate of Jack.

Ye.

Dad probably looks at you as somewhat have done. Yeah, someone,

Not much we got because we've got the whole week off. But I was just thinking as I drove up here. Do you remember when you took us for that half session down the parking Do you remember? Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, it didn't really help that much.

I really do that one. You've played about every position.

Coaches when there was a new counsel. Boys come down. They're so enthusiastic the coaching stuff. Yeah, wow, great, you go, mate. You know this is when you shift a ball, dow'n have to do block formation. Just get it there, bing ding ding. Oh yeah, this is a revolutionary. This is great. I didn't use it at all. Waste my time.

I feel free to get that mic into your no, no, no, we're going to talk about your podcast as back in the day. But you haven't done a podcast in a long time, mate, it's.

Been a little bit. It's been a while. Yeah, I actually can't remember.

The last one I did would have been that was obviously with two five seven. We're gonna we're going to touch on all that, but that like a gang, No that was that was wasn't that like your house number?

House number? Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah, And then it ended up the house always got egged because we basically gave their house number, didn't actually get ye house cars. It didn't help when I had first went to Newcastle and part of my deal was club car and rock up get the club car, and it's just like everywhere. I can't remember what the sponsor was, but it was just like Newcastle Knights sponsored by or whatever.

Who's driving around now Braddy.

I saw Braddy up in Newcastle the other day driving past, and the other reason I knew it was him because I had Massive Night's logo on the door. It was like, mate, you can't be getting around it. Yeah, people were just hamming your car. You have a few bad games.

And I knew you guys like knew where I lived, so I wasn't far from like I was in Hamilton South, so you got the sort of housing commission block just up the road there. And I'm just fit in my garage one so I couldn't hide the car. So just out the front of my house was this Night's car.

I had a car sponsorship at the Nights in two. Connor turned up at the car yard. I won't going to say the name of it. Of course it might still be there, but I walked straight and walked up to the place, says do you yeah, mate, you know they're going to give you a car for twelve months turned up. They pointed to it. It was a like a nineteen eighty two Ford Falcon kids, and it had wires coming out of the tire. One of them and ask Trusha,

His style every time, every time in and out.

Yeah, oh that's shit.

What was Why didn't you? Why would you even keep it?

Because beggars can't be chooses, That's true. Begars cannot be choosers.

We don't see much obviously, you're in the eastern suburbs now. We don't see as much of you as we would like to these days. But we actually saw each other not long ago, a few weeks ago, had a bit of a night out.

Yeah, it was good. It was good to see you again. It was it had been a little while. That's why I felt bad the other day when I rang you and I didn't realize because I knew you sold the old house. Yeah, yeah, I drove past it. I was visiting one of my mates the other day. I was telling you. Yeah, I didn't actually realize you guys still lived in COOLROI so I brushed. I brushed it the other day. But yeah, it was good to see you.

Yeah, you guys had just beaten was it Saint George Day, which is a good win.

Yeah. So I saw you the night after the game, I think, and then the next day you're still out east and yeah, I had something on it. I can't rememb what it was, but I was just I was just cruising and Semi Walks has called me. I didn't answer, you know, like just I knew what. I knew what the boys were up to though they're on the beers. I was like, nah, I don't even want to answer the phone, and get like yeah, get my arm twisted into this, and then semi text my missus and goes, hey, Keanna,

I've freaked out.

I've called him, and he goes, hey, mate, We're just at the end of your street. I'm with Cooper, me Mark Cooper, see, well, come down. I was like, you're serious. You made me think that something's happened. Like I'm freaking out here calling you because I'm worried about you, and then you're just down the end of my streets. So I went down and ye saw the boys.

We had a good laugh for a couple of hours.

Yeah, it was a great couple of hours. And I don't know, have you told that story which one?

Yeahah, yeah, we told told it on the family partty before you can sell it.

Was that funny. We're just we're sitting outside it started poor rain to n yeah, and then this like group of girls just come out and then they're just sitting there like waiting for an uber. We didn't pay too much attention to it, and then turned around, I was like one of the girls had almost died. She's like passed out in the in.

The gut told me, yeah, kissing down on her like the rain was. She was nearly drowning in the rain.

Yeah. So then we've tried to like trying to move her under the cover. There's a few of us that have gone over to grab her, but because she's full passed out, she was heavy, dead like dead way yeah yeah, hard to carry just like limbs, limbs flying everywhere. So we've moved onto the seat and I'm not sure what's happened because she's it's almost like she she wasn't. It wasn't like she was drunk passed out. She's just fully gone.

It was like she'd fallen slip, but she was like vomiting too.

But I heard amongst all that she recognized you boys.

Yeah. Well, so she wakes up and Cooper's there like helping her. First thing she like looks up and she goes, is that Cooper John's.

And all the boys remember.

After this, her uber rocks up and me and Connor put her arms over each of us, like we're carrying off our bloke who just hurt his knee off the field, like two yellow shirts. We're dragging her off and we're trying We're in the rain at this stage, getting pissed on. We're just trying to get her in the uber. And remember she was like she must have been a massive

To push her in and she's going, do you see yourself as a nine? Or I was going, she knows what.

It was.

I could have you know what, Connor, I should have been there because I was with Coop the night before and I was just settling in. I was having a ball and all of a sudden he goes goes, oh your car's here. I went mad, I didn't order a car's.

He finished, yeah, we were at Brandon's and I said it's time for beginning to go.

Yeah, because Mum was texting.

Me, so she was like, oh, mate, you know, send Dad again. Of course you also, and we've told this a fair few times, but you also came me you Jack and a lot of the boys had a big Byron Bay trip back in twenty twenty after the Melbourne's Grand Final. We had a Big Boys trip planned. We have obviously won the Grand Final then basically turned into Melbourne's Mad Monday. You and Sammy Verrels had we've planned this for ages. You boys felt that uncomfortable coming up.

I remember rocking up because it was when I had done my Achilles that year, so the club had sent me up to do my myb like rehab at the you know they got the surfing headquarters up there.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, the surfer golf.

So I went up there and just trained in there for a week because they've got like all the trampolines, great gym and stuff, and they've got good physios there. So the club were just like, as part as your rehab, let's get you up there, get your away from the facility, and then they were luck then you can have a

To be fair, you handled yourself very well, because it

But this is the great thing, isn't about the game. There is a real camaraderie and a brotherhood in the game, and the fact that you can walk in somewhere. You can walk into a pub tomorrow and it might be aside the most despised team that you don't get along with, you've been sent off as soon as you walk in there. Everything everyone's so inclusive.

Yeah, it is pretty cool because because the Brummage boys were there, Jesse and Ken and Kenny and Vels hadn't met him before. But then like obviously after a few days on the piece, you just become mate with everyone. And he was saying like because he was always kind of scared of him on the field. He was a young player of Sammy and he always faced Jesse in the middle. Jesse would like just like rough him up, and.

He did the same thing to me, you know when like you do a kick chase and you go to do like an escort. Every time he just like shoved me in the back or try and push me over. Yeah, same thing always.

And then he said the next year after he was like, every time I played Jesse, it was like it was way better, like you just like yeah, still like still rough me up, but he roughed me up in like a friendly way, like just a forearm and rub it over your nose.

He's not being mean spirited. Now he's someone chuckling behind me. They want to add the.

I'm just having flashbacks to the next morning when the Brubbish brothers woke up together.

I just they can they can handle their own.

The Rummish boys.

Oh they're good drinkers, yeah, yeah, don't get don't get enough. They don't get enough wrap when like you know, and in podcasts and stuff, they go, oh, you know, who's who's the good drinkers? And you know, by far everyone goes up munster and cheese and those kind of lads, the Brummish boys. Gee there undercover.

Yeah very just take the top off the bottle and don't put it back on. Yeah, they're just steady, you know, they're just steady away.

Just good. Yeah, obviously responsible.

I'll say this right there is there is. There is a certain degree of fools gold with some of the drinkers. And I'll use the Queensland as an example. People will go, oh, make the Queensland boys, they can put away case in point. Gordon tallis known as big drinker, and yes he can. However, it's four x gold.

It is.

It's four x gold and four x only mid is.

Mid strength. Yeah, no, it used to be four x has another one. It's a marone can that's a full strength, but you never see it. But the drink of Queensland is four x gold. They all drink it. I don't get that. If I'm going to have a beer like, I drink it for one reason to get a buzz. Like if I wanted to drink for the taste, I drink Pepsi Max.

A buzz rough Field.

So with Gordon sometimes we'll get there before the last show and we'll drink tekula and vodka shots before. It's a bit of a celebration of sorts. And we had one year Gordon to start banging him back and he sat on the couch and Mate, he was gone. He couldn't even talk Yuh.

Yeah, that's a byron for one.

Sorry, because I don't want to let this story go and miss uh, I think it was the last night. And you've you've befriended some hippies and we kind of can befriend like people anywhere as well. Condor is a friendly guy. He's had a friendly face. Yeah, and he's taken us all to this what do we call it, like a hostel, almost a commune.

It was a full.

Commune and you were only allowed to be in there if you live there. And we've walked in, Mate, there were hula hoops, there were hacky sacks, there were bean backs, there was an acoustic guitar tantric sex and Connor was just like follow my lead everyone because we were just like six seven footballers, like so out of our depth. We were dressed like in our ones, in our best kit. Everyone else was dressed in like skirts and eggs. Yeah,

Actually, you've got a great memory because it.

Was one of so much.

That's a good pointed season player of the year, see that.

What I'm glad that you brought that up.

Did the commune stink? Because I think about hippies is I always think themselves. Come on, guys, have a shower.

But they were like tents, like there were people were living in tents and there was a big bonfire and acoustic guitar. And you become friends with this bloke named Tim.

Remember because there was no grow so yeah, the bar was the bar was shut, so uh basically anyone who was in there. They just had like bottles of wine. And then I got talking to this Tim dude. Yeah, we had a few bottles of red that he that he didn't shared with.

He had some hidden some hidden bottles. And the way that now it's it's an excellent way to be fraying a hippie. What kind of did was he goes, He's like, what's your name, Tim? I'm condor And he goes, Tim, can I tell you something? Can be honest with you for a sec He's like there's something about you. He's like, he's like me and you, and he was like an old.

He was like an old.

It would have been like forty plus spr forty plus, like he was old. And he was going, your vibe me and you. I just feel like I've been drawn to you out of everyone at this commune. I'm drawn to you, like I feel connected to you. And he was like, and he was going, dude, I was about to say the same thing, and then he was like, oh, anyway. It kind of was like just louveed him up, loved him up, and he goes, is there any like, is

That's funny, hippies, acoustic guitars, hula hoops, tent. Sure you

We weren't in hell, but it was good fun.

That was our last night and we all had to sort of vacate the next week.

Connor socially like towns like which you had known. When you're playing one team in one city towns the players sort of draw together all the time and go out together. They come like family. What about you when you have a night out in Sydney, is it a lot of times with teammates or is it a little bit different dynamic in Sydney.

Yeah, it still is, Mattie. I think there's probably something when I come back from New he to the Roosters and I've been away for a while, like probably felt like when I first come back, it's just because people live all over Sydney. It sort of it's not like in Newcastle. You know, we'd finish training and'd be like, all right, boys, let's go get a coffee. Pretty much everyone would be there because it's ten minutes to get

It's a good point, but yeah, I remember like that was that was the connecting fact when I first come into grade too. It was like get down train hard all week and then everyone down at the part and it was just like being.

The connector no alcohol speaking of hell again.

Yeah yeah, but like you said, like you're probably right, it is more like beach and coffee. Yeah, it looks like, especially every in the East.

It's funny, Connor, I wonder whether this year in particular, what to make just pull tight of the roosters is the fact, first time for a long long time with the Roosters there were low expectations. The pressure has just been taken off a little bit. Hence I can see the reason why you blake you and join yourself so much. I thought the previous couple of years, you just you know, you have your wins, and there'd be times where the cider was playing well, but you never just looked on

Yeah, yeah, I do agree, Mattie. I think you know, and that's not saying we haven't been close to the last few years. It just feels like this year it's just like we're a really tight knit group. I think the thing that's probably cost us the last few years has you know, we've been able to score points sort of from anything, really like we're out of our own end. Like we've got great attacking players. We've always had these

And our tear it and the irony is you're attacking better. It's very interesting you say that because you know, you know to let people know what you'd say in there. The equation is you can only make how good your defense is dictates how many errors you can make in attack. If your defense is poor, then you've basically got to be you've got to be complete and around ninety to ninety five percent. But if your defense is really strong

Yeah make sense. Yeah, well I think you saw that. And on the weekend against the Cowboys, like a lot of the trials we scored was like offload to three short passes and then you know Marky goes and does like he's freaky fair. Oh yeah, Billy scores that try out on the left. But also though like we're under no illusions of like there's still so much more work to be done, more growth as a side, and you know, like the last couple of weeks have been really good,

Well, it's hard when you have when you have like the attacking, like the young gun attacking threats to yours that you've got like Mark no one, I need to say, Robert Toyer, who's been grouse.

Like he's really seen in a hugo.

And the halves, like the best thing about them is they probably don't think long like the long game. They think like now, and that's why they come up with such mad players like you've seen Markey Marx. Markey, Mark has been phenomenal. Like that, try you set up.

Earlier in the like no one else is doing that.

Most wingers are probably just trying to either get down or throw a back infield.

That's what's good.

Like he comes up with some ras sometimes, but that's because he's wanting to, like he's thinking about a tackle.

They're talking at the moment. The word going around he'll play next year with the Roosters and then he'll go back to union that they want him back, I mean for the Raby Union. As far as winning the World Cup or having an impact in the World Cup. They must be looking at him, mark at the Roosters playing playing for the Roosters, getting it, getting stronger in certain

Yeah, have to you do.

Yeah, it's actually funy. It's pretty petty of for me. But I remember, like seeing some stuff on Instagram. I screenshot at it just so I like would have that and in my memory pain. But yeah, heaps everyone everyone, Everyone wrote us off. But I also knew the way we're training, like what sort of what we're capable of,

Has been nice?

Has it been nice?

Now?

Like you've cemented a role, like because you've played a lot of different positions. You played fullback for a stint there the early days at the Rooster's Lock fivetes.

Did you play at the nights.

That one year where they it was funny because I played it the year before, so Kaitlyn was injured for a game where he hurt himself for a game, and then I moved to fullback in it, I think with us and the Dogs and ended up scoring two tries and I think from there Brown he was like, oh, maybe we moved kind of a fullback and.

It's up there with the time that breath went to fullback once.

But is it any nice?

Like it seems like the last couple of years you've you've really found your role in at nine, like because people probably didn't know whether Roosters is going to play as a forwardeen. It must be nice having that sort of consistency you can train there all year.

Right, Yeah, yeah, I think I still think Locke's my best position. Yeah, yeah, I do. I think the freedom of Locke is it just enables me to like run the ball a bit more. I can also being like a half full back and a hooker, like you know, I can be another link man through the middle. But it has been good this year just to sort of

Can I ask you on that on the move to the Roosters and as yourself and Kurt me and remind me so much. You know, you're so similar in a lot of ways in the fact that you know, watching you guys, the ability to play really fast and sometimes even kind of you know, not tickling the brakes enough, you know, playing that thrust all the time. And I think both years were like that at Newcastle, but particularly Kurt. I was watching Kurt at Newcastle sometimes come on, mane,

I don't know if it were, like, yeah, we definitely spoke about it, because I think that's the reason why you know, I've moved around so much. Was the way that I played was like my strength, but it was also what brought me undone and you know, like we can talk about probably when I was out here doing the halves stuff. It was all just one hundred miles an hour. And with that, you know, you create, you do some good stuff, but then you also do a

The temptation in even team sport is to focus on yourself because it's so cut cutthroat to get there and say, mate, I need to do this, I want to do this. If when you just settle and just become part of the team, make the enjoyment just goes through the roof, doesn't it. When when as opposed to going you wanting people to meet your demands, it's a it's a huge difference.

And when you look back in your decision now, like of because it was it was a bit of a hard decision at the time or your mate to that NEWI at Newcastle. I think Newcastle maybe even come up with more money than the Roosters at the time, but you decided.

To go to the Trickies.

Now being there for a few years, like looking back on that decision and where you're at now, how do you see it?

Yeah, it's so funny because if you ask me like

You're supposed to protect.

Yeah. Well he was just like I guess this is this is the reality, Like this is where you're at.

It's honest. Yeah, yeah, And I just.

Couldn't believe how quickly like I'd sort of gone from you know, like love of my football up at Newcastle and then this thing with the knee happens, and then all of a sudden I was like, you know, my own RL career is over. And then it was only really that Gus was Gus Good. Was like I went and sort of had a chat with him, and then the dogs were like looking at bringing me over there, and then from there the Russes did manage to find.

In that funny though, like like that a low so often is followed by your highest heighth advice versa and pour our young check balls, stop four tries the week before probably the greatest moment, and he's up there in his life and then the next week does his a

Just it is, It's an unforgiving game, and like you said, sometimes those lows can last two years, these long term injuries. Yeah, you know, I mean you do an acl or and Achilles. People don't realize how hard mentally.

That ship is.

Yeah, well that's guys like you know BRAI like Jade and Brayley, Billy Smith, like they've gone through like two a cls Achilles, Like I think Billy's had three Billy's

Are your highs?

Last year?

Made State of Origin run that's a rapid rise, that's yeah.

Yeah, what was that?

Like?

Did you did you because your your form was outstanding, they had to put you in the role, But did you expect Like, how surreal was that few sort of

Yeah, it was. It was pretty wild, to be honest. I just like because every year, you know, I would always do my your goals or whatever looking at the and you'd always say like state of origin, state of origin. But no year I was like, really a chance because I've never played consistent footy enough to actually warrant even being talked about. But that year, going like going into last year, I think my goal was like play every game for the Roosters and then be in the origin discussion.

And it's funny sliding doors.

If you play first game and they get beat, yeah, you don't know who. You don't know who gets dropped like it they look for answers, had you.

I was walking in to training for the first ever the Blues, and we spoke to a few of the boys that have been here before. It is for people that want to know what it's like. It is like walking to a new school yard, isn't it. It's just mate, you're shitting yourself.

One hundred percent. I can remember how nervous it was for the first training. It was like you know when you first started training with the NURL squad.

Yeah, it was looking at all your heroes.

Yeah, I was like, man, I haven't been this nervous for training for eight nine years far out and then yeah, just remember like first pass, now, this first past, now this first like.

You just go, don't drop it. Yeah, first of camp I walked into I think it was Laza. I walked in one camp and one of my first ever one. Laso is just you know, kind of the game, but big, gruff, angry, cranky guy. I remember walking and I'll see Lazo and go fucking lost Lazzo and I got a Lazo hair going yes did you blokes play? Yes? Cowboys? I just go I said, wow, we got boot he gus fucking dogs just walked off. Fuck yeah you have. But going in there, who was the guy that sort of settled your well?

I guess like me and Gussie are pretty tight, so going in there with him, I think we might have even got picked up in the same car together. So just sort of gone out there with him and Spencer as well, like yeah, those guys spending done the first one, so he sort of knew what he was going into the second Origin camp. But those guys were just yeah, that the ones that I guess initially yeah, made me

You got given the.

Year film sitting on the bench, you know, and that in that game too, you know, everything's in the balance waiting for the call.

We'll see the game to actually made. He was the one where we'd had that really dominant first taf YEP. So I was just sort of thinking like, yeah, go it, like, don't't blow it. Yeah, don't blow it, like you know, and then it was just once I got on, was just like just enjoy this, like just soak it up, like take them on to do it sort of just yeah, back yourself and get into your first tackle and first run, similar to like when you make your first grade thea boo.

When you go on, So you go on, the game is in the balance, so how you feel them when you're staying there with the touch judge about to go on the field.

Yeah, just sort of you know, because you play the game one hundred times through your head. You're sitting on there for sixty minutes and then cause your cause your name, and you just yeah, just sort of want to go in and just not put any pressure, like you know. It's it's that contradiction of you want to go out there and you want to perform. But I think for me, I know I'm at my best when I don't like I just go out there and be in the mote.

It was a crazy finish that game too, Like that was the one where you hit Angus Crichton.

He does a horrendous offload to you.

Yeah, and then I.

Trolled along the ground hand grenade to Romi. Romi goes through find Bradman to score that mad match winning try. Like that must have been some like talk about a dream first series in Origin?

Was that was that? That's as good as it gets.

Yeah. I just remember after the games being like, what the hell has happened? Yeah in the last you know, like we talked about the sort of the twelve months before, and just thinking like if you told me this had happened, like this is going to happen next year, I just would have been like, you lie, mate, No, there's no way. So just for it all to happen, I was just yeah, so grateful and just try to really enjoy everything as much as I could.

Well would I tell you terrific, Blake. That's the end of part one, right, that's time to jump over for part two, which I hope you enjoy every bit as much I know you will.