New Bulldogs recruit Josh Curran joins me in the studio.
0:00 2023 season with Warriors
26:59 Signing with the Bulldogs
34:25 Growing up
37:16 Signing with Roosters
39:22 Plumbing
42:51 Leaving Parramatta
44:50 First pre-season with Roosters
47:02 NRL debut
55:33 Moving to the Warriors + 2020 COVID year
1:06:21 2022 season
1:09:51 Port Macquarie incident
1:19:01 Bulldogs pre-season
1:30:16 Final questions
Just a bloke in a bar what is up ladies and gentlemen welcome to another episode of bloke in a bar brought to you by bloke beer the beer of rugby league the beer of Australian sport get in your local grab a case of an easy drinking
Ler we got the mid strength as well but I’m uh very excited to uh introduce it says Joshua curen can I call you Joshua that just makes me feel like I don’t know there’s something about the Joshua N oh yeah you can do it but I always get
Caught Joshua from Mom and Dad when I’m in trouble so um yeah how you going brother no I’m good man I’m good I’m enjoying Sydney um yeah pre-season’s been uh pretty hard but no enjoying it man loving it back here and what’s the you know the break being like after such
An incredible year of the Warriors and you know you’re when you have those years where you’re flying and it kind of all ends it’s very different to when you have those years when you’re struggling it ends it’s almost like you want it to end whereas the year when you’re flying
You’re like you never want it to end kind of thing yeah it was um after the season was kind of weird because all everything was um had obviously had my season uh season review then um yeah everything was kind of up in the air um
Got a bit homesick um and um yeah just being away from family obviously it’s only 3 hours away but then putting in context like got to be at the airport 3 hours early it’s kind of like a whole day so um no it was kind of a weird one
And um yeah it’s it’s pretty crazy bro um I loved it like I loved my time there and um the last year yeah last year was crazy you know just getting that um little finals taste um the how far we went into finals is yeah it’s it’s um it
Was it was sick and um hopefully we can take it into this year um it’s just such a different ball game and yeah we loved it it’s uh so weby arrives at the Warriors obviously you know this year or end of last well [ __ ] we 24 now but when weby
Arrives the first few sessions or the first couple weeks could you ever imagined the season you know what I mean because it wasn’t the thing with the Warriors Season compared to other clubs that had a really good season like you basically had an entire country get
Behind you like it was genuinely like a movement could you was there any hint of something special about to come or not really uh well after the 2022 season we came yeah we had a shock a year I think we maybe won like seven games 14th I
Think yeah 14 or something like that yeah when we’re living in brzy and that um obviously yeah shy didn’t have his best year and he he’ll be the first one to say that um but honestly that was just because he was away from family he
Had his young girl um yeah he just away from family but um yeah went back to New Zealand and um yeah it was pretty crazy man like obviously they got Mitch Barnett coming in we had a couple um just a couple of them older heads come
In and bro weby came in and just set like pretty much the Benchmark and um um just everything so everyone bought into it bro and from day one um we just attacked today it was um pretty crazy everyone just put their um head down ass
Up and um attacked year and we just said um if we can win more games and what we had to do if we can just get the uh simple stuff right then we’ll be sweet and um yeah we we pretty much um killed it that year crazy what 15th so 15th all
The way to top four that is crazy um I remember watching a trial actually of your pretty much your your resi’s like the trial the week one or two and just going I think there’s something different about the Warriors this year compared to to you know yester year and
Then the next try rolled around um and shy had like a Barry Crocker first 20 minutes and then he kind of pulled it all together did you what did you feel in the first kind of few weeks as a team as a squad yeah um I think I don’t Tri
Are a weird one for me like it’s you you get so Keen because foot’s there then um it it’s a trial getting your match Fitness the trial one’s pretty much just all the young boys like just um and the new guys yeah we reverse Target and we
Put a clinic on I remember Marcy absolutely like just putting a clinic on he he um killed it then we had a good vibe then uh we had new oh no storm and um yeah we beit um just all over the place but um yeah we just we knew R
Sweet when round one came we knew um we we knew what we had a fear obviously uh done the review on it and trained it but um no was good man we The Vibes were good heading into round one we knew we had to go down to Wellington and um come
Up against Newcastle and um they’re not an easy team but um yeah no The Vibes are good we we knew what went wrong and um yeah I don’t know Tri are a bit weird for me it’s just like one of them things just getting your game Fitness up and
Obviously getting your combinations and um yeah you can be as fit as you want but game fittest man it’s it’s crazy like you could genuinely feel like before game the first trial you could feel like I’m I’m going to absolutely brain it like my times compared to last year are way
Better I’m stronger I’m this I’m I’m fully fit and literally first 5 minutes y danis BR I remember there was a tri there I played the first 20 minutes and I looked up and I was just like far out man I still another 20 minutes at half
Time yeah but um no yeah it’s just different you like I said you can be the fittest guy but game Fitness is like just compet I can taste you about five like five games that actually get your like game Fitness um up to scratch for sure for sure it’s um I reckon what’s
Weird about game Fitness is there are some guys that like are super fit in training drills and there are some guys that are busted like honestly at the back like just terrible at Fitness they get in a little game they have 30 Scoops and you’re going where I don’t
Understand it’s like so different than Fitness yeah I know I it it’s Mak it’s crazy man some game some guys are just game fit like proper game fit then some guys are fit at training then kind of not struggle in that sense but um obviously takes them a couple games to
Get um their game Fitness up but yeah bro it’s it’s crazy how um much game Fitness is actually like changes stuff yeah it’s just a different like for example a good example would be a guy like Brian to so a b reports from him himself he reckons he’s at the back of
Fitness now I’ve never trained at pen I wouldn’t know but the amount of work he gets through in a game is crazy like crazy Fitness I know it’s um yeah he’s taken freaking like two carriers a game and that like the contact every time like there’s one thing like just doing
The running Fitness then there’s the contact then there’s the winning of the contact then there’s the finding your front then there’s the quick play of the ball like that’s all extra energy yeah it’s there’s so much into actual football then like catch pass tackling it’s it sounds easy it was that easy I
Feel like everyone we be playing football but there’s actually like so much like technical stuff obviously yeah if you lose a tackle you got to win the momentum back or if you don’t win that momentum back then man you’re just on your front foot and you just gassed but
Um yeah there’s so much into actual football if you go into like H tackle or like even like just a simple catch pass like it’s just right it’s just all technically um just crazy yeah and even like the little things that people don’t see like uh you know in contact the
Wrestle on the ground little things you can do to like get your hands stuck in there that’s what frustrates me so much sometimes when I see like refs and they’re like they’ll call out and look refs I know they got a super hard job but they’ll call out milking milking and
I’m like bro are you serious milking he’s and the and the defender’s like oh don’t know what’s don’t know what to doing like bro we’re talking about an explosive athlete that can like lift 150 kilos on his off his chest squat 180 but he can’t get his hand out of the
Freaking tackle it’s yeah it’s crazy bro um yeah I don’t know I just freaking see I know like I’ve seen some um bad tacklers but they know how to win on the ground and slow it down and like um just like all the small technical stuff that
Can like you don’t win a tackle but you know what to do on the ground to get that momentum back it’s just but there’s so much into it it’s just like that’s why we always build over preseason like like it does look easy in season like our schedule but over preseason man it’s
It’s [ __ ] hard yeah mate absolutely it’s uh it’s funny I was actually when I came into rugby league we didn’t do wrestle the first year so like the wrestle this would have been I think 2004 five and then I was there when wrestle first got introduced so the shock in that was like
Like we’re we’re actually wrestless now like one of our trainers was a K1 fighter yeah and like now that’s normal to have like a UFC fighter as a like a coach or whatever whereas back then we were like why is it a K1 fighter his
Name was hazy he was a Legend um why is it we’re playing rugby league and we’re getting taught how to bloody you know this so but obviously it’s just part of the game now um so this year you you finish fourth and you know the the whole
You know country Gets behind you when do you reckon it click when did you guys know we’re not just on a bit of a run here we actually are a high quality footy side that can do something this year um I think it was actually early in
The season I think we think we could have W like six in a row maybe I think and um or maybe it was like four or it’s either four or six but like we knew if we done if everyone done their job we knew that we could um go a long way um
We yeah we it it I guess I wouldn’t say it clicked it’s just like we all knew like if we done our small jobs um then we we gave everything the best chance to win the game and I know like shaie had h hly his best year like
Dead set his best year but um yeah we knew if everyone done their own job got everything sorted then yeah we sweet so I think it’s yeah maybe we won four games in a row but um yeah we just all knew that we had something building there then yeah man I’d tell
You what like playing at Mount Smart in full crowd it was yeah it was crazy like running out lights to it was like a little light show it’s just like everyone singing their song it was honestly it’s actually probably the best Stadium to play at like yeah I’m
Actually I’m really I’m really excited to go back there just to see the crowd and I know it’s going to be weird being on the opposite side and um in their wage sheds but now I’m excited to go back there it will be cool yeah I loved
Playing at Mount smart I really did look I did I play that well at Mount smart probably not um but I’ve got a good memory of it maybe the fans don’t they got a [ __ ] memory of it they didn’t love me playing at Mount smart um no I love
Playing at Mount smart I think I don’t know there it’s just a very unique ground like it’s it’s a big big enough capacity to make it feel big um but it’s not it’s not a typical Stadium I don’t know if it’s been upgraded since I played but that’s what it felt like to
Me yeah it’s I think it holds I don’t know maybe 27 then they had an All Blacks game versus um South Africa and they put um where the hill was they put more seedings there so it made it like I think it was like 30 31,000 but me that
31,000 felt like 60,000 like the crowd was just always in it and um yeah I don’t know it’s it’s a hard like when other teams went there I was actually thinking like man this is like would be one of the worst trips for him like you’re always going there it’s either
Raining or if you play 8:00 game and like where their stadium is it’s like all in like industrial area so um yeah it’s a it would be a hard trip but um now I’m on the opposite side so I’m excited to um experience it from the
Other side I remember like in the 20’s days you’d fly in the day before then fly out straight away but um yeah it’s a bit different um 20 the NL so um shout out to what makes the stadium so good what is it the Joker what’s m smart Joker smart Joker
Spal boys Spider Boys spal man yeah any other people we got a shout out to in the stadium shy the oh yeah the shy bloke he got in trouble I know outrageous I was going about to say un Australian but very unwi unwi um yes so anyway so you win those
Games uh I guess what like seeing a guy like Shawn Johnson what I love about joh Shawn Johnson’s journey is that if you had have seen him at the start of his career I don’t think many of us would have said by the end of his career he’s actually
Going to be a completely different player and almost like uh a puppet master you know of creating space around him without his footwork is actually he’s he’s thinking he’s um yeah he’s honestly I don’t how to explain him bro he he he can see a play before a play I
I I don’t know it just he made my job easy so I actually like um yeah it’s probably two years now like I literally when he got the ball I knew was what he was going to do and when he knew what I was going to do so um I think that’s why
We had that good combination with each other like he trusted me I trusted him if he told me to get somewhere I’m getting there showed away but um yeah I don’t know man he’s just he he made he probably made the year easier last year
Because he was going so good but um yeah man he the the small stuff he does around the game like guiding the team around kicking game but like just like I don’t know getting the Left Post and we’re setting up for a for a um shape
Out the back there and just right he’s just I don’t know man he’s just freakish yeah it was so good to watch and like what an incredible well-rounded career like you you can almost watch two versions of Shawn Johnson you can go and watch the highlights of him leading the
Team round final and go mate this guy is but the downside of a guy like that usually is they they rely on that for the rest of their career so when they get older they can’t do it because they’re not as explosive whereas what’s beautiful about Sean Johnson is he just
Went okay so I’m not as physically explosive so I’m just going to completely round out my game in the other side I just think it’s so cool so cool okay so you’re go you’re on the run you make the top four the first final against penrith what was the feeling
Like going into that now and I don’t want to be I’m not trying to be disrespectful to anyone but going into it because I think Sean Johnson obviously pulled out before the game injured yeah um I guess the feeling from a fan myself I was kind of like the
Warriors going into this maybe thinking thinking towards week two but I’d like to know what really you guys were thinking heading into such a big clash in pen yeah so um shaie Newcastle game he got oh no not the Newcastle game the I don’t know whoever vers round 24
Or whenever the season finishes um yeah tweaked his C and um he was like a yes and no like it was he was training oh he didn’t actually train with us a whole week then the following week when we was leading up to pen um he he done a bit
Just by himself but he done Captain’s run then um he just yeah he just he just didn’t pull up good he just he said not like I’d rather not play than get halfway through halfway through the game and say if we did lose then he’s out for week
Two of the finals so um yeah he just said not like I’m just going to pull the pin boys but then you also had walks there which is he’s yeah he’s a freak himself but um yeah we we also had that combination with walks and te um they
Always played with each other and um throughout the year and yeah we honestly we had full faith like we had um Captain round remember to who just like M like boys don’t um don’t put your heads down like we we can still win this like 100%
And to be fair we’re actually going Toe to Toe with them um at the start uh we made a couple mistakes but I think that’s just um I know we’re just kind of overplaying instead of like just doing our job but um yeah we had full faith
Let into it obviously we knew shaie was out and um yeah he’s a big loss but um we had full faith in Te and walks um to do the job as well so was it the Newcastle game or was it which game did you dislocate your finger with was it a
TR saer or pulling a guy back into the try try line which name was that that was the week two of the finals yeah okay so so I’ll get to that um okay so you you you lose to penrith and then it’s like the pressure cooker of not only is
It elimination game it’s an elimination game you know at Mount smart and rightly or wrongly unfairly if you were to lose that game it would end on such a bitter note for New Zealand even though that’s so unfair you got to week two of the finals what was that pressure like that
Week building into it um I don’t think we actually had like we didn’t feel like oh we didn’t look at it as an elimination game obviously we knew it was like do or die but we actually looked at it as like a just a normal game like we said [ __ ]
We’re here back at Mount smart like this is probably the like perfect scenario like going into the crowd playing in front of our hometown like we haven’t been in finals for I don’t know whatever six years or whatever it is then um yeah it’s probably like the perfect um
Situation scenario and we just all said like just looked at each other in the eye and just said like let’s let’s do it he then um yeah man we went out there and freaking that was incredible because the week before Nei had almost like you know nearly crumbled because of the
Pressure of a home ground um whereas you guys didn’t you guys looked like you were almost not almost you were definitely playing better because it was the pressure of a home ground yeah right that like I said before for that crowd was like the crowd just on the back of
Us like you can honestly feel it on the field like you can they do not stop from the siren to the finish a like it’s it’s crazy and um yeah all the people that you said like even them spiderwire people like they you run out and like
You just see this big row red in Spider-Man kit like I was actually running out laughing I’m just like man like this is actually so sick hey but um no yeah honestly um yeah the crowd puts a lot pressure on the way teamate like it’s just um it’s so hard to gain that
Momentum when you’re the way team playing yeah obviously week two of the finals about playing at Mount smart it’s 8:00 at night and you got the crowd like absolutely just riding you so no it was cool man we um yeah we we we um stuck to
Our process that game and um yeah we bloody killed itday it’s uh yeah that was an absolute Clinic I know knew we kind of bounced back in the second half to a degree but it was it was probably your best performance for you as a team
Uh so yeah I guess the sign goes your win and what’s that feeling like you know you’re about to head to Brisbane to play the the mighty Brisbane Broncos it was a relief but also like it was exciting he like we’re just like oh my God like we’re one game away from the
Grand Final like you think that but then you can’t think that at the same time yeah but um yeah once that signed went we’re just like all right we got another week in here then um yeah man it’s yeah all the boys was just happy as they
Mainly to get the win in front of them in front of the crowd and um yeah that I know the country was behind the worriors that year and um speaking of the country being behind you what was the craziest thing that you can remember going wow like this is next level of
Support um oh just everything man like you go to the shops and like your shop would be like an hour shop because everyone’s just like it’s so cool like everyone’s coming up to you asking for photos and just talking to you but um yeah the support we actually got outside
Of the actual ground um yeah it was mad it was mad I tell you what made me was when they were getting blind tattoos that’s when I was like whoa oh yeah that’s right and what the hell is going on no that’s right yeah that was crazy
We um that was all over social media and all the boys were just like man that’s actually that’s actually he even like even when we versed Brisbane um and we went to sunle we had like a bay just like these Corner that um it was just
Loud as like there was I don’t know how many people there were but like brisban sun Corp Stadium’s just to brisan Fan it’s so hard to play there but we had this one corner that just supported us and like you could honestly hear them yeah I think when earli in the year um
It could have been Sha’s 200th game for the club they had they played par at par stadium and um I was suspended and they reckoned when they were actually out on the field like the Warriors fans were out cheering like the I remember that game
Who was that the Titans no that was par game the happen at the Titans game the tit game you literally were out cheering I’ve never heard a home team run on the field and get booed bro there is so many kiwi on the goal Coast is actually a
Joke yeah I know we need to look into that [ __ ] cuz he’s a taking over my hometown we ran out and it was like the loudest cheer and Titans ran out and it was like they proper got booed I was like oh my God what is going on bro that
Actually was insane like you would hear calls and usually like the call would like a cheer would come out but it was like a boo and you’re like bro Titan just got like a you know a call for him or whatever so yeah that was actually
Wild and shows you the one thing that um that I you know obviously was a shorts St at the Warriors but one thing I’ll give him if you’re going bad the Warriors fans it’s tough it’s tough yeah you know about it trust me but if you good it is unbelievable support that’s
So sick it’s um I don’t know you kind of I don’t you kind of feel like Gods over there but like without sounding like cocky or anything like you um the fan base I don’t know like they just kind of rev you up that much where you just like
Go out there each week and just want to pretty much play the game obviously because of yourself and you want to win but also you pretty much got a whole country behind you um you want to do them proud as well like there was Union people that’s when like all blacks lost
A couple games or something there was Union people converting over to rugby league to watch us play like um yeah the numbers we got from obviously Union 2 league was I think was big man yeah absolutely I remember so cuz the year before I went there I think they made
The prum or they went really well and so our trial match got a bigger crowd than the Orland Blues round one match or something like an actual it was yeah so it’s just crazy just crazy um okay so yeah the game you roll into the Brisbane game you know Brisbane they’re
Such an interesting I’d assume they’re an interesting team to do video on because you watch the video of the highlights you’re going holy like what do we how the how do we stop that but at the same time they make a lot of Errors so you can grind them out of games what
Was it like heading into that game um yeah we we knew what we actually up against so obviously you got their forward pack Patty fla pay um we just said if we if we can um take it to them then we we got a good chance then you
Got the outside backs obviously Jesse Arthurs waly um Ezra man just like all the fast people and we pretty much just said if we stay in our system in defense then we won’t have an issue and I remember leading into that game we we trained we actually trained pretty
Good um then obviously flew over there um came game day we’re all pumped and we’re all pretty Cal um I’m heading into the game i’ never heard a bus be so quiet in my life like really it was like um you just knew like everyone was on
Yeah it’s on and I don’t know it’s bit weird for me cuz like on game days like you got people listen to music and full serious but um on game day I’m pretty chilled man like I I like to mck around or not muck around but like have a bit
Of laugh like just um like I’ll think about football when I’m putting my socks on y but to lead up to that I’m just like all um just try to stay calm like obviously think about my job a little bit but I don’t to play the game before I actually
Play the game so um yeah I was I was actually probably pretty quiet that game because I um not that game that late up to that game because I just knew like how intense like the boys were and how serious they were and um yeah so we
Actually started strong we I remember we were leading maybe 10 n or something I remember D took that intercept um and yeah we actually we actually rattled them then I don’t know just our errors man just got us and look for well a pass that was allegedly forward I’m not going
To say it’s forward I’m not going to say it was forward but I mean look I understand people’s perception that it might have gone forward when when that happened me were you like what the hell is going on like what I don’t know man I I I don’t know
If to say something or know because I’ll probably get in trouble but yeah okay fair enough I’ll sad for you that was so forward as a joke I I feel like everyone knows it’s just but like man what can you do you can’t take it back um but
Well we needed I don’t know that was probably yeah momentum change that that play the momentum change but also on the back of that we um we should have just I think we held on to that moment for another 10 minutes and it just yeah it
Just crumbled on us we we didn’t go all right well you know what that’s happened um what’s our next job now obviously uh we kick it down keep him in their 40 make him kick out but um yeah we probably held on to that moment which
Was yeah it was crap but what can you do it happen you can’t change anything so um so obviously you loser that game what what did Webby say to you boys um you know after that game um [ __ ] all the boys are actually rattled day um because
We knew we knew we could have beat him um we knew we let ourselves down um just like out errors and just yeah that like that moment you know what I mean um but off the back of that he just said man like I’m so proud of you boys like you
Know this is our first year um we we we it’s our first year we got next year to build yeah and um we came from 15th to fourth so um yeah all all the boys all the boys were down um pretty [ __ ] feeling but then we kind of
Just said you know what now we build to next year so um yeah all the best to him and see he’s round whatever round we have so when did the discussion start for you because what and we spoke about it a bit on the podcast it seemed like
It it was so interesting your I guess um your season because you were good enough to be in the starting s but every you would sometimes start you would sometimes come off the bench when what was the reason for going to the Bulldogs and when did that start I guess
Discussion start yeah look um I everyone says like I had a good season but um I reflected on my season I even said it Midway through the season I didn’t have my best season obviously had some stuff going on outside of football um that probably affected me a fair bit then
Once that got over it I just yeah I just I tried my best but honestly I just for me I know personally I didn’t have my best season um I put uh my 2022 season when I was playing lock second row um that’s probably my standard where I
Wanted to play I was playing pretty much 80 minutes um most games and um getting the ball making I don’t know making a lot of tackles but um yeah last year honestly I reckon my yeah it was a shits for me but um really saying that yeah I
Got a bit homesick um obviously all that stuff was happening outside of football and kind of made me realize um that there’s more actually to football like obviously I’m away from family um then also like I was coming off the bench which like I I was happy to like do my
Job but um yeah I was coming on with 20 minutes to go and man like it’s so hard like just getting like the games were done and um yeah I’d start some games and um not start so I had the season um end of season review and yeah R pretty
Much just asked me like what’s wrong and I just said bro to be honest I just want to go home mate like I said I’m not going to lie um missing family want to go home um like I don’t want to come back here if I’m going to be playing 20
Minutes like I just want to um pretty much like build myself up again I feel like I had a [ __ ] year and um I know I’m not going to be I will get that opportunity here because we got such good players like which is which is such a good thing
For the Warriors because they actually got a lot of depth which is um also yeah good thing for the coaches to have that selection issues but um just for myself I think it was the best um opportunity just to go home and um you know build
Myself up again um I always I was actually talking to sah the other day and um he kind of asked me what my intentions were for this year and obviously I told him my little goals and um big goals obviously um to play origin but then you got to do small goals I
Know if I can do my small goals achieve them um it’ll give me every opportunity to be in the talks for origan or even like hopefully make my debut for origan but um obviously I said to him like I need to play good first and play consistent football but um yeah man I
Was just I just said to him like I’ve kind of been recognized as like a he uh he plays like a boy cordner or he plays like a um I know he plays like a aai you know what I mean I kind of said to him like that’s that that’s been mad
Obviously when you first start up but um I’m kind of at the point and at the age where I want to be recognized as Josh Cen like or like how goes that Josh car not or he plays like boy cordner so yeah kind of got the to go over to um
Bulldogs had a couple other offers but I think bulldog’s probably my um best opportunity to make a stat for myself and um yeah kind of put my name back out there again and so did Webby what was his initial reaction was it mate we’d love you to stay or was it look I
Understand let’s work towards an agreement that suits us both what was the yeah he obviously said to me um yeah he he would love me to stay um he he didn’t want to see anyone leave but um I kind of said to him yeah we we he
Actually went away and kind of thought about it he’s like all right you know what you probably we can do a mutual agreement if you can find somewhere where you’re happy then um I’m going to stop you yeah so yeah it’s all part and parcel football it’s a [ __ ] thing
Obviously like i’ would love to stay back in NZ for another year um cuz I hate leaving contracts early I’m kind of been loyal but um yeah honestly there’s some things you just got to do for yourself and um um yeah what I done I put myself first and I’m close to the
Family and I’m happy now man like I was happy don’t get me wrong I was happy over there but it’s just I don’t know there’s so much more to football um outside of football yeah for sure it’s um I think you’re better off having the conversation early than going oh I want
To be loyal so I’m just going to stay but I’m going to be unhappy and play crappy footy um now it’s a different you know conversation if you can tell the club is you know wants you to move on then it’s then you both just have a chat
And you’re going sh away pretty much pretty much trust me um but I guess you know you’re better off as I said you’re better off giving you know Webby or the club honesty as quickly as possible because then they can prepare for the future um so signing with the dogs was
That why did you sign with the dogs um oh probably because I I know I probably got the best opportunity there to um make a statement obviously they’re going for a rebuild stage they got Gus there I’ve been for a rebuild stage at the
Warriors um and yeah I know if I can get that starting spot I know I’m definitely going to take with both hands and um do whatever I can to make that statement again and what position do you like hope to play so I actually went on the market
As a lock obviously I can play lock back Rob um but yeah I said my main position is I want to be lock obviously um I want to get hands on the ball more um kind of play that third half back obviously linking with my haves um but yeah I I
Went on the market as lock was I feel like that’s probably the best position for me um then lat say later in the game um I can go into second row but um yeah Lock’s the best position for me because I like ball playing but then also I like
Um kind of just I don’t know attack kind of comes natural for me so can look up and like if I see space I’m just going to take that space straight away or um yeah I can ball play and get everything so the good thing about lock tours is
That if the ball playing or whatever is just not on at the moment you can do you can get through work you can get through tackles you know you’re just involved in the game yeah sometimes on the edge even though you’re still getting through a
Lot of work it’s you can go periods of you know pretty quiet kind of thing yeah so yeah obviously when you playing back row and um I don’t know I can play both sides but say if I’m playing right back row and all the tack goes left
Like you don’t touch the ball much or like um I don’t know they’re attacking a half for some reason so you don’t make much tackles which yeah you kind of don’t get in the game as much as you do when you’re a lock so yeah went on the
Market as a lock and um yeah I see myself as a lock I feel like I play my best footy um when I’m at lock then later in the games when um fatigue starts a kick in I can go to back row and um run the line so yeah and so you
Said you’re quite a chill you know when you go to games you’re quite chill and you know you like to enjoy yourself before the game as a young fell were you was it always footy cuz sometimes when you you get those chill players that they came to Footy a bit late you know
And they just kind of fell into it or was it always footy for you no yeah it was always footy obviously um D dad was a footy player he didn’t he never played um NRL but um he played reggies whenever back then I don’t even know what it was
Called but he got up to newers cup um he was a foster boy moved down to pen um had my brother which is 3 years older than me he started football but um apparently when I was young I used to always run away so um run away I haven’t
Heard that in 80s like I used to run away to the telephone pole on the end of the street just like I used to run a MK When I Was Young bro so like they actually used to put their phone number on my wrist like because yeah I used to
Proper run away man like um so Dad um at the age of three dad just said do know what stuff this and he actually threw me in football so I played my first football game when I was 3 years old with my brother is that was that to get
Energy out of you yeah just to get energy out of me cuz um I used to always go with Dad into the dress and shed um and apparently like whenever there was a footy game on I used to always run on the field when I was young and um yeah
Dad just said you know what stuff this and just going to throw into football freaking know I don’t remember when I was s but um yeah so I played my first game of football when I was St I was just around football since I was young yeah
Um yeah got to high school then kind of I didn’t drop out I done like a in school apprenticeship because I wasn’t I wasn’t a kid that enjoyed High School like I I love the sports side of it the fitness all that side of it but the actual
Learning of um sitting down and just learning stuff that I wasn’t interested in was that I struggled with that because I just couldn’t sit down for an hour learning stuff that I had no interest in which is just yeah man I tell you what when I hear people say man
High school was the best I’m like high school sucked so did Primary School school sucked I don’t know there was not a single day where I was like this is cool I was like this sucks man I think the other good day was when we actually played football right mate I never like
I don’t get the whole yeah school is so good I’m just like bro I hated school me neither I wasn’t I wasn’t a school person but um yeah I kind of didn’t did you Excel um early in League or did it take a while no I was I was um I was a
Freak when I was young um yeah I kind of was one of them kids that um stood out yeah I stood out without sounding cocky and that I actually well you did end up playing in a rle so it’s kind of true I um yeah I stood out when I was young and
Um yeah obviously I was a par Junior um some stuff happened over there then uh went to roosters obviously uh roosters came on board they offered me a 3 contract fulltime and um I idolized boy cner and um yeah it was a no-brainer I Rob said that um like I boy cner would
Kind of like take me on his wing and just like I just i’ said yes sh away when that contract came through I was like 100% I’m gone yep so were you a roosters fan going up or what who was your yes I was a roosters fan because I
Love boy I said oh really I just like every everything he how he defended how he attacked um yeah I just took everything what he done and just tried to put my game he he honestly went out to every game and played like his heart
On his sleeve like yeah he yeah he you could literally see how hard he played cuz he would come off the field and he just looked so exhausted so um yeah that’s kind of um the way I base my game is around him it’s funny because a lot of people
Forget Boyd C’s early career he was like an attacking weapon on the edge and by the end of his career he was known for his toughness and getting through the hard yards but mate at the start of his career he was a weapon on the edge and
He was obviously still a weapon um when he retired but he he was the heart and soul of all the tough stuff whereas when he was younger he was their attacking weapon yeah just the way you ran the holes um yeah he he was a freak man
Still the best line runner in the modern era in my opinion 100% 100% right him and Ki their combos crazy man imagine being a center or a wide running forward or half just looking up seeing boy Conner going on no inside shoulders getting ripped off
Today yeah um um do you he actually had his first NRL trial as a 16year old yeah I know I heard this he I’ve heard the story about that yeah um apparently yeah he went down or something and they yeah they said yeah you’re playing or
Something yeah 16 years old killed it as well yeah 16 I think it’s out at penth 16 crazy holy um okay so but let’s take back to the teenage years did you make the rep sides in that yeah so um yeah made all the rep sides um 14s Haram mats SJ B
20s um then yeah I obviously back the school I went to uh Patrician Brothers they kind of had a rule you can’t play 20s unless you play school football oh really and um I was yeah I was in a school person but I wanted to complete
School but without doing my HSC yeah so I done a in school apprenticeship so I actually done Plumbing so I was um I was pretty much much Plumbing all week but if we had a school game I’d go for training then um go play football then
Pretty much go back to Plumbing the next day what so you pretty much weren’t at school yeah but I still completed school yeah yeah um but yeah um done pretty much done my apprenticeship I still got like a year left on the tools uh when I finish so did you complete your
Apprenticeship the entirety of it yeah so I’ve completed the taste um part the Practical part I still got just one more year left of just like just ticking off stuff like you reckon you could go back and do it now oh bro it’s I haven’t done
Plumbing in ages but then we saying that like um it kind of just like if I’m doing it like I’ll kind of still pick up on it but like say I haven’t I haven’t done Plumbing in I know since 20 2019 or 2020 oh no would have been yeah 2018 was
My last year boy any boys ask you for some cashies I honestly wouldn’t do it I dead set like I wouldn’t do it because I bro it’s been that long I kind of like forget all everything yeah for sure no I did um my electrical apprenticeship like
I don’t know would be like 8 years ago now and I got to the last year as well and then obvious this this started to go okay um M I couldn’t do anything but to be fair all I did my apprenti ship was pull cable so it’s like [ __ ] right it’s
Um yeah it’s definitely hard it’s not easy but um i’ if like if I had to put a toilet in I’d probably know how to do it but and the most I learned doing my appren ship was how to use like tools and [ __ ] yeah I always felt like less of
A man that I didn’t know how to do that [ __ ] Bro the honestly the worst part like it’s probably going to sound bad the worst part is your first year of your apprenticeship yeah it’s just like that it’s like that first year in football like you’re just starting up
And you’re just you’re just that new guy and you’re just like [ __ ] yeah You’ got some 40-year-old alcoholic making you walk 800 M across a work site to get a [ __ ] screwdriver bro I didn’t even I didn’t even my first year I was a plumber and I was a freaking Gardener
For my boss bro I was like doing these Hedges every day day weeding I was just doing everything at his house bro CU he was renovating his house and like everyone would go out and like actually learn how to Plum yeah but then I’m freaking he’s like yeah mate you’re with
Me today you got to um yeah you’re on the hedges bro they did the same thing to me so we when we were at TA I was um I was at the top of the grade or whatever for all the theory yeah so I’d get all the best marks for Theory but
You’d have guys there that could barely write a sentence that were way better sparkies than me were wiring up houses and that at work at work all I was doing was pull cuz like on our job site I was the youngest and fittest even though I
Was like 28 years old so they just go yeah we’ll just get you to carry do all the hard [ __ ] like the physical labor BR I didn’t learn anything even though it was a good comany to work for it was a good comedy but I did literally didn’t
Know learn anything yeah right it’s just um I don’t know it’s that first year well I did it for [ __ ] I was a piece of [ __ ] for a few years maybe it was me maybe I was a problem um anyway so you make a so you’re at the eels you’re
Going through the eels um junior system why didn’t you know that you know I guess why didn’t you end up staying in the E system and you went to the roost instead um yeah like I said boy coordin like honestly when um so pretty much I had they offered me
A training oh not training child they offered me a preseason with NRL when I was in 20s and but if I didn’t train I wouldn’t have got paid then rers came on with threeyear deal fulltime um boy boo would take me on Wing um just guide me
Around show me and I was just like well training uh pretty much training trial fulltime if I don’t uh try I don’t get paid or I got to throw you deal with my ID like I’m taking take every day the week then um yeah some stuff went down
It kind of went um Rocky when I said yeah I’m signing cuz I still had another year there but I wanted to finish that year but then it just yeah it didn’t happen it just went yeah downhill real bad but then um as in you the e relationship just kind of soured quickly
And yeah yeah yeah so um then I kind of got stuck in like this little hole where I wasn’t actually really doing much but I was still contractor to eels and um roosters wanted me get there like get me over there like straight away to play 20s and
Um they just weren’t releasing me then um Nick patus came on board and uh my dad told me like Nick pus is like talking to people and I didn’t know who Nick pus was so I wasn’t a big like like I don’t really know like much football
People and um I was just like oh who who’s that then dad’s like you serious bro I was just like oh like yeah like who who is he and then um he told me then obviously yeah he he had um words and a week later I got a realas no way
But then yeah obviously now know who Nick pus is king of NRL yeah um so do you remember maybe not necessarily first preseason with the first grade but what what’s your biggest memory from your first preseason of when you’re rocking up going wall um so I actually so yeah I
Played 20s first so I done uh cuz I was still in 20s I had uh I took that 2017 contract and um I trained with 20s first um but we had a stack teamate we proper had a stack team and um there was I kind of done a couple I remember my very
First session um with grade they said a couple 20 boys are going to come up and train with us and um I remember my first session I was like all right this is like probably my first opportunity I actually I can really make a like kind
Of just show them what I can do I remember I was running like this line and I don’t know it just bro this Gap just opened up and I just took this Gap and py hit me and like I don’t know they just oh they like oh [ __ ] like and um as
Then you were surprised that that like from the contact from PC or you surprised that you got through the Gap no like that I I was surprised like I got through the Gap like it’s just um yeah py hit me with the ball so he hit
Me with the ball and like I just ran this line bro yeah and um yeah that was pretty cool but then that next year I started full-time yeah and um yeah I kind of just um took it with both hands and I kind of just was watching boo the
Whole pretty much the whole preseason see what he was doing how was there any moments of um you know the physicality of first grade training the the wrestling where you’re like oh [ __ ] I remember Jared he he always has this like if you’re a new guy he’ll just
He’ll come at you like your very first training session he’s coming at you with all these bumpers and I just remember I just brace and just like hit him in the rib um I remember I hit him and he kind of he knocked it on and um after that he
Was just yeah I think it’s just like a see if you’re going to sock or if you’re going to have a dig yeah pretty much so um yeah after that he was um obviously still freaking ran at me but yeah I kind of guess he just sees like if you’re a
Dog or not yeah um okay so you’re your TR your try um training with the roosters um and you make your debut in 2019 do you remember how that all come about yeah so um we’re going down to Melbourne and Robo came up to me and
Said M I’m just going to take you down to experience it be 18th man and I was like yep sweet like sounds good no worries and um Sami verel was debuting that game as well but he got told early and um went home told Mom and Dad
Like um going down with the team ring 18th man um and they’re like all right so we’ll book flights and I was just like oh no it’s all good like they just it’s literally just yeah 18th man it’s for experience they just want me to um
Kind of build myself up into it just experience how game day works how it just all works and um went down to Melbourne and uh my roommate was sewa and he went to sleep I remember I was just like I I just sucking up man I
Was just like well this is like so like so sick like traveling with the boys just being around the boys even having dinner I was just like looking around like man this is this is crazy you this is so this is 2019 so this is second
Year they won the comp yeah yeah wow and I was just like man this is dead set crazy then um yeah game day came around see I woke up with a bad back and um um lamby was 19th man you were rooming with sewa and he woke up with a bad back and
You were 18th man look something’s look I’m not going to accuse anyone of anything but um lamby was 19th man and he’s already played like a couple NL games and um I didn’t really think of it and like bro proper could like got up and just I don’t know what
Happened it just could not move me and I was just like man like you’re all right like and like I didn’t even think about like any of it I was just like so delirious bro I’m just still like soaking up like freaking this is so sick
Then Robo came up to me and just said um mate sewa’s like got a pretty bad back if he’s like not sweet you got to debut and I was just like oh yeah sweet like no worries mate like sounds good and like I just like like you’ll be sweet
Like it’s an NRL game against Melbourne and um he came up to me as well so he’s like bro my back’s pretty bad he like just be ready M he goes I’m going to have like an afternoon nap and see how I pull up and I was just like oh [ __ ] like all
Right maybe if he’s telling me this maybe something’s actually going on here then um I got to the stadium I’d messaged mom and dad i’ sent it in the group chat I was just like you wouldn’t believe it I actually could be playing here and they
Were just like what like you serious I was like oh yeah like my head’s going all over the place at the moment then we got to the stadium in and um I walk out like just in the shed and that I walk out to field first time being at Amy
Park and I was like w this is pretty mad like six Stadium obviously you got the freaking sea gos on that one end and I was like oh yeah this is this is mad then sewa comes up to me he goes oh goes pretty mad Stadium a and I was like yeah
Sick man like this is like this is epic he goes yeah freaking um so sick to play at and I was just like yeah bro it would be mad but I didn’t like still didn’t think of anything of it and um I remember just like walking around went down to the shed
Robber came up to me pulled me aside he goes M you going to be debuting and my first I didn’t know what to say I was just like oh like yeah and it’s just all like I just all sunk in and I was just like first thing I said to myself I was
Like I said to him I was like oh man like thank you so much and I said but I was like my mom and dad like I need to tell them cuz like we had our phones off he goes oh not Hardy um it’s already on the phone to him apparently dad was
Crying on the phone that but um yeah I remember I went up to like none of the boys knew that was debuting before the um they got told on the team talk but none of them knew before that I was going up to KI and I was just like bro
Like what’s this set like what what do I got to do here and that and he’s just like looking me he’s like bro why the hell are you ask me all these questions then um obviously they got told on the team talk he goes well that makes sense
He goes bro you should have just told me cuz I’m thinking you’re 18th man like asking me these question absolute punished like yeah and I’m just like oh bro then um yeah bro freaking ran out there and um bro my best mate that I used to go to gym with
Like I used to use his gym when um I was living out west he was down for a box no way and he bro they had like a big it was day two they had a big Saturday yeah and I told him I’m debuting and he goes
I had I had like three tickets he goes bro send me one of them tickets I promise you I’ll be there and buto he was he was the only person there cuz he was on a box I don’t know just worked out like crazy mad that’s mad and um bro
He was so wasted you could just you he was just he was like a proper prayer dad bro you could hear him in the stand just like I remember I was um ran out on the field like for warm like for warm up and
Um I was just like I could hear him and I seen him and like I turned around bro and I went to like do like a little shuttle but as I turned I slipped over like no oh no but um yeah man it was sick it it um build up I think I
Play like 15 minutes that game but um I remember my first Carry I got the ball and I looked up I had Jesse bromage Kar Smith and um and Nelson and I was just like oh that is not good that’s like honest that could be arguably the three worst blocks
You could maybe ever run out even if you win the contact K’s going to win the wrestle I was like oh no then I was just like I had I had that much adrenaline through me I just ran it straight at them and um T went went good and
Nelson’s big boot bro he freaking kicked the ball but got called a knock on I was just like oh damn it oh so oh you first R you knocked on but it was he kicked the ball out of your hand yeah but they just oh no they um still caught a knock
On all the boys got around me and um yeah n it was mad bro it was just like was this the onepoint game yeah that’s when TR kicked like a freaking 45 meter field goal from like was that on the F for that oh bro it was crazy I remember
Um yeah first game and freaking going to Golden point I’m just like I knew I wasn’t going to get on but I was just like still like I was like this is so sick like this is like this like couldn’t be like a better debut you know
What I mean yeah um then try kicked the field goal and um yeah we all went up and started cheering man bro that that field go from LOL when you actually go back and look at lol’s career it is actually insane right he’s yeah he’s got
The biggest boot on him like to think of a we take it for granted that a guy as big and as athletic and explosive as him can also ball play and kick like a a half that’s tiny like I’m trying to think of another player like even even
GI he still had ball playing but he wasn’t kicking no like he like tr’s for tr’s ball play is like as good as a 6 any6 in the comp he’s um he’s cut out balls man he can just it’s a bullet it’s unbelievable um what was it like um
Playing with a guy like kuer Kon seeing how he you know prepares and that no it was it was cool bro it was um I remember when I dropped that boy he he came up to me and just said um he goes mate like don’t worry about it’s your first run
Like you’re playing NRL he pretty much just spoke to me bro he just like I remember because I was stress I was just like so angry that I dropped the ball and he bro he said a couple words to me and just made me come he’s just like all
Right next job bro like it’s all right yeah happens and um I was just like oh [ __ ] all right let’s defend now but um yeah I remember just yeah I was lucky enough to play with cops um Jared um and also like Boo like it was yeah yeah it
Was so sick it’s uh it’s interesting how like different processes for different teams like I remember when I was coming through the Bronx if you dropped a ball your first run you’re not getting that it’s okay bro you’re getting that you what are you doing your bums um and look
Maybe that’s a a bad thing I don’t I don’t know but it is different how like different clubs de have different uh types of leadership yeah um cuz like what you want to hear is from the senior player which is you want to hear him say
It’s all good cuz if he comes to you and says bro what the [ __ ] you doing you’re even you’re even more rattled um yeah okay so yeah you make your deboo for the roosters um I guess I guess what was the decision for because then were you all
Part of the extended Squad at all for the Grand Final or you kind of you made your debut and then you went back into resi’s yeah so I made my debut then um yeah went back into Reggie um um then but they had like I kind of had to think
About it they had boy cordner Angus cryden satii Nat Butcher and I was like the fifth string yeah um second rower so I was just like uh a couple weeks later Warriors that’s when Warriors came on board so I um went back to reggies for a couple weeks and um Warriors came on
Board and but I literally I got told on the when was it I got told on like a Friday and I had to make a decision before Sunday as in Warriors to move yeah to move countes to go to Warriors and I was just like bro first like
Living with mom and dad first time moving away from home yeah moving 3 hours away I had like a literally 48 hours to make a decision and bro it was probably one of the most stressful 48 Hours of my life like i’ literally gone to bed like not being able to sleep just
My mind’s running through it then um yeah I pretty much made a decision to go over there bro yeah and was it because of opportunity yeah it was because of opportunity again and um I got a couple more games that I think I played maybe five games that year of a
Reserve grade of NRL NL so um yeah went over there and uh in oh then you played for the the Warriors yeah yeah okay um yeah went over there and in total probably played one one NRL for Roosters and four games at year with Warriors
Just to yeah okay get a um little taste of it and they said 2020 was going to be like pretty much the year where they want me to excel yeah then yeah and then Co hits then Co hits bro and so when Co hit did you come back to Australia could
You or you could get the country so we were um I don’t know I don’t remember cuz we had that there was like six how long how many weeks off there was like six to8 weeks off or something like that was there did it hit oh hit round one
Eight yeah like around round one or two and then and then everyone had like 6 to 8 weeks off around that did you head home in that or did you stay in stay New Zealand so what happened so the whole preseason I was um training his back row
And bro literally about 3 weeks out or oh no four weeks out from round one bro ping my cough oh okay and I’d done it like i’ done the cus and um but I was just like no way like this is not happening and um I remember I just tried
Everything to get back remember the week of it um I had to run and um I just dead said couldn’t run so I didn’t get picked for round one and um that’s when Co started happening I remember the boys stayed they played round one then I think they
Played yeah they played round one then they played round two against CRA at seabs and that’s when everything got shut down yeah okay for about yeah eight weeks and so they did they fly back to New Zealand then so they flew back to New Zealand then um yeah we’re just like
Like what the hell’s happening so what was that that for like for you person cuz you’re over in a you know everything’s locked down you can’t leave the bloody house you got no family no you got mates but relatively new makes like six seven months old M oh well my
Best mate that was um at the roosters with me in 20s he was at Warriors Jacko fry so I was living with Jacko fry and K Lorden so it was actually like yeah I still had like people there if I was living by myself yeah it would have been
Terrible but um yeah I had I had my two best mates there so it made it um we just yeah it was easy but we’re just like what like what the hell’s happening like the game just got caught off for n or 8 to n weeks and we were just like
Freaking it was just all up in the air bro then um we were still training but I remember we couldn’t actually train together such a weird time thinking about it now oh man so bizarre like and that we actually you know you think about the crazy you know the Spanish flu
Or all the crazy things that happened over 100 years ago like bro we went through that [ __ ] like we we went through our own version of this like biz are I know it’s just yeah I don’t know it’s weird but then um we yeah we pretty much had
To the Warriors had to pretty much move the everything um to Oz but their Partners I remember their Partners couldn’t come so bro we I Reon I’ve moved about 15 times over the last moving is torture oh it’s honestly if I capture a prisoner War I’m just
Going to make him move each week right honestly I’m I’m over like I dead set over the moving ra um okay so yeah you you moved to to Australia for the rest of thing did you guys stay in Sunny Coast no so we um we actually we moved
To tenorth bro for um I that was a year after no we went to terle Bro Sor so we we went to terle um went to terle played the year there then um I remember preseason like that following preseason hit I think we went terrible that year um but the
Following preseason hit and um but we had to do a split preseason so like all the Aussies um had to move to Kama and we pretty much trained there there was about like 10 of ice not a bad spot though K yeah it was cracker bro but um
Yeah there’s about 10 of us training in um Kaya then there was all the NZ boy still training at like the facilities and that okay and um we’ve pretty much done a split preseason up to January then we all moved to tenorth Bro all right and um were you filthy you didn’t
Get the sunny Coast Resort no bro we got um we got Goldie man Goldie’s all right oh but you were in bro it’s still stories coming trust me really okay let us know let us know then um yeah we moved to we moved to um tor done
Preseason there then that’s when um we moved to terle Y uh for round one then we had to go to they moved everyone up do remember how they moved everyone up to uh Queensland so we moved up to Queensland stayed um what would we say
Um I don’t know saved with all the teams but we were on the we were based on the goie q1 or something maybe I don’t know no it was next to the um oh it’s next to a golf course Palms Meadow or something yeah okay the res there but um yeah we
Had like us Raiders bulldogs souths and power there and bro it was so awkward cuz like you ver a team yeah and um you come back and see each other and you’re just like oh man this is like weird that is so weird that is um bro we
Pretty much halfway got through the year then we moved to uh Warriors moved to Soul but in Surfers but they didn’t realize Soul behind it is kav AB bro oh no yeah so um yeah 2021 was a pretty pretty much a big year like we we
Playing then um yeah going out and that so um it was a good time like it was a good time yeah bonding but yeah footy footy was pretty tough but then um after after we done you had the opportunity to go back to um to go back to New Zealand
But then they gave us for 2022 they gave us a date we had to be back so it could have been I know 10th of November you have to be at training y so but when the like when the year finished they said you can stay out soul for another 6
Weeks then you have to find your own place up in Brizzy your own like um accommodation cuz we set ston like we got to stay there for the whole year um it’s pretty much you got to find your own place just so like you we’re not
Always together was bro like I love the boys but it just got too much you got to get out of yeah you got to get away from them 100% you got you having dinner with them then freaking seeing them the next day like just constantly always seeing
Them bro yeah which is like it’s mad but then you just but you just need your own space like it’s it gets too it’s too much it’s too much bro too much way too much but um yeah so they said like you have to be at training before the 10th
Of November but you got the soul for another 6 weeks after the com finished so how many boys took that out majority of them season was big bro wow it was a big off season yeah wow it was um oh this would have been wal she yeah walshy Kane
Evans um whoopsie but we had yeah now we know now we know yeah we had we had um yeah offseason was good it was mad loved it with the boy M staying in service Paradise paid for yeah not bad mainly at the solbo we’re like level freaking 15 it’s like I
Don’t know there’s like 30 levels there yeah and like all the boys like were level 15 16 one of the boys was like level freaking 28 or something oh that’s mad so um yeah no it was definitely sick Bro and like surface is like so dirty but like
It was just so convenient because like literally our hotel’s here and Kev ABS right there so it we just like Yeah Bang Bang like surface used to be the spot in and now now it’s mainly for tourists and like if you’re hard clubbing yeah um it
It so used to be service then it moved to Broad now it’s moving to Burley yeah and it’ll probably move maybe South again but or it could go back up the other way yeah um well they just surface open that club that day club or something 11:00 a.m. or something yeah
It’s weird man that is not like there is not a single part of me that wants to be in a club at yeah at 10 10 a.m. in the morning it has to bro it has to be underground like proper underground little even that it’s just like yeah I’d
Rather be if look if I’m kicking on one of the boys hous is like backyard definitely not in the in the pits of the in the belly of the beast in surface bro imagine just walking like around like and you just got people coming out like
Of that club just at like 10:30 just looking Dusty as like little freaking yuck Gremlin yeah um okay yeah so you know we’ve already spoken about the incredible so 2022 though you um well it was your best year but also round seven youed have a record 71 70 to
10 losss what was that like to experience that cuz that is wild stuff yeah so 2022 that’s when um we’ve been through some coaches and we I think we were on to our third coach we had brownie that year so we had Steven Cy 2021 then we had toddy Peyton that took
Over when he got sacked yeah then 2022 was um Brownie and um at the start of preseason um he kind of pulled me aside and just said mate like pull your head in or piss off yeah okay and I was just like yeah I was just like well [ __ ] I
Need to start doing something here right cuz I just can’t be doing this I need to make a living but then also need to yeah I’m here to play football not freaking party yeah but um yeah 2022 was yeah he pulled my head in I remember I played
Cup for the first six rounds I think or five rounds and brownie always said to me he goes mate once you get your defense right I promise you you’ll be in the team and I was playing golf bro like I had a call from brownie like and I
Said I was playing with Jack I was like oh bro he’s calling me like what the hell and um I answered I was like oh brownie what’s up he goes mate my bloody told you you’re in the side next week I was like I was like oh sweet mate thanks
And I was just like all right um then yeah we Anzac game bro Anzac game um Warriors versus Storm is probably one of the best games a like just a whole leadup to it um walking out minute silence um like the Anzac tradition just tribute
Um Amy Park just dead set silent um it’s all black lights you got the um the army guys there then you have the fireworks but it’s just I don’t know how to explain it man it’s just the leadup is crazy to the game yeah um but in the
Game when you’re looking up at schol so I got injured actually at Hal time so we lost so at halim bro it was it was 106 yeah then so technically I kind of lost 106 but um yeah so it was 106 I remember um I
Jumped up for a ball and done my MCL bro and honestly like mcl’s are so weird bro they feel like you like pop your ACL man it’s just [ __ ] weird and I remember I was wigging out but then um yeah I don’t know just all started crumbling for the boys like after half
Time they just storm just put freaking 70 points on us crazy crazy but you had your best year that year on the field um what do you remember the most from that year on the field um oh bro brownie just said to me he’s like mate you just go do you I
Remember he used to literally go around and like speak to all the boys before the games he’ come up to me and just go look at me and just be like just do you man and I reckon that’s probably when I play my best football when um I don’t
Get like a free reign but like when I can get just go up there oh go out there and just um pretty much just play my game just do me um that’s when I was playing lock second row so um yeah no I was I was I was loving football that
Year and then obviously at the end of the year you had your um incident um you know with the a fight what I guess I don’t want to go into detail cuz it seemed you know obviously there was a 16-year-old and all that kind of stuff but basically you were charged um I
Guess what did you learn from such a Negative experience you think yeah bro um obviously bro my uncle so one of my uncles came like we went to um Auntie’s house in Port um just for a family catch up and my uncle um he he does drink but like he never
Says like let’s go out and so he said to one of my other uncles he goes oh like should we just go out for a couple drinks and we just both looked at each other just like well we don’t get this like opportunity much like we we well
Then um yeah obviously [ __ ] went down like freaking it happened but um didn’t really think much of it then yeah everything started like crumbling obviously got charged um I was bro I didn’t like I was afraid I was going to make Bale so um I was up in uh Goldie I
Was playing golf again I got a call saying like mate like Dad called me and said um you bloody we got to fly down to mly bro you’re about to get charged with um jbh which is the worst the worst assault then I was just like oh what the hell
Then um and just so it’s from a fight we don’t have to go into detail but it’s from a fight um no no it’s not from a fight it’s okay it’s all good it’s the media man they just they love freaking stirring stuff up it’s like it’s so
Stupid bro like just the media got a hold of it and just you know the media they just freaking bloody um make stories out of nothing but yeah it’s not from a fight but um yeah bro so got charged with gbh and I was afraid I wasn’t going to make
Baale and um that’s that’s Grievous bodily harm yeah grievously bodily harm so um which is yeah the worse assault then um yeah I I remember had a fight literally got told on the Wednesday and we booked a flight for um Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. then I
Had to drive to um Manley police station and get arrested and go into the holding cell bro and um yeah I was just praying to God I got Bail because yeah it’s yeah it’s not a nice place to be bro I remember going the hold and cell and um
The to be honest the police officer was actually was um yeah it was actually very good to me um as [ __ ] as it sounds he actually tried to make it somewhat um comforting for me but um yeah once you’re in them holding cells and you freaking yeah after such a good year
Yeah it’s uh considering that silver seat cold as and all you can see is freaking three Wars and bars in front of you um yeah it’s not it’s not nice but um yeah I I think it affected me the most with just the family and just like
Friends and that just with all the media coming out and um yeah them just saying every story twisting it up and just like I Tred to tell Mom and like my family just don’t worry about media but like when it’s coming out everywhere on the newspapers and got them friends coming
To you um it does take a toll and um yeah i’ I reckon I through that whole preseason you tried not to think about it and keep your mind off it but going to sleep each night was um yeah it’s on the back of your mind and you just
Freaking you don’t know what’s going to happen so yeah um yeah played done all preseason um done everything completed not guilty then um yeah we had to go to court on January the 23rd I think it was after the Dragons game and um yeah just all happened from there just
And what was the end result for you so I played guilty um played guilty to it um some stuff happened like in court where I was just like oh what like like even like everyone’s just like what the hell like this is just so stupid but um the
Worst part is I didn’t want a criminal record so cuz I knew if I got the criminal record it would have [ __ ] me yeah that’s traveling but also with footy and um yeah didn’t didn’t get the criminal record yeah just freaking done all that got all that done
Um end up pleading guilty um so no criminal record so with the just say and people and again we don’t have to go into detail but sometimes what happens is they say look if you plead guilty you get this if you say not guilty we’re going to this
Is going to L we’re going all the like this is going all the way pretty much and so you essentially have a decision of I can cop this medicine that may be way less than the medicine that I cop yeah they get a they get their they’re
Happy you’re happy and you walk away that’s what happened so I had the two options um so we had an NRL guy there that was like listening to all of it um but yeah I had the option of I could play guilty this is what happens we
Still got to fight for no uh criminal record um so then I had to obviously don’t play guilty um and just fight it which um I was looking down that track but then also I was just like you know what like I just want to get this over
Done with a I don’t want to get up on the stand talk just because like um yeah I I would have crumbled like dead set not like crumbled in a bad way I just I remember I’ve never been so quiet in my life like just so intimidated um once
You’re in that courtroom it’s yeah it’s pretty intimidating I remember I had um had newspaper writers like literally I was sitting on these seats and they were on the other side and you can just hear a um hear a computer just typing everything he was saying I’m just like
Like freaking hell like every yeah it just was so quiet bro I just I didn’t know what to say bro I was lost of words e and um we said like if we if we fought it I just said I honestly don’t think I can speak a like I just I think also
Like if you’re fighting it it’s pretty hard to get a contract with a club if if they don’t know what is going to be the end result well they bro they could adjourn it and then freaking happens right now so I just took the medicine bro um playy
Guilty um my lawyer poor M he’s yeah Legend and I don’t ever want to see him again but dead set Legend but um yeah pormer um yeah done his job got no uh didn’t get convicted um and that was it bro it was just freaking I was in and
Out what do you reckon um what’s a positive like I know it’s such a Negative experience yeah but sometimes not sometimes for me personally even though when you’re in the bad experience when you get further away from it you look back and you go I
Actually took a lot out of that I really did what do you reckon you took out of that um bro honestly you find like you actually truly find out who your real friends are right like um obviously the media and [ __ ] they they can they can
Mix stuff up like they can go say whatever they want um but yeah that you find out who your real friends are then um yeah it’s just I don’t think I’ve ever actually been out past 12:00 anymore right like it’s just nothing good happens past 12
Like obviously it might be like later on but like bro it’s just yeah it’s not worth it um had my partner there with me she coped the yeah she coped it for a bit it was pretty hard like if I was feeling bad um just pretty much offload
Everything on to her and um yeah she copped it on the chin so it was actually I’ve been down there for a year and a bit now and um when it all came out I haven’t met a family I didn’t meet a family I was just like oh man like fames
Got to think I’m criminals bro like this was proper everywhere like when the news broke out and um yeah I pretty much just yeah pretty much if I felt like [ __ ] I’d go to her yeah and just um offload everything on to her so yeah she um
Supported me all the way and she was Yeah by my side and she knew how um R I was but yeah honestly you actually find out who your true friends are and um man it’s just something so small that just blew up but it is what it is now I
Guess anytime where you’re feeling like you you know you feel like getting a bit carried away or whatever it’ll be a really good lesson for you go you know what I’m just not even going to put myself close to that position and I’m going to focus in on footy kind yeah
100% bro so um yeah I can don’t want to make excuses but that’s yeah that was probably a big part why I didn’t have my best year last year I was focusing on other stuff outside of footy then but also we’ve saying that it did make me realize how much um there
Than just football so um yeah that’s obviously um played a big part of why I moved um to the doggies um so you’re at the Bulldogs now what’s it been like um were you cuz I actually so I well I don’t go for I
Haven’t been for a while but I go for a run um around canala yeah and I was where I happened to be at the sand Junes and I saw you boys train on the S I wasn’t there you weren’t there yet I wasn’t there bro M the boys were hurting
The boys were hurt Cur man he um his first week was he went back a week early and I had to go back the week after bro he said it was one of the worst sessions he reckons his Cal was so sore like four weeks later bro
He cuz I rocked up not when you were doing the session when the boys were walking back from the SES bro their heads were so angry so angry so funny yeah now the boys um the boy said it was hard so I actually haven’t done it SE
June bro but the worst part is like I’m proper so bad on Sand like oh really I’m like bro just luggage on Sand bro but um yeah I I haven’t done so they done for the first three weeks they done the sandunes and I came on the fourth week
So yeah I missed out s um what’s what’s the preseason being like for you are you injury free are you you know yeah touchwood uh been injury free but um no it’s good man I’m loving it day it’s they do um it’s just like bro the whole
System so s made the system up at um penr um with all the defensive um system and just everything so bro literally everything everything’s the exact same um they train at Belmore um re train at Mount smart um but I know when I first rocked up bro I know half the office
Stuff oh sorry so you’re saying it’s the same as Webby system yeah so um so when they were all that penr their defensive system um So Def uh pen defensive system Warriors defensive system and Bulldog def system are the same because it came from s s made it oh he made the system
Yeah he made the system oh wow that’s interesting so um yeah bro honestly feels like I haven’t moved clubs I actually I think once I hit trials it’ll probably and I put on the Bulldogs Jersey it would be like oh like yeah it’s actually probably sinks in but um
Yeah bro it’s I rocked up and I know pretty much um most half of the office staff which makes it easier and then like Al also the boys like you just know the boys throughout footb like you can just bond with them easily but no man loveing at day yeah
Dead loving it has anyone stood out for you that you’ve been like oh [ __ ] like yeah huy they they got this um Sam Hughes um I think he played a couple games last year but he’s like a he’s like a big Terminator man oh really but
He’s like he’s one of them guys um that just like always does something that cracks the boys up but like we all love him but he’s just bro he’s a freak he’s dead set being training the house down man he’s um been killing it bro um what
Position you play in the forwards or uh yeah lock second row bro lock second row maybe a bit of centers if I have to but um far okay so who else has kind of impressed you with that because it’s such a the dogs is such an interesting Squad cuz like
There’s so when you look at go okay all most other clubs I could predict 1 to 17 1 to 13 most likely dogs I genuinely don’t know what that 1 to3 is going to be yeah so um no it’s good man we’ve freaking been training the house down
There um it’s it’s been hard to tell like I can’t say s’s been saying like um they’re way hard schedule than they were last year but like um bro there’s 17 other teams um out there saying like they’re training the best like until you actually come to games but um yeah I
Actually can’t really say much of like what they done last year because obviously I wasn’t there but no all the boys are tring good What’s the culture feel like cuz you’ve been at the roosters when they won the premiership and obviously the Warriors last year culture was crazy What’s the culture
Like no it’s mad bro like we had a chrisy party 28 people were there it’s just like bro all the boys um like just hang out with each other like even off days like we got boys um down at canala right now um surfing that like eight of
Them um the culture is good man I was sah actually told me um the other day like this is probably the tightest culture that he’s actually seen um he just said like all the boys are Jing real good um he’s loving it so no it’s good man we just yeah obviously we been
Um the first block of preseason before December that’s just like obvious some football but like just getting C in your legs getting you ready but now that January’s hit around um we started last week um done a couple te like just testing but like now we started into
Football bro so it’s an exciting part of preseason now and it’s only a few weeks away now oh bro it’s crazy it’s gone that fast man yeah I mean it does help when like you coming back later in Pre in um pre-season but um yeah but honestly flew away those first two weeks
Of preseason like the literal first two weeks are the depths of hell oh bro you look at yourself in the mirror and just like I hate this like what is doing um is there young fellas that have really you’ve been like oh he’s you know maybe
A a player that’s played one or two games or hasn’t played in a that you’ve been really impressed with um yeah there’s a couple uh we got this Winger jell he played a couple is he the union boy the sevens bro he’s a big boy man skeleton yeah
Skon yeah big boy he’s a big boy like not like like fat big like just muscly big bro like just it’s just a big unit he’s um yeah he’s good bro he obviously he’s still trying to learn the game but um played a couple games last year and
Um yeah it’s probably the best thing he had got that experience and he’s starting to pick up on League now but yeah bro he’s he’s he big he’s good yeah um what’s it been like seeing Critter move around no he’s good man he’s crit’s Critter he um I saw a video in the
Changing room where he was doing the siren on his speaker oh bro it’s um all the boys want to take that freaking siren out but it’s mad bro he like he brings the energy into training he’s the N [ __ ] deliver he’s um he’s just he’s
It’s crazy how young he is and like what he’s already done like for the game bro it’s just freaking crazy but no he’s um a legend BR he brings out the energy and you can see his um experience on the field if you if you had odds on who brings more
No brother fox or Critter Critter Critter brings Moreno yeah no way maybe Fox is a veteran now so he’s know foxy um he does bring energy but like CR is just really holy heck is that is actually czy he takes that speaker everywhere bro and that little button he
Presses just bro he went 10 minutes straight yesterday all the boys are like yeah he’s got to stop soon just kept going kept going kept going but like bro you just it’s mad he gets all the boys up for training and um you know you you
Have a tough day and you come in the next day just like [ __ ] I don’t know how my lugs are going to move but gets you up again yeah he gets you up again I tell you what if I’m being honest if that was there when I was around the
Bronx it’s getting thrown over the highway immediately by one of the senior players yeah no it’s bro we didn’t used to actually even allowed to have music in the the the um gym when we lifted away oh stuff we had this guy called Dan Baker and he’ be like we a [ __ ] lift
Wa it’s not at a nightclub and so it was just it was sweaty stinking large men just going hard in the gym music yeah look I’m a music guy I’m a music guy but this was just like so old school bro it was so old school um but like it’s funny
How you know when from the outside looking in you you go that would be so annoying but sometimes you need even if it is annoying for the first 30 seconds then eventually you laugh and then eventually cracks the and then you sweep but he no he came in on day one he was
Um yeah he’s B full of energy man but like all the boys all the boys are legends like yeah um it just makes it so much easier moving to a different club like and just like the boys are just yeah honestly they I I feel like I’ve
Been with them for about 3 years yeah like everyone even says it even s’s like I feel like you boys have been like together for like 5 years you know like he just B real good and um I think that’s a big part of um how you play on
The field as well like bonding off the field and just like being around each other because um if you can get them close connection then um yeah you do anything for anyone man I can’t wait to see Critter play this year I cannot wait
To see what he does cuz I don’t I don’t think people realize how athletic he is like he’s a freak bro an actual freak um say so if yourself personally I guess what is the goal for 20 if everything goes perfectly you know what’s the goal for
2024 um yeah obviously um everyone goes I want to win a grand final but it’s a small stuff that leads up to it so um my first goal is obviously getting a starting spot even second row obviously um the lock I I really want that lock
Starting spot but um I know if I don’t get it um I can push for that second row spot um then just switch around in games but um yeah getting that starting spot playing um good consistent footy like I was in 2022 to um getting my name thrown
Around for origin and um I know if I can um do me and keep playing good football um hopefully yeah get the call up for origin um yeah it’s probably a dream to play for the blues um it’s just yeah you watch it um every Wednesday night and
Yeah you just I know when I watch it I just always like man I want to be out there like I want to be in the battle and in the um tough stuff so yeah hopefully play origin then um well firstly I wanted yeah make the all stars
Sorry um indigenous team that’s a mad week um yeah honestly it’s it’s the best week a yeah but um yeah following through is it in New Zealand again this year or is it Townsville Townsville yeah that would be sick it’s honestly so sick up there it gets packed and um the whole
Week going into your culture um and just yeah going out in the community just sick man it’s such a good week all the boys getting around each other it’s so um yeah it’s so cool I reckon they’ve really nailed the format of multi verse indigenous rather than indigenous verse World allars cuz
You got two people playing for more you know 100% And um yeah bro it’s it’s actually a real powerful way it’s um it’s so sick I honestly if I could play that every year like I will yeah so um no it’s cool man but um yeah obviously yeah all them
Small goals and um hopefully if I can achieve them um if I’m lucky enough get the call up for origan um then after origan yeah obviously try to make top eight if not if we can um do better then make top four um play semi-final footballs again and um yeah obviously
Everyone has that goal winning the Grand Final but you got to um do small stuff to um get there yeah now ask all the boys this favorite rapper of all time Travis Scott bro what that is the first did that threw you off look it threw me off
Because I’m an old head for one um but like I actually don’t even see him as a rapper bro I want to go to his concert man because I think he’s like beat selection and his unique like kind of like sci-fi trap is hectic it’s hectic
But yeah okay I’ll I like the UN I would like dead said I said to my Ms if he comes to Aussie I’m pain whatever to go to one of his concerts wow okay okay I was the same with the weekend and he uh postponed his oh that hurts bro so we
Actually I was trying to get the tickets on on the like whilst the podcast was live cuz you know how tickets sell out in like 2 seconds and he ended up postponing anyway I don’t even know when he’s coming I don’t even know when he’s coming so thanks we I know you’re a
Listener to this podcast BR really disappointing um no I can’t wait uh okay Travis Scott his last album what he what’s better Astro World was it asttr world yeah Astro World or his last album uh as World takes it overo it that is I I was watching his documentary and hands
Down I was just like I had this I was like you know what I actually shouldn’t play football I want to become a rapper oh that’s a bit um favorite movie of all time um oh probably taken taken yeah man that is a look you know taking two and three
It’s a messed up freaking like movie but like it’s so cool it’s so good like when he gets the phone call and he’s like I got this special set of skills and then he’s like good Lu man yeah great and I’m trying to think like
It really it felt like the first of its kind I hadn’t really and look I’m sure there’s some movie head out there that’s like bro this has been done before so fair enough but to me I had never seen yeah I’d never seen a movie like that
100% um or just I don’t know felt it felt like the first it kind of feels real bro like it does happen though but like it’s just like so messed up like yeah yeah it’s just [ __ ] up man 100% a sick movie sickest movie um mate thank
You so much for coming on brao I really appreciate and good luck in 2024 thanks for having me man boom
21 Comments
Still guttered we lost him and sironen…. But ah well can’t keep ‘em all
Bloody good dude. Gutted hes left the Wahs he was a backbone.
But…… UP THE WAHS!!!!!!
Crazy thing about his court story is im a footy nut and i never heard about it or don't even remember it, so it probably wasn't as big as it seemed in his world.
Crazy thing about his court story is im a footy nut and i never heard about it or don't even remember it, so it probably wasn't as big as it seemed in his world.
Miss Josh already!! Luckily, doggies are my 2nd team.. hope he goes well.
so lovely and well spoken. such a huge loss for the wahs
Im supprised he didnt hit on the fake crowds during covid and how weird that would have been
The whole court situation is very suspicious.. sounds like he knows he did F# up but it also sounds like what ever he done he knew what he was doing Also…
Looks like we'll see you 7.00pm Thursday night, February 15 at Belmore. Critta and his Bulldogs v Storm.
We’re stoked to have you at the kennel Josh
So happy he’s a bulldog! All the best Josh!
Best headgear in the game!
I was at that parra vs wahs game and literally 1/3 of the stadium where kiwis and we where out cheering them
We still love you Kempy
All the best JC, once a Wah always a Wah 😝
I’ll never forget you JC
Curran easily became my fave warrior last season…. I got two reasons now to keep an eye on the doggies… Both Curran and Creighton…. #warriornation always first though
Good on Josh for chasing a bigger role elsewhere, thanks for everything you’ve done for the WAHZ and good luck bro🔥🔥
Nick politis- king of salary caps🤣🤣🤣
He's home now and he'll thrive. Close to family and friends. Familiar surroundings. Wish him well.
Thanks for your services at the wah's, your an incredibly great guy on and off the field, you will be missed, but we are glad you are happy close to family, friends and good weather lol. Good luck