00:00:00
I just see like just blackness. I was
00:00:02
the laziest kid. My coach tell me,
00:00:04
"You're the laziest kid I've seen at
00:00:05
this club in 15 years." Used to be the
00:00:07
hardest thing I ever uh had a crack at.
00:00:09
My nickname at the Crusaders early on
00:00:12
was credit card.
00:00:12
>> Oh, that story is [ __ ] That's not
00:00:14
true. There's no way Marty ever lifted
00:00:16
90 kilos.
00:00:17
>> In 180 was my best lift and my squat was
00:00:20
205. That's an ass to the grass squat,
00:00:22
too. That's not a 90° one. Now I'm in my
00:00:25
world of the stuff on the line. All this
00:00:27
sort of stuff. my last test I'm 36 so
00:00:30
I'm preparing and I was like in a zone
00:00:33
and it's embarrassing to say but it's
00:00:35
out there here the one thing about
00:00:37
making mistakes is you know hopefully
00:00:39
you learn from them so
00:00:41
>> how was your anxiety during that time
00:00:42
>> I shed a tear in them
00:00:44
>> if they were here your kids yeah what
00:00:46
three words would you like them to use
00:00:47
to describe you
00:00:48
>> get out of my face with that I don't
00:00:50
want to know about you know
00:00:51
>> did you feel bad about it later or Ah,
00:00:54
no.
00:00:59
>> Oh, good. You're here. Come on. This is
00:01:02
the center of performance. Whenever
00:01:03
there's a top performance in New
00:01:04
Zealand, it all comes from here. That's
00:01:06
Lisa Carrington. She's been doing that
00:01:08
for days. That's the boys who got the
00:01:10
Holland one in Tour.
00:01:14
He did it again. Hey Finn, how's the
00:01:16
performance going?
00:01:17
>> Top tier.
00:01:17
>> Nice. This is our generate room. In here
00:01:20
you'll find our top performers helping
00:01:21
Kiwis maximize their Kiwi Saver
00:01:23
investments. Get in here in maximize
00:01:26
generate.
00:01:27
>> Putting performance first.
00:01:28
>> Brad Thorne, welcome to my podcast.
00:01:31
>> Thank you for having me, Dom. Very
00:01:32
pleased to be here, mate. And happy
00:01:34
birthday for the 3rd of February to both
00:01:37
of us.
00:01:38
>> We're birthday twins. And I'm I'm pretty
00:01:39
sure that is all we have in common.
00:01:41
>> Well, mate, we're a couple of
00:01:42
good-looking blondeheaded, you know,
00:01:46
you're like a a leaner version of me, I
00:01:48
reckon. So
00:01:49
>> yeah, when I um started doing my
00:01:51
research for this podcast and um I
00:01:53
realized we've got the same birthday,
00:01:54
although I'm I was born a couple of
00:01:56
years before you, I I thought our
00:01:57
childhoods were probably quite similar.
00:01:59
I'm from um Palmer North. You're from
00:02:01
Mosgill.
00:02:02
>> Um there's probably a lot of a lot of
00:02:03
parallels and a lot that we've got in
00:02:05
common.
00:02:05
>> Yeah. Yeah. Well, what do they call us?
00:02:08
Generation X, I think it is. And um you
00:02:11
know, from what I read about Generation
00:02:13
X, you know, we we we get it, you know,
00:02:16
we we get amongst it. And um you know
00:02:20
we're characters I guess and uh you know
00:02:23
it's good seeing guys like yourself and
00:02:25
>> and others doing so well in in this sort
00:02:27
of stuff. So good on
00:02:29
>> you. I I reckon generation X is probably
00:02:31
the luckiest generation ever. Like we
00:02:33
remember life um before the internet. We
00:02:35
remember life before phones. Um we got
00:02:39
to experience the these this new
00:02:40
technology coming in,
00:02:42
>> but we remember what life was like
00:02:43
beforehand, which the the the
00:02:45
generations now don't. 70s like I was I
00:02:48
was um you might I was five years old by
00:02:53
1980. So for me it's more the 80s than
00:02:55
the 90s far out. It's just the best
00:02:58
time. The best time. I used to I loved
00:03:00
all the uh I loved all that era like um
00:03:03
I used to like as a teenager I'd go into
00:03:06
books you know shops and there'd be the
00:03:08
muscle magazines bodybuilding and Arnold
00:03:11
Schwarz I think it was like you know was
00:03:12
movies Predator and um you'd have all
00:03:15
these movies Stallone you'd have these
00:03:18
movies blood sport um always the same
00:03:20
thing where a guy has a training montage
00:03:23
and then he has to fight the the bad guy
00:03:25
at the end and he used to eat that up
00:03:27
and just all the music you know Metallic
00:03:29
Okay. Guns and Roses. Um you know um
00:03:32
just the and you know that thing where
00:03:35
probably possibly the same for you but
00:03:37
you didn't uh you just went out and you
00:03:39
just made sure you're home by dark or
00:03:42
you know and mom and dad weren't really
00:03:44
worried about it and you go down to the
00:03:47
creek or you'd be on your bikes. So feel
00:03:51
blessed to be in that uh time and um
00:03:55
yeah the last uh 10 15 years with the I
00:03:59
guess with the um social media and all
00:04:01
that sort of stuff.
00:04:02
>> Um yeah it's I guess it's a pretty
00:04:05
hectic thing for for the young people
00:04:07
today. Um it was a bit simpler would you
00:04:09
say simpler times mate?
00:04:10
>> Oh 100%. Yeah. Um kids these days will
00:04:13
never know what it's like to to be bored
00:04:15
like properly bored. We used to say if
00:04:17
if we ever said to mom or dad like, "Oh,
00:04:19
I'm bored." That mom would just be like,
00:04:20
"Well, go outside and play and lock the
00:04:23
door. We just have to go and you do
00:04:26
stuff in the culdeac with other kids."
00:04:27
>> Yeah. I I was for me I I had real big
00:04:30
imagination and I loved my toys and
00:04:32
stuff and and I um you know I had Star
00:04:36
Wars man and I'd have before that I had
00:04:38
army man and different I used to like I
00:04:41
go into uh you know a couple hours of
00:04:44
just you know playing with all my stuff
00:04:46
and then like you said um you know your
00:04:49
mom dad send you outside and you catch
00:04:51
up with your mates or you know you you
00:04:54
just find something to do you know so
00:04:56
make you cut make swords and you know
00:05:00
you know you be doing all sorts of crazy
00:05:02
stuff. It was it was cool. Yeah.
00:05:05
>> I'm pleased I grew up in that.
00:05:07
>> Hey, I'm really pleased that you are
00:05:09
here in person for the podcast. This is
00:05:11
really really cool.
00:05:12
>> I'm so excited to have you here.
00:05:14
>> Um I outsourced um a bit of information
00:05:17
for the podcast. I I reached around some
00:05:20
previous podcast guests. Um I thought
00:05:22
this would be a good icebreaker, good
00:05:23
way to get into the podcast. So, I've
00:05:24
got some um messages here from people
00:05:26
that you'll know very well um teammates
00:05:28
and others. Uh Kevin Mamu,
00:05:31
>> great man.
00:05:32
>> Um yes, some of these are are questions
00:05:35
that people have given me to ask you and
00:05:36
others are just um statements. So,
00:05:38
Kevin's got a statement.
00:05:39
>> Uh what a great man to learn how to be a
00:05:41
professional from a role model for
00:05:42
everyone in the abs.
00:05:44
>> Work ethic, preparation, leading by
00:05:46
example. I remember always seeing Thorny
00:05:48
always taking care of his body,
00:05:50
stretching in hotel hallways or in a
00:05:52
team room after training, always with
00:05:54
his shirt off.
00:05:56
>> He had a huge rig.
00:05:57
>> Yeah, he's nailed it. Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:01
>> 2011, I remember getting ready for the
00:06:03
Rugby World Cup quarters, he shared with
00:06:05
us his mentality around playing many
00:06:07
finals in the NRL. Uh in his raspy
00:06:10
voice, he'd say, "We only have one game
00:06:12
ahead of us. Be in the now. Focus on
00:06:14
today. Take care of today. tomorrow was
00:06:16
not promised. It set us up well for our
00:06:18
2011 Rugby World Cup journey.
00:06:20
>> Yeah, that was uh I've always felt big
00:06:23
on that. And for me, when I set a goal,
00:06:26
I'm guess I'm fortunate, but I don't see
00:06:28
anything past it. Like, I actually
00:06:30
can't. It's not just, oh, I try not to.
00:06:33
It's just the way I'm wired. I just see
00:06:35
like um just blackness, you know, and
00:06:39
until that last minute, until I've
00:06:40
earned the right to go further. And
00:06:42
that's the mentality we needed. And that
00:06:44
was a realistic mentality because, you
00:06:46
know, four years earlier we had plan B
00:06:49
for the semi. Guess what? You're not
00:06:50
there. You're on a plane
00:06:52
>> uh back to New Zealand because you've
00:06:54
been knocked down the quarters, you
00:06:56
know. And um that is the mindset. Uh
00:07:00
World Cups are different to, you know,
00:07:03
the other tests in the four years
00:07:05
leading in. It's everything's on the
00:07:07
line and you just need a turn a team to
00:07:10
turn up on the day. um uh and you know
00:07:14
the pressure comes on and you know you
00:07:17
can end up with you know a pretty
00:07:19
disappointing World Cup. So yeah, that's
00:07:22
a ruthless mindset. Um just playing
00:07:25
every moment and um that's probably the
00:07:28
other thing is
00:07:30
not seeing the I see the game personally
00:07:33
in many moments. I don't I'm not I'm not
00:07:36
uh dominated or I don't feel pressure
00:07:39
around the end result. I know if
00:07:43
individually and collectively we do our
00:07:45
jobs and we strive for excellence in it
00:07:47
and we stick together and care about
00:07:49
each other enough that um with the
00:07:51
talent we have we'll we'll get some
00:07:54
reward you know pretty you know usually
00:07:56
we will sometimes you still might fall
00:07:59
short but uh so yeah for me that's the
00:08:03
other thing is just that first action um
00:08:08
you know for me going into a test match
00:08:11
I'm just hanging around the kickoff.
00:08:12
Show my respect to the anthem. Show my,
00:08:16
you know, from New Zealand. It means a
00:08:18
lot, the anthem. Show my respect to the
00:08:20
haka. Such a great part of, you know,
00:08:23
the Maui culture and the um who the All
00:08:26
Blacks have been. But for me, it's
00:08:28
kickoff and uh whatever that is,
00:08:31
receiving or um um kicking off. Uh it
00:08:35
doesn't have to be some big player
00:08:37
whatever what whatever it might be just
00:08:40
supporting on the inside or bringing
00:08:41
some lights whatever that's that you
00:08:44
know I'm giving everything to that task
00:08:46
and then um again and again and again
00:08:50
and um like I said if you do that as a
00:08:52
as a team with the talent you know that
00:08:55
you have and um the abilities like I
00:08:58
said that care you'll find you off and
00:09:01
get a good result at the end. you'll be,
00:09:02
you know, and then that um and then that
00:09:06
opens up that next week and you've
00:09:08
earned the right to look at that next
00:09:10
week. You know what I mean? So,
00:09:13
>> what about when it doesn't work? Like um
00:09:15
I know I don't know why you put this in
00:09:17
your book, Champions Do Extra, but um
00:09:19
you you claim to have one of the worst
00:09:21
um State of Origin records, like one win
00:09:23
from 11 games.
00:09:25
>> One win, one draw. Yeah, I'll take I got
00:09:27
the draw. But
00:09:28
>> why did you why did you have why did you
00:09:30
bring that up in your own book? just to
00:09:31
be real, just to um because when you um
00:09:36
often I'll get introduced and they say,
00:09:38
"Oh, you know, they like say all these
00:09:40
things that I've achieved and he went
00:09:41
from league to union, back to league,
00:09:43
back to union." A big thing about my
00:09:45
book is just saying
00:09:47
um you say, "Oh, that guy's just built
00:09:50
different. He just wins and all this
00:09:51
stuff." Well,
00:09:53
>> I was the laziest kid. Uh you know, as a
00:09:57
14year-old, I had my coach tell me,
00:09:58
"You're the laziest kid I've seen at
00:10:00
this club." in 15 years,
00:10:02
>> you know. Um, going guess what? Going
00:10:04
from league to union was hard as was
00:10:07
brutal. It tested me. Used to be the
00:10:10
hardest thing I ever uh had a crack at
00:10:12
until I did head coaching. Um, you know,
00:10:15
State of Origin, you know, I'm a winner.
00:10:19
I was a loser. Probably one of the
00:10:20
biggest losers, you know, in the history
00:10:22
of origin. Um, did it mean I wasn't
00:10:24
putting in and and I was, you know,
00:10:26
committed and all these sort of things?
00:10:29
Um uh yeah. No, but um I I just want to
00:10:34
be real and otherwise I feel like um if
00:10:39
you just talk about all good things then
00:10:42
the guy person who's reading it number
00:10:45
one it's reality
00:10:46
>> doesn't all just go smoothly there. So a
00:10:49
a lot of it the whole book's around
00:10:51
mindset and challenges and stuff but um
00:10:54
just saying to whoever reads it yeah um
00:10:58
you know we all go through the same
00:10:59
doubts and the same uh you know um you
00:11:03
know challenges and and the ups and
00:11:05
downs and you know um you I was
00:11:09
fortunate to have some great good
00:11:12
experiences and uh it wasn't all just
00:11:15
rosy and easy it was a hard road And um
00:11:20
um anything that's worth achieving
00:11:22
usually takes um some commitment and
00:11:24
some um you know perseverance and and
00:11:28
just and just keeping in it, keeping in
00:11:32
the in the challenge of it. So yeah,
00:11:35
that's why I brought it up. I brought up
00:11:36
other things. I brought up how I um you
00:11:39
I felt like I really cost the Crusaders
00:11:41
in in the 211, you know, final. Um, like
00:11:45
I said, I talked I think I talked about
00:11:47
my my coach who he said I was the
00:11:48
laziest kid, you know, so it's just
00:11:51
real. A number one, it's real. I don't
00:11:53
want to be just a guy who's blowing wind
00:11:56
out on my backside. And second to that,
00:11:58
like I said, um,
00:12:00
>> I just think that's part of the thing
00:12:02
where you I remember Richie Mccor, he's
00:12:05
a guy who really loves the coast to
00:12:08
coast, I think. Yeah, you probably are a
00:12:10
fan of that, I imagine, with your
00:12:12
running. I've done the the run league.
00:12:14
Um, but I haven't done the whole thing
00:12:15
like he's done.
00:12:16
>> Yeah. Well, he's telling me he was
00:12:18
talking maybe to me or the team or a
00:12:20
group of us one time. He's just having a
00:12:22
chat
00:12:23
>> about um there's there's a guy who was a
00:12:26
gun at that who won heaps of them maybe
00:12:28
uh 20 10 15 20 years ago.
00:12:31
>> Steve Genny.
00:12:32
>> Yeah, I think that's the name. And Steve
00:12:35
must have been speaking at something.
00:12:37
Maybe Richie heard it or he watched him,
00:12:38
but basically he was against a real
00:12:42
tough competitor and he was in front of
00:12:44
him and he was just um this might have
00:12:47
been his first win or I'm not sure but
00:12:49
he was just had nothing left and he was
00:12:53
thinking about just um you know uh
00:12:57
slowing down or submitting or something
00:12:59
and um he just went that little bit
00:13:03
further and I think the guy behind him
00:13:06
sort of um I guess had a hard time and
00:13:10
you know he he ended up winning that
00:13:11
race. But I think the lesson Steve
00:13:14
learned from that was you know just that
00:13:16
mindset of um that key little moment of
00:13:20
just pushing a bit more and a bit more
00:13:23
um was uh you know what I'm saying is
00:13:27
that guy's like a bit of a legend Rich
00:13:29
is saying but you know everyone
00:13:33
>> uh uh has their battle and um the
00:13:37
battles that are in front of him and
00:13:38
there's times you know Michael Jordan Um
00:13:42
he had that advert where he said I you
00:13:43
know I missed 30 final shots. Um that's
00:13:47
why I win. That's why I'm a competitor.
00:13:48
So yeah, it's uh yeah, it's good to just
00:13:53
uh uh um be able to talk about those
00:13:56
different things and you get a more real
00:13:58
look at it and um and hopefully people
00:14:02
feel encouraged and go, "Hey, everyone's
00:14:04
uh you know um has to gets tested and um
00:14:10
um you know hopefully it's a little bit
00:14:13
encouraging." Yeah.
00:14:14
>> Well, adversely is part of the human
00:14:15
experience, isn't it? You you can't have
00:14:17
sun without the rain as the saying goes.
00:14:19
Um I've got another message here. Um
00:14:21
Kieran Reed,
00:14:22
>> can I say one thing on
00:14:24
>> um just a great man. Yeah. So I I don't
00:14:27
Did you ask him did he say that or did
00:14:29
you find that from somewhere else?
00:14:31
>> Yeah, I messaged him.
00:14:32
>> Yeah. So he he um he was a guy that I
00:14:36
loved. Um he was a guy I used to do
00:14:38
extras with uh in the All Blacks and the
00:14:41
guy I used to do them with uh the
00:14:43
Crusaders was White Crockett. Yeah. I
00:14:45
always have a guy I like to do some
00:14:48
stuff with after training and and um
00:14:51
Crocky was a great man is a great man
00:14:53
and um and Kevy and me um used to do
00:14:57
some extra tackles and and some
00:14:59
breakdown and it was like on a we'd
00:15:01
always do it on a Thursday after
00:15:03
training and it was uh it was around our
00:15:05
mentality. So, we've done the training
00:15:07
week, but me and him um we're like uh
00:15:12
it's like a marker for Saturday night.
00:15:15
This is the physicality we're we're
00:15:17
bringing. So, um just a heart of gold,
00:15:21
beautiful family man. Um he shares a
00:15:24
Christian faith uh with me. Um and um
00:15:30
you know, everyone there's you don't
00:15:32
ever hear a bad bad word about him. He's
00:15:35
the Australian version is Petro Simba of
00:15:38
uh of Kirby. So yeah,
00:15:40
>> you don't hear a bad bad word about you
00:15:41
either. I put you in the same camp.
00:15:43
>> Oh, thanks. I'm not sure.
00:15:46
>> Also, what is it about you Christian
00:15:48
dudes just tearing people's heads off?
00:15:50
>> The Iceman, Michael Jones.
00:15:52
>> Quite funny, is it? Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:54
>> Do you feel bad afterwards? Like when
00:15:55
when you completely demolish someone and
00:15:58
and in and play, do you feel a little
00:15:59
bit bad afterwards?
00:16:01
>> Uh no. No. That's the enjoyment. And I
00:16:06
always,
00:16:06
>> you know what they're getting from
00:16:07
something for?
00:16:07
>> Yeah. Yeah. I always feel like you sign
00:16:09
up. The thing I always felt felt, Dom,
00:16:12
was um after a game, you usually when
00:16:16
you go to shake hands, you usually
00:16:19
looking for that toughest opponent on
00:16:21
the other team to shake hands with
00:16:23
first. If you watch boxers,
00:16:26
I remember I had a mate who was a
00:16:27
fighter, a boxer, and uh I said to him,
00:16:31
I see these boxers and they're just
00:16:33
bashing each other and at the end
00:16:34
they're hugging and stuff. and he said,
00:16:37
"You know, when you're in the ring for
00:16:38
12 rounds and you're just throwing at
00:16:41
each other, obviously you're trying to
00:16:43
knock out and get a win or whatever, but
00:16:45
the respect you have for your opponent
00:16:48
and um it's personal in there and
00:16:51
>> um yeah, it's so yeah, it's it's funny
00:16:55
how like you said um the Christians and
00:16:57
George Foreman was a a Christian like
00:17:00
prolific like heavy-handed guy. Vander
00:17:03
Holiffield. Yeah, it's good. Don't mess
00:17:07
with you guys. Um Kieran Reed, uh he was
00:17:11
he was a guest on the podcast really
00:17:13
early on when it started like four years
00:17:14
ago. Great guy.
00:17:15
>> So I reached out to Reedo. I have so
00:17:17
much respect for Thorny. What stands out
00:17:19
to me was just his ability to take
00:17:20
people under his wing and help them
00:17:22
grow. The likes of Samuel Whitlock and
00:17:24
the Frank brothers. I learned heaps in
00:17:26
the way he he conducted himself, fully
00:17:28
committed to the game, but also a top
00:17:29
family man at the same time. At the end
00:17:31
of the final of the Rugby World Cup
00:17:33
2011, I called the line out to him uh at
00:17:36
the front of the line out. I backed him
00:17:38
100% that he would nail it and of course
00:17:40
he did.
00:17:42
>> Yeah. Yeah. I I write about that
00:17:44
actually in the book and
00:17:47
um I remember when he first said it to
00:17:48
me um it was one minute to go. I'm like,
00:17:53
you know, putting it on me because uh
00:17:56
it's a big moment. If we win that line
00:17:57
out, we win the game.
00:17:58
>> So it's 8-7 at that point. Yeah.
00:18:00
>> All blacks front.
00:18:01
>> Yeah. And but that's my job. It's my job
00:18:03
at the front to win what you call must
00:18:06
win ball. You know what I mean? Where um
00:18:09
doesn't matter if they're lined up
00:18:10
against me. Uh if you have a good throw
00:18:14
and you know you're the one who's
00:18:16
jumping first um you should win that you
00:18:20
know 10 out of 10 times. So it's cool to
00:18:23
hear that he that he backed me and um
00:18:27
you know that was a that was a cool
00:18:29
moment. I always laugh about how uh I
00:18:31
never did a line out until I was 26
00:18:33
years old. And um my nickname at the
00:18:36
Crusaders early on was uh credit card
00:18:40
because they could just fit they used to
00:18:42
think they can just fit a credit card
00:18:44
under my shoes when I jumped which is
00:18:46
like
00:18:48
that that hurt. That hurt. And do you
00:18:50
know what else hurt Dom? Do you know how
00:18:52
else hurt? No one wanted to uh you know
00:18:54
when it's um
00:18:56
maybe it's like a school dance or
00:18:58
something you know where you end up um
00:19:00
no one yeah or who wants to dance a girl
00:19:03
doesn't you know you're battling away
00:19:05
but um yeah no no one it's okay get into
00:19:09
uh pods you know three and practice your
00:19:12
warm-up jumping no one would have left
00:19:13
me
00:19:15
but uh I used to cuz I could uh I could
00:19:17
dunk I could dunk a basketball when I
00:19:19
was 14 I me and my brother my brother
00:19:22
was a good basketball. He's 6'. He's a
00:19:24
tall guy, 6'8. Um
00:19:27
um but the timing of line outs, you
00:19:30
know, it wasn't I could jump, but um you
00:19:34
I was wooden, you know. So to think that
00:19:36
I took the the last line out to win a
00:19:40
World Cup um is is crazy. And I always
00:19:44
take my hat off to to Woody and Ali who
00:19:48
lifted me. Um, and most of all, I reckon
00:19:51
the guy gets the biggest credit is
00:19:53
Andrew Hall, who just like uh he he was
00:19:57
I took a bit of a time to to do that
00:19:59
jump and he was like thorny, what are
00:20:01
you doing get, you know, but um um
00:20:05
absolutely nailed it and uh he had the
00:20:09
hardest job, you know. So yeah, it was
00:20:12
good. That must have been um just think
00:20:14
about that like you know starting to
00:20:16
play rugby in your mid20s and having
00:20:17
nicknames like credit card. Um yeah that
00:20:21
must been I don't know like humbling or
00:20:22
demoralizing like here you were you
00:20:25
sucked league star in the 90s playing
00:20:27
for the Broncos in the dynasty era and
00:20:29
then suddenly you're back to ground
00:20:31
zero.
00:20:31
>> Yeah. Uh
00:20:33
three grand finals 97 98 2000 in four
00:20:37
years. um you know uh Origin playing for
00:20:42
Australia you know on a big contract you
00:20:45
know threeyear million dollar contract
00:20:47
and you come over and yeah you get you
00:20:49
got humbled you know because end of the
00:20:51
day a 14year-old
00:20:53
could do a better line out than I could
00:20:55
and um you know I basically started from
00:21:00
square one I could run and I could um I
00:21:03
could tackle but um there's just so much
00:21:07
more to forward play and
00:21:10
>> just culturally everything about coming
00:21:13
across um was such a challenge and I'm
00:21:16
so pleased I did it. Dom obviously now
00:21:18
we can all say that but
00:21:20
uh such I thank God for that uh the
00:21:24
character of development that I got from
00:21:27
that the humility that I I pretty much
00:21:31
you know felt um and and um you know
00:21:36
just just having to persevere and um and
00:21:41
you know getting to a good space with it
00:21:43
was you know there was a reward there uh
00:21:46
so important important in my life that
00:21:47
year.
00:21:49
>> And by the time you ended, you were like
00:21:51
a great all black, which is what every
00:21:52
every new All Black strives to be,
00:21:54
right? A great all black.
00:21:55
>> Yeah. Well, I never I was never like,
00:21:59
um, oh, you're an all black. Oh, yeah.
00:22:02
Like I I always wanted to be a great,
00:22:04
you know, in my mind, you know, the guys
00:22:06
would laugh about this because, uh, I
00:22:10
always wanted to be a number six. I used
00:22:12
to like Jamie Joseph, AJ Whitten, these
00:22:14
sort of guys. I saw myself as a big six
00:22:17
compared to a shorter lock. And um one
00:22:21
time I snuck myself in there at training
00:22:24
um where I did a scrum because I was
00:22:26
used to being in the that lock uh the
00:22:29
number eight or someone ran down the
00:22:31
short side which is the number six you
00:22:33
supposed to peel off and make the
00:22:35
tackle. I was just s sat on the scrum
00:22:38
watching him run fast. So they used to
00:22:40
have a bit of fun about me um you know
00:22:42
wanting to be a six. But um
00:22:45
um yeah it was it was uh such a great
00:22:50
challenge to come across and try and
00:22:52
master that ro roll ro you know as as a
00:22:54
lock. So yeah.
00:22:56
>> Um Dr. Nick Gill Gilly is the All Blacks
00:23:00
long-term strength and conditioning
00:23:01
coach. He's a previous podcast guest. Um
00:23:03
I reached out to him and he just gave me
00:23:04
two questions to ask you. Number one,
00:23:06
um, ask him what he called his biceps.
00:23:11
>> Uh, I'm trying I I don't know if he
00:23:14
means I used to call This is This is
00:23:16
embarrassing. This You got to You have a
00:23:18
lot of banter. I love banter. Okay, you
00:23:20
should see my house. I got three sons.
00:23:22
The testosterone everywhere. all all you
00:23:25
know but yeah I used to call my packs
00:23:28
big and bigger AND BE I'D BE
00:23:31
I USED to flex them and carry on and um
00:23:35
um so that's probably what he's talking
00:23:37
about but yeah a lot of you got to you
00:23:40
got to have you know you can't be all
00:23:42
serious
00:23:43
>> bigger um he had another question and
00:23:45
I've got a I've got a visual gag for
00:23:47
this
00:23:47
>> um
00:23:48
>> what's the significance of this meal
00:23:50
that I'm holding here
00:23:51
>> is it got banana in it
00:23:53
>> that's pretty That's what I'd eat all
00:23:54
the time. Yeah.
00:23:55
>> A banana sandwich.
00:23:56
>> All the time. Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:58
>> You're really into processes, eh? And um
00:24:00
just keeping things as as as on track
00:24:04
and as as the same as what you can.
00:24:06
>> I just love uh I I love bananas to this
00:24:10
day. And I love I loved uh you know, I
00:24:13
guess I loved eating. And the thing that
00:24:15
that you know what cuz Nick's you know,
00:24:17
having a bit of fun with me. Um that
00:24:20
that paid off when I went to Japan
00:24:23
because um
00:24:25
um I was in the south of Japan, Kushu
00:24:28
Island. It's the bottom island, real
00:24:30
traditional, not like Hong Kong with
00:24:31
lots of Western stuff. And uh I was sort
00:24:34
of battling with the food, getting used
00:24:36
to Japanese food. But what I did have
00:24:38
was bananas. They did have bananas, they
00:24:41
had bread, which meant that I survived.
00:24:44
So, so, so that the banana and bread for
00:24:47
weeks on end I just go and buy bananas
00:24:49
and bread and then um over time I
00:24:53
started to learn about Japanese food and
00:24:55
then uh you know I came through. So
00:24:57
>> So net Gill Net Gill just so you know.
00:24:59
Yeah, that paid off.
00:25:01
>> So this this is your like your pregame
00:25:03
snack like an hour before kickoff, two
00:25:04
hours before kickoff.
00:25:05
>> Uh I used my pre my pregame was
00:25:08
different to that. I I had a a same meal
00:25:11
that I liked, but that was more like um
00:25:13
uh
00:25:16
avocado and um you know, some salad and
00:25:19
uh some chicken or you know, some ham or
00:25:22
whatever on a toasted uh I used to love
00:25:25
having an egg on it, too. So, I' I'd
00:25:27
have two of those. Always trying to have
00:25:29
that 4 hours before and you know, have a
00:25:32
bit of a smoothie or something. And
00:25:34
yeah, you get really meticulous. You get
00:25:36
really a routine. Routines are important
00:25:39
because um when you're younger, you
00:25:42
don't really have a routine. Your
00:25:44
performance, it's important to
00:25:46
performance. You're sort of letting your
00:25:48
mind, number one, your mind and your
00:25:50
body know it's it's performance time.
00:25:52
>> It gets used to a routine. Do you know
00:25:54
what I mean?
00:25:55
>> Sometimes um things happen and it puts
00:25:58
your routine out. You got to be able to
00:26:01
handle that as well. Just go too bad,
00:26:04
you know, next, you know, uh next job or
00:26:07
whatever. But routine is uh good for
00:26:10
consistency of performance. And um you
00:26:13
know from after I'd have that that meal
00:26:16
that I talked about, I'd always go back
00:26:18
to my room. Whether I slept or not, I
00:26:20
wouldn't care, but I'd have a lie down
00:26:22
for an hour. Then I'd um um uh some some
00:26:27
point in that day might have been uh I'd
00:26:31
have a full body stretch and I have a
00:26:33
hot cold shower and I used to feel a
00:26:35
million dollars and you get on the bus
00:26:37
and and um you know that's that's how I
00:26:41
believe you get a good consistent sort
00:26:43
of performance. So yeah,
00:26:45
>> control the controllables.
00:26:46
>> Yeah.
00:26:46
>> Yeah.
00:26:47
>> Um Darren Shand who who gets quite a few
00:26:49
mentions in your book. Um, I reached out
00:26:52
to Shandandy. He said, um, ask him why
00:26:54
he always he was always left arm over
00:26:57
top of right arm for team photos, the
00:26:59
opposite to everyone else.
00:27:01
>> May left arm over right arm. Maybe um
00:27:05
maybe that was I was unaware of it, but
00:27:08
I do know that my right arms bigger. So
00:27:11
So maybe maybe it was just me trying to
00:27:14
get my big forearms out there. I'm not
00:27:16
sure.
00:27:17
>> Oh, so it was something that you weren't
00:27:18
aware you were doing? No.
00:27:19
>> Okay. Um, and he said ask him if he
00:27:21
remembers the first time I gave him a
00:27:23
tour of the Crusaders facilities.
00:27:25
>> He told he told me the backtory to this
00:27:26
if you can't remember.
00:27:27
>> I can't I can't remember. Um, but he was
00:27:32
uh someone that um like he's your team
00:27:35
manager. He used to work down at um
00:27:37
Bungie. Did you know that? He used to
00:27:39
work down at AJ Hackett
00:27:41
>> and do the all that sort of stuff down
00:27:42
there. Yeah.
00:27:44
>> Um he's a really good guy. Um what did
00:27:46
what happened?
00:27:48
So he was he crusaders manager when you
00:27:50
first arrived. Okay. So he said he gave
00:27:52
you a tour of the facilities. Um and he
00:27:54
said okay this is the the physio room
00:27:56
the rehab room and and you you said
00:27:57
something like we won't be needing that.
00:27:59
Just show me where the gym is.
00:28:00
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:02
>> Yeah. I I prided myself on not getting
00:28:05
injured. You know not that end of the
00:28:08
day someone hits you from the wrong
00:28:09
angle you're going to get injured. But
00:28:11
um uh yeah I was pretty detailed. I was
00:28:15
I was into a lot of probably stuff
00:28:17
before it sort of became more, you know,
00:28:20
I was into ice baths in the mid '9s, you
00:28:24
know. Um I'm not whether people think
00:28:26
they uh affect you or not, I always felt
00:28:28
better for it. Um always big into my
00:28:31
stretching. Um all these different
00:28:34
things. So yeah, I remember it was Steve
00:28:37
Mure was our uh physio. I said, "You
00:28:39
won't see me." And I I don't I don't
00:28:42
think they did see me. Um, but when I
00:28:45
came back when I was in my 30s, they
00:28:47
probably saw me a little bit more. So,
00:28:48
yeah.
00:28:50
>> And the, um, the last message I got was
00:28:52
from, um, Justin Marshall. Um, so your
00:28:54
career's sort of over overlapped, I
00:28:56
guess. He was probably finishing just
00:28:57
when you were
00:28:58
>> He's only He's only a year older than
00:28:59
me,
00:28:59
>> is he?
00:29:00
>> Marshall. Yeah. Yeah. It's just that I
00:29:03
didn't actually get to play much against
00:29:05
guys of my own sort of time because for
00:29:08
the from the age of 18, I played West
00:29:11
Rugby League in the Brisbane Rugby
00:29:13
League comp, first grade as an 18-y old.
00:29:15
Then I had seven years at the Broncos. I
00:29:17
was playing first grade at 19.
00:29:20
>> So there was eight years there and then
00:29:22
I came over to Union uh at 26.
00:29:26
>> But it used to be guys used to leave
00:29:28
quite early. It was almost like if you
00:29:30
hadn't sort of made the All Blacks or
00:29:32
something by your mid20s, you know, guys
00:29:35
would go overseas and that and um so but
00:29:38
yeah, Marie had done a whole bit of
00:29:40
stuff in rugby and done well. He I think
00:29:42
he's he might he's either your age or a
00:29:45
year older than me.
00:29:46
>> He's a great guy. Um his his his um
00:29:49
memory of Brad Thorne in essence was um
00:29:52
>> he talked about your commitment to work
00:29:53
and how you'd go to the gym before
00:29:54
anyone else. So he said like the
00:29:56
forwards would have a time to go to the
00:29:57
gym, then the backs would come a bit
00:29:58
later. He said you'd always go an hour
00:30:00
before everyone else
00:30:01
>> and then by the time the backs got in,
00:30:02
you'd just be wandering around like
00:30:04
>> that's ber time. That's
00:30:06
>> time. And he said he remembers once um
00:30:09
he remembers once uh he was doing bench
00:30:10
and he had like 90 kilos or something on
00:30:12
the bench and you just came up and
00:30:14
looked at it and then laughed and walked
00:30:15
away.
00:30:16
>> Yeah. It's that's um Yeah. Classic.
00:30:18
Yeah. Yeah. I was full of it. I was full
00:30:22
of it, mate. And is that a true story?
00:30:25
>> We had Yeah, that would definitely that
00:30:26
would definitely be true. I' like backs
00:30:29
and try and walk through the bench press
00:30:30
area say you're not welcome here like
00:30:32
keep moving or you know I'd be uh
00:30:34
standing you know guys that you know
00:30:36
maybe they're in the mirror I'd be you
00:30:38
know standing behind them just you know
00:30:41
cuz I'm quite broad and I' I'd be saying
00:30:44
you know don't blame yourself it's your
00:30:46
parents you do you know you don't have
00:30:47
the you know all sorts of banter. So,
00:30:51
um, yeah, it it's just good fun because
00:30:54
like I said, it's a lot of seriousness.
00:30:57
In my house growing up, my dad was uh we
00:31:00
we used to like uh um wrestle and um and
00:31:05
we'd open hand spar as well and it'd
00:31:08
always be chirp and when I went to
00:31:09
Broncos, there's a heap of banter and um
00:31:13
it's just it's it's just the fun that
00:31:16
helps it all go along, mate, you know.
00:31:19
Um when I told um Dr. Nick Gill that
00:31:22
story about Justin Marshall, he said,
00:31:23
"Oh, that story is [ __ ] That's not
00:31:24
true. There's no way Marshie ever lifted
00:31:26
90 kilos."
00:31:27
>> Oh yeah.
00:31:28
>> What What about you? What's your your
00:31:30
bench PB and your squat PB?
00:31:32
>> My bench was 180 was my best lift and my
00:31:35
squat was 205. Um so that Yeah. So
00:31:39
that's they were my two
00:31:41
>> um lifts. I I thought my squat was
00:31:43
pretty good. That's an ass to the grass
00:31:45
squat, too. It's not a 90° one, but um
00:31:48
just just for the viewing public, okay?
00:31:51
There's a big difference, I'm telling
00:31:52
you, between an assass. But
00:31:56
>> um Shane Webbkkey was um we used to lift
00:31:59
the guy Dan Baker was our guy at the
00:32:01
Broncos and uh two-time doctor. U he's
00:32:05
president Australian strength
00:32:06
conditioning, just a gun. And um he put
00:32:09
all the heavy the big dogs together and
00:32:12
we'd be competitive or whatever. And
00:32:14
Shane used to Shane Webkkey remember
00:32:16
him? His big quads and that used to say
00:32:20
give me banter about my skinny pin. You
00:32:21
got skinny pins and I felt like I was
00:32:24
doing all right. But he was he was a
00:32:25
powerhouse. But but we used to be uh so
00:32:29
competitive um around the gym and pretty
00:32:32
much everything and the amount of banter
00:32:35
at the Broncos. So when I came over to
00:32:36
the Crusaders,
00:32:38
um they probably a little bit more
00:32:40
reserved, but um you know, once I got
00:32:44
comfortable there and uh you know, you
00:32:47
know, it's then I'd have some fun and
00:32:50
it's all part of it. just with Justin
00:32:52
Marshall. Um he was uh he was a
00:32:56
fantastic player to play with and um um
00:33:00
tough a tough soldier and yeah a great a
00:33:04
great player and uh you you knew when
00:33:07
you played with him he's he's fully on
00:33:10
he'd have your back even as half back.
00:33:12
He's he's a big half back but um he was
00:33:15
cool to play with. M
00:33:16
>> he's a great guy too. If if if he gets a
00:33:20
lot of a lot of flack for his media
00:33:21
commitment and his commentary, but I say
00:33:23
to anyone that doesn't like him, if you
00:33:25
met him, you would like him. He's
00:33:26
impossible to dislike.
00:33:27
>> Yeah, he's great.
00:33:28
>> He's a great dude.
00:33:29
>> This m we've been going for 32 minutes
00:33:31
and that was just with the icebreaker
00:33:32
just with those messages from your old
00:33:34
teammates. We haven't even gotten to the
00:33:36
crux of the podcast. This is great
00:33:37
stuff.
00:33:38
>> Yeah.
00:33:38
>> Are you comfortable chatting about
00:33:40
yourself these days and reflecting on
00:33:41
these things? Does it is it okay with
00:33:44
you?
00:33:44
>> Yeah. Um, it's been solid. You know, it
00:33:48
was more um putting it down in a book
00:33:50
was uh I felt like last year I reckon
00:33:54
just in the background I felt like I
00:33:56
think stressed cuz I'm you you're
00:33:59
showing if I'm going to do a book I'm
00:34:01
going to do it properly. I'm going to be
00:34:02
vulnerable. You know, I'm going to um I
00:34:04
talk about anxiety, talk about all sorts
00:34:06
of stuff. So
00:34:08
>> um and you're thinking, gee, anyone want
00:34:09
to hear this anyway? you know, but um
00:34:13
>> like I said, I got to the end of my
00:34:14
career, I thought 30 years of stuff,
00:34:16
surely I've learned something and um you
00:34:18
know, I prayed about it and door was
00:34:20
open and you know, I did it with Harper
00:34:23
Collins. You know, thank him for being
00:34:24
involved. So, but uh yeah, talking about
00:34:29
um yourself,
00:34:31
uh yeah, can feel a bit awkward. um
00:34:35
>> like just self-indulgent or
00:34:37
>> I I feel more um I just just doing it
00:34:40
just being more uh I guess uh you you
00:34:43
probably notice over all that time I
00:34:45
wasn't out there in front of the camera
00:34:47
all the time was I you know I was bit
00:34:49
more reserved probably an introvert as
00:34:52
you know my I get I need energy by being
00:34:55
all on my own and you know I like doing
00:34:57
gym on my own I like walking taking my
00:34:59
dog out to the beach or you know my
00:35:02
house are pretty noisy um you with my
00:35:05
four kids. Um so yeah, to come out and
00:35:08
just talk about uh stuff uh probably
00:35:13
isn't natural, but I sort of feel like
00:35:16
um I had something to say. Uh I've
00:35:19
learned some things, you know, um and
00:35:23
uh you know, if I'm going to say some
00:35:26
stuff and need to um you know, just be
00:35:29
open and that. And I think that helps
00:35:31
too because I feel like someone like me,
00:35:34
I probably come across pretty staunch,
00:35:36
you know, like a physical guy in the All
00:35:38
Blacks or at the, you know, coaching the
00:35:41
Reds. You're pretty serious, you know,
00:35:44
face and you're a head coach and you're
00:35:46
just showing you're just saying, "Hey,
00:35:48
you're human, too, and you got your
00:35:50
faults. You have you feel the downs and
00:35:53
the ups as well." And um you hope that
00:35:56
people, you know, will feel encouraged
00:35:57
by that, you know. So,
00:36:00
>> um, yeah, I love the, um, the backstory
00:36:02
of the title, Champions Do Extra. It's a
00:36:04
quote from your your dad who, um, passed
00:36:06
away when you were 19. I only got to see
00:36:08
seven of your 500 games.
00:36:09
>> Yeah.
00:36:10
>> Um,
00:36:11
>> you
00:36:13
the the funny thing, and I suppose the
00:36:14
good thing is you're in a position of
00:36:16
life now, which is the same position as
00:36:18
what most readers are, like you're just
00:36:19
like a normal civilian.
00:36:21
>> So, what does excellence look like to
00:36:22
you now on a day-to-day basis?
00:36:25
Well, like um
00:36:27
>> what's what's extra for Brad? I
00:36:29
>> I like like this will sound funny. I
00:36:31
like making my bed really well.
00:36:34
>> I I do gym three days a week. I know it
00:36:36
sounds funny. I just love a real
00:36:38
well-made bed. Like I have to I don't My
00:36:41
wife will just, you know, put the sheets
00:36:43
over. I like to strip it and, you know,
00:36:46
make the under sheet flat, you know.
00:36:49
>> Why? It's so
00:36:51
>> I just like it done well. Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:53
It's funny. Um
00:36:54
>> when when you were away on on tour, did
00:36:56
you make your own beard or did you
00:36:58
>> No, you've got people usually you're out
00:37:00
you're training and that. I'm just
00:37:02
talking about it at home, you know. Um
00:37:03
I'm just giving example like I mow the
00:37:06
lawn. I like my edges done not you know
00:37:09
I do whippers. I used to be able to
00:37:10
claim that I could cut your hair with a
00:37:12
whippers snipper, you know. But um when
00:37:14
I do my gym, I do three days a week I I
00:37:18
have a gym at home. like I um I do all
00:37:23
my movements or lifting or whatever, I
00:37:25
do it try and do it excellent. You know,
00:37:29
>> the way I feel is um why do it mediocre?
00:37:33
That's how I sort of feel. Now, the
00:37:35
argument is, you know, sometimes there's
00:37:36
things where you just got to get it done
00:37:38
and move on. And I get all that, but um
00:37:41
and sometimes you do have to just get
00:37:44
stuff done. But yeah, if I do the
00:37:46
kitchen, if I you know, I like having it
00:37:49
um you know, spotless clean and that I
00:37:52
don't think I'm like is it OCD or
00:37:54
something?
00:37:55
>> Obsessive compulsive
00:37:56
>> dis. I'm not like but I just uh if I'm
00:38:01
going to do stuff, I just like doing
00:38:03
them well and I I just you just feel
00:38:05
good purpose doing stuff well and um
00:38:09
>> I know that's Yeah. So even though I'm
00:38:12
not like a professional athlete now and
00:38:14
all this sort of stuff. Yeah. I it's
00:38:17
that's what I like. And dad my father
00:38:19
was the same. He's a watch maker by
00:38:21
trade.
00:38:22
>> I have you ever seen watch makers? But
00:38:24
the um dad used to do some work from
00:38:26
home and he'd have these all these um
00:38:28
magnifying cuz you you're dealing with
00:38:31
>> That's so intricate.
00:38:32
>> Yeah. So, um and um he like he could
00:38:39
build a house, he could build a car. Um
00:38:42
uh he he did fixing watches that need to
00:38:46
be perfect. You don't want a watch
00:38:48
that's dodgy, do you? And when he was a
00:38:51
watch maker, it was before they had all
00:38:53
the cheap watch where you just throw
00:38:54
them away. It was, you know, people had
00:38:56
their watches and it was a well- paid
00:38:58
job. So, he he liked doing stuff well as
00:39:01
well. I guess that's a trait that uh
00:39:03
I've taken from him him as well.
00:39:07
>> Yeah, it's it's funny something that
00:39:08
sprung to mind a second ago when you
00:39:09
were talking about you the um the bed
00:39:11
and just doing everything right. I had
00:39:13
um one of your coaches, Sir Steve
00:39:14
Hansen, on the podcast last year and
00:39:16
then he used an analogy about a dirty
00:39:18
window and you clean the window but not
00:39:20
the corners.
00:39:20
>> The corners. Yeah.
00:39:21
>> Yeah. Have you heard that one from him
00:39:22
before?
00:39:23
>> Uh yeah. Yeah, I've heard that uh from
00:39:24
him. I've heard that. You know, that's
00:39:27
>> but that's um
00:39:29
>> that's that's
00:39:32
there's like 85% a lot of people do up
00:39:36
around that. There's people are low like
00:39:39
what would they be? It'd be like um you
00:39:42
know down to 15% or up to 85%.
00:39:45
There's a bulk of people doing sort of
00:39:48
in the middle of that at that that
00:39:51
really high level is that top 15%. this
00:39:55
guy uh an old mate of mine Cameron Louis
00:39:58
crap he's an exwalabby said that's that
00:39:59
top 15% thorny and I agree with him um
00:40:03
of of doing things really well
00:40:07
>> you know and just you know trying to uh
00:40:11
when I say really well the the word for
00:40:12
that is striving to do it in an
00:40:15
excellent way
00:40:16
>> and the thing that I loved about that
00:40:18
with the things I wanted to achieve was
00:40:21
um you never fully um attain ain't it.
00:40:25
And it's each time you do something, you
00:40:28
got to retry and do it well again. So,
00:40:30
it's a never- ending uh for someone who
00:40:32
has a bit of a fire in them and loves
00:40:34
challenges, it's like this never ending
00:40:38
um um thing that I'm trying to achieve,
00:40:41
>> like a game that you can never clock.
00:40:42
>> Yeah. Yeah. And it's so I I just love
00:40:44
it. And it doesn't rely on uh me being
00:40:48
better than someone else even though I
00:40:50
am highly competitive. Very competitive.
00:40:53
um even if I've you know uh competed and
00:40:58
and I'm better you know doing it better
00:41:01
than say others uh you can always do
00:41:04
something better or whatever. So, I
00:41:07
always love that as a as a mindset. Uh,
00:41:10
Dad was right um around, you know,
00:41:13
champions don't do mediocre, you know,
00:41:16
they don't do less. Um it's a pretty b
00:41:19
obvious one that they would do extra.
00:41:21
You know um what everyone else is
00:41:24
prepared to do they all will do. Yeah,
00:41:26
I've seen that with great players, you
00:41:27
know, um uh um throughout my career on
00:41:31
both codes and you know, watching, you
00:41:34
know, you hear about I think it's Kobe
00:41:36
Bryant, the amount of effort he put in,
00:41:38
Michael Jordan, these sort of guys, the
00:41:40
the great cricketers,
00:41:42
business people. Um
00:41:45
yeah, like I said once again, uh for me,
00:41:50
what's the I don't get anything out of
00:41:52
doing things halfass or media, you know,
00:41:55
mediocre. So I even if it's a small
00:41:58
thing, I like to do it well if I can. Um
00:42:02
like I said before, sometimes there
00:42:04
things you just go through and you move
00:42:06
on. But yeah, as general sort of mindset
00:42:08
that sort of that was that was a
00:42:11
strength for me, I think in my career. M
00:42:14
and the um you don't just have one. You
00:42:16
definitely do extra. You you you even
00:42:18
have extra four words in your book. Most
00:42:19
people just have one. You've got three
00:42:22
forwards from Robbie Dan, Joe Schmidt,
00:42:23
and um Wayne Bennett. And Wayne Bennett
00:42:26
calls you um
00:42:28
>> principled. That's that's the word he
00:42:30
used.
00:42:30
>> Yeah.
00:42:31
>> What did he mean?
00:42:34
>> Yeah. I'm not sure. Yeah. Um
00:42:36
>> it's a huge compliment.
00:42:37
>> Yeah. I guess um
00:42:40
um you probably have to ask Wayne, but
00:42:43
uh
00:42:45
I I you know felt strongly about
00:42:48
representing the Broncos. It meant a lot
00:42:50
to me. Um you know, moving over there
00:42:54
when I was a a 9year-old, um you know, I
00:42:59
I guess I I I tried to play in a certain
00:43:02
manner um and show respect and all this
00:43:05
sort of stuff. Maybe that's what he
00:43:07
means. I'm not really sure. But to have
00:43:10
those guys, uh Wayne to this, you know,
00:43:15
to this day, I'm 50 years 51 years old.
00:43:18
He had me for, you know, 10 years at the
00:43:20
Broncos. Um you know, a fifth of my life
00:43:23
even now, you know. Um
00:43:25
>> so he had a big impact being around him
00:43:28
and uh the great coach that he is. And
00:43:31
>> it won't surprise me if he goes into his
00:43:33
80s. um um with his coaching as long as
00:43:37
he has the passion and the desire.
00:43:40
Um, and then to have Robbie there who
00:43:42
was, uh, massive for me. Um,
00:43:46
uh, and such a competitor himself and
00:43:48
and and a good guy. And Joe Schmidt, um,
00:43:52
who I got the pleasure of playing with
00:43:54
at the back end of my career. And if you
00:43:57
look at his um, regime, you know, he's
00:44:01
uh, he's a guy who's achieved a lot. And
00:44:04
then, you know, they're all men of, you
00:44:07
know, character. So
00:44:08
>> to have those guys talk about you is uh
00:44:12
crazy. Yeah.
00:44:14
>> Yes. Some of the coaches that you've
00:44:15
played for, there's um Ted who um who um
00:44:19
thought you were too old initially. We
00:44:20
might get into that later. Agism.
00:44:23
>> Uh there's um the professor Sir Wayne
00:44:25
Smith, Sir Steve Hansen, Robbie Deans,
00:44:27
Joe Schmidt, uh Razer. Did Razer coach
00:44:30
you at the Crusaders?
00:44:32
>> No. No. I played next to Razer.
00:44:34
>> Yeah. but also um yeah, Wayne Bellamy
00:44:36
and um also Craig Bellamy and Wayne
00:44:39
Bennett.
00:44:40
>> What? Yeah. What traits do all great
00:44:42
coaches have in common?
00:44:46
>> I guess they have the love for the the
00:44:48
what they're doing, the sport. Um highly
00:44:51
competitive. Uh
00:44:54
you know, they um you know, they've got
00:44:58
their their vision.
00:45:00
um you know they're they're very driven
00:45:03
and they
00:45:06
uh managed they can you know connect
00:45:09
with the to get the best out of your
00:45:11
players they're the best coaches so
00:45:15
um yeah there's the our environment at
00:45:19
the Broncos was a competitive
00:45:21
environment
00:45:22
when I think of adversaries you know not
00:45:26
necessarily other teams it was you know
00:45:28
um some of my teammates you know and um
00:45:31
many time I come off the training pad at
00:45:33
cranky cuz you know you lost some sort
00:45:35
of you know you know bold skill game or
00:45:39
whatever. Um so Dean was the same like
00:45:43
Dean was just highly competitive uh guy.
00:45:48
They demand high standards. You don't
00:45:50
get stuff with low standards or mediocre
00:45:52
standards.
00:45:54
>> It's always the same. It's, you know,
00:45:55
high standards and the fabric that
00:45:58
brings it all together is the care, the
00:46:00
care and the care is the real words is
00:46:05
love, but it's if you know care is a
00:46:07
probably a more comfortable word for the
00:46:09
lads, but caring for each other and for
00:46:12
what you're trying to achieve, the cause
00:46:14
>> and who you represent. And
00:46:17
that's the at those under Joe Schmidt,
00:46:20
Wayne Bennett, Graeme Henry, um all
00:46:23
those guys, Dean, that you know, they're
00:46:26
big on that, big on uh uh keeping a
00:46:30
humility
00:46:32
that the great teams you go to, um
00:46:35
sometimes you expect them to have the
00:46:37
big ego, but there's a humility. They
00:46:39
know they're they know they're good, um
00:46:41
but there's a humility to continue to
00:46:42
strive to get better and learn and
00:46:44
whatever.
00:46:45
Sometimes it's the the teams where you
00:46:47
they're not so good you expect would be
00:46:49
humble, but they
00:46:51
>> sometimes there's a bit of a uh attitude
00:46:53
there. You know, it's quite interesting
00:46:55
that you know, you'd expect the the big
00:46:58
time team to be if anything arrogant.
00:47:01
But obviously, you know, but that's why
00:47:03
that's the thing I learned
00:47:06
um throughout my 22 years playing is
00:47:09
there's a reason why teams are good.
00:47:12
It's not just by chance and it starts
00:47:14
with these coaches you're talking about
00:47:16
and the players and the culture of the
00:47:17
club and all that sort of stuff. And
00:47:19
there's a reason why places aren't good.
00:47:21
It's not just by chance either. Do you
00:47:23
know what I mean? And uh having a a full
00:47:26
experience over that 22 years is was
00:47:31
good, you know, to to just get a feel
00:47:34
for different things. The last four
00:47:36
years of my career, I um I was a 30 I
00:47:39
finished the World Cup. I was 36 years
00:47:41
old. I still felt good. I thought I'm
00:47:42
going to keep playing, but now I'm going
00:47:44
to have some fun. You know, I've had um
00:47:46
10 years at the Broncos, seven with the
00:47:47
Crusaders, 17 years of going hard, you
00:47:50
know, all these things that I'm now I'm
00:47:52
going to have some fun. So, you know, I
00:47:54
got played in Japan. We came last. Um I
00:47:56
got the wooden spoon. I've won a wooden
00:47:58
spoon. So, um yeah, at the Highlanders,
00:48:01
we we sort of came out of uh we had a
00:48:03
tough year, won three and then, you
00:48:04
know, into the top six. Um yeah, over to
00:48:07
Leicester. Lster.
00:48:09
Um it was good to experience these
00:48:11
different uh places and teams in
00:48:14
different spaces, clubs at different
00:48:16
spaces. So yeah.
00:48:18
>> Um from what you've said previously, um
00:48:21
Wayne Bennett is um your favorite league
00:48:23
coach. Who would be your favorite rugby
00:48:24
coach?
00:48:25
>> He's my only league coach.
00:48:26
>> Oh, is he? Yeah.
00:48:27
>> Oh, yeah. All my life.
00:48:28
>> Oh, Craig Bellamy. He was he was your
00:48:30
like strength and conditioning coach at
00:48:32
the Broncos. Okay. He's gone on to do
00:48:34
Right.
00:48:34
>> Yeah. and we knew he would and we loved
00:48:37
Craig and um uh yeah he he played like
00:48:40
200 games for the Camber Raiders back in
00:48:42
the 80s and this is when yeah it was
00:48:45
tough they they they when they first
00:48:47
came in I think 1982 or something they
00:48:49
did they were
00:48:50
>> they were tough years so he played all
00:48:52
those games uh I think he did strength
00:48:55
and conditioning um he did a bit of
00:48:58
assisting coaching
00:49:00
um he's pretty much you know done it all
00:49:03
and then he went into Melbourne and look
00:49:06
what he's done over 20 years. Isn't it
00:49:08
Isn't it fantastic what he's done, you
00:49:10
know? So,
00:49:12
um you you're just pleased for those
00:49:14
guys and you just have massive respect
00:49:15
and you're thankful for what they
00:49:17
invested into you,
00:49:19
>> you know what I mean?
00:49:21
>> Who would be your top rugby coach? One
00:49:23
that you if if you could play for the
00:49:25
rest of your life and only have one
00:49:26
coach, who would it be?
00:49:27
>> That's just like a brutal question, Dom,
00:49:29
because um
00:49:31
>> you don't want to play favorites.
00:49:32
picking your favorite son.
00:49:33
>> That's a tough one. Yeah.
00:49:36
Yeah, it's a tough one, man.
00:49:39
>> Do you want me to answer it?
00:49:41
>> Not if you don't feel comfortable.
00:49:44
>> If you look at Graeme and you look at um
00:49:48
Smithy and Shag. I think of those guys
00:49:50
together. Uh even though I did have Shag
00:49:53
and Canterbury, but then you got like
00:49:56
Dean and you've got um Joe Schmidt.
00:50:00
They're all just qu high quality. So,
00:50:03
um, you know, it's just too it's not a
00:50:08
it's not an easy one to answer that.
00:50:09
Yeah. Sorry, can I just sidestep that?
00:50:12
>> You didn't take a knee on that one.
00:50:13
>> Yeah.
00:50:14
>> Um, and you played with some That's the
00:50:17
coaches. The um you played with some
00:50:19
amazing players, eh, in in both um in
00:50:21
both sports. Who would be the um like
00:50:24
the best athlete that you've ever been a
00:50:25
teammate with? when when I had um Sir
00:50:28
Steve Hansen on the podcast last year,
00:50:29
he said Rich is probably the best rugby
00:50:31
player. Sunny Bill is the best athlete
00:50:33
>> that he's ever coached.
00:50:34
>> Yes. Yeah. And from a coaching point of
00:50:36
view, you know, um some of the athletes
00:50:39
I like are in the front row, you know,
00:50:41
or the, you know, the locks. Um but, um
00:50:45
you know, Wendell Sailor was a
00:50:48
powerhouse. Um
00:50:51
there was some there was some good uh
00:50:53
specimens. Tony Carol was uh you know a
00:50:56
specimen. I if you remember Tony um so
00:51:00
there's all these different guys. You
00:51:02
got Sunny obviously, you know,
00:51:04
Rolls-Royce, you know, like a really
00:51:06
good physical shape and athlete and
00:51:10
um there's there's just so many guys,
00:51:14
you know, it's hard to for me, you know,
00:51:18
does there's does a front row mention in
00:51:20
there because he's 120 kilo and, you
00:51:23
know, he's you don't see his abs, but um
00:51:26
you know, if you don't have him in the,
00:51:29
you know, doing his job, you can't win
00:51:32
games of rugby, you know.
00:51:34
>> Um, so there's different, you know, type
00:51:38
of physiques that you need for different
00:51:40
positions.
00:51:41
>> And, um, so yeah. Yeah, that's all I got
00:51:45
on that one.
00:51:48
>> That almost sounds like another
00:51:48
diplomatic answer.
00:51:50
>> It's just hard. It's just because
00:51:53
there's the, like I said, there's the
00:51:55
athletes that are the easy stand out
00:51:59
ones, but
00:52:01
you got to remember, uh, I almost got
00:52:04
like a loyalty to the type five and the
00:52:06
middle. And the and in in rugby league,
00:52:08
we call it like the the we used to call
00:52:10
it the ruck. I think they call middles
00:52:12
now. So that would be like at the
00:52:14
Broncos that would be Pro, Shane Webbby,
00:52:17
Webkkey, uh Sean Baragan or Luke Pritis
00:52:20
and myself. Um and then you have your
00:52:24
right side and your left side. And
00:52:25
there's good athletic guys in that,
00:52:27
>> but they have different roles that they
00:52:29
do. We have roles that we do. We have to
00:52:33
have an onslaught of making hard meters
00:52:36
and um you know, building momentum and
00:52:38
getting us the right ends. uh when it
00:52:41
comes to uh Roby Union um you know you
00:52:45
got Tony Woodcock uh who's just a beast
00:52:50
uh does he look you know if you put him
00:52:54
in speedos and that is he going to look
00:52:56
uh you know compared to Israel or
00:52:59
someone or uh Dan yeah uh no he look
00:53:04
different but that that ain't going to
00:53:07
work up front so um you need Tony Tony
00:53:10
Woodcock, you know, and you need uh, you
00:53:13
know, uh, Franks and all the guys that I
00:53:16
play with. So, um,
00:53:20
like I said, I've got a bias probably
00:53:22
being a type five guy to to the guys
00:53:25
that um, I stood next to, you know, who
00:53:28
were um, who are very as good at their
00:53:31
job as anyone else, you know. So, yeah.
00:53:34
>> Is is Rich McCall the greatest rugby
00:53:36
player of all time?
00:53:38
Well, that's a big call. Once again, it
00:53:40
goes Well, it goes back to
00:53:42
>> Are you just mad cuz he broke your nose
00:53:44
that time?
00:53:44
>> Oh, yeah.
00:53:46
>> Yeah. What I was saying before, yeah, we
00:53:48
we
00:53:48
>> accidental hit.
00:53:49
>> Yeah, we we met at a 20 20 seconds and
00:53:54
do a a test at twiging him. My face hit
00:53:57
his skull. But um um
00:54:01
Richie uh uh is great player, great guy.
00:54:06
Um,
00:54:08
so there's many great guys and players
00:54:11
though. Um, and I'll keep I'm sort of
00:54:15
saying what I just said before.
00:54:18
It just depends on, you know, uh, a
00:54:20
number 10, he's running the show. So, a
00:54:23
number good numbers, great number 10's
00:54:25
always going to stand out. He's getting
00:54:27
the ball. He's making the plays. Um, the
00:54:31
seven, he's all around the ball. Uh,
00:54:34
which is awesome. you see these sevens
00:54:35
and they're dominant and they do their
00:54:37
role and Richie's uh a legendary player
00:54:43
>> once again there's if they there's a
00:54:46
saying
00:54:48
who's um yeah you know who's the most
00:54:51
important player in a in a rugby team
00:54:53
it's and it's tied prop who's the second
00:54:56
most important the the reserve tie prop
00:54:59
>> because you don't have a scrum you know
00:55:02
rugy's played off you know set piece
00:55:05
you don't have a um you don't have front
00:55:07
football for anyone to play or for you
00:55:09
know guys to do so so um talking uh he'd
00:55:13
definitely be up there um and there's
00:55:16
all these you know other guys um you
00:55:20
know there's great players right now um
00:55:23
there's been great players in the past
00:55:25
uh and um yeah I I I find those those
00:55:30
sort of questions sort of hard to answer
00:55:32
just because you know I just just the
00:55:34
value of it all. So, yeah.
00:55:36
>> Yeah. Oh, you're so diplomatic.
00:55:38
>> Yeah.
00:55:38
>> Yeah. No one's going to be offended.
00:55:40
>> Yeah. Well, you know, for me, you know,
00:55:42
you look at I even establish
00:55:46
he played now, big specimen, won a
00:55:48
couple World Cups. Um, you know, you
00:55:52
look at different guys, you know, you
00:55:54
know, Pine Tree Maids. um you know all
00:55:57
these Brian L'ore there's been a lot of
00:56:01
that we're that you you can't com it's
00:56:04
hard to compare um errors because
00:56:07
there's you know there's strength and
00:56:09
conditioning and all this stuff now or
00:56:11
back then there was this or that.
00:56:14
>> It's just sort of hard you know to to
00:56:16
put your sort of um definitely a
00:56:19
legendary all black and um became a
00:56:22
great leader. So yeah,
00:56:26
>> your hard work, Bradthorn.
00:56:27
>> Oh, no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
00:56:30
>> Hey, um let's go um all all the way
00:56:32
back. So you're born in Mosgill. Uh then
00:56:34
you spend some time in Banickburn.
00:56:36
>> Yeah.
00:56:37
>> Yeah, I know that that's red wine
00:56:38
territory near
00:56:40
>> used to be um farmers uh orchards,
00:56:44
>> apricots and cherries and stuff. I think
00:56:46
there's still cherries and stuff there
00:56:48
now. Battling away. Uh and and maybe
00:56:52
Marino um sheep farming. Uh you know, it
00:56:57
was guys are you know uh that they were
00:57:03
trying the best and but with the
00:57:05
vineyards and that came along. Um you
00:57:08
know it was perfect. They thrive the
00:57:11
grapes thrive in those that altitude and
00:57:13
those conditions and
00:57:16
>> um it's come a long way. When I go back
00:57:18
there, we've got the speedway there, you
00:57:20
know, the speedways park.
00:57:22
>> Yeah, it's incredible.
00:57:23
>> Yeah. Um,
00:57:25
it's uh, you know, it's really grown in
00:57:28
Queenstown and all, you know, all that.
00:57:29
So, yeah, it's cool. A great place to
00:57:31
grow up. Played my first rugby there as
00:57:33
a six-year-old um for my primary school,
00:57:37
Cromwell Primary, played under eights
00:57:40
and then that was it. You know, I I've
00:57:42
heard people in the past, oh, he played
00:57:44
uh rugby up until, you know, first 15.
00:57:46
No, no, no. Underage was the last time
00:57:49
until I played um with the Crusaders as
00:57:52
a 26-y old, you know,
00:57:54
>> cuz then Yeah. Then we went across to
00:57:56
Australia and I learned New Game. So,
00:57:58
yeah.
00:57:58
>> So, back then um you were called Boo.
00:58:01
That was the family nickname.
00:58:03
>> That's hard to hear that way.
00:58:04
>> Is it? Does Does anyone still call you
00:58:06
Boo now? Does your older brother call
00:58:07
you Boo? Does your
00:58:09
>> Sometimes he does and I let him get away
00:58:11
with it because um it's my big bro. You
00:58:14
know, he's 50. He's a couple years. He's
00:58:16
your age. Um couple years older. So
00:58:18
>> he's bigger than you as well, right?
00:58:20
>> He's the big dog. Yeah. Six uh 68. He is
00:58:24
3 in bigger. So um and he's the older
00:58:27
brother. So I have to cop a bit of that.
00:58:30
But yeah, you it got to a point when I
00:58:31
said 14, 15, start to think you're
00:58:34
pretty cool and stuff. And I got my mom
00:58:37
or my dad yelling out, "Go Boo. Go Boo."
00:58:40
And I'm like, "H we're going to lose
00:58:42
that nickname. It's time to It was good
00:58:44
as a kid, little guy, but that didn't
00:58:47
that didn't cut it down as a 15y old
00:58:49
trying to, you know, be cool and
00:58:51
whatever. So, yeah.
00:58:52
>> [ __ ] That's That's wonderful, though.
00:58:54
That's a great a great nickname. The um
00:58:56
the man the middle-aged man sitting in
00:58:58
front of me now. Um how is he the same
00:59:00
and how is he different to Boo at
00:59:03
Silverream Primary School in Mos?
00:59:05
>> Yeah. Uh Love, Rough, and Tumble.
00:59:07
>> Yeah. you know, um
00:59:11
I'd like to think I'm pretty friendly,
00:59:14
you know. I'm a softy inside, you know.
00:59:16
I'm um
00:59:18
uh
00:59:20
um yeah, I'm a I'm a softy. I remember
00:59:23
my dad saying um there was a
00:59:27
uh there was a the good guys or
00:59:29
something. It was a business in
00:59:31
Australia and they had an advert, bunch
00:59:33
of softies. He said, "That's us, mate.
00:59:34
We're you know." So, um, but yeah, uh,
00:59:39
yeah, I like I'm cheeky. Uh,
00:59:43
usually you get like a bigger guy, he
00:59:45
can be, um, a certain way, but because I
00:59:49
was like the little guy, I actually had
00:59:51
a foster brother who lived with us for
00:59:53
four years. He was a year older than my
00:59:55
brother. Um, so I had him, my brother,
01:00:00
and and I was the cheeky guy. You know,
01:00:03
I get I annoy older kids. I remember
01:00:06
getting beat up out the front of church,
01:00:08
beat up on Christmas day by other kids
01:00:11
cuz, you know, there's a cheeky bit of a
01:00:13
rascal guy, I guess. You know, when we
01:00:15
were talking before about in the gym,
01:00:16
you I'm walking around.
01:00:19
>> Yeah. Yeah. Pandering away. So, yeah,
01:00:21
there's a there's a probably a good
01:00:23
amount of cheekiness to me as well. Did
01:00:25
you get in much trouble? What was the
01:00:27
most trouble you got in as as a kid?
01:00:30
>> Um,
01:00:32
yeah, we we were um we respected our
01:00:36
parents and we didn't really get in too
01:00:39
much trouble. Um, like I said, you know,
01:00:43
um, so you might be silly little things,
01:00:46
you know, whatever. Probably that if I
01:00:48
thought about trouble would be my
01:00:49
mother, um, when we moved to Australia,
01:00:52
she's a nurse. 40 years a nurse she was.
01:00:54
and um she um used to do night duty when
01:00:58
we first rocked up because you know
01:01:00
you've come and you and uh night duty is
01:01:04
pretty hard. She do six days a week
01:01:06
night duty. What that meant was on the
01:01:09
weekends um dad was working but we had
01:01:13
to be quiet during the day and because
01:01:15
mom would have to sleep you know what I
01:01:17
mean
01:01:18
>> and if we made if we sometimes we forget
01:01:21
and be making a lot of noise or having
01:01:23
the TV up
01:01:24
>> and if mom got woken up that's when you
01:01:27
knew when dad come home you know we uh
01:01:31
you know he'd line us up military style
01:01:33
and you get you know smack smack. Um, so
01:01:37
yeah, that's not big time in trouble,
01:01:39
you know. Um, we we were just, you know,
01:01:43
mom and dad said goes and um
01:01:47
>> you know that we're pretty respectful.
01:01:49
I'll just say um just I mentioned my
01:01:52
that we had a foster brother. Um that
01:01:55
was uh my dad that was big on that and
01:01:58
uh just his own upbringing. He sort of
01:02:01
um
01:02:02
guess had a bit of a you his dad was an
01:02:05
alcoholic and it was he lived in state
01:02:07
housing in Moscow and uh yeah he didn't
01:02:10
have that connection with his dad that
01:02:12
he felt I guess he wished he had and he
01:02:14
poured that into us but I think dad
01:02:17
wanted to give he got to we got to a
01:02:19
good space and dad wanted to give back
01:02:21
and we had a foster brother who lived
01:02:22
with us for 4 years. He'd been like 33
01:02:26
different homes or something and um and
01:02:29
we're actually looking to adopt him. Um
01:02:32
he's living in Australia with us. Uh I
01:02:34
he was like a brother to me and and we
01:02:37
treat him like a brother. That's what I
01:02:38
mean. And um but yeah, his mother um um
01:02:44
wanted him not to do that and to come
01:02:46
back to New Zealand. And unfortunately a
01:02:48
month after going back, he was in um a
01:02:51
boarding in a boarding school. like a
01:02:54
boy's home.
01:02:55
>> Uh just boarding school like a school.
01:02:57
>> Oh, okay.
01:02:58
>> But
01:02:59
>> you know,
01:03:00
>> he was around he had a strong role model
01:03:02
with my dad and all that sort of stuff.
01:03:04
But I took my hat off to my dad around
01:03:07
that because um um
01:03:10
>> you know uh yeah, it was cool that he
01:03:13
really wanted to he had his two sons,
01:03:15
but he he wanted to give you know
01:03:18
someone um I guess a chance to have that
01:03:21
opportunity.
01:03:22
>> Yeah. Yeah.
01:03:23
Yeah. So, um, Lindseay Thorne.
01:03:26
>> Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk about him. He he
01:03:29
passed he was huge influence on you as
01:03:30
we've talked about. Um, champions do
01:03:32
extra. That was a quote from um him.
01:03:36
>> Um, he gave you a boot up the ass when
01:03:37
you need it. Sounds like he gave you
01:03:39
love when you needed it. Um, you lost
01:03:42
him when when you were 19, like seven
01:03:44
games into your into your into your
01:03:46
league career. So there's so much that
01:03:48
he missed, but um also so much that he
01:03:50
got to saw got to see, which is sort of
01:03:52
how you frame it. Like he had done it
01:03:53
done all he needed to do as a parent to
01:03:55
send you and your brother on your way.
01:03:57
>> Job done. Um it sucked that that he
01:04:01
passed and he's not at weddings. He's
01:04:03
not with the grand being a granddad and
01:04:05
all this sort of stuff. But job done,
01:04:07
Lindsay, because
01:04:09
me and Aaron, you know, I was just about
01:04:12
to turn 20. Aaron was 22, my brother.
01:04:14
and 20 years of goodness he poured into
01:04:17
you know for me and 22 for my brother
01:04:19
and so the challenges of life and that
01:04:23
we we were you know walked forward and
01:04:27
and you thank God for my for my dad and
01:04:30
my brother would say the same thing um
01:04:32
if he'd gone uh you know as a 15year-old
01:04:36
or something or 13y old it would have
01:04:38
been I think a way more massive thing
01:04:42
you know but I'm just saying but for
01:04:43
half of me and my brother. Um he he done
01:04:48
uh he did a great job there and it's an
01:04:51
it's cool to honor him in this book
01:04:54
because um I talk about uh in the World
01:04:57
Cup final after the siren goes, you
01:05:01
know, I was so pent up and energy. I was
01:05:04
balling on my knees balling and all
01:05:08
black physio Pete Gallagghous you know
01:05:09
who's a friend of mine said you know
01:05:12
Lindsay be proud of you which is um it
01:05:14
was my dad and uh it was really cool in
01:05:17
that moment but um you know to have all
01:05:21
those sort of moments uh those
01:05:25
experiences and all that you know you're
01:05:26
just so grateful you got set up how he
01:05:29
treated my mother um you can talk about
01:05:32
it but you see you got of dad actioning
01:05:35
it, you know, that, you know, meeting my
01:05:39
wife and um and how I've raised my own
01:05:41
kids, you know, it's it's just cool to
01:05:45
uh to honor him a bit, you know, in the
01:05:49
book um and my mother as well.
01:05:53
>> I mean, he's been um out of your life
01:05:55
longer than what he was in it. Is it
01:05:56
still is it still painful now to think
01:05:58
about him, to talk about him? You know
01:06:00
what, Dom, what I've liked is I've, you
01:06:04
know, I just talked about him. I can
01:06:06
talk about it. There's many years where
01:06:08
I'd choke up and, you know, so um
01:06:13
I had to talk at my brother's wedding
01:06:15
and you got married, you know, got to
01:06:18
I'm basically,
01:06:20
you know, dad would have been saying
01:06:22
something. So,
01:06:24
>> it was hard to talk about him and
01:06:26
different times like that. You know,
01:06:28
there's a couple of times um some of my
01:06:31
players um lost their dads and
01:06:37
uh I I really understood how they
01:06:39
feeling like they are young guys. Um we
01:06:42
had a young guy called Jordan Paya. Um I
01:06:45
don't know if you heard of him. He was
01:06:46
in the Queensland Reds and Oz actually
01:06:48
got on well with his dad uh Tu who's a
01:06:52
um good guy and uh he passed suddenly
01:06:55
and um
01:06:58
some of the guys were going to uh it was
01:07:01
Luke Khan who's a lock that I had and
01:07:03
Chris Ortier was a center I had they
01:07:05
were going to his house and they rang me
01:07:09
to let me know cuz it just happened
01:07:11
suddenly to to support him and
01:07:14
Um, it caught me unaware. This is a guy
01:07:17
I got on pretty well with. And, um,
01:07:21
I actually halfway through the phone
01:07:23
call basically fell down my knees in my
01:07:26
bedroom balling and my wife was just
01:07:30
hugging me, you know. But
01:07:33
I felt um because I knew what Jordan was
01:07:37
the pain and how hard that is. And um I
01:07:41
think
01:07:43
uh you know just over the years you know
01:07:46
you process it a bit. And um when my dad
01:07:51
passed he died on the um
01:07:54
on the Sunday morning.
01:07:57
I actually got to see him only because
01:08:00
um I came home at like daylight. I've
01:08:02
been out at pubs with my mates and and
01:08:05
then he's gone. He's on a table and he's
01:08:07
not there. And um my mom's just balling
01:08:10
and uh whatever. So,
01:08:13
>> but
01:08:15
on the Sunday, so on the Tuesday
01:08:18
afternoon, I went and trained at the
01:08:20
Broncos cuz I just there's so much grief
01:08:22
you can take. I just need to do get away
01:08:25
from that. But we were just remembering
01:08:27
we had the wedding uh the funeral on the
01:08:29
Wednesday. It's pretty quick, eh? Turn
01:08:32
around. And I don't know if that's
01:08:34
looking back, you know, maybe over time,
01:08:40
you know, there's different things where
01:08:42
they have a body at a house for a while
01:08:44
to let people,
01:08:46
>> you know, cross
01:08:46
>> he said.
01:08:47
>> Yeah. All that sort of stuff. There was
01:08:49
a a massive king hit,
01:08:52
you know, and
01:08:55
um you know, he's the hardest thing that
01:08:58
I've had to deal with in my life. and I
01:09:02
hadn't really had anything bad happen
01:09:04
till then. And then he's like my best
01:09:06
friend. He's my uh he's my guy, you
01:09:08
know. Um and
01:09:12
uh so
01:09:14
so yeah, like um
01:09:18
Pete Gallagher mentioning him, yeah,
01:09:20
when we won that World Cup, that's why I
01:09:22
wrote the book. It's pretty nice. Um I
01:09:26
used to uh in the Broncos uh sorry in
01:09:29
the All Blacks after test matches often
01:09:32
the parents would be around the families
01:09:34
and sometimes the some of the fathers
01:09:37
and then some of the coaching staff
01:09:39
would be in the team room and I would go
01:09:42
there as well cuz after a big energy
01:09:44
game you'd be lying there at 3:00 a.m.
01:09:47
with your eyes wide open. It's hard to
01:09:49
sleep. So, but I'm not a guy who's going
01:09:51
out, you know, I'm a family man,
01:09:53
whatever. What I used to love was just
01:09:56
hanging out with those fathers,
01:09:57
>> cuz mom wasn't there. So I would um talk
01:10:02
to Richie's dad and to Hory's dad and
01:10:06
they
01:10:08
wouldn't have realized it, but yeah, I
01:10:09
was I I just when I see fathers with
01:10:14
their sons and stuff, the Franks is
01:10:16
there, all these guys. Uh, I just really
01:10:19
appreciate it cuz he wasn't when it's a
01:10:23
it's a tough one when um they don't uh
01:10:27
they're not there the next day or the
01:10:29
next one
01:10:30
>> or the next year, you know. And um
01:10:33
so yeah, I believe I'll see my father
01:10:35
again. Um, but yeah, he's been missed.
01:10:38
And uh um you know, like I said, it's
01:10:42
cool to to uh in a way with this book,
01:10:47
you know, just just honor my dad and the
01:10:49
impact he had on me and and also my
01:10:51
mother who was a real rock and they were
01:10:54
a great team together. They were took
01:10:56
mom two years to get over. Uh dad, she
01:10:58
told me. Um so yeah, it's a tough old
01:11:00
time. Plenty of people go through it
01:11:02
though, don't they? So yeah.
01:11:05
Well, it's the price of great love,
01:11:06
isn't it? And I I'd even sit two years
01:11:08
to get over it. I I don't know if you
01:11:10
ever fully get over it. I think it
01:11:11
always sits close to the surface. Eh,
01:11:13
>> I just think for mom, she got to a space
01:11:16
where she can go for she's never
01:11:18
remarried. She has Alzheimer's now. You
01:11:20
I'm going to go down and see her now
01:11:22
that I'm back in New Zealand
01:11:25
and she's probably not going to know
01:11:27
know me, but um yeah, it's um
01:11:31
>> Brad, that's terrible.
01:11:32
>> Yeah, it's not.
01:11:33
>> It's heartbreaking. Yeah, it's it's just
01:11:36
a journey of life. And
01:11:38
um when dad passed, one thing I sort of
01:11:43
understood with my brother is time to,
01:11:45
you know, mom and dad raised us and
01:11:47
they're always there, but time to look
01:11:48
after mom, you know. So
01:11:51
>> we made sure, me and my brother, that
01:11:54
one of us was at home cuz I bought a
01:11:57
house and I moved out. My brother was
01:11:58
home, then he he came to New Zealand. I
01:12:02
was back at home when I came to do that
01:12:05
rugby challenge as a 26 year old. That
01:12:07
was the first time mom was going to be
01:12:09
on her own. So I'd been 19 when dad
01:12:11
passed. So it been like five six years.
01:12:15
But I got to take it's time to I got to
01:12:17
take on this I got to live my live life
01:12:19
and take on this challenge. And uh I
01:12:22
talked to mom about it and she was
01:12:24
obviously supportive in that. I think
01:12:27
from memory she went over and did some
01:12:28
nursing in England that year just to be
01:12:31
you know
01:12:32
>> change of scenery.
01:12:33
>> Yeah. But what you realize is, you know,
01:12:35
with the Alzheimer's and stuff, um, you
01:12:38
know, you're looking, uh, she's in
01:12:41
Christ Church, my brother's there, and
01:12:43
but for the last 10 years or so, she'd
01:12:45
been in Brisbane, you know, I brought
01:12:47
her back home, and I brought her back,
01:12:48
but um,
01:12:50
>> yeah, it's, uh,
01:12:53
me and my brother, our job to look after
01:12:57
mom. So um and she's the 30 odd years
01:13:01
since dad passed as I said she's never
01:13:04
remarried but she's um gone about her
01:13:06
life and um what a wonderful woman so
01:13:10
much respect for her.
01:13:14
>> So when you see your mom um like now or
01:13:17
this week with Alzheimer's
01:13:21
I'm I'm fortunate enough to be in a
01:13:22
position where I I haven't had a family
01:13:24
member that's had Alzheimer's or
01:13:25
dementia.
01:13:26
How how do you handle it? What do you
01:13:28
talk about? What do you do?
01:13:30
>> I I'm not one of the guys that goes um
01:13:32
keeps testing her memory like does she
01:13:35
know me not or not know me. I sense that
01:13:38
she's um happy when she sees me.
01:13:42
I sense that sometimes she probably does
01:13:44
know me. You know, she probably still
01:13:46
does know me, but um
01:13:49
>> yeah, like she seems real happy and warm
01:13:51
and I you know, I don't bother asking
01:13:54
her questions. do you remember this? Or
01:13:57
I just tell her I love her. And um I
01:14:00
like her being free. I like to get her
01:14:03
when she was
01:14:05
I have no relations uh in Australia.
01:14:08
They're all in New Zealand. So it was
01:14:11
part of bringing her back. My brother,
01:14:13
her sister, uh cousins, whatever. So,
01:14:16
but when I was in Australia, I'd take
01:14:19
I'd always take my dog. I'm a big dog. I
01:14:21
love my lab. Uh Maisie, I'm a big dog
01:14:24
person and um always found that mom
01:14:27
loved having the dog around. I'd always
01:14:30
take her out and uh to a park. I just
01:14:34
want to like being free because you you
01:14:36
get locked. You're in a place and you
01:14:39
know they're around people. They're not
01:14:42
>> It's a tough old gig around people.
01:14:45
>> You know that's your new home now, you
01:14:47
know. And she lived with us for about a
01:14:49
year and a half and it got real tough
01:14:51
there. Yeah, this is while you were
01:14:52
coaching the Reeds as well.
01:14:53
>> It was tough. Like sometimes um I get a
01:14:56
phone call or um my mom had been
01:15:00
walking, you know, didn't know where she
01:15:02
was and some people had found her and
01:15:05
all this sort of stuff. So, but I used
01:15:07
to like taking her out to we have like
01:15:09
these mud flats when the tide goes out
01:15:11
and Sandate and Nudgy Beach. I don't
01:15:13
know if you know anything about
01:15:14
Brisbane. And I I like taking the dog
01:15:17
out there, you know, and um I just like
01:15:20
taking my mom out there cuz she's just
01:15:22
for that hour I say she's free. Just
01:15:24
walk wherever you want to walk. Um and
01:15:28
um you just uh you just this are just a
01:15:32
holy love. this is a woman that brought
01:15:34
you into the world and um you know uh
01:15:38
you just want her to feel safe and good
01:15:42
and um you know you are just grateful to
01:15:46
God for her and um
01:15:49
uh you know you just you're bringing
01:15:51
that just that connection you know like
01:15:54
I said I don't spend time saying oh mom
01:15:56
do you remember this or you know what
01:15:58
she doesn't know who I am no I just be
01:16:00
there
01:16:01
>> and uh I I don't really ask questions. I
01:16:04
just say, "Oh, isn't this nice? Isn't
01:16:06
that nice?" You know. So, you know. So,
01:16:08
>> is is there a manual for this? Like for
01:16:11
kids that have got parents or, you know,
01:16:13
loved ones with Alzheimer's? Like, I
01:16:16
feel like testing them. I don't know. I
01:16:17
feel like that would that could be like
01:16:18
embarrassing.
01:16:20
>> Yeah.
01:16:21
>> If it was me, I'd probably has to have
01:16:22
my pride. So, I'd have a moment where
01:16:24
I'd maybe lie and say I do remember
01:16:26
something even if I didn't.
01:16:27
>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure. Um Yeah. It's
01:16:31
just like I said, that's sort of how I
01:16:34
go. I just want my mom to feel it's our
01:16:36
time. It's our job to look out for mom.
01:16:38
You know, dad's not here. If dad was
01:16:40
around and he was say didn't have
01:16:42
Alzheimer's, he'd be looking after mom
01:16:44
and whatever. the the time that's tough
01:16:46
with Alzheimer's and dementia and that
01:16:48
I'll tell you when the time's tough is
01:16:51
so earlier on when all of a sudden
01:16:53
you're saying to them um yeah you can't
01:16:56
ride your bike because um
01:17:00
you know if they just cycle out in front
01:17:02
of someone in a car or something or you
01:17:05
know the you got to take the license you
01:17:07
know yeah there's these things where the
01:17:10
person that has the the alz you know the
01:17:13
dementia or whatever they're saying oh
01:17:15
Why can't I drive? Cuz they're not
01:17:17
really aware. Do you know what I mean?
01:17:19
>> Yeah.
01:17:19
>> So, and in a way, the people who are
01:17:22
caring for them can become the bad guy.
01:17:25
And it' be this, if I started saying to
01:17:26
you, Dom, you can't, sorry, mate, you
01:17:28
can't do this, you can't do that. You'd
01:17:30
be going, why why can't I, you know, why
01:17:32
are you telling me what to do, you know?
01:17:34
So,
01:17:35
>> there can be a little bit of um that's
01:17:37
not much fun because you almost become
01:17:39
like the bad guy. That's where probably
01:17:41
the
01:17:43
um when they in a a place uh like a a
01:17:46
place where they um go um I guess the
01:17:50
nurses can be a bit of the bad guy and
01:17:52
you get back to being the good guy, you
01:17:54
know, you can you um spend time with
01:17:57
them. So
01:17:58
>> So she's in a a care facility now.
01:18:00
>> Yeah. And it's a really good one. Um, in
01:18:03
Christ Church, we're very grateful to
01:18:05
the effort, all the people they put in
01:18:07
for all those people, all those uh
01:18:10
people that are in there.
01:18:11
>> How how often do you get back?
01:18:14
>> This will be
01:18:16
I brought her back about uh a year and
01:18:19
uh just over a year ago. So, this will
01:18:21
be the second time that I'll be back
01:18:24
since then
01:18:26
>> because yeah, I'm just got all these
01:18:29
other stuff going on as well. So, it
01:18:31
sort of sucks because for, you know, all
01:18:34
that time, um, I've been there, you
01:18:38
know, it's been me and mom. Um, like I
01:18:42
said, all the relations, everyone's over
01:18:43
here. So, it was sort of tough. Uh,
01:18:47
taking her back. Um,
01:18:49
>> and I can't when you go and visit, I
01:18:50
can't imagine how hard leaving will be
01:18:52
again.
01:18:53
>> It's Yeah, you're just you're just
01:18:55
saying you're just saying to her, you're
01:18:58
just saying that you love him. Yeah, I
01:19:00
love you, Mom. And it probably sounds
01:19:03
like if you said it normally, it would
01:19:06
sound over the top, but you just want to
01:19:08
enjoy saying it.
01:19:09
>> Mhm.
01:19:10
>> So, you just Well, you got the
01:19:11
opportunity.
01:19:11
>> I just have my arm around her and um you
01:19:14
know, it gets to a point where um maybe
01:19:16
you sit down and she's sort of walks
01:19:20
around the lounge room they have there
01:19:21
and looks back at you and it's like she
01:19:24
doesn't recognize you.
01:19:27
It's just part of what that is. And um
01:19:29
you know it's uh we're finite and
01:19:32
>> like I said I have a faith I believe you
01:19:35
know my mother mother you know will join
01:19:38
my father I you know in a better place
01:19:41
to come. So yeah
01:19:43
>> how how awesome would it be if there
01:19:44
happens to be a moment of clarity where
01:19:45
she calls you boo.
01:19:47
>> Ah yeah well there you go. Um um
01:19:51
probably unlikely now though.
01:19:52
>> Yeah. Really?
01:19:53
>> Yeah. she she's still functioning um and
01:19:56
stuff, but yeah, I'm just I'm not just
01:19:58
not like I said, I'm not sure and I
01:20:01
don't really ask um um you know I I feel
01:20:06
like when she see me her face lights up
01:20:09
and that you know
01:20:10
>> something something clicks, something
01:20:12
registers.
01:20:12
>> Yeah. Yeah. I would Who would know what
01:20:14
she would know? Maybe I'm familiar and
01:20:17
it's a I'd say I'm a real familiar face.
01:20:20
maybe she does know I'm her son and uh
01:20:22
you know it's Brad and you know this
01:20:24
sort of stuff but I just I'm I'm less
01:20:28
focused on that and more on just uh I
01:20:30
just want her to feel good and I want to
01:20:33
value my mother you know and um with dad
01:20:38
gone like I said me and Aaron is our
01:20:42
time to sort of we look out for mom so
01:20:46
yeah
01:20:47
>> yeah I I suppose due to the the
01:20:49
different ways is um your Yeah. Your
01:20:52
mom's got Alzheimer's. Um your dad died
01:20:54
on a had a heart incident on a bike
01:20:56
crash. Yes. So the story goes in your
01:20:59
book which you share about so openly. Um
01:21:01
you you'd been on a night out. You come
01:21:03
home like 4:00 or 5 in the morning. Your
01:21:04
dad's in his Lyra just going out for a
01:21:06
bike ride. So you pass each other. Um so
01:21:08
I'm guessing in that sort of
01:21:10
circumstance, in that environment at
01:21:11
that age, you didn't say I love you as
01:21:13
the last words.
01:21:14
>> No, I was just happy for him. It's funny
01:21:16
that night out like it was just weird
01:21:19
because um we got puppy here having a
01:21:22
good scratching the floor.
01:21:23
>> Good on him.
01:21:25
>> Um but he um um Oh, when I was out I my
01:21:31
best mate, his brother was with us and
01:21:34
we just wanted to get a taxi. Brisbane's
01:21:36
a big city head out our way. Um and he
01:21:41
was just wanting to hang on. when he I
01:21:44
think he he he was trying to um chat to
01:21:46
this nice girl or whatever and um he's
01:21:50
like just give me 20 minutes 30 minutes
01:21:52
he just you know he's a nice guy he
01:21:54
wasn't a bad intention guy but um and we
01:21:57
gave him that time okay time to go just
01:21:59
I need a bit more you know it's like he
01:22:01
said it like three times I just my head
01:22:03
and man let's go you know it's going to
01:22:06
be sun's going to come up soon comes up
01:22:08
around you know 4:35 in Brisbane and uh
01:22:11
finally it comes I get home it's by
01:22:13
daylight. I'm just like far out. Dad's
01:22:17
um there getting ready to cycle. He'd
01:22:20
cycle with mates and then uh they'd have
01:22:23
a coffee and then uh at the end of it do
01:22:26
a good cycle and then like a lot of
01:22:28
people do and then he'd come home.
01:22:30
>> And um so yeah, I saw him. He was
01:22:33
looking so good, so fresh. And um he'd
01:22:36
had angina about 6 months earlier and I
01:22:40
think they done put a stent in or
01:22:42
something and he'd been going you know
01:22:44
it really affected him and then he's a
01:22:46
really fit healthy guy. Seemed like a
01:22:48
healthy guy and then yeah he um seemed
01:22:51
like he's in you know really good neck
01:22:54
and doing well he's pumped and then Boo
01:22:57
Booya came up they found him three
01:23:00
houses down from our house. three houses
01:23:02
down. Uh
01:23:04
and um don't know if he you know he he
01:23:08
was riding and then fell you know fell
01:23:10
off or if he don't know he's just on a
01:23:13
guy's lawn and you know that was uh you
01:23:16
know brutal for my brother. He was the
01:23:18
guy that went down there and they were
01:23:19
doing all the you know the stuff on the
01:23:21
ambulance all this sort of stuff. Yeah.
01:23:23
And then
01:23:24
>> like I said you know
01:23:26
>> Yeah. Well, you you weren't you were
01:23:28
sort of um you hadn't rediscovered um
01:23:30
your Christianity at that point and um
01:23:32
you were out out drinking. Why didn't
01:23:34
you go off the rails at that point? What
01:23:36
kept you from going off the rails?
01:23:38
>> Uh well, I was pretty loose
01:23:41
>> for you know for the next um uh 19 20 21
01:23:46
22. I've got a nick name for that
01:23:49
period. It's the mush years cuz they all
01:23:51
just immersed into it, you know. I just,
01:23:54
you know, um, train hard, play hard,
01:23:57
body hard, you know, and I was did all
01:23:59
three, you know, hard, you know. So that
01:24:02
was the league way.
01:24:03
>> I saw like a news headline um about you
01:24:05
from um 2009 and it said Brad Thorne
01:24:09
from Hellraiser to family man.
01:24:11
>> You were never a hellraiser. I wouldn't
01:24:12
say it was a hell raiser to me. Yeah, it
01:24:15
might be, you know, you editor editors
01:24:17
are trying to get um, you know,
01:24:19
attention to it. Yeah,
01:24:21
>> I wasn't I was just another guy,
01:24:23
>> you know, binge drinker and um,
01:24:26
>> in that, you know, that sort of time,
01:24:29
that environment, you know,
01:24:31
>> there's it's pretty loose. It's pretty
01:24:34
loose living by me. So, um that that's
01:24:38
how I was rolling and uh I guess had a
01:24:40
profile and you know um I guess got some
01:24:44
attention and
01:24:46
yeah I I took advantage of that I guess
01:24:49
and um
01:24:50
>> I've heard you refer to yourself as a
01:24:51
womanizer.
01:24:53
>> Yeah.
01:24:53
>> Yeah.
01:24:53
>> Is that what you mean? You're a hit with
01:24:54
the ladies? Uh, I wouldn't say
01:24:56
necessarily a hit with the ladies, but
01:24:58
um that was that was just, you know,
01:25:02
what was where was that? And um I was a
01:25:08
a love my grog and um
01:25:12
yeah there was uh
01:25:15
that that came with yeah like I said
01:25:18
that was the you know we trained hard we
01:25:20
played hard we partied hard you know and
01:25:22
um the thing about that was that there
01:25:26
was an emptiness there and a and a
01:25:29
sadness really and I say in the book the
01:25:34
worst part was just nothing. Feeling
01:25:36
like the word cardboard or I'm trying to
01:25:38
think of something that
01:25:41
just transactional. It It's sort of like
01:25:43
I write this sort of book. I got a wife.
01:25:45
I got a daughter. Got my sons.
01:25:48
>> Yeah. I don't I don't go under great
01:25:50
depths around stuff. I don't want to,
01:25:53
you know, I'm um
01:25:56
respectful, you know,
01:25:59
>> but yeah, as a loose unit and um
01:26:03
um
01:26:05
>> yeah, it got me to a point where yeah, I
01:26:08
was I basically had all this stuff. I'd
01:26:12
achieved all these things as a 22 year
01:26:14
old
01:26:16
and you know with all that all my ego
01:26:18
and all my you know the life I was
01:26:21
living the thing that I didn't
01:26:24
understand was I'm living the life why
01:26:26
am I not happy you know and that's when
01:26:29
I why do I not f feel fulfilled
01:26:33
fulfilled why am I you know I've got all
01:26:36
this these things but I still feel lack
01:26:39
of real purpose and
01:26:41
>> it It was like an equation for me and I
01:26:44
I was like it doesn't add up. I'm
01:26:47
supposed to be happy. I've done all the
01:26:48
stuff. I've got everything. I'm at the
01:26:50
top of the mountain playing for
01:26:51
Australia.
01:26:53
I got a house, car, all this sort of
01:26:55
stuff. So, that's what made me think um
01:26:59
start think more about God. And uh we're
01:27:03
we were family that were involved in the
01:27:06
church and that growing up in New
01:27:07
Zealand. when we came across to
01:27:09
Australia,
01:27:10
um I used to love Sunday school and all
01:27:13
that sort of stuff and um learning about
01:27:15
Jesus as a little kid, but um all the
01:27:18
stories and the songs and that, but uh
01:27:20
when we came to Australia, we didn't um
01:27:22
we went to a church and we didn't really
01:27:25
feel comfortable there and uh we just
01:27:28
stopped going. And then um it was six or
01:27:32
seven years before mom and dad had a
01:27:33
neighbor that moved in who was a
01:27:35
Christian and invited them to a church
01:27:37
and mom and dad ended up getting back
01:27:38
you know back and my brother uh um had a
01:27:42
friend who invited you know at school.
01:27:45
Um
01:27:46
and uh you know he he he came to faith
01:27:50
and and I was sort of like the last one
01:27:53
and um I I had stuff I was going to
01:27:58
achieve and um like I said I got that
01:28:02
space where I I had it all and uh and
01:28:06
like yeah like I said I it felt there's
01:28:08
an emptiness to it and it really
01:28:10
confused me and that's when because of
01:28:12
those memories of when I was young how
01:28:14
good I used to feel
01:28:16
uh and getting along to a church with my
01:28:19
mom and dad and just seeing the impact
01:28:21
it had on my brother,
01:28:23
the people, you know, Christians and
01:28:25
stuff, the peace they had, I just knew I
01:28:27
didn't have it.
01:28:28
>> And uh that's where Yeah. So, I don't
01:28:32
know if you want me to keep talking
01:28:34
about it or
01:28:34
>> Yeah. One one thing I'm really intrigued
01:28:36
about um by the way, thanks for being so
01:28:38
open about everything, you know, your
01:28:40
parents and um the faith stuff as well.
01:28:42
One thing um I'm super intrigued about
01:28:44
is so so you're this rock star in
01:28:46
Brisbane in the 1990s. You're playing in
01:28:48
the Broncos during the Dynasty years.
01:28:50
You're this um State of Origin player.
01:28:53
You're playing for the Kangaroos.
01:28:55
>> Um what was it like coming out to your
01:28:57
teammates at that point that you're
01:28:59
religious? It must have been so
01:29:00
isolating.
01:29:01
>> It wasn't um popular, you know, but you
01:29:05
know, when I look
01:29:06
>> like a lot of judgment.
01:29:07
>> Yeah, at the time. Yeah, it was. Yeah,
01:29:09
because you're a Christian. You're
01:29:10
supposed to be a goody, you know, um,
01:29:14
>> god bother.
01:29:15
>> What's the Simpsons? You know, Ned
01:29:17
Flanders, you know, it's not cool. It's
01:29:21
not strong, you know. So, yeah, it it
01:29:25
put you a bit on the outer, you know,
01:29:27
but I look back on that and I thank God
01:29:31
for it because if it had been just
01:29:32
cruisy, maybe I it made me make a
01:29:35
decision. Okay, I'm going to get a bit
01:29:37
of heat around this.
01:29:39
So, am I going to follow the Lord or
01:29:43
not? You know, if it had just been
01:29:44
easier than that, maybe I would have
01:29:46
been fluffy about my faith. But it made
01:29:47
me that made me go, "Yeah, I believe
01:29:51
there's a God that loves me. Jesus died
01:29:53
for my sins. He, you know, I believe
01:29:55
he's raised again, you know, and I
01:29:58
submit my life to him and and uh I'm
01:30:01
going to cop and um so be it. Uh he my
01:30:07
life has changed. I have peace. Um you
01:30:11
know I feel fulfillment. I have purpose
01:30:15
and I there's a God that loves me and
01:30:17
there's you know a life in front of me
01:30:20
to to live walking with him. So
01:30:23
um
01:30:25
when you look at it talking here Dom end
01:30:28
of the day you know I think Christians
01:30:30
are the most persecuted uh people on the
01:30:33
planet. I think it's like 350 million. I
01:30:36
saw some stat like uh there's some you
01:30:40
look at Nigeria, you look at these
01:30:41
places around the world, North Korea,
01:30:44
um all around the world, they're getting
01:30:46
their lives taken, you know. Um I got a
01:30:49
bit of you know, coldness or you know
01:30:53
some you know Alfie used to sing Kumbaya
01:30:55
and
01:30:57
>> Alfie Langanger really like just taking
01:30:59
the piss out of you. They're taking a
01:31:00
piss cuz I guess they got to
01:31:02
>> Did they Did it You can laugh about it
01:31:05
now. Did it Did it piss you off at the
01:31:06
time?
01:31:07
>> It I just like being part of the crew
01:31:09
and uh I play my number one thing with
01:31:12
footy is camaraderie. M
01:31:15
>> um and I love the physicality and stuff
01:31:17
but so
01:31:21
being a Christian sort of you know put
01:31:24
me on the outer
01:31:26
where I just like being with the uh you
01:31:29
know I don't naturally you don't want
01:31:31
that do you ideally so
01:31:34
>> um
01:31:36
it yeah I didn't like it but like I said
01:31:41
over time I felt like respect
01:31:44
was earned because
01:31:47
um I felt like it made me a better
01:31:48
player cuz I actually cared more about
01:31:51
my teammates instead of just it all up
01:31:55
you being about me and I bit and
01:31:57
scratched and fought my way through and
01:32:00
um
01:32:02
and then that was a massive thing that
01:32:05
changed but other people were down there
01:32:07
God was hardly thought about and it just
01:32:09
went and I started what you know the
01:32:12
Lord
01:32:13
submitting each day, you know, um what
01:32:17
he wanted in my life, uh and other
01:32:20
people became really important to me,
01:32:22
how they were going, you know, how could
01:32:24
I help and then myself. So that just
01:32:26
flipped
01:32:28
um the biggest test that, you know, one
01:32:31
of the biggest tests that happened
01:32:32
around that for me
01:32:34
>> when I uh my uncle came over when I was
01:32:37
16, 17, he's like, "You got to rep
01:32:40
games." My dad got him to chat me. You
01:32:42
got to um get the ball look after number
01:32:44
one. You know, when I had like this
01:32:47
mindset change, I'd started doing my run
01:32:50
and it was on my own and it was just
01:32:53
like I'm nothing's going to get in my
01:32:56
way. I'm getting these things done and
01:32:59
uh look after number one. You know what
01:33:01
I mean? And
01:33:04
um
01:33:05
when I become a Christian, I was 23 and
01:33:08
I had a couple years at the Broncos and
01:33:10
we achievement. I felt like my footy got
01:33:12
even better. I had more you I was
01:33:14
playing for more purpose and and I cared
01:33:17
about my mates and all this sort of
01:33:18
stuff. But then I went to rugby
01:33:22
and um
01:33:24
um I try to learn the game and stuff.
01:33:27
That was tough. But I came had a year
01:33:29
off, but I came back in 2003 and I
01:33:31
played for the All Blacks in the three
01:33:33
2003 World Cup and all that sort of
01:33:35
stuff. When I came back,
01:33:38
um, at the club there was Chris Jack
01:33:40
who's an outstanding all, you know, all
01:33:42
black. I think he played close to 70
01:33:44
test. I think he got New Zealand player
01:33:46
of the year. Norm Maxwell was just a
01:33:48
warrior. Um, you know, for, you know,
01:33:51
just a good tough guy. He'd been an all
01:33:53
black. And then there was me and um um
01:33:58
there was a guy Bryce Williams and uh
01:34:01
he's a younger guy and
01:34:04
it all been you know a lot of it been
01:34:05
fine being a Christian you know I'm
01:34:07
doing my thing but then I got to a space
01:34:10
where I'm trying to um come up through
01:34:14
ranks again I knew coming to the
01:34:16
crusaders I needed to be you in that
01:34:19
team each week getting as many games as
01:34:21
I could because I moved from number
01:34:22
eight to uh block cuz my aspiration was
01:34:26
to be an all black and to be a good
01:34:28
great All black. Um but to play in the
01:34:31
World Cup that year, I need to put in
01:34:33
performances.
01:34:34
>> So um I remember at the trainings I'm
01:34:38
just looking uh I had a training session
01:34:42
one day and um I talk about this in the
01:34:44
book as well. Uh
01:34:47
Bryce, the young guy was working on I
01:34:49
think it was kickoff. It might have been
01:34:50
something else. But I just looked at
01:34:53
him. And I thinking
01:34:55
I know what gets this done. And it's not
01:34:57
looking after some younger guy. It's
01:35:01
biting and scratching. Fought my way to
01:35:03
the top. I've done it before. I know. I
01:35:05
got I climbed to the top of the
01:35:06
mountain.
01:35:07
>> I know what works. It's not looking
01:35:09
after or caring about these guys.
01:35:13
And uh but then then I it was just me
01:35:16
standing at the end of training watching
01:35:18
guys these guys do extras. And then I
01:35:20
had this thought, hang on,
01:35:22
like you're doing this God's way, you
01:35:25
know.
01:35:26
>> Um,
01:35:28
you know, uh, that's
01:35:32
that's not
01:35:34
that's that's I guess how I made my way.
01:35:38
And when I I told you I got to the top
01:35:40
of the mountain, there's nothing there.
01:35:41
There's there's an emptiness and, you
01:35:44
know, um there was a lack of
01:35:46
fulfillment. And
01:35:48
I remember looking back at the uh Bryce
01:35:51
thinking
01:35:53
uh on going to, you know,
01:35:56
maybe I should go over and work with him
01:35:58
and maybe both we can both improve or
01:36:01
whatever. And it was real hard. I had
01:36:03
this like minute moment when I'm going
01:36:05
no
01:36:07
like an old me going that's not how we
01:36:10
get it done. Look after number one. And
01:36:13
cuz there's a ruthless side to me of
01:36:16
just, you know, and I'm trying to take
01:36:18
out, you know, I'm trying to come
01:36:20
through with the other two guys. You I
01:36:22
knew I had to try and um to be a
01:36:24
starter, I had to play better than um
01:36:27
Maxi and uh Chris Jack.
01:36:30
>> Anyway, get to a point where I go, "No,
01:36:33
you're doing this. You're doing it. Um
01:36:35
I'm doing it your way, Lord." I walked
01:36:37
over and uh I worked with uh Bryce,
01:36:40
whatever it was. Um I didn't do some
01:36:43
great helping or anything just just
01:36:45
doing some extras with him and uh that
01:36:48
was a game changer for me because
01:36:52
um before that I'd sort of been like a
01:36:54
slave to just looking after number one
01:36:57
>> and
01:36:58
it was like I said I'd become a
01:37:00
Christian. It was all fine for a couple
01:37:01
years. I'm I was the top of my game in
01:37:03
league but when I got tested when it
01:37:05
rubber hit the road hey I know what I
01:37:08
need to do to get there. Um but from
01:37:10
that time it really uh drove me to work
01:37:14
with guys you know Sam Wilox I think you
01:37:17
mentioned him before had an impact on
01:37:19
them or different guys
01:37:21
>> and the fulfillment like to to to get to
01:37:25
a space where like you almost get more
01:37:28
joy out of seeing someone else do well
01:37:31
you know than than they actually do. you
01:37:33
know, the the fulfillment of that, the
01:37:36
the the joy, the um the connection,
01:37:40
uh just so much more fulfilling. And um
01:37:44
and what I learned was that um you know,
01:37:48
you can you can achieve things too. And
01:37:50
um you know, I I got to represent the
01:37:53
All Blacks that year and um you know, I
01:37:56
was very proud to do that. So yeah.
01:37:59
>> Yeah. Thanks for sharing that stuff. Um,
01:38:02
yeah. What What did uh You must have
01:38:04
seen some wild stuff at Mad Monday
01:38:06
celebrations as a sober sober.
01:38:08
>> Question. I was doing it originally, but
01:38:10
yeah. Yeah, I I I mainly would just um I
01:38:14
you just not be around for that because
01:38:17
>> you just call it early. When it starts
01:38:18
to get messy, you're gone.
01:38:20
>> It was hard because um I'd almost be out
01:38:23
of my house and it was like uh almost
01:38:26
hear the city calling to me, you know.
01:38:28
I'm like going, "This is hard, you know.
01:38:31
Um,
01:38:33
I guess I had some pillars that helped
01:38:36
like I went to church on a Sunday
01:38:39
>> which was good, you know, but then you
01:38:40
got the week trying to, you know, keep
01:38:42
it on the straight and narrow, you know,
01:38:44
you got bad old habits. Took me three
01:38:46
years to get to come to terms with how I
01:38:48
was going to handle my alcohol. That was
01:38:50
to give up
01:38:51
>> for six years. I gave up for six years
01:38:53
because I I actually wasn't man enough
01:38:55
to handle it to treat it properly.
01:38:58
>> So, Oh, most people aren't.
01:39:00
>> Yeah. Well, I'm just only talking about
01:39:01
myself. I'm just being direct on myself.
01:39:04
I wasn't. So,
01:39:07
>> um, you know, that that took me 3 years.
01:39:09
There'd be many times in those three
01:39:11
years people looking, you know, oh, is
01:39:13
that a Christian? That guy, you know,
01:39:15
um, I was I was, you know, on my walking
01:39:19
my walk, you know. Um, but I had church
01:39:22
on Sunday. Um, I used to meet with a guy
01:39:24
on a Thursday uh, and and do a Bible
01:39:27
study and whatever. And I ended up um on
01:39:30
a Tuesday I actually fasted for the for
01:39:34
the day up until dinner. So pretty much
01:39:36
from the Monday evening through to the
01:39:38
Tuesday evening and I just it was a time
01:39:41
when I' i'd say prayers just for you
01:39:44
know people were sick or whatever. I
01:39:46
reckon that was I've done that to this
01:39:47
day. I do that to this day on a Tuesday.
01:39:50
And uh those those three sort of days in
01:39:53
the week of that uh the Bible study and
01:39:56
the Sunday was they were pillars in the
01:39:59
week to that were really good for me to
01:40:02
have structures in the week and I felt
01:40:04
like in that time of you know of
01:40:07
transitioning I guess um become you know
01:40:10
coming into my faith uh that that was a
01:40:12
strength for me. How how do you think um
01:40:15
how do you think your life would have
01:40:16
looked in your 20s, 30s, or even 40s if
01:40:18
you hadn't reconnected with your
01:40:20
religion?
01:40:23
>> Don't know if I would have, you know, I
01:40:26
when I I remember thinking, how am I
01:40:28
ever going to marry someone, you know? M
01:40:33
yeah it's sort of hard to sort of talk
01:40:36
about it but um yeah pretty much I
01:40:40
didn't know how I'd ever be faithful to
01:40:42
a woman or um
01:40:44
>> yeah I used to go pretty hard so um how
01:40:49
would that have worked you know don't
01:40:51
know if it would have worked great you
01:40:53
know you're away a lot you know up to
01:40:55
four months a year um with the all
01:40:57
blacks and all that sort of stuff and
01:40:59
>> when there's temptation and opportunity
01:41:01
like it, you know,
01:41:03
>> and just ego, you know. Um
01:41:07
maybe just a massive [ __ ] you know.
01:41:09
I don't know. Um I uh yeah, I I'm just
01:41:16
grateful that uh you know, that God uh
01:41:19
you know, in his mercy, you know, um got
01:41:23
me to that space and um you know, and
01:41:26
and that's been the walk I've had. And
01:41:28
it hasn't been all rosy. It's been a a
01:41:31
hard, you know, you have your ups and
01:41:33
downs like everyone and but I know
01:41:35
there's purpose to to to my life and and
01:41:39
uh and and he's my strength.
01:41:42
>> Where did you meet Maryanne? You've been
01:41:44
married for like 25 years now or
01:41:45
something. E
01:41:46
>> 23. Yeah.
01:41:46
>> 23 years.
01:41:47
>> Yeah. 24 this year. So
01:41:49
>> I suppose she came into your life when
01:41:50
when the the timing is everything with
01:41:52
these things, isn't it?
01:41:53
>> Massive.
01:41:53
>> Yeah.
01:41:53
>> Because if she'd come early, I would
01:41:55
have ruined it.
01:41:56
>> Yeah.
01:41:56
>> So she wasn't a Broncos groupy. No, she
01:41:59
was a she's a like a from her brothers
01:42:02
played rugby in Sydney.
01:42:04
>> Yeah,
01:42:04
>> it's pretty crazy. You know, you think
01:42:06
how do how do how do we get together?
01:42:08
Her mom came from Malta after World War
01:42:10
II. She's born in Malta, just under
01:42:13
Italy there. You know that that over
01:42:15
there. Um and my family's in New
01:42:18
Zealand. You know, she grows up in
01:42:21
Sydney. I grow up in Brisbane. she moves
01:42:24
up um because it's warmer and as a young
01:42:27
adult and you know we just so happen to
01:42:30
meet in a pub and uh I'm sober cuz I'm
01:42:33
I'm a different you know uh in a
01:42:35
different space and she she wasn't a big
01:42:38
drink or anything and over a period of
01:42:40
time it wasn't like mobile phones and
01:42:42
stuff back then I'd bump into her and um
01:42:45
we I just talked to her whatever and got
01:42:48
to six months or so was like hey um I
01:42:51
like this girl she you know and
01:42:53
uh you know and it it was uh yeah um it
01:42:59
was it's crazy how that plays out though
01:43:01
you know and um uh four kids later and
01:43:06
uh 23 years she she's my I say this to
01:43:08
anyone but she's my best friend you know
01:43:10
we uh we love um we're just great mates
01:43:15
and uh yeah
01:43:17
>> awesome
01:43:18
>> I'm so happy for you mate.
01:43:20
>> Yeah. Yeah.
01:43:20
>> It's really cool.
01:43:21
>> I appreciate that. Yeah,
01:43:23
>> this is Well, we've been going for an
01:43:25
hour 40. We'll get back to some more
01:43:26
black stuff, eh?
01:43:27
>> Yeah, I can shorten my answers. I
01:43:29
probably
01:43:30
on too long,
01:43:31
>> mate. I'm I'm hanging off every word
01:43:32
you're saying. It's It's really cool.
01:43:33
It's like getting getting um an
01:43:35
interview on some different stuff. And
01:43:36
>> do you do you know what's good? Uh Tom,
01:43:39
that you're asking a lot of um you
01:43:41
haven't been asked a lot of these
01:43:42
questions. So, it's it's been really
01:43:45
cool um talking. Well, there I mean
01:43:47
there's a lot that we could we could
01:43:48
talk about, but I feel like um I mean
01:43:51
it's almost the stuff of legends now how
01:43:53
how lazy you were as a kid.
01:43:56
I heard a few other podcasts you've been
01:43:57
on, so I thought I want to go in a bit
01:43:58
of a different direction.
01:43:59
>> Yeah, it's cool, mate.
01:44:00
>> Um Oh, thanks heaps. Uh so, um yeah, we
01:44:04
talked before about you coming playing
01:44:05
rugby and just feeling like a like a
01:44:07
like a a 14 15 year old kid like you had
01:44:10
no idea what you were doing. You the
01:44:11
nickname credit card. Um but then that
01:44:14
first season with the Crusaders went
01:44:16
well and at the end of year you were
01:44:17
selected for the All Blacks. I remember
01:44:20
I remember this happening at the time.
01:44:21
So this was 2001.
01:44:23
>> Yeah.
01:44:24
>> And I remember it being a big I was in
01:44:26
commercial radio at the time and I
01:44:27
remember it being a big thing and people
01:44:30
were like, you know, what's this guy
01:44:31
doing disrespecting the jersey? And you
01:44:33
sort of elaborate on this in the book.
01:44:34
>> Yeah.
01:44:35
>> So for anyone that has no idea what
01:44:37
we're talking about or can't remember or
01:44:38
wasn't born at that time, what happened?
01:44:42
>> Yeah. Well, I um um got selected. I'd
01:44:46
come over to rugby to um to try and play
01:44:51
rugby union. It had gone professional.
01:44:53
You could do that. You didn't used to be
01:44:55
able to do it. And
01:44:57
>> yeah, I um signed a one-year contract
01:45:01
with an option of two more. Do you know
01:45:04
what I mean? So, it wasn't like a
01:45:05
three-year contract. It's one year
01:45:06
contract with an option of two more.
01:45:09
basically um um when I gone over to New
01:45:14
Zealand that first the super rugby
01:45:16
season I they put me at number eight and
01:45:19
all these challenges are just culturally
01:45:21
it was different trying to learn rugby
01:45:24
um with set piece all the stuff was
01:45:26
completely different to league and but
01:45:29
at the end of that I um you know I
01:45:32
wasn't enjoying it I had sort of you I
01:45:36
had three questions when I went there do
01:45:37
I like rugby am I any good at it and do
01:45:39
I like living in New Zealand? You know,
01:45:41
all three were big no. And had a bit of
01:45:44
a rev up chat with my brother when I
01:45:46
went back to Australia. Just basically
01:45:48
said, give it your with what's remaining
01:45:51
of the year. Give it your best and then
01:45:53
you can walk away. You had a crack and
01:45:56
maybe it just wasn't meant to be, you
01:45:58
know.
01:46:00
And uh I went back in NBC. They moved me
01:46:02
to lock and um I started to you know uh
01:46:07
I started to become
01:46:10
just in a small way instinctive in the
01:46:12
game and started to be able to play it
01:46:14
you know and um my game improved and
01:46:18
um um I was starting to like it a bit
01:46:23
more. I was uh um you know I felt like I
01:46:28
was getting a little bit better and I
01:46:30
was getting a bit more used to New
01:46:31
Zealand but
01:46:33
the same time I Maryanne uh lived in
01:46:37
Brisbane you know as well and at the
01:46:39
same time like I said it took me 3 years
01:46:42
to get to come to terms how I was going
01:46:45
to handle alcohol. I was it was like a
01:46:48
period I became a Christian I was 23 but
01:46:50
like getting my house in order as well.
01:46:52
Do you know what I mean? Um,
01:46:55
so
01:46:57
basically, uh, I I pretty much the word
01:47:01
was I was going to be selected. I sort
01:47:03
of put it out there that, um, you know,
01:47:06
I'd like to
01:47:08
go home. Yeah. It been a big solid year.
01:47:11
Um, and just, you know, think about
01:47:14
things, what what I was going to do,
01:47:15
whatever. And, yeah, I got selected and
01:47:18
>> by John Mitchell and Robbie Deans.
01:47:20
>> Yeah. which I I understand I had
01:47:22
potential in 2003 build up all that sort
01:47:25
of stuff but just made a little bit
01:47:27
awkward you could say. And um
01:47:30
>> did you did you not think he belonged
01:47:32
there? Was it imposter syndrome?
01:47:34
>> No. Um you know players get picked on
01:47:38
potential for for representative footy
01:47:40
and teams. So that's good thinking if
01:47:43
you think about it two years out from a
01:47:45
World Cup and I was a you know I was
01:47:48
starting to show something you know so
01:47:50
>> I suppose they knew you had big game
01:47:52
experience and
01:47:53
>> Yeah. Yeah. And you know that was my
01:47:55
like I said Wes and then um the Broncos
01:47:59
that's eight years so it's my ninth year
01:48:00
as a pro. um some guys that's their
01:48:02
career. So, you know, I'm experienced
01:48:05
all that sort of stuff, but um if I had
01:48:09
um you know, I wasn't sure about my
01:48:13
future, you know, and taking all those
01:48:16
things to account like I I said before
01:48:17
around the rugby around, you know,
01:48:19
Marian, around just me, you know, I sort
01:48:22
of felt if I go on that tour, um take
01:48:26
the black jersey and then then I say,
01:48:28
"Yeah, I'm not thanks. I've got my three
01:48:32
souvenir.
01:48:33
>> Yeah. Yeah. That that's not going down
01:48:36
well. So,
01:48:38
um that that's pretty much basically
01:48:42
where it's at. And I went home I
01:48:43
actually had a ended up having a full
01:48:45
year off from all sport, like a half
01:48:47
time break in my career out of 22 years.
01:48:50
That's like my 10th year. It's almost
01:48:52
like perfectly put in the middle where I
01:48:54
had a year.
01:48:55
>> And um you know, me and Marian got
01:48:58
married later that year. We traveled,
01:49:00
did all these things.
01:49:02
Um, you know, with with Maryanne being
01:49:06
marrying her, you know, I felt my house
01:49:09
was, you know, in order um to where I
01:49:12
want it to be under God. And uh um and
01:49:17
then it was about uh I put in this
01:49:19
effort. I got to a space where you
01:49:22
there's opportunity to to get reward for
01:49:24
the effort um that had been put in.
01:49:28
Uh I could have just gone back to
01:49:29
league, but I wanted to to see to
01:49:32
realize that uh reward. Um and that's
01:49:36
when I went back to uh the Crusaders in
01:49:40
2003 and yeah, played on through to
01:49:43
winning uh sorry, not being part of a
01:49:45
World Cup. So yeah.
01:49:48
>> What was the backlash like at the time?
01:49:50
Was that intense?
01:49:51
>> Heavy duty.
01:49:52
>> Yeah. Was it?
01:49:53
>> Yeah. We did Did it Who did you hear
01:49:55
from in the Was was Darren Shand the All
01:49:56
Black manager at the time?
01:49:58
>> No, it was um I think
01:49:59
>> Andrew the Colonel Colonel. Yeah.
01:50:02
>> Yeah. The old um SES guy. Cuddles.
01:50:04
Captain Cuddles. They called him cuz he
01:50:06
gave the players a cuddle when they came
01:50:07
off the field.
01:50:08
>> He was really good, mate. I g I gave him
01:50:11
a call and just said, "Look,
01:50:13
>> you know, I'm not sure about my future
01:50:15
in the game, so I'm going to stand
01:50:18
down." And it's not easy to do this but
01:50:21
um that's what I feel I should do and uh
01:50:25
he was really good around it and
01:50:28
um you know
01:50:30
>> yeah it was
01:50:31
>> you say it's intense now and this is
01:50:33
quarter of a century later. There's a
01:50:34
lot of hate that came just the feeling
01:50:37
of
01:50:38
>> um yeah that's not taken too well is it
01:50:42
at the time
01:50:43
>> and you know people thinking you know oh
01:50:48
who's this guy league guy coming here
01:50:50
you know and the black jersey and all
01:50:52
that sort of stuff I guess for me yeah
01:50:55
at that time people would have
01:50:57
questioned what it meant to me and and
01:51:00
all this sort of stuff and the thing
01:51:02
that felt good was by the time I'd
01:51:05
finished game number 16 and 21 to 11,
01:51:07
everyone knew what it meant to me. Um,
01:51:11
and to this day I, you know, um,
01:51:14
everyone I felt like I showed what it
01:51:18
meant to me to to represent my country
01:51:20
of birth, to represent the All Blacks.
01:51:22
And,
01:51:24
>> um, you know, uh, yeah. Yeah, that was
01:51:28
an interesting time. And, you know, I
01:51:31
think it was the right decision. M
01:51:33
>> yeah. So your um All Black debut that
01:51:35
was um in Hamilton, same day as Dan
01:51:37
Carter.
01:51:38
>> Yeah.
01:51:38
>> Um yeah. What were your big what were
01:51:40
the big insights that you got when you
01:51:42
first made the All Blacks proper and got
01:51:43
into that sort of squad environment um
01:51:45
between like what the Broncos were doing
01:51:47
at the peak of their powers and the All
01:51:49
Blacks?
01:51:51
>> Just uh just the the the culture of it
01:51:55
all um the the winners and that's the
01:51:58
All Blacks. You got to understand that
01:52:01
you put the jersey on, it's like a
01:52:03
contract. Your job's to win.
01:52:05
And um and that's not a joke.
01:52:08
>> Well, we've discovered that recently.
01:52:10
74% is not good enough.
01:52:12
>> Yeah. So um so yeah, the competitiveness
01:52:17
um the history of the All Blacks, the
01:52:20
most winning team in world sport, I
01:52:22
think um um over a long period of time.
01:52:25
So, um it was special to be in there and
01:52:30
you're amongst the best and you you have
01:52:34
great coaches and you are um you know
01:52:38
it's that that excellence that you're
01:52:41
trying to you know you don't have the
01:52:44
All Blacks don't have a name like that
01:52:45
of just been mediocre. They do things
01:52:48
exceptionally well and um in the All
01:52:52
Blacks we talk about just your time in
01:52:53
the jersey. I'm I was late in the piece.
01:52:56
There been a hundred years of that guys
01:52:58
showing me and all you know what what it
01:53:02
requires in that jersey. I was grateful
01:53:05
for the what they had shown and now I'm
01:53:08
go I look to uh like as a custodian sort
01:53:11
of thing my time I will add to this
01:53:15
hopefully leave in a better place or at
01:53:17
least you know how I found it. So,
01:53:20
>> same with the Broncos. We were very
01:53:22
proud uh to represent uh we almost like
01:53:25
represented the state a bit the Broncos
01:53:27
in the early days and um you know there
01:53:30
was a I always felt there was a bit of a
01:53:32
weight to the jersey of um a
01:53:36
responsibility really and the same with
01:53:38
the All Blacks um um to
01:53:43
you know to give your best effort and um
01:53:46
um
01:53:48
you know appreciate your time uh in that
01:53:52
environment, in that jersey. Um it means
01:53:56
so much to New New Zealand.
01:53:58
>> Have you got Have you got like a a man
01:54:01
cave at home or a games room or some
01:54:03
jerseys hung up?
01:54:05
>> What have you got?
01:54:06
>> I don't. No.
01:54:06
>> Yeah. What where is everything? The
01:54:08
rings, the medals,
01:54:09
>> plastic bag somewhere. But the reason I
01:54:12
do that sometimes I've thought about um
01:54:16
putting stuff up and that I don't have
01:54:18
anything up. Not a single thing. And
01:54:20
I've got all this stuff. I've got like
01:54:22
these big frame uh photos and all this
01:54:25
sort of stuff. And um my mindset is sort
01:54:30
of like if someone comes into my house
01:54:32
because I have had a profile and been
01:54:34
that I sort of like um you know
01:54:38
obviously there's people who know me and
01:54:41
whatever but say someone who doesn't
01:54:42
know me coming to my house I like the
01:54:44
chance of just getting to you know they
01:54:46
just
01:54:48
>> no bread.
01:54:48
>> Yeah. M
01:54:50
>> not be forced. And this to the people
01:54:53
who put their stuff up, I reckon it's
01:54:55
awesome. I'm just saying for me
01:54:56
personally,
01:54:58
>> I just if someone comes in my house, I
01:54:59
don't want to force, you know, the the
01:55:03
um all that stuff, you know. I just want
01:55:06
them to you I'm uh you're just a do guy
01:55:09
and like you said, probably you said it
01:55:11
best. It's just Brad, you know, and my
01:55:13
wife Maryanne and welcome to our home
01:55:15
and you know, um, so yeah, not not have
01:55:20
that sort of Yeah. there. That's why I
01:55:22
do that. It's crazy cuz there's like
01:55:24
Hank Cup medal, there's World Cup
01:55:27
medals, there's and every now I got all
01:55:30
these rings, you know, where you win a
01:55:31
premiership ring in league and
01:55:34
like once in blue moon, it's fun to pull
01:55:36
it out and um have a look at it. So
01:55:39
yeah, end of a day though, it's not
01:55:41
going to keep me company. It's not it's
01:55:43
not like it's not um
01:55:46
>> you know what I mean? Like it is it's
01:55:47
awesome we achieve all those things, but
01:55:49
um uh
01:55:52
we won in 211, 215, 219, 223. We're
01:55:56
about to go into our fourth one. Bang,
01:55:58
bang, bang. Moves on, you know. Won my
01:56:01
first grand final for the Bronx in 97.
01:56:04
>> That's like what's that like?
01:56:06
>> It's almost 30 years ago. 29 years ago.
01:56:08
>> Yeah. Bang. Um, the stuff that's more
01:56:12
important than just people I you know.
01:56:15
Yeah.
01:56:16
>> Who who are you still who would you say
01:56:18
you're still friends with in terms of
01:56:20
players? Like people that you catch up
01:56:21
with on a regular basis? It gets harder
01:56:23
when you get older. Your family and your
01:56:25
own sort of community
01:56:26
>> all the time. Yeah. You're busy. Four
01:56:28
kids and uh you're working and stuff.
01:56:31
I I just um a lot of them is you know
01:56:34
when you catch up with people and it's
01:56:36
like you haven't seen them in ages but
01:56:40
it's straight away it's really good you
01:56:42
know um
01:56:44
>> so a lot of guys like that you know
01:56:46
friends and um but all the footy guys um
01:56:51
>> yeah but I I don't get to see them too
01:56:53
much because I'm in like with New
01:56:55
Zealand they have all black reunions and
01:56:58
they have these things I'm in Brisbane
01:57:00
you know what I M
01:57:01
>> um I'm lucky to go to Broncos things and
01:57:03
I'm a life member there, you know. I
01:57:05
played 10 years and
01:57:07
>> um
01:57:09
because you are busy, you know, and
01:57:13
>> and I've always had this part of me
01:57:15
where I don't like asking for anything
01:57:16
either and I um I feel like I have my
01:57:20
time, you know, at the Broncos that's
01:57:22
nearby me. I don't I'm not that guy that
01:57:24
sort of goes down and, you know, I I'm
01:57:27
very supportive though. I'm supportive,
01:57:29
you know. So yeah,
01:57:31
>> well, next time there's an All Blacks
01:57:32
reunion here, you're going to be in big
01:57:33
trouble tr trouble. They're going to be
01:57:34
like, "Well, you came over to New
01:57:35
Zealand to do Dom's podcast."
01:57:39
>> There you go.
01:57:40
>> What was um what was some of the coolest
01:57:42
uh nonrugby related experiences of um
01:57:46
being an All Black? Like I I know you
01:57:47
got to meet the queen.
01:57:48
>> That was cool. Yeah.
01:57:49
>> Yeah. Was it?
01:57:50
>> Yeah. I learned how to say um they they
01:57:53
sort of said to us um the queen will
01:57:55
walk around and um her you say mom
01:58:01
not ma'am
01:58:03
>> and not mom as in your mom but mom it's
01:58:07
like it's funny it's so funny doing it
01:58:10
and uh but she is a sweet uh old old
01:58:13
lady and she was she was tiny next to me
01:58:16
and um but uh yeah I b down and to mom.
01:58:20
Nice. You basically It was nice to have
01:58:23
a little chat to her. But um um yeah,
01:58:26
all those things are cool.
01:58:28
>> That's it's wild. Hey, like this uh this
01:58:30
this kid from Mosgirl meeting meeting
01:58:32
the queen at the palace. It's crazy.
01:58:34
>> Yeah. But um the cool things Dolman's
01:58:38
playing at those stadiums, the stadiums
01:58:40
are awesome.
01:58:41
>> That was my It was always my favorite
01:58:42
time of year was the November series
01:58:45
playing at Croak Park. That was a place
01:58:47
that was really pretty sacred to the
01:58:49
Irish. That's they don't actually play.
01:58:51
It's only Irish sport they play there,
01:58:53
but they were rebuilding. I think they
01:58:56
called Aviva now or something. And so
01:58:58
they use Croak Park 78 75 or 80,000
01:59:02
people. Um and uh you know Twickingham
01:59:06
you know Millennium
01:59:08
it was so noisy they singing you know
01:59:10
they do all their singing Wales. I
01:59:12
remember being in a scrum and I couldn't
01:59:13
hear the saying to the referee, I need
01:59:15
you to shout cuz I'd say set and bang,
01:59:18
you know. Um, but you know, you got
01:59:20
tape, you're in you're in there like
01:59:22
this and uh those are Yeah, that they're
01:59:26
pretty cool. the uh you sort of pinch
01:59:30
yourself there where you um I was at
01:59:32
Suetto Stadium uh sorry Nelson Medalis
01:59:36
Stadium in Suetto 94,000 uh South
01:59:40
Africans singing their national anthem
01:59:42
which is an awesome one. You like their
01:59:44
anthem? Have you heard their Yeah, it's
01:59:46
a really cool anthem. Uh
01:59:49
>> and I remember it was to win a third
01:59:51
test in a row and it was John Schmidt's
01:59:54
100th game. I remember standing there
01:59:57
when before a test like I don't really
02:00:00
want people touching me like my job is
02:00:02
to be physical, you know, send physical
02:00:05
messages and uh I've got real I guess
02:00:08
bad intentions, you know what I mean?
02:00:10
Like I talk about boxing, you know, I'm
02:00:12
there to uh be physical. So, you're
02:00:14
minutes away from getting amongst it and
02:00:17
there's preggain stuff. But I mean, you
02:00:19
know, like I said, respect the anthem,
02:00:21
respect the hucker.
02:00:23
But, um, they're singing their anthem
02:00:25
and I'm like standing there like I'm
02:00:27
just thinking, you know, it's a
02:00:30
heavyweight title fight.
02:00:31
>> Crush them.
02:00:32
>> I'm here to hit bodies, you know? I'm
02:00:34
here to that's my job at the whole team
02:00:38
as a tight head lock as a my job is to I
02:00:42
felt my job is to assert authority, you
02:00:44
know. So, so I'm standing there um on,
02:00:48
you know, on edge and uh I didn't really
02:00:51
I always stand on the end. I liked being
02:00:54
down there cuz I um during their one I
02:00:57
wasn't stuck in between guys. I don't
02:00:59
really want people all over me. I'm in a
02:01:01
in a mood and a zone. And um but anyway,
02:01:05
they sing their anthem 94,000. Awesome
02:01:07
anthem. I remember just I had to smile.
02:01:10
And um I know that probably doesn't
02:01:12
sound like much, but I don't smile. when
02:01:15
I'm in that sort of mood. And um it was
02:01:18
just like I remember standing just
02:01:20
going, "How good is this?" 94,000.
02:01:26
I'm a terrible singer, but um um they it
02:01:31
was just so cool to to experience um
02:01:35
them everyone just loving that uh moment
02:01:37
and then and then we got into bashing
02:01:39
each other.
02:01:41
Does after after h having this um long
02:01:44
playing career with all these like
02:01:46
exhilarating highs, does does life seem
02:01:48
like like bor boring now or it's it's
02:01:53
like you know Robbie Dean said uh um
02:01:56
coaching is the next best thing after
02:01:58
playing. So um now I'm not coaching
02:02:02
super rugby, I'm coaching first 15 and
02:02:04
doing a few consultant things here and
02:02:06
there, you know, Malta and different
02:02:08
things. They're fun in their own way,
02:02:10
you know, but um
02:02:13
nothing beats, you know, um you know,
02:02:16
playing Twickingham or, you know, spring
02:02:19
box test at Loftus or, you know, all
02:02:21
that sort of stuff. So you you just
02:02:23
enjoy those memories and you had your
02:02:25
time and uh you contributed and you got
02:02:29
amongst it that you know added hopefully
02:02:31
to the legacy and and you're happy for
02:02:34
the guys doing their stuff now you know
02:02:37
but it's just a different time in your
02:02:38
life and um
02:02:41
far out um you know being able to have
02:02:44
four kids um
02:02:47
seeing them you know I've got a son
02:02:49
that's married uh you know you got
02:02:51
different things that in your life and
02:02:54
different purposes, you know, that that
02:02:57
um that's are so rewarding.
02:03:01
>> Oh, that's awesome. What What about
02:03:03
masculinity? What what does masculinity
02:03:05
mean to you now? Suppose when you were
02:03:06
playing it was um what you what was the
02:03:08
phrase you used before? Like crushing
02:03:09
bodies or something.
02:03:10
>> Sending physical messages or Yeah,
02:03:13
that's the polite way.
02:03:15
>> But um basically being a thug.
02:03:17
But um yeah um I I you know I there's
02:03:22
plenty of masculinity in my house mate.
02:03:24
Yeah. Three sons. Um one's in the
02:03:27
military now. I think I said that
02:03:28
before.
02:03:30
>> Um
02:03:30
>> does he make his beard better than you?
02:03:32
>> Yeah, he probably does. I imagine. But
02:03:34
um um we have a lot of banter. There's a
02:03:38
lot of testosterone. And uh um
02:03:42
>> does that sort of scratch the itch? like
02:03:44
it feels like you've got this own sort
02:03:46
of team.
02:03:47
>> It's just the bond that we have with
02:03:49
Thorns and that's how we roll. Like I
02:03:50
said, my dad and me wrestled. I never
02:03:53
wrestled with my brother because um uh
02:03:56
and my dad didn't either cuz um he the
02:04:00
old glazed eyes would come over the
02:04:02
redness.
02:04:03
>> Yeah. Me and my dad could always keep
02:04:05
it, you know, it would be kept good. But
02:04:07
with the big guy, he couldn't be
02:04:10
trusted.
02:04:12
He'll probably uh hate me for saying
02:04:13
that, but yeah, he's he he would slitch
02:04:17
this which would uh so but yeah, no,
02:04:20
there's plenty of uh we got our gym and
02:04:23
I brought the boys back uh a year or so
02:04:25
ago. We went on a hunting trip uh down
02:04:29
where I grew up and around Benner Burn
02:04:31
and my uh my cousin is a professional.
02:04:34
Um
02:04:36
>> we have great time, the boys and and my
02:04:38
daughter and my wife. Uh there's another
02:04:41
couple of yarns in the book um that I
02:04:43
really love. Um
02:04:46
again, it's like I don't know why you
02:04:47
put this one in there. The one about you
02:04:49
um snapping at uh the professor Sir
02:04:51
Wayne Smith.
02:04:52
>> Yeah. Yeah.
02:04:53
>> So he asked you this was during the um
02:04:54
2011 Rugby World Cup. He asked you to do
02:04:57
some extra training. You told him to.
02:04:58
>> That that wasn't during the World Cup.
02:05:00
That was grand that was final week.
02:05:02
>> Yeah. So that's the grand final grand
02:05:04
finals. So yeah. So he wanted me to do
02:05:08
some new drill thing that helped the
02:05:10
backs and like are you crazy mate?
02:05:13
>> Did you swear? Do you ever swear?
02:05:14
>> Did you swear?
02:05:15
>> Yeah. Heck yeah. Yeah. The swearing's
02:05:18
something I battle with. You know, I
02:05:20
prefer not to use
02:05:22
>> one part of the house that's not in
02:05:23
order.
02:05:23
>> Yeah. My wife is say, "Come on." But um
02:05:26
yeah, you've always got work on. But
02:05:28
yeah, I was like, you know, I talked
02:05:30
about before routine. So I got a
02:05:32
routine. Me and Kevy do this on a
02:05:34
Thursday. We sign off on our physicality
02:05:37
that we we're going to bring on um
02:05:39
Saturday. So we me and Kevy um we do
02:05:44
tackles and we're hitting each other
02:05:46
hard with a pad and then we do uh four
02:05:49
breakdown hits flying in, you know, and
02:05:52
try and throw each other off. And Kevy
02:05:55
um is really I liked cuz he's a great
02:05:58
guy being a shorter guy too forced me to
02:06:01
get low and all that sort of stuff.
02:06:03
Yeah, Smithy is like trying to call me
02:06:06
over for some new thing he wants to do.
02:06:09
It's like Thursday. I'm like, "What are
02:06:11
you freaking What are you thinking,
02:06:14
mate?" Yeah. So, I was I was uh I was
02:06:17
like, "Yeah, my language wasn't good.
02:06:21
I'm there to get a job done. Like, this
02:06:23
is business time." Like 3 weeks out when
02:06:25
we got the quarterfinals, this the round
02:06:27
rob I didn't wasn't interested to be
02:06:30
honest, apart from the build. That's
02:06:32
when you see guys have big highlights
02:06:34
packages and you beat Japan, you know,
02:06:36
you beat these lower teams and there's
02:06:38
all these great tries and it's all it's
02:06:40
fantasy world, you know, it's not the
02:06:43
real stuff's coming quarter semi and
02:06:45
final three grand finals you got to w
02:06:48
you got to earn the right to make the
02:06:49
semi, earn the right to make the the
02:06:51
final. So yeah, you get uh so shutters
02:06:55
come down for me once it comes to the
02:06:57
quarterfinal start of that week almost
02:07:00
like it's relief because now there's
02:07:02
something on the line and that's what
02:07:04
makes me tick. I don't suit the no you
02:07:07
know the the round robin there's no sort
02:07:10
of um nothing to be lost or won. Now I'm
02:07:15
in my world of with the stuff on the
02:07:18
line. So I'm preparing and I was like in
02:07:21
a zone and so yeah you can imagine
02:07:24
having told you all that you know coming
02:07:26
to like the Thursday before or Friday
02:07:29
whatever it was before we playing the
02:07:31
French in a World Cup final after not
02:07:34
you know we hadn't won it in 24 years
02:07:36
all this sort of stuff my last test on
02:07:37
36
02:07:39
I didn't take that well yeah
02:07:42
>> I'm thinking what mate you know we're
02:07:44
good enough mate what are you thinking
02:07:48
Did you
02:07:48
>> I'm not interested in your your footwork
02:07:51
thing for your backs or whatever. I'm
02:07:52
not I don't I'm not interested. Get out
02:07:55
of my face with that. I don't want to
02:07:57
know about you know that's how I felt.
02:08:00
>> Did you feel bad about it later or No,
02:08:03
>> no,
02:08:06
no. And that's why it says that Smithy
02:08:09
wrote in the book he he goes um you know
02:08:12
he he gets it. I would still say to this
02:08:15
day what were you thinking? What you
02:08:17
thinking? Come on, man. He's the He's
02:08:20
the professor. He should know better
02:08:22
than that.
02:08:22
>> Um, another great yarn in the book.
02:08:24
>> Get some other Get some other nonplaying
02:08:27
23 guy to do that. Why are you asking
02:08:30
me?
02:08:31
>> You get Steven Donald. Maybe he can lose
02:08:33
a couple of kilos before the final.
02:08:35
>> Steve was did a great job. Yeah.
02:08:37
>> Yeah. Um, you the other great I really
02:08:39
like is um you It's such like an old man
02:08:42
injury during co Crusaders playing a
02:08:44
game in Nelson. you you go for a wander
02:08:47
around in jandles looking for a a rugby
02:08:49
league magazine in a dairy and you
02:08:51
injure yourself just from what happens.
02:08:54
>> I um I used to like getting when I was
02:08:56
in Australia I used to like getting
02:08:58
rugby news when I get on a plane and we
02:09:00
go down and play in Sydney cuz I I like
02:09:02
my rugby when I was in New Zealand I'd
02:09:04
get the rugby league week. when I was in
02:09:06
Nelson another time there was a there
02:09:08
was like a news agents. I sort of
02:09:11
remembered I was there some place and I
02:09:13
went to go and get my it was on game day
02:09:16
um rugby league week cuz I want to look
02:09:18
at it and I I thought it's not too many
02:09:22
streets too far away. I just usually I
02:09:25
put shoes on like I you know and I was
02:09:28
um what was I I was 36 years old so you
02:09:32
got to get more and more diligent around
02:09:34
your body and I was you're always real
02:09:37
professional around all my preparation
02:09:39
and that but I just wore a thong. It's
02:09:41
not going to be too much of a walk going
02:09:43
and get it. But I went and wasn't there
02:09:46
and then I started walking around
02:09:48
Nelson. I end up walking for like 45 to
02:09:51
an hour, probably an hour in thongs and
02:09:55
um um I reckon that it was on concrete
02:09:59
and uh I think that that added up to me
02:10:02
pinging my calf and and uh it was a
02:10:06
scrum and it was it was actually the
02:10:08
best thing that happened to me because
02:10:10
it uh it gave me a break. I hadn't been
02:10:13
injured. I've been playing a lot of
02:10:15
games each year and it gave me a
02:10:18
freshener up that um helped me to um you
02:10:24
know uh finish that Crusaders season you
02:10:27
know better and and then go into the
02:10:30
World Cup year. So that was actually a
02:10:32
blessing cuz um um I was off to uh
02:10:37
Africa. Uh the next day they went off to
02:10:39
Africa and I didn't go
02:10:41
>> and uh I'd just done a lot of footy over
02:10:45
a lot of the years and uh I'd wanted to
02:10:48
have a bit more of a break that year,
02:10:50
but Richie had a his foot was been an
02:10:52
issue the year before it was again
02:10:55
>> and uh Sam Wallock got injured. I was
02:10:58
supposed to not go to Africa and all of
02:10:59
a sudden I was now I'm going and all
02:11:01
this sort of stuff. It was a it was a
02:11:02
blessing.
02:11:04
>> It's just a crazy story to think this
02:11:06
this guy that's um out there on the
02:11:08
field like trying to just crush people's
02:11:10
souls. Um
02:11:13
gets owned by a footpath in Nelson while
02:11:15
looking for a rugby rugby league
02:11:17
magazine in a dairy.
02:11:18
>> I was 30 on myself. Um yeah, it just
02:11:21
shows you. But yeah, I guess you're 36
02:11:23
years old and you don't get that many 36
02:11:26
year olds, you know, playing at that
02:11:28
level.
02:11:28
>> Yeah, true.
02:11:29
>> And you have to be diligent and, you
02:11:31
know, cuz your end of the day, your
02:11:33
body's aging.
02:11:34
>> Yeah.
02:11:36
>> When do you feel um truly at peace or
02:11:38
truly happy these days?
02:11:41
>> Um I feel pretty pretty good, you know.
02:11:45
Um just fortunate. Uh my faith is number
02:11:49
one. So that that brings that gives me
02:11:51
peace. And it's easy to say, oh, you
02:11:55
know, at home on a nice Sunday, it
02:11:57
brings you peace. I mean, it brings me
02:11:59
peace and good times and not so good
02:12:02
times. You know what I mean?
02:12:04
uh having my wife and my kids. Um uh
02:12:08
it's just an it's you just uh what a
02:12:12
privilege to be able to, you know, to
02:12:14
have that and to to share life with them
02:12:17
and
02:12:18
and to have some purpose around the work
02:12:21
you do. I I coached First 15 at one of
02:12:23
the elite private schools at BBC and um
02:12:27
just the enjoyment of those those kit
02:12:30
lads. Um just a great game of rugby.
02:12:33
Rugby is a character game. It's a self,
02:12:35
it's a, you know, you have to play, it's
02:12:38
a team sport and you have to um uh the
02:12:42
team's over bigger than the individual
02:12:45
>> for it to function well. You have to
02:12:47
put, you know, so all those good
02:12:49
qualities you're pumping into those
02:12:51
young guys and um you know, so there's
02:12:55
plenty to be thankful for and um you
02:12:58
know, generally feel in a pretty good
02:13:00
space, mate. Yeah. Do you still have any
02:13:03
coaching aspirations?
02:13:06
>> Uh I when I finish with the Reds um
02:13:10
>> it's sort of not like league where you
02:13:12
know if you finish with Manley you've
02:13:14
got the Roosters, the Sharks, the
02:13:17
Panthers.
02:13:18
>> Yeah you I mean West Tigers.
02:13:20
>> You finish coaching the Queensland Reds,
02:13:23
you got to leave the state if you're
02:13:24
going to
02:13:26
>> coach or the C leave the country at that
02:13:28
level. Do you know what I mean? titles.
02:13:31
>> I I
02:13:34
league I haven't been involved in since
02:13:36
2007, but to to
02:13:39
um I I wanted my kids to, you know, we
02:13:44
brought them back for stability and to
02:13:46
have that Aussie upbringing and my
02:13:48
daughter finishes her final year high
02:13:50
school this year and then maybe I start
02:13:53
to think about, you know, perhaps
02:13:55
overseas or doing some adventures. I
02:13:58
don't know. We'll see what happens. Oh,
02:13:59
the All Blacks. Would you want that job?
02:14:02
>> Um,
02:14:04
that's uh way above uh where you know I
02:14:09
when I came into the Reds um I'd done
02:14:12
two years of you know under 20s and they
02:14:15
had an NRC and I I pretty much had to uh
02:14:20
sink or swim. I just had to learn on the
02:14:22
job.
02:14:23
>> I always thought if I was to go that
02:14:24
next level to do international I want to
02:14:26
be more than qualified. No, I it's it's
02:14:30
you know I went from leave to union and
02:14:31
it it was I had to it was crazy. I had
02:14:35
to learn all the stuff and tested me. I
02:14:38
went into coaching with no real
02:14:40
experience and um it tested me and
02:14:42
whatever which is all well and good but
02:14:45
um if I was to go that next level I want
02:14:48
to be uh almost overqualified you know
02:14:51
so that would be something I imagine
02:14:53
years down the track if I got back into
02:14:56
top level coaching. M
02:14:58
>> so yeah if if you're good enough or if
02:15:00
if you wanted who who knows.
02:15:02
>> Mhm. What do you make of that whole
02:15:03
recent all black thing with your old
02:15:05
teammate Razer?
02:15:06
>> It's a tough one mate. Yeah it's
02:15:07
>> brutal eh
02:15:08
>> yeah cuz you know if you think about it
02:15:10
I just think of myself at the red you
02:15:12
know two years in. Um we ended up we
02:15:15
were like the bottom sort of you know 9
02:15:18
million debt. um and one of the sort of
02:15:21
bottom Australian teams and you know by
02:15:24
the fourth year we won Australian
02:15:27
competition when it was you know the co
02:15:29
stuff two years in you know you could
02:15:32
have looked at me and just gone oh you
02:15:34
know um it ain't working
02:15:37
is um st what is it Ian Foster sorry um
02:15:43
you know two years out
02:15:45
>> it looked like might have been Razer
02:15:47
coming in Then if you remember,
02:15:49
>> yeah,
02:15:50
>> he went to a world cup with the guys in
02:15:53
the team um and led them in a world cup
02:15:56
to was it 1312 then score one point.
02:16:00
>> Yeah, it was very narrow loss in the
02:16:02
final
02:16:02
>> and they didn't have their captain and
02:16:05
seven important player in the team for
02:16:08
um 60 minutes of the game.
02:16:11
he could have been, you know,
02:16:14
you know, looked like he might have been
02:16:17
moved on then. So, it's a hard one, you
02:16:20
know, if you you have that uh time that
02:16:24
you're trying to build and um get to a
02:16:27
space. So, but it's happened and uh you
02:16:31
have compassion for um Razer cuz you
02:16:33
know I know him. He's a good guy. He's a
02:16:36
friend. And uh and um but yeah, it's
02:16:40
there's a there's a there's a
02:16:41
ruthlessness to that to that business,
02:16:43
mate. And uh this the famous saying as a
02:16:47
coach, as a head coach, you're either
02:16:48
sacked or you're going to be sacked.
02:16:50
>> Do you have you heard that before?
02:16:52
>> You heard that saying? No, I haven't.
02:16:54
>> That's what it is. Yeah. You're either
02:16:55
sacked or you're going to be sacked.
02:16:57
>> So, how's that?
02:16:59
>> See what I mean?
02:17:00
>> Why would you want to do that?
02:17:01
>> That's That's what That's what I'm
02:17:02
saying. like uh you know um
02:17:05
yeah like you can put as a exper you
02:17:08
know I had six years of head coach at
02:17:10
red I can put in a massive week and we
02:17:14
have a a loss
02:17:16
>> you know we played a bad game I can put
02:17:19
in uh the same week and we win if we win
02:17:23
you're the good guy if you lose you you
02:17:26
suck
02:17:27
>> you know what I mean
02:17:28
>> it's thin margins between hero and
02:17:30
>> yeah yeah and it's lonely out front, you
02:17:33
know, and um so yeah, uh the thing I
02:17:36
learned from my coaching is yeah, once
02:17:38
again, you know, you um compassion for
02:17:43
other coaches because it's a tough old
02:17:45
gig, you know. Um it's like learning to
02:17:48
be a tie prop. You cop a lot of beatups
02:17:51
on the way to getting to be a good
02:17:54
space. Wayne Bennett got moved on. All
02:17:57
the great, you know, everyone uh no
02:17:59
one's immune to it. Um, yeah. So,
02:18:03
>> well, thanks for those insights.
02:18:05
We got a few questions, then we'll go.
02:18:07
This is how how are you, how are you
02:18:09
finding this? Are you okay?
02:18:10
>> I've enjoyed talking to you, mate. I've
02:18:12
been looking forward to it.
02:18:12
>> Oh, wonderful. Same here.
02:18:14
>> Yeah. Born on the same day.
02:18:16
>> Unbelievable. Like twins.
02:18:18
>> This is meant to happen.
02:18:20
>> A brother from another mother.
02:18:21
>> Yeah.
02:18:22
>> What are your best and worst habits?
02:18:24
>> Uh, best best habits. Um,
02:18:31
I guess, uh, like I said, I like doing
02:18:34
things reasonably well if I do them.
02:18:38
>> Worst habits. Uh,
02:18:44
I'm trying to think of uh, I'm trying to
02:18:46
think of what my wife would say. What
02:18:49
about
02:18:50
>> I'm not good with like paperwork and
02:18:52
stuff, you know. Um,
02:18:53
>> oh my god. Maybe that's an Aquarius
02:18:55
thing. I'm the same. Hopeless. hopeless
02:18:57
with
02:18:58
>> um yeah and um sometimes I don't get
02:19:01
around to things you know so I get
02:19:03
distracted
02:19:05
>> champions don't always do
02:19:08
>> um when was the last time you cried
02:19:11
>> cried
02:19:14
like I said before secrets I'm a real
02:19:17
softy so sometimes I'll shed some do you
02:19:20
know what's embarrassing I don't know
02:19:22
when the last time I cried but um um I
02:19:26
like like lay miz, you know,
02:19:28
>> the musical, do you?
02:19:29
>> Yeah. Yeah.
02:19:31
>> I love uh Yeah, I love classical music.
02:19:34
I love all sorts of things. Um but um
02:19:38
>> that wasn't your pre
02:19:39
>> I shed tears in Liz and um the you know
02:19:45
uh you know where the the lady she can't
02:19:47
um she's trying to find she get loses
02:19:49
her job and um is it Fontaine? I can't
02:19:53
remember the lady's name. Um, and yeah,
02:19:57
it's Yeah, I sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh
02:19:59
sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh
02:19:59
sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh
02:19:59
sh sh sh sh sh shed a tear in that
02:20:00
movie, so it's embarrassing to say, but
02:20:03
it's out there. Yeah,
02:20:04
>> that's that's probably the biggest
02:20:06
surprise out of this whole podcast
02:20:08
today. I was not expecting that.
02:20:10
>> Um, is there a mistake that you wish you
02:20:13
could go back and correct?
02:20:16
>> Uh, it's probably probably heaps.
02:20:20
Um,
02:20:22
yeah. Uh I can't think on top of you
02:20:25
know I just think life sort of plays out
02:20:28
and I just feel like yeah the the one
02:20:32
thing about making mistakes is you know
02:20:35
hopefully you learn from them. So
02:20:38
>> um I could say taking on the head
02:20:40
coaching
02:20:43
>> but no I can't think of anything uh top
02:20:47
of my head.
02:20:48
>> That's good. What are you most afraid
02:20:50
of?
02:20:54
Uh
02:20:56
I um
02:20:58
yeah we my anxiety sometimes I battle a
02:21:02
bit with anxiety and you know
02:21:05
>> social sort of anxiety of you know being
02:21:07
in front of a lot of people you know
02:21:09
with all the attention on you you know
02:21:11
um speaking or whatever
02:21:13
>> that's that's something that you know
02:21:15
I've battled with over time um which I
02:21:19
talk about as well. Yeah, you do. That's
02:21:21
um that's something I had on my card,
02:21:23
but we we didn't really talk about in
02:21:24
the podcast, but um yeah, anxiety like
02:21:27
to the point where in your early days in
02:21:29
the Broncos, you went for team meetings,
02:21:31
you'd sit closest to the door just in
02:21:33
case you had to make um a hasty exit.
02:21:36
>> It was more mental just a mental thing.
02:21:38
It it is a mental. Yeah, it's like
02:21:40
>> But what I mean was being next to the
02:21:41
door having a jar was just mentally like
02:21:47
it just worked for me,
02:21:48
>> you know, instead of being stuck in a
02:21:50
corner where I felt like I sit there
02:21:51
thinking I can't get out of here if I
02:21:53
wanted to, which makes no sense. But,
02:21:56
uh,
02:21:57
>> you know, that's in my family. And I
02:21:59
think that's probably probably a big
02:22:01
part of my granddad's, you know, uh,
02:22:03
with the alcohol probably,
02:22:06
uh, trying to deal with that, you know,
02:22:08
PTSD from the war. Probably a coping
02:22:10
mechanism.
02:22:11
>> Yeah. I I I think he even had that
02:22:13
before the war. So, um, it's just in our
02:22:17
family.
02:22:17
>> I have cousins and stuff like that.
02:22:19
Battle away a bit. So, um, yeah.
02:22:24
>> You you were in Christ Church in 2011,
02:22:26
uh, during the earthquakes. did. Um,
02:22:28
yeah. How was your anxiety during that
02:22:30
time?
02:22:31
>> That doesn't phase me. It's more like me
02:22:34
getting up in front of a whole of
02:22:35
people, you know what I mean? Um, the
02:22:37
earthquakes, like that first one rolled
02:22:39
in, the 7.1,
02:22:42
it was 4 in the morning and I've jumped
02:22:44
out of bed and, you know, it's crazy.
02:22:49
But I remember lying in bed, getting
02:22:52
back in bed with my wife, you know,
02:22:54
growing up in Australia. And I remember
02:22:57
when I was little, I was trying to say
02:22:59
to my wife, there's some things you're
02:23:02
supposed to do when there's an
02:23:03
earthquake. Get I was thinking, get down
02:23:04
low. Go, go, go. There was a fire one in
02:23:07
Australia or something. I was thinking,
02:23:09
I wonder what we're supposed to do. And
02:23:11
then we end up just falling back to
02:23:13
sleep.
02:23:14
That's after the 7.1. Two of my kids
02:23:17
slept through it. One slightly roused
02:23:20
and then my four my cuz I little ones
02:23:22
then. Um, so yeah, we we just try to
02:23:25
keep calm around all that and that help
02:23:27
the kids um be in a good space with it
02:23:30
too.
02:23:33
>> If they were here, your kids, um, yeah,
02:23:36
what three words would you like them to
02:23:38
use to describe you?
02:23:42
>> Uh, hopefully loving be number one. Um,
02:23:48
fun. I like to think we have a lot of
02:23:51
fun. Uh
02:23:54
what what would be the third one?
02:23:58
Um
02:24:02
yeah, loving's caring. Uh struggling for
02:24:05
the third one. Um
02:24:09
hopefully uh that feel is protective.
02:24:13
>> I feel like I'm pretty protective guy. I
02:24:15
think that that probably with my footy
02:24:17
came through, you know, with my
02:24:19
teammates. Um, I really suited being a
02:24:22
tight lock cuz I have to look after my
02:24:24
prop. I like looking after the young
02:24:27
guys. If you saw me play, you know,
02:24:29
Richie, I'd look out for him, you know,
02:24:32
if I felt guys were having a go at him.
02:24:34
So, with my kids, I guess I have been
02:24:37
pretty protective of them. Um, yeah,
02:24:41
they're just so special to you, aren't
02:24:42
they? So yeah, that would be my three
02:24:44
words.
02:24:45
>> They're great words. Do you tell Do you
02:24:46
tell them you love them all the time or
02:24:47
is it not that sort of
02:24:49
>> Yeah, we're pretty affectionate. Like I
02:24:51
said, I'm I'm a softy, so you know, I
02:24:54
give my daughter hugs and uh you know,
02:24:58
the the sons, you know, they're going
02:24:59
about their thing. We're not hugging all
02:25:00
the time, but you know, it might be a
02:25:02
bit of a shoulder charge as I'm walking
02:25:04
past the hall. Um but we have uh real
02:25:09
good connection. We're tight family and
02:25:11
we did a lot of traveling to kids uh
02:25:14
Japan, Ireland, England. We lived in
02:25:15
these different places and uh we're
02:25:19
we're a real tight family. The kids are
02:25:21
tight. We're tight and it it's it's just
02:25:24
cool, mate. Yeah.
02:25:27
>> [ __ ] You love it, eh?
02:25:29
>> Yeah. It's awesome.
02:25:31
>> And it's hard to know if any of this
02:25:32
would have happened without if you
02:25:34
didn't reconnect with uh Jesus.
02:25:36
>> Yeah. I
02:25:38
mate. Um yeah, Maryanne.
02:25:42
Uh yeah, she like I said, I got my
02:25:46
married my best friend
02:25:47
>> and um
02:25:50
to be blessed with four kids. uh just so
02:25:53
grateful and um you know it just it's
02:25:58
been super cool and as you said I just
02:26:02
thank thank the Lord for all that I have
02:26:04
and um I know that uh you know in that
02:26:07
time there's been ups and downs there's
02:26:10
you know highs and lows
02:26:12
>> and I know going forward there will be
02:26:13
too but you know I know that you know
02:26:16
there's purpose in in in my life with
02:26:19
the Lord and um and I'm grateful M Brad
02:26:22
Kanei Thorne, are you proud of yourself?
02:26:26
>> Uh
02:26:28
I feel good about um cracking into
02:26:31
things, you know.
02:26:34
A straight mate, you've done some
02:26:35
incredible stuff. Um not just not just
02:26:37
in terms of your playing career, but um
02:26:39
you know, in your personal life as well.
02:26:41
What's wrong with a straight answer?
02:26:43
>> Yeah, probably. Yeah, you get so used to
02:26:45
being uh maybe it's the footy, you know,
02:26:47
being doing professional sport for so
02:26:49
long cuz you're always often all
02:26:52
downplay with the media. Do you know
02:26:54
what I mean? Maybe maybe you're actually
02:26:56
right about that instead of just saying,
02:26:58
"Hey, yeah, I am."
02:27:00
>> Maybe it's just
02:27:01
>> probably a Kiwi thing. Like, God, that
02:27:02
guy that guy's full of himself.
02:27:03
>> Yeah. Yeah. It could be that as well.
02:27:05
Yeah. I don't know. But um are you proud
02:27:08
of yourself?
02:27:09
>> Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am. And uh
02:27:12
uh I'm grateful
02:27:14
and um
02:27:18
yeah, I'm appreciative and um yeah, I'm
02:27:22
proud of our family and you know all
02:27:25
that. So yeah.
02:27:27
>> Well, I really appreciate you doing this
02:27:28
podcast today. It's been bloody
02:27:29
brilliant and um yeah, I wish you all
02:27:31
the best for whatever's next in the
02:27:33
chapter of your life. Brad Thorne,
02:27:35
>> thank you, mate. It's been awesome
02:27:36
meeting you, mate, and uh sharing this
02:27:38
time. Just having a real good chat. I
02:27:40
appreciate it. Appreciate your time.
02:27:42
Thanks, brother.
02:27:43
>> Awesome.
