Clinton Schifcofske doesn't like to get his hands dirty - unless it's in his garden.
But should his rugby league career end, the Canberra Raiders and aspiring Queensland Origin fullback is also a fully qualified diesel mechanic.
Not only does Schifcofske, 28, know his agapanthus from his azaleas, he also knows his way around an earthmover's engine.
When he moved to Brisbane from the coal mining town of Moranbah to play with the now defunct South Queensland Crushers almost 10 years ago, Schifcofske was more excited about his apprenticeship than his football contract.
He was working alongside his father Michael in the mines when the Crushers offered him a contract and a transfer to Hastings Deerings in Brisbane.
"I didn't think I'd go that far in football so I was probably more excited about the job," Schifcofske said.
"But after about 12, 18 months, I started to go well with my footy and lost interest in my job. But I did finish my trade."
While he says he doesn't miss the machinery - "It's too dirty for me" - he credits his time in the trade for keeping his feet on the ground in a sport where instant money and fame can have disastrous consequences for young players.
"It helps if you've worked in the real world and seen how it's done," he said.
"A lot of guys these days come straight out of school and into good money and don't have to work for it. It comes too easy for them."
The collapse of the Crushers in 1998 gave the young Schifcofske another lesson in the value of staying grounded.
"It was pretty tough and it taught me the value of the money I get these days," he said.
"I was only young and I wasn't on that much money so it didn't really affect me but there were guys who were having their houses paid for by the club and it went for three or four months that their house loans weren't getting paid, car loans ... it was pretty scary and pretty dodgy, and a lot of guys came undone in a big way."
Schifcofske, who served a brief suspension at the Crushers after a self-confessed steroids breach, admits he could have gone off the rails when he headed to Sydney club Parramatta after the Crushers went broke.
"From Moranbah to Brisbane, I was young and it wasn't that big a step. But Brisbane to Sydney was a real shock," he said.
"It was pretty fast-paced and it's pretty easy to get left behind there. The first year I went there, I left without my girlfriend so it was pretty tough.
"I was in danger of going off the rails. Like most young blokes, I enjoyed a good time and I had a bit of money to have a good time with."
Schifcofske moved to Canberra in 2001 and achieved two goals the following year - pushing his way into the Queensland Origin team and marrying his long-time girlfriend Naomi.
They have two children, son Coby, who turns three this month (ed: March 16) and daughter Indy Lee, six months.
The doting dad divides his time between football commitments, playing with the kids and tending to his north Canberra garden.
"I grew up in a family that was very family-orientated and so did my wife," he said.
"I like to spend a lot of my time with my family and I like to get in the garden for a bit of time by myself.
"I don't have the ABC gardening show going on Saturday mornings - I'm not that old yet - but I don't think it's far off."
Schifcofske says his father has been the biggest influence on him.
"He probably loves his footy a lot more than I do and I hear from him a lot more during the footy season," he said.
And his son Coby is another powerful motivator to keep on playing.
"He's only three now but hopefully I can keep playing well for another four or five years so he remembers me playing," he said.
But should his rugby league career end, the Canberra Raiders and aspiring Queensland Origin fullback is also a fully qualified diesel mechanic.
Not only does Schifcofske, 28, know his agapanthus from his azaleas, he also knows his way around an earthmover's engine.
When he moved to Brisbane from the coal mining town of Moranbah to play with the now defunct South Queensland Crushers almost 10 years ago, Schifcofske was more excited about his apprenticeship than his football contract.
He was working alongside his father Michael in the mines when the Crushers offered him a contract and a transfer to Hastings Deerings in Brisbane.
"I didn't think I'd go that far in football so I was probably more excited about the job," Schifcofske said.
"But after about 12, 18 months, I started to go well with my footy and lost interest in my job. But I did finish my trade."
While he says he doesn't miss the machinery - "It's too dirty for me" - he credits his time in the trade for keeping his feet on the ground in a sport where instant money and fame can have disastrous consequences for young players.
"It helps if you've worked in the real world and seen how it's done," he said.
"A lot of guys these days come straight out of school and into good money and don't have to work for it. It comes too easy for them."
The collapse of the Crushers in 1998 gave the young Schifcofske another lesson in the value of staying grounded.
"It was pretty tough and it taught me the value of the money I get these days," he said.
"I was only young and I wasn't on that much money so it didn't really affect me but there were guys who were having their houses paid for by the club and it went for three or four months that their house loans weren't getting paid, car loans ... it was pretty scary and pretty dodgy, and a lot of guys came undone in a big way."
Schifcofske, who served a brief suspension at the Crushers after a self-confessed steroids breach, admits he could have gone off the rails when he headed to Sydney club Parramatta after the Crushers went broke.
"From Moranbah to Brisbane, I was young and it wasn't that big a step. But Brisbane to Sydney was a real shock," he said.
"It was pretty fast-paced and it's pretty easy to get left behind there. The first year I went there, I left without my girlfriend so it was pretty tough.
"I was in danger of going off the rails. Like most young blokes, I enjoyed a good time and I had a bit of money to have a good time with."
Schifcofske moved to Canberra in 2001 and achieved two goals the following year - pushing his way into the Queensland Origin team and marrying his long-time girlfriend Naomi.
They have two children, son Coby, who turns three this month (ed: March 16) and daughter Indy Lee, six months.
The doting dad divides his time between football commitments, playing with the kids and tending to his north Canberra garden.
"I grew up in a family that was very family-orientated and so did my wife," he said.
"I like to spend a lot of my time with my family and I like to get in the garden for a bit of time by myself.
"I don't have the ABC gardening show going on Saturday mornings - I'm not that old yet - but I don't think it's far off."
Schifcofske says his father has been the biggest influence on him.
"He probably loves his footy a lot more than I do and I hear from him a lot more during the footy season," he said.
And his son Coby is another powerful motivator to keep on playing.
"He's only three now but hopefully I can keep playing well for another four or five years so he remembers me playing," he said.
God.
