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Farewell could end in tears: Hindy
Chris Barrett
SMH
September 2, 2010
Take a seat ... Eels Veterans Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh will play
their last game together at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Steve Christo
''BLOKES don't have best mates,'' said Eels veteran Nathan Hindmarsh yesterday with the cheeky grin of a rookie. ''Girls have best mates … BFFs and all that.'' OK, but if Hindmarsh did have a bestie, it would surely be Nathan Cayless, right?
''He's a very close friend of mine,'' the grin still there, baseball cap half shading his 30-year-old face. ''He's high up on the list.''
Hindmarsh is a man's man, for sure. Don't be surprised, though, to see the odd tear on Saturday night. He jokingly says he has become an ''emotional wreck'' since his three children Archie, Buster and Rowdy were born so when Cayless - his long-time partner in crime in the Parramatta forward pack and at backyard barbecues at their respective homes - finishes his 259th and last game against the New Zealand Warriors he might just become a blubbering mess.
''I will be [emotional] … I suppose Nath will be,'' Hindmarsh said. ''Why wouldn't you be? Fourteen years at one club, playing one sport and then to just leave it … it would be emotional. He keeps things close to his chest; he doesn't show too much. I dare say he's going to miss the sport and miss the game, definitely.''
The two Nathans have been an institution at Parramatta for more than a decade; Cayless as the long-serving captain and Hindmarsh as the club's maverick superstar and cult figure. Cayless's retirement at the age of 32 will bring an end to a significant era at the Eels. Hindmarsh is convinced the front-rower, who played 38 Tests for New Zealand, will be remembered among the pantheon of Parramatta greats.
''I think he'll go down with the names of Kenny and Price … Sterling,'' he said. ''He's a local boy as well from Greystanes … he played for Wentworthville. Everyone in the district knows him. You ask someone on the street if they know Nathan Cayless, and they'll say yes. He's a great leader. He doesn't say too much but he works his arse off at training and he puts in on the field every week. He doesn't take shortcuts.''
The Eels are going to some lengths to see off their skipper on Saturday. Fans will be allowed on the field after the game, when a presentation will take place, and 5000 Nathan Cayless masks will be scattered among the crowd. The day is also a first-grade team reunion, with nearly 150 former Parramatta players to be present.
''As a team, our main focus is to win it for Nath this week,'' Hindmarsh said. ''To get a nice, decent crowd out there would be fitting for him. If you're a Parramatta supporter, you've got to get out there and watch Nathan Cayless's last game.''
Hindmarsh would like to be sending Cayless away, and into a post-league career in real estate, with more than a victory in his last match. Hopes of a premiership, though, were extinguished by an Eels campaign that threatened briefly to light up but ultimately spluttered into a finish outside the top eight.
Then there were the years 2001 and 2009 when Cayless, Hindmarsh and Parramatta came so agonisingly close. Hindmarsh still has time to make up for those shattering grand final defeats. Cayless does not, however that should not taint the prop's legacy, according to Hindmarsh.
''To be given two opportunities and not get one, I think, makes it feel worse,'' Hindmarsh said. ''It's hard but not everyone can win it … It's unfortunate for Nath that he hasn't been able to hold up the trophy … That is just how things go.''
Link: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/farewell-could-end-in-tears-hindy-20100901-14non.html
Chris Barrett
SMH
September 2, 2010
Take a seat ... Eels Veterans Nathan Cayless and Nathan Hindmarsh will play
their last game together at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Steve Christo
''BLOKES don't have best mates,'' said Eels veteran Nathan Hindmarsh yesterday with the cheeky grin of a rookie. ''Girls have best mates … BFFs and all that.'' OK, but if Hindmarsh did have a bestie, it would surely be Nathan Cayless, right?
''He's a very close friend of mine,'' the grin still there, baseball cap half shading his 30-year-old face. ''He's high up on the list.''
Hindmarsh is a man's man, for sure. Don't be surprised, though, to see the odd tear on Saturday night. He jokingly says he has become an ''emotional wreck'' since his three children Archie, Buster and Rowdy were born so when Cayless - his long-time partner in crime in the Parramatta forward pack and at backyard barbecues at their respective homes - finishes his 259th and last game against the New Zealand Warriors he might just become a blubbering mess.
''I will be [emotional] … I suppose Nath will be,'' Hindmarsh said. ''Why wouldn't you be? Fourteen years at one club, playing one sport and then to just leave it … it would be emotional. He keeps things close to his chest; he doesn't show too much. I dare say he's going to miss the sport and miss the game, definitely.''
The two Nathans have been an institution at Parramatta for more than a decade; Cayless as the long-serving captain and Hindmarsh as the club's maverick superstar and cult figure. Cayless's retirement at the age of 32 will bring an end to a significant era at the Eels. Hindmarsh is convinced the front-rower, who played 38 Tests for New Zealand, will be remembered among the pantheon of Parramatta greats.
''I think he'll go down with the names of Kenny and Price … Sterling,'' he said. ''He's a local boy as well from Greystanes … he played for Wentworthville. Everyone in the district knows him. You ask someone on the street if they know Nathan Cayless, and they'll say yes. He's a great leader. He doesn't say too much but he works his arse off at training and he puts in on the field every week. He doesn't take shortcuts.''
The Eels are going to some lengths to see off their skipper on Saturday. Fans will be allowed on the field after the game, when a presentation will take place, and 5000 Nathan Cayless masks will be scattered among the crowd. The day is also a first-grade team reunion, with nearly 150 former Parramatta players to be present.
''As a team, our main focus is to win it for Nath this week,'' Hindmarsh said. ''To get a nice, decent crowd out there would be fitting for him. If you're a Parramatta supporter, you've got to get out there and watch Nathan Cayless's last game.''
Hindmarsh would like to be sending Cayless away, and into a post-league career in real estate, with more than a victory in his last match. Hopes of a premiership, though, were extinguished by an Eels campaign that threatened briefly to light up but ultimately spluttered into a finish outside the top eight.
Then there were the years 2001 and 2009 when Cayless, Hindmarsh and Parramatta came so agonisingly close. Hindmarsh still has time to make up for those shattering grand final defeats. Cayless does not, however that should not taint the prop's legacy, according to Hindmarsh.
''To be given two opportunities and not get one, I think, makes it feel worse,'' Hindmarsh said. ''It's hard but not everyone can win it … It's unfortunate for Nath that he hasn't been able to hold up the trophy … That is just how things go.''
Link: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/farewell-could-end-in-tears-hindy-20100901-14non.html
