The Dodger
First Grade
- Messages
- 6,063
forget every bad thing i have said about the guy.
he is just tops...
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25652287-5006066,00.html
ANTHONY Watmough has them inked down each forearm. Claudia and Jake. Which is why the question rocked him.
"Oh, for my little boy to come home and say, 'Dad, did you punch someone in the head?' - it was horrible," Watmough concedes.
"Because I've always taught Jake to never hit anyone. Told him so many times. So I just asked 'do you think I hit him?' He said, 'No dad, I don't think you did'."
Kicking back in the lounge bar of Quay West Resort, sweeping golf course views enveloping the giant glass windows behind him, Anthony "Choc" Watmough is finally letting us in.
Finally removing the gag that for 157 days has seen him stay silent on Manly's 2009 season launch and the ensuing outcry that hovered somewhere between public stoning and crucifixion. with bikini model Sarah Durazza and her Four Corners claims. With club sponsor Paul Durazza and that supposed short right. With this Manly poster boy being dubbed lout, loser and enigmatic lottery.
But now, on the eve of his NSW Origin recall, this chiseled enforcer leans forward in his cushioned cane chair, exposing that pair of tattooed forearms and the one thing that cut him most.
"The kids," he says, "they've copped a bit at school. And that's tough.
"Because I think anyone with a bit of commonsense knew what (the launch) was about. I'm just thankful my two kids trust their dad and what he does."
Debate it however you like, but this is the gospel according to Watmough. Unedited, unapologetic and unfurling for the first time.
This Northern Beaches father who insists those backpage headlines were way over the top. Who has felt hard done by "every day" afterwards.
Who "hated the world" and decided the only course of action was that now famous vow of silence.
"Yeah, it was 'us versus the world' for a bit and that's not good," Choc concedes. "Me and a couple of other (Manly) guys were really bitter about what was said because it just wasn't being portrayed in the right way.
"I mean, we got tortured. Everyone hammered us. So it was like 'well, if youse are gunna hammer us there's no point talking to you'."
So why talk now? "Because you can't hold grudges forever," he shrugs. "You've gotta move on from things and we've moved on from the start of the year a long time ago."
Which is why Watmough finally feels ready to add to an Origin account boasting just 20 minutes. Why he talks about close mate Ben Kennedy giving him a rocket earlier in the year and responds to defensive statistics with "I wouldn't be here if I couldn't tackle".
It's why the larrikin streak is back in almost every answer, too.
What's changed since you last played Origin? "I'm about five years older." Have you been wrestling any room mates? "BK has gone now . . . it was his fault." OK, so when did you finally decide it was time to break your media ban? "Yesterday - about four o'clock."
And then someone asks about those tattoos on his forearms.
"Yeah, Claudia down one side and Jake the other," he smiles, opening them inward for display.
"With me for life."
he is just tops...
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,25652287-5006066,00.html
ANTHONY Watmough has them inked down each forearm. Claudia and Jake. Which is why the question rocked him.
"Oh, for my little boy to come home and say, 'Dad, did you punch someone in the head?' - it was horrible," Watmough concedes.
"Because I've always taught Jake to never hit anyone. Told him so many times. So I just asked 'do you think I hit him?' He said, 'No dad, I don't think you did'."
Kicking back in the lounge bar of Quay West Resort, sweeping golf course views enveloping the giant glass windows behind him, Anthony "Choc" Watmough is finally letting us in.
Finally removing the gag that for 157 days has seen him stay silent on Manly's 2009 season launch and the ensuing outcry that hovered somewhere between public stoning and crucifixion. with bikini model Sarah Durazza and her Four Corners claims. With club sponsor Paul Durazza and that supposed short right. With this Manly poster boy being dubbed lout, loser and enigmatic lottery.
But now, on the eve of his NSW Origin recall, this chiseled enforcer leans forward in his cushioned cane chair, exposing that pair of tattooed forearms and the one thing that cut him most.
"The kids," he says, "they've copped a bit at school. And that's tough.
"Because I think anyone with a bit of commonsense knew what (the launch) was about. I'm just thankful my two kids trust their dad and what he does."
Debate it however you like, but this is the gospel according to Watmough. Unedited, unapologetic and unfurling for the first time.
This Northern Beaches father who insists those backpage headlines were way over the top. Who has felt hard done by "every day" afterwards.
Who "hated the world" and decided the only course of action was that now famous vow of silence.
"Yeah, it was 'us versus the world' for a bit and that's not good," Choc concedes. "Me and a couple of other (Manly) guys were really bitter about what was said because it just wasn't being portrayed in the right way.
"I mean, we got tortured. Everyone hammered us. So it was like 'well, if youse are gunna hammer us there's no point talking to you'."
So why talk now? "Because you can't hold grudges forever," he shrugs. "You've gotta move on from things and we've moved on from the start of the year a long time ago."
Which is why Watmough finally feels ready to add to an Origin account boasting just 20 minutes. Why he talks about close mate Ben Kennedy giving him a rocket earlier in the year and responds to defensive statistics with "I wouldn't be here if I couldn't tackle".
It's why the larrikin streak is back in almost every answer, too.
What's changed since you last played Origin? "I'm about five years older." Have you been wrestling any room mates? "BK has gone now . . . it was his fault." OK, so when did you finally decide it was time to break your media ban? "Yesterday - about four o'clock."
And then someone asks about those tattoos on his forearms.
"Yeah, Claudia down one side and Jake the other," he smiles, opening them inward for display.
"With me for life."
