'Queensland aren't unbeatable, they are just blokes in maroon'
June 16, 2012
Tim Grant was a standout for the NSW on his Origin debut on Wednesday. Here, the Penrith prop reveals how a player with 'no particular amount of skill' rose through the grades to stand on the verge of a series victory with the Blues.
I WAS born in the Penrith area, and moved to Cranebrook when I was about 13. I've been there ever since.
I started playing for St Marys when I was seven. I was never bigger than any of the other kids, in fact I was really skinny and gangly. Like a human broomstick. But as soon as I pulled on those
footy boots and started playing, I knew I wanted to be a professional footballer.
I was never a standout player. No one ever pulled me aside and told me, ''Kid, you're going to be a star''. But I didn't care, I was in my own world. I knew what I wanted to do, and where I wanted to go.
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When I was 15 I got picked to
play Harold Matts for the Panthers, then worked my way through the grades there. I made my first-grade debut in 2007, I was 19 and more than a bit nervous. Looking back, I probably wasn't ready. I had a few good games, but a few absolute shockers.
I've been dropped back to reserve grade a few times. It's hard at the time, you feel like your dreams are being ripped away from you. But in the end it's good for you, like when your parents discipline you as a kid. I know some younger guys struggle with floating in and out of first grade, but it forces you to develop as a player, it makes you learn your trade fully and completely.
Michael Jennings and I played all our junior footy together. He was always a superstar. No word of a lie, when we played SG Ball together, the game plan was, ''TG, get a quick play the ball and get it to Jenko so he can score a try''.
So I would attract the defenders, get absolutely flogged, and still be picking myself up off the ground while Jenko was waving to the girls in the crowd after scoring yet another try. There's no glamour in being a prop! Sometimes I think I was just picked because I was always the first one in to shake his hand after he scored a try, I helped build his self-confidence. Like a donkey stablemate for a thoroughbred!
We are great mates though, more like brothers than anything else. Every single team apart from school footy we've been side by side. When he got picked for Origin the first time I thought, ''How great would it be to play next to him in the sky blue''.
I first met Gus Gould in 2010. I was pretty overwhelmed, he's like the Godfather of rugby league. I was injured at the time, and pretty depressed about it. He said to me quietly, ''You'll play Origin soon''. That's stuck with me ever since. When you hear someone with so much knowledge give you a rap like that, it gives you a boost and incentive to keep going. When I got the call up for NSW he was the first person that called me, it was an awesome moment.
I'm proud of where I come from. We sometimes get labelled as ''bogans'', but Penrith is filled with genuine, educated and hard-working people and I am proud of that. There's a lot more diversity out here than people realise. The way that people have congratulated me on my selection is humbling. I hope the community sees me in the way I want to be seen. I want to make the people of Penrith proud.
Being in NSW camp has been a dream come true. We are all really tight, it doesn't feel like a rep team. Trust me when I say this: Queensland don't have a mortgage on brotherhood.
When I was injured earlier this year, I thought I may never make it here. I wasn't even sure when I would be able to play for the Panthers again. I felt so sorry for Ivan Cleary. The poor bloke had walked into a new club and lost half the team to injuries. Every game that I watched from the sidelines hit me hard, I felt like I was letting the fans and my teammates down. I just wanted to run on and start tackling.
I don't think I have a particular amount of skill when it comes to footy. That's not false modesty either. I was never the ''next big thing'', never the gun player. I had loads of people tell me I wasn't cut out for first grade, let alone State of Origin. But they aren't in the game any more.
The only asset I have is that I'm stubborn. I will push myself harder than someone else will. I'm willing to work as hard as I have to achieve what I want. That's all I have.
We shouldn't see ourselves as anything special just because we play football. It's a job, that's all. I appreciate the opportunity footy has afforded me, but I am no better than an electrician or a plumber or anyone else. I have no right to have an ego. I want to be treated like a regular bloke, so that's how I act. It's pretty simple.
The greatest thing about being picked for NSW is it's brought back a lot of memories. A lot of people from my past have got in contact to congratulate me and it's reminded me of the unwavering support I've received during my career. It's given me time to reflect. I keep thinking, if they weren't there, where would I be? When I run out there in my Blues jersey, I feel like I should cut it up into 50 little pieces and give a piece to every person that's helped me along the way. It's as much their achievement as it is mine.
I don't believe that the Maroons are some big unbeatable machine. They aren't mythical. To me, they are just blokes in maroon jerseys. Blokes I'll tackle as hard as I possibly can.
It's been a bumpy road to represent the people of NSW. And it feels right. I believe in fate, I guess I'm a weirdo like that.
Read more:
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...s-in-maroon-20120615-20f5y.html#ixzz1xwOIHseX
