Hard work done, now Rovelli can blog his guts out
Steve Kilgallon | May 5, 2008
AS YOU might expect from a good Queenslander, Grant Rovelli has picked up one of Wayne Bennett's key life lessons.
Remember that Bennett-ism, "If you listen to the fans, you'll end up sitting with them"? The Mackay-born Rovelli has been applying that to his legion of critics populating the league message boards, one of whom was suggesting this week Warriors fans should stage a protest against their little halfback.
"It probably goes both ways - if you get good press and listen to it, it's not going to do you any good, and if it's not good it doesn't help either," Rovelli said after an individual performance in the Warriors' 14-6 win over Canberra that should reduce the internet vitriol this morning. "I just keep working hard and building my self-belief."
He's worn plenty this year from those who have sought to pin the Warriors' mixed form on his slight shoulders: From former Kiwi Matthew Ridge to, indirectly, Graham Lowe, who suggested it was time for Stacey Jones to come out of retirement. Jones's shadow (increasing, given he's spending more time training than fishing since quitting) still looms large at Mt Smart, and that probably tells on Rovelli.
But he was one of the few to adapt to the weather conditions yesterday, using an adept short-kicking game inside the Canberra 20 that produced the repeat sets the Warriors needed to exert control. "I enjoyed it - I love playing in wet weather, we train in it all the time," he said. "Wins like that are a real confidence-booster. It was a bit of a slog; our forwards were bashing theirs. It makes it tough for a halfback but good for me to play behind them."
Rovelli's personal target had been improving his "defensive reads", and he didn't make any mistakes in that department, while his sometime-criticised partnership with Michael Witt thrived in the rain.
His only disappointment was missing out on a try for a disputed video referee call on an obstruction play, involving Raiders fullback Bronx Goodwin. "I'm a bit filthy, but he's [Goodwin] thrown his hands up and waved them around." This performance might just be the start of Rovelli throwing his hands up at his critics.
