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AT THE mention of his Mum's name, Chris Sandow broke down in tears yesterday.
Parramatta's new recruit points to the tattoo on his right forearm, telling you how it's a big part of the reason he is standing where he is today.
He's proudly wearing the blue and gold jersey Peter Sterling made famous in the 1980s, back before Chris Sandow was even born.
He says he couldn't give a damn if people say the move from South Sydney Rabbitohs to the Parramatta Eels was only ever about money. You get the feeling this 22-year-old father-of-three couldn't care less if he had two bucks in the bank, or two million.
He grew up in the small Queensland Aboriginal community of Cherbourg, 250km north-west of Brisbane, with a population of just over 1000 people.
And when he tells you how his ambition in life was only ever to make his Mum Rhonda proud, tears start rolling down his cheeks.
"It is about my Mum because I am the only child," he explained on his first official day at the Eels.
"My uncle Stafford, he was a good player and there were big hopes for him to become an NRL player ... but not making it torn my Nan apart and it's something I didn't want to do to my Mum.
"Me and my mum have got a really close relationship and that's what I want to do, pay her back."
There was a report in a Sunday newspaper how Sandow got into strife on a recent trip home, where he allegedly came to the defence of his mother.
He said yesterday he hadn't seen the report, and he didn't go into any details.
But he did talk about the "hurdles" he sometimes faces back home.
"There are a lot of people who want to pull you down back there but you have to come over the hurdles and do what's best for you,' he said.
"It's not about money, I just love playing footy. That's why I go out and try and do my best each week.
"Sorry about crying, that's who I am."
He knows there's pressure on him to perform at Parra, given the Eels paid $1.6 million over four years to get him. Throw in the fact Parra hasn't won a comp since 1986, when Sterling was wearing the No. 7.
You point out how that last premiership came three years before Sandow was born. He smiles, telling you how he has three kids of his own these days.
This will be Sandow's fifth season in the top grade.
No wonder he reckons his best is still to come.
"I came down here with a dream to just play one NRL game, you know, I think I have got 82-83 now so I have come a long way," he said.
You ask him if he could improve one thing about his game what would it be?
"Consistency,' he said. "I think that is a big part in my footy, I am hot and cold sometimes but when I'm on, I'm on."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...res-chris-sandow/story-e6frexnr-1226181843050
