ASHLEY, YOU STAYED ON THE GOLD COAST AFTER HANGING UP THE BOOTS IN 2014 – WHAT’S BEEN KEEPING YOU BUSY SINCE THEN?
I did a degree while I was playing with the assistance of the NRL and I’ve been in the finance world since I retired from playing footy. I was advising for professional athletes. I’m now a partner in an insurance brokerage on the Gold Coast called LEA Insurance Brokers, from which I advise on all things general insurance.
All my family’s here, the kids go to school here, so we’re pretty entrenched in the lifestyle on the Gold Coast – specifically down the southern end in Tugun. I did grow up in Brisbane, but I feel like I’m more of a Gold Coast guy now. I still support the Titans, I go along to a fair few of their games, and I coached down at Tugun for a couple of years, helping out both my sons’ teams and the A-grade team.
YOU HAD A DECORATED JUNIOR CAREER, REPRESENTING AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLBOYS AND THE JUNIOR KANGAROOS. WAS BECOMING AN NRL PLAYER ALWAYS PART OF THE PLAN?
It wasn’t until I was probably 16 that I made my first Queensland side, I’d only made junior reps from a regional perspective. From there, I sort of worked out that’s what I wanted to do, so I knuckled down and did what I need to do to perform at the highest level.
DEBUTING FOR THE BRONCOS AS AN 18-YEAR-OLD AND WINNING A GRAND FINAL IN YOUR FIRST SEASON…WERE YOU ABLE TO APPRECIATE WHAT YOU’D ACHIEVED SO SOON?
It was a whirlwind year, the opportunity to play in the grand final where I wasn’t actually named initially. I only got told I was playing in the grand final on the day of the game, so it was a surreal experience. During our morning walk with the team Wayne (Bennett) sidled up beside me and told me to get ready to play. Obviously we got the win and the rest is history, but I probably didn’t enjoy it or take it in at the time, being the age I was and being my first year playing in the NRL. I certainly appreciated it as the years went on because I didn’t really get close to the grand final until I got back to the Titans.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN INCREDIBLE EDUCATION PLAYING IN THAT BRONCOS TEAM – DOES ANYONE STAND OUT AS FAR AS HAVING A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER?
I was very lucky to come through with all those guys. I mean, it was pretty much an Australian team back then, wasn’t it? I learned a lot from them but they certainly didn’t give me any favours. They made me work for everything I got, which is good. I suppose Kev Campion was a pivotal part of my career. He took me under his wing a fair bit when I was coming through the grades there and we obviously played the same position, so we trained together a lot. We actually still train together to this day. He’s settled on the Gold Coast and we’ve got a training group at Palm Beach Currumbin.
But Kev was great. All the senior players were really good for the young guys coming through – they just trained the way they played and set the standard. If you weren’t up to the standard, well, you wouldn’t get a shot.
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION FOR THE MOVE TO SOUTHS IN 2003, LEAVING YOUR HOMETOWN AND A HEAVYWEIGHT CLUB FOR A STRUGGLING TEAM IN SYDNEY?
I did my ankle fairly badly [in 2002], I needed a reconstruction and it took a long while to work out what was actually going on. I didn’t play much that year and it was the end of my contract, so I had to look for an alternative opportunity. Souths provided one that gave me a chance to get out of my comfort zone – go to Sydney and pave my own way, which I did. I wouldn’t change a thing. They were a couple of tough years, but it galvanised me into the player I was moving forward.
YOU WENT FROM BEING ONE OF THE YOUNGER BRIGADE AT THE BRONCOS TO ONE OF THE RABBITOHS’ MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS – DID THE MOVE FAST-TRACK YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS?
It did for sure. Souths is just so steeped in tradition and if you ever get an opportunity to captain such a great club, you definitely don’t take it lightly. I always enjoyed that leadership side of things, but in that hotseat you have to stand up and lead with your actions and you carry a contingent of supporters each week on your shoulder. I really enjoyed the challenge and it provided an extra piece to the puzzle that I was able to call on in the coming years.
YOU WEREN’T THE FIRST OR LAST RABBITOHS PLAYER TO LEAVE FOR THE ROOSTERS, BUT DID YOU COP IT FROM THE SOUTH SYDNEY FAITHFUL?
It’s a funny one, everyone knows the rivalry there and the mutual respect … but I was very transparent around what I thought needed to happen for me to stay at the club and it wasn’t able to be done. The fans respected that, the players respected that and so did all the coaching staff. So it was always a case of full disclosure with me. They knew I gave them everything. I was at Souths for a good three years and at the time, it was just one of those things that had to happen for me to progress. It turned out I didn’t really play that much football at the Roosters, I did an ACL my first year and I missed a fair bit of footy. It was a learning curve for me and I got to a point where I just had to get back to Queensland, get around my family and refocus on my footy.
AFTER MAKING YOUR ORIGIN DEBUT IN A BIG DECIDER LOSS IN 2005 YOU MUST HAVE LOOKED AT QUEENSLAND STARTING THEIR DYNASTY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS A BIT ENVIOUSLY. HOW DID IT FEEL GETTING BACK INTO THE TEAM IN 2008 – AND STAYING THERE?
It was a massive thrill. [The 2005 debut] whet my appetite for Origin footy and I worked my bum off to get back there. Once I got another opportunity, I definitely wasn’t going to let that one slip. It was a dead-set privilege and an honour to play with all those guys. You just had to prepare the best you can, know that you’re doing your job and everyone else is … that’s exactly the mantra we used to take into those camps.
YOU’VE PLAYED THE MOST ORIGINS FOR QUEENSLAND WITHOUT GETTING SELECTED FOR AUSTRALIA – KURT CAPEWELL EQUALS YOUR MARK NEXT WEEK. IS THAT A KIND OF BITTERSWEET RECORD TO HOLD?
Yeah, a little bit. I came to terms with that a while ago – but it would have been great if I played for my country, no doubt about it. But we all know State of Origin is the toughest and hardest footy you can play. So if I could hold my head up high there and compete for long periods of time and be known as a performer on that level, I’m pretty content with that, mate.
AS A SENIOR PLAYER AT THE TITANS, AFTER TOP-FOUR FINISHES IN 2009-10 DID THE SUBSEQUENT DROP-OFF FOR THE CLUB COME AS A SURPRISE?
Yeah, it was a little bit. We had early success there and I think we missed a golden opportunity to win a competition when we were one game off a grand final. That’s just the peaks and troughs of the NRL. It’s very hard to stay at the top for years and years and years on end. It just really emphasises the thought process around nailing the opportunities when you get them. Because you definitely don’t know what that next season is going to hold.
DATE OF BIRTH
18 May, 1981
CURRENT AGE
45
BIRTHPLACE
Brisbane, Queensland
POSITIONS
Lock, five-eighth, second-row
PLAYING HISTORY
2000-02: Brisbane Broncos
2003-05: South Sydney Rabbitohs
2006-07: Sydney Roosters
2008-14: Gold Coast Titans
REP FOOTBALL
2005, 2008-13: Queensland
2005: Australian PM’s XIII
JUNIOR CLUB
Norths Aspley
TOTAL NRL MATCHES
276
TRIES | POINTS
56 | 224
