MICHEAL, YOU’VE BEEN IN OFF-FIELD ROLES AT THE COWBOYS SINCE HANGING UP THE BOOTS IN 2012 – DID YOU EVER SEE YOURSELF BECOMING CEO OF AN NRL CLUB?
Probably not. I was always interested in the business of sport, through my university studies in New Zealand … but as I came back here and got more involved in the front office side of the NRL club, I reckon it was around COVID that actually got me really thinking this is something that I could see myself doing. How we had to run our business on a very lean scale during that period and how we came out of it in a better spot. That energised me and enthused me, the practical examples – if you pull this lever, this is the result. Then the last couple of years in the GM of footy role, having my fingerprints on what we’ve done as a business as we expand and grow.
HAS IT MADE THE TRANSITION SMOOTHER, HAVING FILLED SO MANY POSITIONS AT THE CLUB – RATHER THAN BEING A CEO IN A DIFFERENT INDUSTRY AND MOVING ACROSS?
There’s definitely advantages, but also I have to be really conscious that I don’t let my preconceptions or my biases influence my decision-making, because of relationships with people, or my history with certain departments or certain processes. I would think it’s been smooth, but that’s only because I’ve had good people around me.
THERE’S NOT A HUGE NUMBER OF EX-PLAYERS WHO HAVE BECOME NRL CLUB CEOS. DO YOU THINK YOUR FOOTY CAREER PROVIDES YOU WITH A GREATER INSIGHT?
I think what it does is it always grounds me into what we’re here for. We’ve got the NRL team that run out on the park every week, that’s the hero piece of our businesses and our brands. Sometimes we can get a bit caught up in overemphasising or dramatising other parts of the business on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. I always tell our staff here the highlight of our week is when our boys play. Everything we do is about making sure we’re putting on a good gameday experience for the crowd, our patrons at the Leagues Club or our members that watch on TV. That’s what it’s all about, that’s what they want to see.
GOING BACK TO YOUR PLAYING DAYS AT THE COWBOYS, COMING THROUGH WITH A BUNCH OF LOCAL PRODUCTS IN A CLUB SLOWLY GAINING CREDIBILTY MUST HAVE BEEN A SPECIAL TIME?
A lot of that group are still very good friends now – and in 2001-02 we had some rough nights. You learn more from your failures than your wins, in my opinion, and we learned a lot about each other and what it meant being NRL players. A couple of us had long careers and a couple didn’t play all that much, but it was a fun time to be part of a fledgling club here in a region that’s known for rugby league.
AFTER BEING A REGULAR THROUGH THAT PERIOD, HOW HARD WAS IT TO BE LEFT OUT OF THE TEAM’S GRAND FINAL RUN IN 2005?
It was very disappointing. I signed with the Warriors [midway through 2005], I played every game of first grade before that and then never played first grade for them again. I was really happy that my friends got to enjoy some great success but very jealous that I didn’t get the opportunity to do it. Missing out on that experience might have given me the hunger that drove me to achieve all I could with the Warriors later in my career.
YOU BECAME A CLUB LEGEND AT THE WARRIORS – WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE PLACE THAT BROUGHT OUT THE BEST IN YOU?
I found a coach that believed in me, gave me a job to do and empowered me to go and do it. Ivan Cleary’s philosophy was to get good people in and around him – his coaching and performance staff made up for [areas] where he probably wasn’t as strong. I think that’s hard for head coaches to do, as I’ve come to understand over the years – you have to actually admit where you’re not overly blessed from a tactical or technical point of view. Ivan always did that.
YOU SET SOME FORMIDABLE TACKLING RECORDS. WAS THAT JUST A BY-PRODUCT OF YOUR ETHOS AS A PLAYER, OR DID YOU SET CERTAIN TARGETS?
It might sound funny, but I don’t think I was a very good player. I was always scared that I was not going to be in the team on Tuesday. Sometimes I played with injuries that I shouldn’t have, or I was sick or underdone. The reason for that is I just didn’t want to give anyone else a chance in that jersey, because I thought if I ever gave it up, I’d never get it back. Part of me keeping that jersey was being ever-present in the middle of the field, making sure that I was there in a kick-chase and making the first couple of tackles after that. The other big boys could have a rest and I was happy to do that to stay in the team.
THE 2011 SEASON WAS AN INCREDIBLE ONE FOR YOU AND THE CLUB, ON AND OFF THE FIELD…
We finished the year fairly well, then went to Brisbane the first week of the finals and got flogged. But we got another chance and on the Tuesday night, my oldest son, Murphy, was born. So I went back to Sydney on the Thursday, we beat the Tigers and came home. Then we went to Melbourne the next week, had a great night [in the preliminary final], came home and then went to Sydney on the Wednesday or Thursday for the grand final. So just a whirlwind month where so much happened professionally and personally.
I sat back months after that and just reflected on how special, but also how surreal, that was. Murphy now, while he’s not a huge footy fan, he tells that story to his friends – the first game he ever went to was an NRL grand final. It’s something we reflect on very proudly as a family.
A HANGOVER FROM THAT GRAND FINAL – A BROKEN HAND – RUINED YOUR 2012 SEASON AND YOU RETIRED. WAS THAT ALWAYS THE PLAN, TO HANG IT UP AT ONLY 30 YEARS OLD?
I’d had enough. That year I was getting ready to finish my Masters degree at uni, so in the back of my head I thought once I did that I would maybe be employable in another industry where I didn’t have to get beaten up every Sunday afternoon. I was looking forward to that. The injury just confirmed it. I just struggled with my hand and then my shoulder as well. That year, I had something like three surgeries on my wrist and then two on my shoulder. On Christmas Day 2011, (Warriors club doctor) ‘Doc’ Mayhew came in and helped tighten a bolt that was hanging out of my shoulder … I’ve also got a three-month-old son – that’s not a place that you should be on Christmas. So yeah, I don’t regret that. I loved every minute that I was able to play in the NRL and had such a good time for the overwhelming majority of it.
YOUR NAME OFTEN COMES UP AS ONE OF THE UNLUCKIEST PLAYERS TO MISS OUT ON A QUEENSLAND JERSEY. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU’VE MADE PEACE WITH?
I would’ve loved to play Origin, it was always the pinnacle growing up as young man in Queensland – they’re the heroes you hold in the highest regard. But I was kept out of the side by some pretty handy players and they were on that eight-series [streak] when I was probably playing my best footy. I don’t begrudge anyone for choosing Dallas Johnson, Ash Harrison, Neville Costigan, who played lock when I was [in contention]. They were brilliant players and did a wonderful job for the state. I’m lucky in my role now that I get to go to a couple of Origins and watch them from some good vantage points – I enjoy that just as much as I did when I was playing and cheering my mates on.
DATE OF BIRTH
21 April, 1981
CURRENT AGE
45
BIRTHPLACE
Gatton, Queensland
POSITIONS
Lock, second-row
PLAYING HISTORY
2001-05: North Queensland Cowboys
2006-12: Warriors
REP FOOTBALL
2010: Australian Prime Minister’s XIII
JUNIOR CLUBS
Gatton, North Thuringowa
TOTAL NRL MATCHES
226
TRIES | POINTS
12 | 48
