MICK, THE BEARS ARE BACK! AS SOME WHO SPENT SUCH A SIGNFICANT PERIOD OF YOUR CAREER AT THE CLUB AND PLAYED IN NORTHS’ LAST-EVER PREMIERSHIP MATCH, IT MUST MEAN A LOT TO YOU?
It’s great news for rugby league, for Bears supporters and the people of WA. The fact that they have a connection with a foundation club, I know personally that a lot of people have done a lot of work behind the scenes to make this dream a reality. That’s what it’s been for the last 26 years – a dream, a hope – and for those that have persisted, it is reward in the sense that the red-and-black and the Bears logo get to be back in the NRL.
There’s so much history involved in the club itself, their last premierships were in 1921 and ’22, so it’s a long time between drinks for the supporters. There’s only 18 months now before they get to cheer on the Bears.
Persistence does pay off, and I will mention a few guys: Daniel Dickson, our chairman, who’s done an amazing job in recent times; and past players Billy Moore and Greg Florimo – ‘Flo’, who I regard as ‘the great one’, has been persistent the whole way and has been on this rollercoaster of emotions for 26 years, but he hasn’t stepped away at any stage and has been resilient; and Gareth Holmes, our current CEO, he put things in place with the direction of the board.
YOU’VE BARELY BEEN AWAY FROM THE GAME SINCE RETIRING IN 2004, INCLUDING A HOST OF ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS WITH THE NRL AS WELL AS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH OZTAG…
I’ve been very fortunate from when I came into grade at 17 that I’ve been involved in this game – it’s nearly 34 years. I’m extremely proud, the game has given me so much and I’ve given the best I can back to the game, on and off the field – and I’m still heavily involved with the Match Review Committee with the NRL and NSWRL.
It’s nice to stay connected to a factor of your life that meant so much and was such a significant part of your day-to-day living. The other day a friend sent me a Facebook clip of the Bears’ last game up in North Queensland and it brought back a hell of a lot of memories. Just to look back on it, acknowledging that you were doing something that you loved and got paid to do it. There were so many positives about being involved in an era that I believe will go down as one of the greatest we’ve seen.
YOU’VE ALSO GIVE A LOT OF TIME TO CHARITABLE CAUSES. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT THAT?
A mate of mine from teachers’ college set up Pass it on Clothing, which distributes clothing to the homeless. I was going through a tough period in my life and thought I’d assist him, and because I was living on the Central Coast we were able to provide that service for four and a half years there. It put life in perspective and made me realise life wasn’t as bad as I thought it was and there were so many positives. It was an eye-opener and something I thoroughly enjoyed, being able to give – and I can assure you I got a lot more out of it than our friends who needed the service did. It was a humbling experience, and it enabled me to pick up an Order of Australia Medal earlier this year – that was part of it, along with service to rugby league and OzTag – and it means a hell of a lot to me.
YOU DEBUTED FOR PARRAMATTA AS AN 18-YEAR-OLD IN 1992 AND EXPERIENCED SOME LEAN YEARS EARLY IN YOUR CAREER. WAS THE MOVE TO NORTHS DUE TO WANTING TO PLAY FOR A TEAM IN CONTENTION?
I got the opportunity from (coach) Mick Cronin and Ron Massey in 1992 and was fortunate to play the almost a full season in first grade, learn my trade. It wasn’t an easy season by any stretch, but one that put me in good stead for the years to come.
It was interesting when it came to the decision [to leave], we were going through the Super League period and there was discussions about Parramatta getting the ‘big four’ from Canterbury – Pay, Dymock, McCracken and Smith – so there were reasons for me to stay. But there was also a great opportunity for me to learn under a new coach, play with players I had admired, and the Bears were a very competitive side. I didn’t expect to automatically be in the first-grade team, I knew I had to work really hard and earn my spot.
I probably had the best four years of my career at North Sydney, I felt extremely comfortable there and adjusted to their way of play, and the calibre of player there made it a lot easier to adapt and show my skills off in a way that benefitted the team.
THE BEARS WERE HEAVYWEIGHTS IN 1996-97 – AND YOU PLAYED TEST AND ORIGIN FOOTBALL DURING THAT TIME – BUT THE HISTORY BOOKS ULTIMATELY FOCUS ON THE CLUBS’ PRELIMINARY FINAL HEARTBREAK IN THOSE YEARS. HOW DO YOU REFLECT ON THOSE LOSSES TO THE DRAGONS AND KNIGHTS NOW?
I think back on ’96 and finals football was all new to me. I didn’t know how to take it or what to expect, and I probably was just grateful to have the opportunity to play in a prelim. The following year, the expectations had increased dramatically – not only for myself, but the team and the season that we had – and ’97 hurt a lot against Newcastle and what happened in that game. The tackle by Darren Albert [on Matt Seers], the field goal from Matty Johns…I felt like we had a real opportunity to take out the premiership in ’96 and ’97, but the cards didn’t fall for us. In ’98 we had a good year, but we got bashed out of the finals in the first week by Parramatta and we just couldn’t back up the next week against the Bulldogs.
1999 was a tough year, and we didn’t have the results we would want, there was the loss of (coach) Peter Louis, and Kieran Dempsey coming in as interim coach with a new style. It was the last season of the Bears, unbeknownst to us at the time, and when I look back at the time there’s a lot great memories. The players, wearing the colours and just the enjoyment you get out of playing rugby league.
THE NORTHERN EAGLES JOIN VENTURE BOASTED A STAR-STUDDED SQUAD, BUT WAS THE MERGER ALWAYS DOOMED TO FAIL?
Any time you get two rivals together, it’s going to be extremely difficult. And you have to bear in mind, there was – and I don’t like to use the term – genuine hatred towards Manly, and vice versa. It was a real rivalry in that northern beaches region and it was ingrained from a long time ago. It was always going to be a tough process and the Northern Eagles died a pretty quick death. There were plenty of great players in that team, but it was really hard to combine in such a short timeframe – look at the Dolphins, they had some 18 months to put a club together. I enjoyed my time with the Eagles, I played with some quality players and made some genuine friendships, but it was always going to be a short-term Bain-Aid solution during a difficult time for rugby league.
YOU REJOINED PARRAMATTA IN 2001 AND WERE PART OF ONE OF THE MOST DOMINANT MINOR PREMIERSHIP-WINNING SEASONS OF ALL TIME…BUT THE EELS WERE THE VICTIMS OF ONE OF THE GREAT GRAND FINAL UPSETS THAT YEAR.
Again, it still hurts – you get the personal accolades and all those things, but I played 260-odd first-grade games and I’d swap 150 of them to have won a premiership. You work with these guys all year, you train with your best mates, you’re all pushing in that same direction and the ultimate goal is to win the competition. It makes what Penrith did over the past four years so special and unique – as a former player you understand how difficult that is. I was fortunate to play in that 2001 Parramatta team, which I think is still the best attacking team ever in terms of points scored. There was experience, youth with the likes of Nathan Hindmarsh, Michael Vella, Jamie Lyon, Luke Burt; myself and ‘JT’ (Jason Taylor) were the old heads. It had a really good balance and a coach who knew how to get the best out of his players in Brian Smith, who has a very impressive record unfortunately without being able to secure a premiership. It was one hell of a year and I loved every part of it, I love seeing the highlights and how good that side was – it was a brand of football endearing to fans.
AFTER BEING SOMETHING OF AN IRONMAN THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER, INJURIES CAUGHT UP WITH YOU AT WESTS TIGERS. STILL A MEMORABLE CHAPTER TO END YOUR CAREER ON THOUGH?
My claim to fame is I taught Benji Marshall how to flick-pass and step – I’m not sure he recognises or acknowledges that, but deep down he knows the truth! But I went in for an arthroscope, which I thought was going to be two weeks out and the doctor said, ‘You need to retire’. That was crushing for me to hear and I wasn’t prepared to take that onboard. I got an operation done – they inserted cartilage into my knee, which was experimental at the time – and it was going to be a 12-month recovery. I got back on the field just before that, but nowhere near where I needed to be physically. That was my goal and I got back in late-2004, played eight games at the back-end of the season and we just missed out on the finals.
It was a nice way to finish, and I also say to the boys that played in the ’05 grand final that I dug the well for them to drink from! It was a good time there and they had a lot of young players coming through. Myself, Scott Sattler and Darren Senter brought that experience to try and establish and build a culture in the club these players could align with, the likes of Benji Marshall, Scott Prince, Dene Halatau, Bryce Gibbs, Chris Heighington and Robbie Farah, plus they had experienced guys like Mark O’Neill and Ben Galea. There was just a good mix of youth and the old guys who could guide them on and off the field. They were a good bunch of players heading onto bigger and better things.
I’M GOING TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT: WHAT WOULD MEAN MORE TO YOU, A BEARS OR AN EELS PREMIERSHIP?
Oh, wow…it would have to be the Bears, that would mean more to me. I’m a Parramatta junior, but that 100-year drought is killing me – and I know the Bears were so close, probably the best team during the nineties not to win a competition. There’s so many supporters it would mean so much to, the celebrations would be enormous. Not to say it wouldn’t be the case at Parramatta – and they’re closer to getting there at the moment than the Bears – and the Eels winning would be really important and significant. Either way, mate, I’d love it either of those clubs, or Wests Tigers for that matter, and if they win it I can assure you that I’ll be there front and centre, ready to celebrate with the boys.
DATE OF BIRTH
30 October, 1973
CURRENT AGE
51
BIRTHPLACE
Fairfield, Sydney, NSW
POSITION
Centre, five-eighth
PLAYING HISTORY
1992-95, 2001-02: Parramatta Eels
1996-99: North Sydney Bears
2000: Northern Eagles
2003-04: Wests Tigers
REP FOOTBALL
1993: NSW City Firsts
1996: Australia
1997: City Origin
1997: NSW
JUNIOR CLUB
Canley Vale
TOTAL MATCHES
267
TRIES | POINTS
99 | 562
