Locker Room Chat with Lachie

I had a great time chatting with another player who’s taken on the challenge of changing his football code. After 70 games for the Brisbane Broncos, Lachie Maranta has just finished his first season with the Reds! Thanks for joining the cause Lachie, and thanks for your time today!

Hi Lachie, How's it going?

Good mate. Yourself? Bit hot? Trying to get out of this heat?

Doing good, bit hot for me too. But I’m glad to be here. Thanks for taking the time to catch up.

No worries, it’s always good to see you down at training.

Has your time with the Reds been enjoyable so far?

Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it mate. It was a bit new at the start, getting to know everyone and learning the new game, but I’m loving it now, almost a year in. I’m just trying to get better every day.

How's the NRC season been going for you personally?

A little bit up and down. I played the first game against Fiji, had a pretty good game, then had a tight groin for the last three weeks, so I haven’t played since then. All good now, so I guess I’ll get a run this weekend over in Perth.

How have you found the transition back to Rugby Union, after playing League at a high level? And is it easier or harder than you thought it would be?

Yeah, some of the things have been a lot harder - things that I didn’t think would be, the flow of the game, things like that. Obviously in League you get six tackles, and you get the ball back after that. Whereas in Union, you can go without the ball for fifteen or sixteen phases. So I guess learning how to inject myself into the game was the tough thing, but I’m starting to get it now. I’m enjoying my footy and starting to find my feet.

Other than the obvious rule changes, what differences have you noticed between playing for an NRL club, and a Super Rugby team?

Well, I guess, probably what I just said, the flow of the game is a little bit different. I had to get used to not standing up and playing the ball between my legs, that was probably something I was a little bit scared I’d do out of habit. But I’ve managed to not do that yet, that would have been embarrassing.

Has this season for you been affected by any of your previous injuries?

No I’ve been pretty blessed with my injuries, I had one major one last year with the Broncs where I had a bolt put through my wrist, but other than that I’ve been pretty lucky. Touch wood!

What do you love most about living in Brisbane City?

Well I guess, it’s a bit weird to say, but the weathers probably the best thing about Brissy, it’s always sunny. We have the occasional shower and rain, but you can get out of your house nearly every day. But I don’t like the heat when it rolls around to pre-season time. It’s a little bit too hot for the boys, I wouldn’t mind it cooling down. It’s already 35 degrees in Spring at the moment, so I’m sure we’re in for a tough hot pre-season.

What do you love most about Rugby Union?

I think, from this early part, I like how open the game can be. Obviously, in counter-attack, in League, getting the ball back can be a little bit tougher. Looking up at a line of twelve blokes, that was a bit hard, whereas in Union you can have a bit more space. It’s something I’m starting to find, and get through some of those gaps.

Tell us something about yourself that not many people know...

Probably that I wear glasses. I lost them about 6 months ago, and just found them at home. I’ve gotta start wearing them, I’m starting to get headaches from squinting at everything. A few of the boys thought they were fake, but I had to show them and get them to put them on, and they couldn't see properly. I’m starting to get used to my glasses again.

Thanks Lachie for your time.

No worries Tommy, it’s always good to see you mate, like I said at the start.

All the best with the remainder of the NRC season.

Thanks mate. You too, hopefully see you down at training a bit more. Always love having you down here.

Chatting with Brissy's Country Boy James Tuttle

This week, I caught up with James Tuttle, former Australian Under-20s captain, and now Reds scrum-half. We chatted about his Reds journey so far, as well as the current NRC season and why a Brissy boy like him is now playing for "Queensland Country".

(For those that aren't in the know, the National Rugby Competition, or NRC, is now in full swing! Both the "Brisbane City" and "Queensland Country" teams are playing locally, and around Australia. Both teams feature members of our Queensland Reds. Check out the schedule here and get to a game if you can...)

Hope you enjoy my latest interview!

Hi James, thanks for making time to catch up.

No worries Tommy, more than a pleasure.

How’s the off-season for the Reds going?

Off-seasons going good. We’ve got a bit of time off after the Super Rugby season, and now we’re along the way with all our NRC training, and the competition for Queensland Country.

It’s been good - we’ve played three games so far. We lost to Canberra, but we were lucky enough to beat [Brisbane] City up in Noosa which was a great achievement for us, we haven’t beaten them in four years.. it’s been really good.

How have you found your first season with the Reds?

Yeah it’s been really enjoyable. Coming into this year was exciting. I played a few games last year, but this year I’ve gotten a lot more time playing number 9, and a lot more opportunity as well.

I’m really happy with how I’ve progressed this year, and really looking forward to what we can do at Suncorp Stadium next year. We’ve got a good group of players, with some new coaching staff, so I think a lot of the boys are ready to rip into pre-season and we’ll back playing in no time in February. It’s going to be really exciting.

You were born in Brisbane, so how is it that you came to be playing for Queensland Country in the NRC?

(Laughs.) It’s a bit funny isn’t it. I think a lot of the boys in the team are from Brissy.. but at the start of the competition they had to split the Reds players evenly across the two sides. But in our squad at the moment, we do have a lot of players with country backgrounds, so they get to represent where they’ve come from, and play for those people back home that have gotten them to where they are now, so I’m glad that I’m playing for country. I’ve loved every minute that I’ve played this year and I can’t wait to get stuck into it on Sunday.

Can you tell us about your journey through the Reds development program?

Yep. I left school in 2013, and came to the Reds under 20s at the start of 2014. I played a year with them and then played with my club side as well, Jeeps… then at the end of 2014, did my first pre-season with the Reds, and in 2015, just played a bit of Jeeps, bit of Reds under-20s, and mainly the Australian under-20s, as well as the NRC at the end of the year.

Moving into 2016, it was pretty much the same, played the Aussie under-20s and then got into the last few games with the Reds. I made my debut over in Loftus, in South Africa against the Bulls.

I signed my first contract in 2015, for the 2016 season. It’s been a good journey, it’s a great development program the Reds have here. You see a lot of the players coming through now, a lot of the blokes my age, or similar ages to me that have progressed through the under-20s ranks and now they’re playing for the Reds, or for their NRC sides as well. 

We’re gonna breed some great talent in the next couple of years, and I just can’t wait to see the progress in all of the players.

Who was your favourite player growing up?

I think… I do love my rugby league, and I used to watch it more than I did my union, but one of my favourite union players growing up was probably George Gregan. Playing half-back, I loved how quick he was around the ruck and how quick he was around the field, and how he stabbed the attack for all the Australian and Brumbies backlines that he played in, he was probably my idol in a Rugby Union sense.

For rugby league, I really loved watching Darran Lockyer as well, he was probably my favourite player growing up. He was just phenomenal whenever he played for the Maroons, the Broncos, or for Australia. But I was pretty happy watching either rugby union or rugby league, I just love both of them.

What is the biggest highlight in your life so far?

Biggest highlight of my life so far.. I think probably debuting for the Reds. It’s been a dream of mine for a while to play for the Queensland Reds side… Watching them as a kid, and finally getting an opportunity to play, it’s hard to put into words. I made my debut, as I said, against South Africa against the Bulls, it’s a pretty awesome place to make a debut. I obviously would have loved to have made my debut at home here at Suncorp, in front of home fans and a home crowd, but Loftus is such an amazing place to play, and I was really happy with the opportunity I got give. I think that’s the highlight of my life so far, definitely.

And everyones favourite question… Can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?

I was waiting for this one. (Laughs). Maybe a couple of things. I’m studying at the moment, business and law at QUT. I like to keep myself busy when I’m not playing footy. I think it’s pretty important to keep myself doing something when I’m not around here.

Maybe another one, when I was leaving school, I was offered to go and play league with the Broncos under-20s. So I had the option of coming here and playing for the Reds, or going to Red Hill and playing with the under-20s with the Broncos. I weighed up those two options, and made the decision to stay here. I’m pretty pleased with the opportunity that I’ve been given here.

Thanks again for taking time out to chat.

No worries Tom.

All the best for your game against Sydney on Sunday!

Ahh thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to chat with you, and hopefully we’ll get the win on Sunday. The boys are pretty pumped!

Hanging with Higginbotham

I was happy today to get to hang out with one of the great number 8's, someone who's down (neck injury) but far from out. Fitting in some time after an early morning gym session, Scott was relaxed and optimistic. He shared that even though his injury recovery had been slow at first, he was making progress to get back in the game soon.

Hope you enjoy reading my latest interview!

Hi Scott! I'm really happy that we have finally got the time to chat! I'm surprised it hasn't happen sooner.....

Yeah me too Tommy, me too.

How has the off season been? Have you been up to much?

Yeah Tommy, I had that neck injury in the June test series which was a couple of bulged discs and a bit of nerve stuff. That happened during the Scotland game, so unfortunately I missed the game and I missed the last two rounds for the Reds. But since then, the necks come along well, it was a bit slow, but it’s improving. It makes pre-season a bit hard because you can’t do too much besides a bit of gym and a bit of cardio.

Also, I’m not able to do the fun stuff like surfing, that I normally do in an off-season.

I'm glad you're back in Queensland. Looking back though, what were the highlights of playing in other places, including Melbourne and Japan, and internationally for the Wallabies?

It was obviously hard to leave the Reds back in 2012, especially after having so much success in 2011. 2012 we made it to the quarter final, but you know, came up against a Sharks team that should have won that year - if they didn’t have to travel for the quarter, semi, and the final, I reckon they really would have won. But I think I got a lot of leadership skills, being in Melbourne. It was good to be captain I think, that was something that I aspired to. Being captain of a super team was a great achievement for me. Which, unfortunately I don’t think would have happened if I was at the Reds, in terms of, I suppose the leadership that was there at the time, it just didn’t look that way. So going to Melbourne, I got that out of it, and living in a different city was great. And same with Japan actually, being able to live overseas was a great experience, and something I’d recommend to all players. You know, if they get the chance to live in another country, or even experience another State, those experiences are second to none and they can really hold you through life I think.

How was it returning to the Reds this season as one of the experienced members of the squad?

Yeah it was a different experience. Being at the Reds initially, I started in 2005 in the academy, training out at that shed over on the other side of the field, and started training with guys like Chris Latham, John Lowe, and you know Crofty, Hardy, and all those guys. I guess I was here for 5 years initially, still coming through and just making the Wallabies and achieving a bit. But you know I still felt young and I still felt a bit immature in a rugby sense. And it’s a lot different to come back and be the older guy. I spent a lot of time as a younger bloke, and it’s nice to be older now and to have a bit more experience under your belt to hold you in better stead, and you feel like you can achieve something with the younger blokes here I think.

I'm interested in the stats of the game, and your name comes up as the highest scoring forward in Super Rugby. How did you feel when you broke that record?

(Laughs) Yeah I was pretty pumped about that. Rugby for me is a lot of fun, and I don’t like the idea of you know, forwards being stereotyped into a certain mould. I grew up as a back, as a winger through school, and played a lot of soccer and basketball. I like the idea of using different skills and being able to kick the ball in the game, I don’t think that should just be limited to backs, and that goes the same for scoring tries. It shouldn’t be just the backs. To me, that’s the funnest part of the game, it’s putting points on the board. That’s how you win games.

That’s something I’m really proud of, and hopefully, in the next couple of years I can extend that record and hold on to it for a while. (Laughs again).

What have you enjoyed most about playing for the Reds so far?

So far, I think that the best thing has been seeing the young talent coming through. Like I said, being an older player, there’s two sides of it. I’ve really enjoyed coming back and playing with guys like Quadey, playing with Simmo, playing with Slips again, you know these are guys that I went through the academy and grew up with. And just being able to spend time with those guys. When you go overseas, and go to different States, you miss those friendships, so it’s great to come back and rekindle that. And on the other side, it’s great to see young guys coming through, and I guess to help them achieve their Super Rugby or Wallaby goals.

What do you enjoy most about living in Brisbane?

Probably days like this. Brisbane is one of the reasons I came back. Playing for Queensland, but also being able to live in this State, with the weather like this. Especially after being in Melbourne where it gets a bit cold through the winter. But I love it. We’re 40 minutes from the Gold Coast, an hour from the Sunshine Coast, surfing is something I’m passionate about, and I love doing that in my spare time.

It’s a big country town Brisbane, it’s an easy place to live, and it’s just got great weather. 

And everyone's favourite question... can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?

I love motorbikes. A few people know that, but I’m pretty big into my vintage cars, and vintage motorbikes. I love that kind of stuff, like getting to swap-meets, I’ve got a Harley myself, I’ve got mates that have Harley’s and we love going for a ride over the weekend. And of course I love music, and getting into live music. Brisbane’s come a long way in that scene. It’s good to be back, and trying to get back into it.

Thanks for making the time this morning. It's been great chatting.

Tommy, no worries. Any time mate, any time.

Kicking back with Karmichael

It's good to be back!!!

Since the last blog, I've been to New York and back to visit family (check out my Insta to see some pics)... But right now, it's good to be back at Ballymore and back into action.

Today, I was lucky enough to sit down with Karmichael Hunt and hear, among other things, how his injury recovery is going! It was great to see him him and also James Slipper with their trainer running on the field. It looked like they are both making awesome progress!

I hope you enjoy my latest interview, and getting to hear from Karmichael himself how he is going.

Hey Karmichael, how's it going? Thanks for making the time to catch up.

I'm going really well. My pleasure Tom.

How's the ankle going?

Yeah it's going well. I've been out of my moon boot for 2 weeks now, so into the second week I've started to run, and today, which is the end of the week (Friday), I've probably had my best running session yet. So all positive signs for me, that I'm heading in the right direction with football, and the ankles feeling great.

What's the next step for you?

The next step for me... Next week, I just got told by my physio that I'm going to be stepping up my running. So I'm probably going to be doing a lot more running, in terms of fitness sessions, and then hopefully in a couple of weeks time I'll be able to play some football.

Congrats on being selected for the Wallabies squad earlier this year. That was a huge achievement.

Yes it was. Thank you very much. It was definitely a huge achievement for me, especially for my career and having gone through some tough times individually, but also with the team up here in Queensland as well.. It was nice to be selected, along with Eto who made his debut, and we obviously had Quade in the team who's been there many times before, as well as Samu. So it was a huge honour for myself and my family.

What was it like putting on the gold jersey for the first time?

Well, it gave me goosebumps. I'd watched the Wallabies play so many times on TV before, and it had been a dream of mine ever since I came to Queensland to the Reds 3 years ago now. So for me to finally be able to pull the jersey on, I had a lot of emotions going through me, thinking about family, my parents, all the people who put hard work into me to get me up to this point, it was a really huge moment for me.

Well, we were all proud of you for getting there. You played brilliantly. We were gutted when you got injured. I'm really glad your recovery is going well.

Thank you very much. I enjoyed being involved with the Wallabies, and it is a shame that I got an ankle injury in the last round of the year, but these things happen in football. You just have to rehab it, move on, and get fitter and stronger and push for selection, which hopefully I'll be doing in a few weeks time.

What did you get up to during your down time?

Obviously, you probably know I've got 3 daughters and a wife, so my time at home is pretty well spent with the kids. We took them down to the beachh a couple of times, they love going down to the water, down on the Gold Coast, so just hanging out with the girls, doing a bit of study as well, so yeah not much travelling for me, just been here in Brisbane, looking after the family and keeping them happy.

Have you found any good music or books lately?

Yes I have actually, music wise, it's not new music,  it I've definitely found some good music that I've been getting into, I've been enjoying a bit of Metallica, so it's not my usual playlist, but Metallica, Guns N Roses... I've been getting into my rock which is pretty cool.

Did you watch any of the Wallaroos games at the World Cup?

I saw the highlights, I didn't watch any full games but definitely they gave it a good shake, they played some good football, and me having three daughters, it's nice to see the ladies playing sport that generally men would play. So definitely proud of them.

Cool. Well, thanks again K for taking time out for this. It's a pleasure as always.

Yeah my pleasure as well! It's always good to talk to you, and to be on the blog for the second time. So hopefully we can talk again in the future.

Sounds great. As supporters, we're all behind 100% you. Keep getting better fast.

Thank you very much. I definitely appreciate the support. So thank you very much.