The Reds are well and truely on fire at the moment and one of the men providing constant fuel AND flames is Tate McDermott. As comfortable as ever in his roll as half-back, he also seems to be enjoying playing rugby more than ever! He spoke about why this is and shared some ways that the lockdown worked in our teams favour.
You can read my past interviews with Tate at Ballymore Stadium (before everything went digital) here and here.
Hey Tate, great to catch up again! Thanks for making time!
That’s alright, not a problem. Thanks for having me Tommy.
What a game last weekend, but more importantly, what a season so far!
Yeah mate. We obviously started pretty well, we were undefeated for the first three games, then we fell a bit under, against the Brumbies and the Tahs, but the past 2 weeks has been some of the best footy I’ve ever been a part of… since I’ve been here at the Reds. Particularly last week against the Force, I think the boys were really hungry for a performance like that. So, in front of the fans in the Gold Coast as well and everyone watching back home in Brisbane and around Queensland, I thought that was awesome mate. It was really special to be a part of that.
What’s been the best thing about the Super Rugby 2020 season, 2.0?
Yeah. One thing was… well I wouldn’t say this was the best thing, but we had so much time to prepare… We had a bit of a “test” for the first seven games of the year, when we played so much overseas, we had our South African trip and played a few kiwi teams.. But as you say “2.0”.. it’s been really good so far. We know where we are amongst the Australian sides. Obviously we’re not sure what’s going to happen next year and who we’re playing. But we’ve certainly gauged ourselves as one of the best teams in Australia. So I’m just really enjoying it to be honest. It’s really good to know your opposition as well as we do. And I think the travelling side of it… we’re not allowed to move around too much when we’re back home, but just to be back in Queensland, sleeping in your own bed leading up to the games, has been really good.
So you don’t have any inside information on next year? Any inside scoops?
Honestly, I’d love to share it with you Tommy, but I don’t have a clue what’s happening. It’s frustrating, but at the same time everyone’s going through quite a bit, financially and stuff like that.
You had a ripper of a game against the Force. What was your favourite moment of the game?
Um.. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t my try (laughs). But I think just looking, at the end of the game at the score and the fans and at my teammates and everyone was so happy, coaches included. Yeah, there were quite a few special moments in that game, but it’s awesome when you know you’ve given your absolute all and everyone around you has done the same. I reckon, once the whistle was blown - actually I think we got a try after the 80 minutes as well - but I think when the game was done, that was the best part of the game.
The very first time we caught up for Reds Rugby Rules, it was obvious to me how much you love playing the game. It looks like your enjoying your rugby more than ever. Is that the case?
Yeah, 100%. I’ve always grown up watching the Reds play, the Wallabies play, I’ve always just loved the sport. Obviously Rugby Leagues a lot stronger in Australia at the moment, but I just love how global this game is… you only had to watch the rugby World Cup last year… I’ve definitely got goals of trying to play for the Wallabies one day, but at the moment, like you just said I’m just enjoying it. I’m just trying to relax and not worry as much as I have in the past. It obviously comes playing teams that like I said before, that you know a lot better… I’ve played in 20s and club rugby over here. It’s been my third year at the Reds and I’ve started to make those really good friendships with the boys around me. A lot of the boys are my age coming through and there’s guys even younger. It’s just a really good group around me and everything seems to be working in the right direction. So it’s a really promising start for the future mate.
I caught up with James for my last blog interview. What’s it like playing alongside him at number 9?
Yeah. You only have to watch the game over the weekend to realise how good James is at his job. We obviously saw him coming through when he was a youngster. He’s almost thirty now, so I’ve watched a lot of James on the television and on youtube, you know his highlights and all that. It’s an honour to play alongside of him. One of the biggest things we needed was a consistent playmaker and we’ve definitely found that with James. You know, he always just wants to get his hands on the ball, beat defenders and line-breaks and set people up. Just look at his stats to realise just how good he is at creating opportunities for player outside of him. I love being around him, every time I pass him the ball I know he’s going to create something. So I think that’s just for all players as well, just to be around him, knowing that he’s most likely going to put you through a hole, or make you look a lot better than you are. He’s a really good player and I love playing with him.
What are some things you did to help you get through the lockdown?
So I was fairly lucky, I got to spend a lot of time with my family who live up the Sunshine Coast. My sisters trapped in Hobart, but my brother was there, and my Mum and Dad as well. I was pretty lucky, that house is located next to the beach, so every day was spent at the beach, or down at my local rugby park just spending quality time with my brother and my parents. I’d say my family was massive in getting me through the lockdown, a lot of days were spent on the couch binge-watching television. Everyone was bored, but I was pretty lucky I was up at the Sunny coast and still had quite a lot of things to do.
Do you feel like your team are working together even better after the lockdown? Has it brought the team closer together?
Yeah, massively. It all looks like we’ve started to play a lot of games together over the last few years and we almost had two pre-seasons. We know each others games pretty much inside and out. We obviously see a lot of each other at the moment - we’re almost forced to see each other now. But it’s great, because of the quality of the boys we have now. On the field they’re amazing, but off the field they’re even better. Everyone's gelled over what we’ve been through. We really had to buy in to what Thorny and the Reds organisation have had planned for us and I think we’re seeing the fruits of that at the moment. Everyone is closer and on the field it’s really starting to translate.
Thanks again for taking time to chat, even though it’s through a computer screen!
Nah, not a problem Tommy. Anytime for the best fan aye?
Don’t miss this Saturday’s final round game at Suncorp Stadium, against the Brumbies. Saturday, 5th Sept, 7:15pm. Then next week...... Finals!!!!!!
