WEBVTT - #182 Michael Hooper on leading the Wallabies & life beyond the game 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.159 Hi, my Boris and this is straight Talk, my Luba. 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:04.480 Welcome to straight Talk. 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:06.720 Thank you for having me. How good? 0:00:06.840 --> 0:00:07.440 How you feeling? 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:08.959 Well? A little bit tired. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:11.200 I was on got late, got in late last night 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.480 from Dubai. There was a sevens tournament up there, so 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:16.239 I was up there doing a bit of stuff with 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.360 HSBC which was in commentary or a bit of commentary, 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:22.640 a bit of rugby stuff. So sevens competition. The sevens 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:25.320 kicked off their their competition for the year, so big 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.200 event up in Dubai, which was yeah, cracking, cracking stuff. 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:30.160 It's mad up there isn't it like the stuff that's 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:33.800 going on in the Middle East, like Saudi Dubai, Abadhabi. 0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:36.320 Do you have a look around, mate, I didn't. 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:38.280 I wanted to get to the wavepool that Kelly's just 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:39.280 opened up in Abu Dhabi. 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.400 But no, we were. We were in Dubai. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:44.640 But the event was cricket, rugby seven's like you know, 0:00:45.479 --> 0:00:47.480 there's a heap of stuff going on some a big 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:48.640 concert right at the end of it. 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.160 Yeah, it was, I do so. 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:55.320 So I actually sat with I had breakfast with the 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:57.880 maid of mine, Ginge David Ginjel, and he went to 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:00.280 the wave pool last week, which one in but I 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:02.680 did that new one. There's no hotel book built there, 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.520 but it's just the facility. He said, it is unbelievable. 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:08.760 And he showed me some videos of him on some 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.680 waves and he went up with the Morbid Blokes and 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:14.080 the Team Blakes and they booked the whole joint out 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:17.319 and he said, he said, you just he said, the 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:20.680 places on steroids. He said that whle between Abadabi is 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:22.240 like an hour and a half between that and Dubai. 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:24.480 He said, just driving through you're not driving through Disney 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:29.199 where you're driving through Disneyland on steroids. It's mental. Every 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:32.160 facility you can possibly imagine for anyone in the world, 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:38.199 sporting fun, recreation, hotels, bills and middle of the desert, 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:39.640 like everything is mental. 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:41.800 They were in a mall that had an aquarium in it, 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.080 like genuine sharks in the aquarium and then you're just 0:01:44.080 --> 0:01:45.840 walking past and buying something nothing. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.320 Yeah, made it's remarkable, great place. 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.560 Yeah, So what are they doing in terms of rugby sevens? 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:54.120 So what's what's going on there? What was was. 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.640 This just the start of Ruby Sea started the tournament, So, 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:58.640 I mean their last big thing was the Olympics. So 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.560 it was quite an interesting one because as always new seasons, 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.680 new sort. After that end of the four year period, 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:06.160 there's a new cycle. So yes, seven's kicks off, they 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.400 go you know through they're down to Cape Town this week, 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.640 but then they'll come to Perth, Hong Kong and I 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:14.080 think end up Singapore and La So that's their tournament. 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.880 That's pretty cool. So you try to get to rugby 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:18.280 seven's the Olympics tried. 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:23.120 Ye A keyword what happened? Maybe it's a hard game. 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.880 So it came into the Olympics twenty sixteen, probably before that. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:28.959 Arguably before that it was a little bit specialist, but 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:32.520 not a special specialist as it is now. It's bloody hard, 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.559 different energy source, different skill set. They are real generalists 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:37.080 in what they have to do. They've got to pass, 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:40.840 they've got to be super fit. They're all agile and 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.960 a twenty two a fast, yeah, and twenty two years 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.600 old and I'm thirty. I tried to do it at 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:50.560 thirty two and had never played before, played two tournaments 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.800 and yeah, I had had a good first. 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:55.320 Game and I went downhill from there pretty quick. 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:56.560 So is a gas? 0:02:57.000 --> 0:02:57.320 What's that? 0:02:57.639 --> 0:02:59.400 Did you? Is? It the amount of gas you have 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:01.240 do you have to have to play sevens? Or is 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:02.200 it the speed of the game. 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:02.640 What is it? 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:04.959 Well, I was a fit fifteen's player. I had a 0:03:04.960 --> 0:03:08.000 good engine in fifteen's footy. But in sevens it's the 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:11.360 repeat speed and being fast but then being able to 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:13.600 repeat it and repeat it, and then the skill set. 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.240 The ball moves differently to you know, it's still tackle, 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:18.639 it's still past, still scrum and line out, the things 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:20.560 that we know about footy, but it's just the ball 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:21.800 moves different and it's hard. 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.640 It's yeah, it's fast. I was underdone. 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.160 There's so much more space. Yeah, because there's less people obviously, 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.240 but there's so much space and it looks like, you know, 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:31.680 you get to run a lot further than would in 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:32.600 a fifteen's game. 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:35.440 Yeah, yeah, a lot further than you would. And you know, 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.200 I'd been playing a certain way for fifteen years and 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:40.200 then I had to try and undo that, undo that 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.480 sort of subconscious way of how I entered the field, 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:43.920 and I struggled. 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:45.760 I struggled, so I got better. 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:47.560 As I think if I had a little bit longer, 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:50.480 we would have got a bit closer. But no, not 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:52.200 to be it would have been cool. The guys end 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.680 up going coming forth in the Olympics, so it would 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:56.760 have been nice, But no, no, dice. 0:03:57.800 --> 0:04:02.280 One of the one of the Rooster's recent recruits, which 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.600 is the team on the I on the board of 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:10.200 is Mark. He played in the rugby sevens in in 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.640 the Olympics and Paris Mark and a W a Q 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:16.120 And I cannot spell the rest of his name, and 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:16.839 I cannot. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:17.120 Brounce it. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:23.720 No longer ne to us, and he's How do you think, 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.840 because you know between the two has been a lot 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:32.120 of switching. You know, we had Joseph Lee recently he's 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:34.520 gone that way to rugby, and now we've got someone 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.040 like Mark and rugby league. How do you think that 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:40.440 sort of transition occurs. I always thought someone like Rocky 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:42.720 Elson would have been a great roguy league player. I 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.240 just I just thought it's something about him. I think 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:46.719 you would have been too tough. You've got to be. 0:04:46.920 --> 0:04:50.120 I'm not saying rugby union is not tough, but there's 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.280 got to be a lot of there's a lot of 0:04:52.279 --> 0:04:54.280 physical consequence the rugby league. When you've got the ball 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.400 on your own and you've got to hit it up 0:04:56.760 --> 0:04:59.560 and you always sort of pretty robust physically robust bloke. 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.960 What do you think about that change over between either 0:05:02.240 --> 0:05:04.240 lead ROBUNI or roby in and rugby league. Let's took 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:05.880 rugby Uni rugby league first. 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:07.520 Going rugby union to rugby league. 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:09.320 Well, I think I think it takes Oh well, I 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:12.240 think Mark Marky's the I mean the picture boy for it. 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:13.760 I mean, his first game is unbelievable. 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.360 I played heaps with Mark and I think the gift 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:19.000 that Marky has well, he played a little bit of 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:21.120 league growing up, well, a lot of league growing up, 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:26.640 but his athletic ability, he's able to get leap. You know, 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:28.400 he's one of those guys kind of like Israel, right 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.080 that just sort of levitates up. Everyone else jumps, but 0:05:31.120 --> 0:05:32.560 they just glide up. 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:36.360 And have hang time. And I loved how hungry he was. 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:38.080 For some of his carries off the line. You know, 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.760 he goes plays what is a Holden cup The game's below. 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:42.640 So he's managed by the same manager that I am, 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:45.680 so I was seeing some of his cut performances and 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.240 then you know, his debut there for the Roosters and 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:50.880 it's going to you know, he was carrying those hard 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.159 ones off the off the try line. Look, I don't 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:55.960 think there's anywhere to hide on the rugby league field. 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:58.160 Can you watch a game of Origin and I don't 0:05:58.200 --> 0:05:58.719 think there's. 0:05:58.520 --> 0:05:59.479 A tougher game. 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:02.560 Orange you know played like and you know played a 0:06:02.560 --> 0:06:04.840 lot of rugby and rugby is a tough game, but 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.599 it's tough in a different way. I think rugby league 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:14.000 is probably tougher and. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:13.799 There's no hiding. 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:16.600 Well you carry, You've got to carry off your off 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:18.760 your try line like you've got five guys after you 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:22.039 and you can't you can't hide. 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:24.080 You know the play is going to come your side. 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:24.520 I don't know. 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.520 It looks I would love to have a crack at it, 0:06:27.080 --> 0:06:29.760 but yeah, it looks. It's a brutal sport. 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:35.560 How about the other way? So Joseph Sali's has now 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:40.760 gone from rugby to playing for Australia. Anything has been going. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.520 It was looking at that first two games. 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.760 Again similar to Markie right, like he's he played a 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:47.320 fair bit of union at school. Was that one of 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.960 the great big rugby schools in in Sydney. 0:06:50.040 --> 0:06:51.120 Yeah? 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.960 Uh, And obviously that whole week around that England week, 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:56.720 I was I was very surprised that he was selected 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:59.440 big call to make, and he did so well. Like 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:04.000 man kid again, has that ability to levitate, has that 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.440 time in the air, looks like an incredible athlete, looks 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:09.360 like his preparation. I mean I heard him on this show, 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:12.920 and just the detail he has for a young man, 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:17.000 ye twenty one in his preparation is leaps and bounds 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.440 ahead of many twenty one year olds that I've ever 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:24.720 seen myself, included you know, the way he's going about 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:25.880 his business at that time. 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:29.360 So I mean he is going to be going to 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:29.920 be immense. 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:35.480 You mentioned is he israelh flow and I just want 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.080 to touch on that for a second, if you don't mind, 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:39.280 I don't want to get into politics, but let's call 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:46.040 it the politics of censorship. You would remember what happened. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:47.920 I've forgotten actually completely. 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:52.280 I'm going to remind you, but Israel sort of like 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:57.080 got outed playing at the highest level of rugby union. 0:07:57.400 --> 0:07:59.440 I don't even know what he's doing now, but one 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:03.240 of the most was seeing like rugby rugby or rugby 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:07.360 lee doesn't really matter rugby, you know, competitors that are 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:13.880 both both codes. Ever, shown how easiest is to fall 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:18.560 out with the administration of a game and how relevant 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:20.480 is the administration and if you're a player, do you 0:08:20.520 --> 0:08:23.040 have to conform or what's the deal. 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.400 It's an interesting I mean, that is such a broad topic, 0:08:26.480 --> 0:08:31.000 right because who are the most supported I guess entities 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:33.360 in the world. Is actually the athlete, not the teams 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:35.920 a lot of the time. So the biggest followed and 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:40.000 supported people around the world, your Ronaldo's or your long 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:42.600 bron James's or you know, people within the teams, the 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.199 stories within the not the teams themselves. I mean you're 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:47.920 maybe a man you or you know a Yankees or 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.719 something like that. You know, household names, they're up there, 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.560 but they still don't have the same type of followers 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:55.920 that some of these individuals have. So getting that balance 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.400 right of how do you allow someone to be themselves 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.760 and represent the community that they represent and fit within 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.199 a team is a trick. That's what the team's all about. 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.880 How do you get that balance balance right? You know, 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.439 with all we see it in all different situations, and 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:13.040 I think rugby's a really tough one, isn't it, And 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.560 sport in general, because when you're a paid athlete and 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:19.440 I'm not making any excuses for people and you know, 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:22.320 myself included up you know, made mistakes and publicly made 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:24.680 mistakes as well, So I'm part of this as well. 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:29.120 But you're a well paid young man in a team environment, 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:33.200 trying to find your way at twenty twenty one years old, 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:39.480 with pressure, ego, expectation, all these things, immaturity, immaturity, and 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.480 we expect people to be finished products and we're kind 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.400 of surprised that we're not. So, you know, I think 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:47.840 it's it's inevitable that mistakes are going to be made 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.320 and going to happen, whether you know people deem them 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.920 as mistakes or not. But how do we then allow 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.120 well not you know, you don't want to cancel someone 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.520 because of one thing that's done. How do you then 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:02.280 bringing you know, second chances are super important in life 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.000 because you know, there's guys out, guys and girls making 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.680 mistakes every weekend. That's how you learn and you grow 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:09.520 as you make a mistake and you go again. You 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:11.960 just want the mistakes not to be super grand. And 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:14.800 I'm not talking about the Israel Filao thing here. I'm 0:10:14.840 --> 0:10:17.160 more gone on a broader spectrum when it comes to 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.080 you know, being out in public or comments made on 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:24.640 social media, you know all those type of things. 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.240 But do you think there's a level of or should 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:31.280 there be a level of responsibility to a sports person 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:38.480 who is getting paid good money that cuts across their 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:41.800 own belief system? Do you think is that? I mean, 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.520 is that a fair thing? Do you think explain that 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:49.880 more to me? Like Israel's view on homosexuality relative to 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:53.240 his religious beliefs, which he seems to be fairly strident about, 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:58.000 there was an expectation that he didn't take that into 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.920 the public are in it because he had he's a 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:05.320 representative player on good money. It brings potentially brings a 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.240 game and a disrepute because the administration of the game 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:14.440 believes that has a different belief system and more majority 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:16.440 belief system. That is, you know, there's nothing wrong with 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.760 homosexualities except that blah blah blah. And therefore, if you 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:25.120 go and say something that's against our group belief that's 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.840 going to be a problem for you. Ultimately you Israel, 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:32.400 which is sort of what happened, and I'm not asking 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.280 you for do give me an ethical view on between 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.800 his beliefs and what the Rape Union beliefs are. I'm 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:40.640 not a territory, No, that's not territory. I want to go 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:43.600 to it. But as a sportsperson, a young sports person 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:48.640 who firmly believes in anything, is it important or how 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:50.440 important is it for the administration and tell him how 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:52.440 to speak publicly? 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:57.240 Well, it is important, But how that's managed, because again 0:11:57.679 --> 0:12:01.600 we're talking about athletes who represent a community, and that's 0:12:01.640 --> 0:12:04.680 a good thing as long as it's you know, a healthy, 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:08.600 positive discussion and you know, so how that's communicated. You 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:12.040 want different that's the great thing about a team. You've 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.280 got different personalities and represent different things. And but the 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:19.880 communication and how that's then portrayed is probably the discussion 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.520 that you know, I'm not sure who's nailing it at 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:24.560 the moment. I haven't digged deep enough into it of 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.600 the sports around the world that really nail this this 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.120 type of a thing. So yeah, I mean, I'd like 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:35.080 to know how it's how it's done best, because yeah, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:35.560 it's tricky. 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:37.400 It's tricky water, it really is. 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:41.880 You know, in some respece it can stuff someone's career. 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:44.280 But a lot of people just say, listen, I get it. 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.160 I'll hold my views myself. I've got my views of 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.320 my community views. I'll just put my I'll prosecute my 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:52.360 community view, my view within my own community, and I'll 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:54.960 just be quite relative to everything else. But other people 0:12:55.040 --> 0:13:01.199 sort of see themselves as so strident that they nearly 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.679 feel as they've got an obligation relative to their community, 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.079 their personal community, their private community that actually is over 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.439 above the Rugby Union community. So you all of a 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:13.640 sudden you get conflicted. Now you got to run in 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.679 with Eddie Jones, didn't you know, Like, here's your coach, 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.520 and you know if you don't like him, he doesn't 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.680 like you. It sort of limits your career to some extent, 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.600 and it did to some extent. At what point do 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:28.400 you say, okay, stuff that I'll just fall in line, 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:30.200 I'll do what I've got to do. I'll do it. 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:30.600 I'll do it. 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.640 My career is more important, and I'm just going to 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:36.160 fall in line and do what I'm told. 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:38.439 Well, what's your what You've got to ask yourself, what's 0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.920 your hierarchy of? You know, what do you want to achieve? 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:46.439 If you want to achieve you know, I guess disagreement 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.440 with a coach, or do I want to fall in 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.640 line because I want to make the team, or do 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:52.960 I want to and I'm not saying that was my situation. 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:53.960 Or you've got to. 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:57.000 Choose where you value your things and then whatever is 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.400 at the top you're going to go after that. I 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:02.480 think that's that's the simple way of doing it. That's interesting, 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:04.120 so and I think I sort of agree with that. 0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.080 Not never been in that position, but like I think 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:09.280 I agree that that seems to be the most practical outcome. 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.480 In other words, if you choose a path, then just 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.800 that's your path. Don't worry about the consequences because you 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:18.000 can't complain about the consequences if you choose that path. 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:22.520 When you make the priority you said, that's my priority, 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:25.520 God in his case is my priority, and the written 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:29.960 scriptures is my priority. My community and my private community 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.280 is my priority, then you can't really complain about the consequences. 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:33.960 At the end of the day. 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.440 Well, you've got to accept whatever they're going to be, right, 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:39.920 because you can't you can't choose what the outcome is 0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:40.280 going to be. 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:42.200 That's what we like as athletes. 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.600 I mean, you you want to try and control as 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:46.600 much as you possibly can control, but you're never going 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.160 to know what the fallout is in a game sense, 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.040 on the field, you never know what the fallout is 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:53.160 going to be, you know, off the field, you never 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:55.240 know what people are going to take this conversation for 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.840 even as an example, and then how that's going to go. 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:00.960 So yeah, I think got to be comfortable in the 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:03.120 position or the stance that you take. 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.760 But then after the fact, that's what reviews about. 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.400 Like you see that week to week in sport you 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.280 see that, and like I talked about, if someone makes 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:14.200 a mistake or if someone you get good feedback. Okay, 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:16.000 well do I want to do that again? Do I 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:17.920 not want to do that again? What would I change? 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:19.840 How do I want to go? Do I to change 0:15:19.880 --> 0:15:23.680 my values or my hierarchy after that? You know, So 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:26.680 that reflection and review is important, but you've got to 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:28.240 make a choice at the end of the day, don't you. 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:29.760 And that comes down to action. 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.760 Let's have a look at who Michael who was growing up? 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:33.560 Manly kid? 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:35.720 Yep, local school. 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:36.600 Where do you go to school? 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.000 So I went to school in Chatswood, went high school 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.280 in Chatswood. Just wanted to get me off the. 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:46.000 Beaches, I think, So stay school or a Raby school? Yeah, 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.680 same piece, same yeah, so good. Yeah, not a big 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:50.080 Rugby school, but a Rugby school. 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.200 Mum, would you wanted to get away from the Lord 0:15:52.240 --> 0:15:52.480 and beach? 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:52.800 Did you? 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:58.440 You know what's what they say about and although they 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:00.800 also say now about the Southern Shop, and they also 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.120 now say and they're definitely missaying about these for a 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:06.400 long time. So but for sure Mum wanted to get 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:09.440 you away from the beach scene. 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:10.920 Yeah, well I think so. 0:16:11.120 --> 0:16:13.040 Yeah, I mean when we talk about it now, there 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.760 was an element of you know being I mean Chuts 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.320 was right on the train line. There, you'd get exposure 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.640 to different things. It was a good school day school, 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.720 not a not a boarding like I had to travel 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:26.560 a bit to get there, you know, from Choloroid Platto, 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:27.480 so we weren't in Manly. 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:29.600 So you're on the Plato like you're right in the 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:31.240 heart of the Northern. 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:32.120 Beaches, thick of it mate. 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:37.120 Yeah, so surfer surfer you're serving that, Yeah, surfing then. 0:16:37.040 --> 0:16:39.240 Who were in the were also in the surf club? 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:40.960 Did Manly Surf Club? 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.640 Manly Surf Club? Okay, so you're on the beach weekends 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:46.200 then whenever you get a opportunity to go and have 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.440 a ride of the board. Mum was pretty intuity then 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:52.720 because she knows where she knows that she knew, I 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:57.840 should say, the the seduction of that whole lifestyle. Yeah, 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:02.680 what it brings with it, you know, drugs, party loose. 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.840 You're a kid at this stage, you're only twelve thirty 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:08.240 and you go in to high school. 0:17:08.440 --> 0:17:10.639 Yeah no, well, I mean yeah, there's elements of the 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:12.800 stuff that you talk about anywhere you go, you know, 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.320 rugby teams or surf clubs or whatever. But there's also 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:19.480 the other stuff around surf club the around fit, healthy 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:23.359 guys and girls getting out. It's an early like early 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:25.959 morning community because the ocean is the best in the morning, 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.800 you know, so you're spending your time on the beach, 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.800 you're staying healthy. Like I think that that's probably some 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:34.760 of the values that a surf club has. 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:35.919 Like I'm back down there now. 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:37.840 I train with a bunch of guys on a Tuesday morning, 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:39.560 ranging from seventy down. 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.160 I think I'm the youngest down there now. 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:44.680 So when I turn up there and it's just you know, old, 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.159 everything's got rust on a gym on a Tuesday morning, 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:50.320 and when my knees are a bit cranky, I've got 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:50.840 no excuse. 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:51.120 Mates. 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.920 So there's a few older fellas in there. So it's 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:55.439 cool to be part of that because now I'm not 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:58.000 playing in a team. In that sort of team environment. 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.480 It's kind of like this little little guys group that 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:03.840 gets up early and trains on a five point fifteen 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:05.280 on an on a Tuesday morning. 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:06.240 How good? How good? 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:06.760 Is that too? 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:09.240 As good? Especially the old guys. I'm one of the 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.560 old guys. So you were you surprise? So what point 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:14.720 did you realize that you could play footy? 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:16.000