TAREE'S Lucy Green shows talent at both rugby league and rugby union. The 20-year-old was good enough to represent Country under 18s in both codes, however, it's rugby league she's focused on now.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Good afternoon to what is going to be another wet weekend in the area, unfortunately, which
00:06is going to make it difficult for Group 3 Rugby League, but we'll talk about that a
00:09bit later.
00:10Of course, we're here for On The Bench, sponsored by Classic Design Jewellers, and we welcome
00:15back a guest from a couple of years ago, who was then making a name for herself in Rugby
00:20League, Lucy Green.
00:21Thank you for having me, guys.
00:22Yeah, no worries.
00:23Yeah, and last we spoke, you were in Year 12 at St. Clair's High School.
00:27You welcome probably the best prospect, best Rugby Union prospect Tari's had since Geoff
00:33Richardson back in the 1960s and 1970s, Lucy Green, who stars not only at Rugby League,
00:38but she also stars at Rugby Union.
00:40Lucy, you've had a couple of big weeks.
00:43Last week, of course, you played for the Benning River Rats in the Lower North Coast Women's
00:4810s Grand Final.
00:49Had a big win?
00:50Yeah, 34-7, I think it ended up being.
00:51It was a great game.
00:53Put up a great fight, but the Ruddies pulled a great game together, and it was a good game
00:59to play in.
01:00Lucy is our youngest ever guest on The Bench, and as such, and remember, we do this thing
01:05in the morning, even though we come out in the afternoon, as such, she's got to go back
01:08to school, so I've got to go to school, so Lucy, thanks very much for giving this your
01:13time, and good luck, and I'm looking forward to reading a lot about you and Sonya and the
01:18NRLW, or whatever, the Super Rugby, whatever, in the years to come.
01:23Thank you for having me.
01:24Okay.
01:25Lucy's gone, Nick, well.
01:27Yes, you're in Newcastle now?
01:28Yep, second year of uni, doing nursing.
01:31Good girl.
01:32Before we get into that, Gary, how are you, mate?
01:34I'm good, mate.
01:35Your wife's playing good golf, I understand.
01:36Yes, she is.
01:37She's taken up golf pretty well since she left hockey, and yeah, I'm going to say that
01:45I've given her a few lessons, but everyone that knows me would say, she doesn't listen
01:52to you.
01:53No, I've been working.
01:54She did, didn't she, the other day?
01:55Yes, she did.
01:56Yeah, last Saturday, yeah.
01:57Well done.
01:58Can we get on with the footy show now?
01:59Of course, we're in the Tanya Bridge studio, of course, and just at this weekend's games,
02:08assuming they go ahead, or if they go ahead, we will have on Saturday, War Hope is home
02:13to Old Bar, and Port City plays Wingham, and on Sunday, Tarry City hosts Port Sharks,
02:18and Maclay Valley plays Foster-Toncurry at Kempsey, and last week's men's hotel player
02:24of the week is Kieran Bubb from the Wingham Club, so I'll make sure he gets his voucher
02:29from the men's hotel.
02:30Lucy, you're a bit of a pioneer in women's rugby league, or girls' rugby league to an
02:34extent.
02:35You were one of the first juniors to start playing rugby league, and having a bit of
02:39success.
02:40Well, listen, Chaston's primary school side won a state championship, didn't you?
02:43Yeah, I was with the boys in that, and we finally got a girls' team in year six, and
02:49we made it to the finals and staked for that as well, so yeah, pretty exciting.
02:53You come from a rugby league family, of course, from both sides, your mum and your dad's side.
02:58Yeah, very blessed to have good role models in rugby league, with my uncles and dad being
03:05such a heavy involvement in both Bulls and Old Bar now.
03:08So where are you playing now?
03:10At the moment, I'm in the Cronulla Sharks Harvey Norman squad, so that's a squad of
03:1635, and then I'm just starting this weekend with Como Crocodiles' club.
03:23So you were with Newcastle, I think, is that right?
03:25Yeah, but unfortunately due to permits with Cronulla, I had to leave my Newcastle club
03:31and join one in Cronulla.
03:32So you've got a train down there, and how often do you have to travel down there?
03:37At the moment, I've been travelling three times a week to train, but now with playing
03:42club there, I'll be in Sydney four times a week.
03:45Why not think about moving down there at all?
03:47I was thinking about it, but I'm just going to see how I go this year, and if I'm there
03:51next year, I'll probably have to move.
03:53And is this a pathways to the NRLW?
03:55Yeah, so Harvey Norman is played as a reserve grade now.
04:00And were you still playing half-back?
04:02Yeah, half-back and a bit of hooker.
04:05How were West going in the comp this year?
04:08We started off alright.
04:10We were in the mix with the top teams, but now unfortunately I think we're sitting bottom
04:16of the table.
04:17Oh, really?
04:18Yeah, because we've lost our two halves due to the permit rule, and our other Harvey's
04:24girl did ACL.
04:25Wow, because I saw you kicked a field goal a while ago in Maitland, was it?
04:30Yeah, in Maitland.
04:31That was, I think, our only win this season.
04:35First field goal?
04:36Yeah, first field goal.
04:37I think a bit of a fluke.
04:39Doesn't matter, they all count, don't they, Eric?
04:41Well, they all count because I've got the Queensland ladies.
04:45Their field goal won on that second origin match, and then obviously they end up winning
04:52the third one.
04:53So field goals, nothing wrong with them.
04:58You were in the Newcastle system.
04:59You played Tasha Gayle Cup with Newcastle, didn't you?
05:01Yeah, I played two years with Newcastle.
05:03Well, you made a final one, didn't you?
05:06We made the grand final my first year and lost, and then we lost in the semis last year.
05:11So there was no registration for the Knights for you to do?
05:14No, and for me, with the Knights, they've got two halves signed for five years, so there's
05:20not really a pathway there for me to go anywhere.
05:23They've signed someone for a long period of time.
05:26That's incredible.
05:28But yeah, you're right.
05:30If you've signed someone for five years, unless they get injured, you don't wish that upon
05:35anyone.
05:36It makes it very hard for you, doesn't it, when you're looking at getting your own pathway
05:40into the game.
05:41Yeah, definitely.
05:42You said there was obviously a family history with rugby league, but how did you get involved
05:47with it?
05:48What inspired you to get involved in it?
05:50Well, I've always played touch.
05:52As a young girl, I played touch and I really loved it.
05:55And then watching my uncles every weekend and watching my little brother play.
06:02So then when they got a school team, I decided to join that and was actually pretty good
06:07at it.
06:08So I kept going.
06:09How did your own players treat you equally, as a girl with a sticker on the wing?
06:16No, they were really good.
06:19The coaches for that junior team were really inclusive.
06:23I think I played second row for that.
06:25I don't know how that happened, but yeah, the boys were all inclusive.
06:30I grew up with most of those boys.
06:32What about the opposition?
06:33They didn't try and knock your head off or anything like that?
06:36A few hair pulls, but they kind of got used to it at the end.
06:39That's a great game, isn't it?
06:41Yep.
06:42You can't do that now, can you?
06:44No.
06:45You say you went to the Tarsier Girl Cup with Newcastle.
06:48How did that come about?
06:50I started with Panthers.
06:53I was playing RAC9s comp there and we had a few girls from Newcastle come and join that team.
06:59So then we made contacts with them and I ended up going and playing for Raymond Terrace
07:04for juniors, where then Newcastle selected me to trial for their squad.
07:09There must have been a lot of travel.
07:11Yeah, a lot of travel.
07:13For the last two years I was travelling from Taree to Newcastle three times a week
07:18and now Newcastle to Sydney.
07:21So has Cronulla indicated at all that there's a chance to play in RLW?
07:29Well, they've got a good pathway at Cronulla where they like to promote their juniors
07:35and their pathway system.
07:38They would prefer to do that than to poach from outside their club,
07:42but Cronulla gave me the opportunity and it was a big opportunity to turn down.
07:47Yeah, right. And Holly Willock played there last year, didn't she?
07:50Yeah.
07:51She's still there, isn't she?
07:52Yeah.
07:53She broke the cover.
07:55Oh, did she?
07:56Yeah, that's why she wasn't playing in the...
07:58There's another comp that starts a bit earlier, doesn't it?
08:01Yeah, in the BMD, so it's like the reserve grade comp for Queensland.
08:05Ah, OK.
08:06So the Harvey Norman, will that play before the NRL debut as a prelim or on different grounds?
08:13I'm not sure. I think we have a different draw from what I've seen.
08:18So the NRL will have their top 19 that go to their games
08:22and then whoever doesn't make that will drop into our squad.
08:25So they'll play for us and then whoever from the Harveys gets picked,
08:29they'll play with the NRL girls.
08:32And what's the standard like in the Harvey Norman? It's pretty strong, isn't it?
08:35It's pretty strong. Our two trials, we played a mix of NRL and Harvey's girls.
08:41So it's a pretty good experience playing against all the NRL girls
08:46and seeing the benchmark of where you've got to get to.
08:50Who have you played against? What calibre of players, or name of players have you played against?
08:55Well, we played against Knights, where they played, I think, 10 of their NRL girls.
08:59Oh, wow.
09:00We faced up against the likes of Jessie Southwell and Sheridan Gallagher and Nita Maynard,
09:07so pretty experienced players in the NRL.
09:10How'd you go?
09:11We got flogged in that game.
09:13But we held our own for a long time, which was pretty good.
09:18Then we come up against Power R, who also had a few of their NRL girls
09:22and we only lost by four, so we're pretty happy with our second trial.
09:26Taylor Predibon from Gloucester, she's in the Knights.
09:29Yeah, she was in the Knights side.
09:31She's been playing probably less years than you have.
09:34Yeah.
09:35Late high school, I think.
09:36Yeah.
09:37She said, this is a good game, you can bash people. She told me once.
09:40Yeah.
09:41Yeah, she played in one of our first Panthers teams and was a freak then.
09:46Oh, she did, she really?
09:48Yeah.
09:49She was keen, wasn't she?
09:50Yeah.
09:51You were playing rugby.
09:52Yeah.
09:53What's going on?
09:54The last time you were on this segment, you were saying you were still half and half here.
09:58Yeah.
09:59Well, I'm not playing rugby this year.
10:02I played a bit of sevens at the end of last year, and I'll do that again this year.
10:06But unfortunately, with league commitments, I couldn't play rugby anymore.
10:12You had a Wildfires, didn't you?
10:13Yeah.
10:14A Newcastle-based Sydney women's rugby team.
10:17Yeah.
10:18So I was with them last year at the end of last year and played a few games.
10:22But they kind of play at the same time as the rugby league, so it's very hard to do both.
10:28Was there any sort of pressure from the rugby league to not play union?
10:32No, because last year, nights finished so early.
10:35Nights finished in March, so I was only playing club.
10:38And Wildfires was probably the stronger comp out of club and league and rugby.
10:44So that's where I went.
10:46How's your preferences?
10:47Sorry, go ahead.
10:48Would you look at going down the path of rugby sevens, looking at the Olympics?
10:56Well, I have played a bit of sevens, but I'm just not fast enough.
11:00Oh.
11:01I've got the ball skills and the rugby IQ, but speed's a big thing for rugby.
11:06Yeah, for next sevens, isn't it?
11:07Yeah.
11:08Can't coach speed, unfortunately.
11:09No, I've been told that.
11:10You were pretty quick, eh?
11:11I was, yes.
11:12But yeah, as Lucy said, you can't coach speed.
11:15You've got to have it, or you haven't got it.
11:17But is there still a preference there?
11:20In your vacuum mind, you think, oh, I wouldn't mind having a game of rugby?
11:23I do love rugby, but I've just played so much league as of late, and I've learned to love that game.
11:30My family loves watching it more than rugby as well.
11:33That's a big thing.
11:34That's it.
11:35It's all over now, then.
11:36Well, hang on.
11:37They might change their mind now, because I'm starting to look at some of these decisions
11:41and knock-ons and everything in a game of rugby league now, which I'm dumbfounded,
11:46because I don't understand the rules of a rugby union, yet now I'm starting to think,
11:50well, what are the rules in rugby league now?
11:52Knock-ons.
11:53As soon as you drop the ball now, it's a knock-on, whether it goes backwards, forwards, in the air, or whatever.
11:58It's very inconsistent at the moment.
12:00Yes, it certainly is.
12:01It's just unbelievable, yeah.
12:03Because you're a versatile young athlete.
12:05When you said you played touch, you used to be a pretty handy surfer, board-rider, when you were a young girl.
12:09You were thinking about taking that up, or maybe taking that up as a profession, weren't you?
12:13Yeah, I was, but I think team sports are more my go-now.
12:17I get too stressed when it's a lot to me.
12:20I like to rely on my team and have that camaraderie, but I do surf still.
12:25It's my downtime and my break from the world.
12:30Yeah, the problem with surfing is you can eat and buy a shark, or you can drown too, can't you?
12:33Yep, very true.
12:34That's always a downside.
12:37Well, you can.
12:40Your brother, Mac, plays a bit of first grade now.
12:43He plays under the reins for the Pirates, but plays a bit of first grade.
12:47Have you seen him go around?
12:49Yeah, I've watched a few of his games.
12:51He's playing pretty well at the moment.
12:52He's got a lot of rugby IQ and can pass the ball better than anyone.
12:59He's very good.
13:00He can hold his own for a little fella.
13:03I saw him play. He came on first grade against the Bulls, I think,
13:06and then their last game against MacLeod.
13:09He trotted on for the last ten or so minutes.
13:13He's only a little bloke, isn't he?
13:15Yeah.
13:16None of you are real big.
13:17No.
13:18Not much size in the family.
13:19No, very much.
13:21That's the thing, Gary, too.
13:22The Pirates lost their first game last week.
13:25Well, we did sort of mention that I thought Ol' Barb would,
13:30if Jordan Warboys didn't play.
13:35He controls the ruck area everywhere.
13:37He organises everything.
13:38If he doesn't play, they're not the side they are with him on the paddock.
13:43It proved last week, but they only had 12 men, too.
13:46They only just got beat by Kempsey.
13:50I still think it's a two-horse race at the moment between them and Port Charks.
13:57Jordan probably needed a rest because he's carrying a couple of injuries.
14:02He's getting old, too.
14:03Well, that comes into play, doesn't it?
14:05Yeah.
14:06And there was no co-captain or coach with Mick Henry, who was away as well.
14:12They did pretty good out there against Kempsey,
14:15which Kempsey must have had a decent side.
14:18Well, actually, Ol' Barb led 24-22 going into the last minute of the game.
14:22Was it a chip and chase?
14:24No, it was a kick from the 5'8".
14:26Honestly, when he kicked it, I was heading towards the sideline.
14:29I was sitting next to him.
14:31I thought, that's the game now.
14:33I was just going to go out.
14:36Very innocuous-looking kick.
14:37All of a sudden, the young fellow, Robert Inglis, I think his name is,
14:41scooted down the sideline, picked it up and scored in the corner.
14:43Sounds like he's got some speed like his uncle.
14:47Name's sake, anyway.
14:48Yeah, name's sake.
14:49Ol' Barb led 24-12.
14:51They were down to 12-6 at half-time.
14:53But they tackled for the last half.
14:56They made so many errors.
14:58There were a lot of errors in that game.
15:00Oh, yeah.
15:01Yeah.
15:02You can't do that against Kempsey.
15:04No.
15:05But honestly, they tackled Larkin for the last 20 minutes, I reckon.
15:08Yeah.
15:09Majority of that last half, really.
15:11With 12 men.
15:12And they lost the ball so early in the tackle game.
15:16They did get in silly errors.
15:17They gave away penalties early in the tackle game when they had the ball.
15:21Oh, when they had the ball.
15:22Yeah.
15:23Yeah.
15:24Well, see, both their coaches said Jordan would have stopped that straight away.
15:28Yeah.
15:29And so I would probably admit.
15:30But, you know, anyway, it's a loss they might have wanted to have
15:35and, you know, just stir them up a bit more.
15:38I know that the player, Dylan Cowles, he's come from Gundagai.
15:45He's moved over to his wife.
15:47His wife comes from around here.
15:48He came off the bench and she said he can play.
15:51Oh, what percentage did he play?
15:52Well, he played in the centre.
15:53He can play on an edge or in the centre.
15:55Oh, I know that.
15:56He scored one try, set up another one.
15:59Made a few line breaks too, actually.
16:01Yeah, yeah.
16:02He was very good.
16:03He works away, apparently.
16:05So he's only available every few weeks.
16:07Oh, I was going to say because I haven't sort of seen him in any other game.
16:11No, but they say he'll come to me final time to take a bit of time off work
16:16and I'll have him having his.
16:18And Jordan said to me this week, Jordan Warboy said to me this week,
16:21he's going to be a very, very handy player.
16:24Oh, right.
16:25And they've also got some players coming back.
16:27Zach Butler, 5'8", in their grand final side last year.
16:30He's back in the fortnight.
16:32Young Warboys, Isaac Warboys.
16:33He's back in Torres Strait with Will Clark.
16:35What about Will Clark?
16:36Will Clark will be in the fortnight, they're hoping.
16:38So you've got some players coming back then.
16:40Yeah, so it's going to be very hard to stop.
16:43Well, I think so, yeah.
16:45The rain may stop them this weekend, but yeah, they're going to be very tough.
16:49Your side got beaten again, Gary the Bulls.
16:51Yeah, they're down 16-0 and then up getting beat 28-20.
16:57As I said, if they can put 80 minutes of footy together, which is two halves,
17:02they're a big chance of winning.
17:05But they just can't put it together at the moment.
17:07They only play one half of footy, so they've got to realise it's 80 minutes in a game of footy
17:11that they've got to turn up and play for those 80 minutes.
17:15The signs are there.
17:16I mean, there is a couple of positions that they probably needed to get another player for,
17:22but it's the time of year now, you can't do it.
17:25Christian's doing a great job.
17:27Him and Jake apparently, I didn't watch them play last week because of other commitments.
17:33Watched your wife win golf, apparently.
17:35Yeah, with a standout performance.
17:40It can only get better once.
17:42It's hard to be a captain coach in your first, it's your second year of Christian doing it.
17:49He's got a few things up his sleeve and the Bulls are probably out of the chance to win this year,
17:58but they're looking at doing things, getting ready for next year.
18:02I think they've got to start looking outside the area too.
18:05Yeah, they do, and they know that too.
18:08I think every club knows you've got to have a few players from outside the area to come in
18:12and if they end up doing good and they play well, they might entice a couple of other players
18:17they used to play with, wherever they come from, to come over.
18:20We are on the coast, aren't we?
18:22Yeah, back to old bar too.
18:23Sam Egans plays in Magside.
18:26Turned 17 this week, I'll let it be.
18:28That means he can play first grade.
18:30Yeah, Magside's debut this weekend.
18:32Is it, I think?
18:33He's even more better than me.
18:34Where's Sam going to play?
18:36He's named at 14, so I'm not sure where he'll come on as.
18:40That's a big thing for young Egans boys, isn't it?
18:43Yeah.
18:44So they've got some fit. How's their 18s going?
18:47I think they're sitting at second at the moment.
18:50They're doing pretty well.
18:52If they can put together a good game of footy, they will come up against most teams and probably win.
18:58Wigan was supposed to be the side to beat in the 18s this year,
19:01but they've been a bit up and down and led to blue.
19:03Yeah, a few changes in their side this year.
19:06They are still a really tough competition for, I think, old bar and port.
19:11It's sitting at top, so yeah.
19:14They've got a good comp this year, the 18s.
19:18That's good, yeah.
19:19You said you're out of uni, you're studying nursing.
19:21Yeah.
19:22How many years is that?
19:24It's a three-year course, so I'm a year and a half down now.
19:27Okay, so yeah.
19:29How do you mix uni commitments with your travel to, or travelling to uni for playing?
19:34At the moment, I go to uni one day a week, so I'm there all day Wednesday.
19:40And then I do the rest online.
19:43Oh, okay.
19:44Yeah, so all our exams and stuff are online, which is good.
19:47And then at the end of the year, I'll have another four-week block of placement.
19:52Okay, so doing it online, it's a different world now, isn't it?
19:56Yeah.
19:57So you live in Newcastle?
19:58Yeah, I live in the uni campus.
20:01Okay.
20:02So NRELW, when it kicks off, there's ten sides this year, am I right in saying that?
20:06I think so.
20:08Yeah, there's a lot more than that.
20:10They just had six, they went to eight.
20:12I'm pretty sure they've got ten, yeah.
20:14Or it's ten next year.
20:17Yeah, it was in yesterday's paper, and I looked at them all, and I should have just counted them up.
20:21There's definitely eight.
20:24Yeah, because I know Bulldogs and Warriors will come into the comp next year.
20:28Oh, right, so that could be, yeah.
20:30So maybe eight.
20:31Maybe eight.
20:32So if you got an offer from a club other than Granada to play in the NRELW, I'm guessing you might grab it straight away?
20:38Yeah, I'd take that opportunity.
20:41Hopefully it comes, but footy's footy, and you've got to play it about here.
20:46I'll ask you this, Gary, because you're a former playmaker.
20:49You're 20, as we said.
20:50When does the playmaker mature?
20:53We're talking about Mitchell Moses now at 29.
20:55Yeah, well, and he is starting to play his best footy, isn't he?
20:59Especially if you're playing in the halves and everything, because it takes a while for you to get –
21:03you don't want to dominate, you don't want to try and just take everything under your –
21:07you do everything, you want to make sure you pick the times when you should be doing those things.
21:12It depends on when you make your debut, but probably mid-twenties, I'd reckon,
21:16is the age you've got to be looking at to sort of say, right-o, I'm ready to go now.
21:22Do you have a bit of trouble – like you say, you're only 20, so you've said that nine times now.
21:26Do you have a bit of over-reward about maybe pushing the older players around and telling them,
21:32I need you here, or I want the ball?
21:35The playmaker's got to demand the ball.
21:38With my team at the moment, they're pretty good.
21:41All our older players are usually in the forwards at the moment,
21:44so they're pretty good at respecting the position and they know, as a half,
21:49my job is to boss them around and what happens on the field kind of stays on the field.
21:53That's what it should do.
21:55Yep, I've always said that. What happens on the field stays on the field, yes.
21:59And Gary, a couple of players in the last couple of weeks have been sent off for dissent with referees
22:05that have had enough. It's something they need to grip through.
22:07He needs to crack down on pretty heavily.
22:09Matt Pryor was sent off last week, just using him as an example.
22:11He's got a six-week holiday, a six-day holiday.
22:13I didn't realise some of the rules are on that.
22:15I mean, you can also – the club can lose points as well.
22:19Really?
22:20If it's severe enough, you can take anywhere from one to three points off the club he plays for.
22:29Now, that's a club issue and when you do your thing yourself,
22:37you use your abusive language to the referees and officials and everything,
22:42that's an individual thing.
22:44But you're playing a team sport.
22:46I think they do, mate, because we're struggling here now.
22:50I think everywhere you're struggling for referees and if they're going to cop abuse,
22:56they might referee themselves.
22:58You make mistakes, but you're only human.
23:01You've got a whistle in your mouth.
23:03You see something, they mightn't see something else,
23:05but you can't blame the referee for whatever.
23:08For dropping the ball.
23:09Exactly.
23:10You're kicking the ball out of the touch of the ball.
23:12Yeah, it's a thankless job being a referee, but without them…
23:16They don't play.
23:17They don't play.
23:18Beau Champion, from the clay captain coach,
23:21we had him on a couple of weeks ago and he said one of the first things he stamped down on
23:25was abusing referees.
23:26He said, I don't want anyone sitting in the sheds for a dissent with referees.
23:31And they've been good, apparently.
23:33They've been very good.
23:34They were very good last week.
23:36The discipline was great.
23:37Kempsey, probably better than Old Basel was.
23:39Yeah.
23:40Do you ever gut referees, Lucy, when you're playing?
23:44Sometimes I can take my frustrations out on the referee,
23:47but as a referee myself, it is hard.
23:51You can't change their calls and you can't change the way they feel about a team.
23:56Where do you refer out?
23:58I used to referee here.
24:00I was a referee for Panthers and I still do the touch.
24:03I do the set cup.
24:05Well, okay, righto.
24:07When you were refereeing Gary around here, did any player say to you,
24:10what would you know?
24:13I can honestly say, no.
24:15I don't think they did.
24:16Well, I didn't hear them say that.
24:19Like I always said, sometimes when you're playing at that level,
24:23if you're able to referee or do something after you finish playing,
24:28I think it's a plus.
24:31I don't know, nowadays the game's changed.
24:33The rules and that have changed so much since back when I was playing and refereeing
24:38that you just wonder sometimes whether –
24:41and technology nowadays too.
24:44You don't have that in country footy, do you?
24:46It's probably a good thing sometimes.
24:48How long would it take then?
24:50One thing I dislike about the NRL is when the referees call a player out
24:54and they say Gary or Mick or Scott or Lucy or whatever.
24:58Do they do that nowadays?
24:59Do they say Gary?
25:00No.
25:01They just call you by your number.
25:03That's how it should be, I think.
25:04The referees nowadays certainly know the players, don't they?
25:08By calling by their first names.
25:11You'd be really peeved off if the referee said,
25:15number 15 over here, Mitch and Brad and Simon,
25:19could you just come over?
25:20Come on, you're 15.
25:22You'd be really peeved off, wouldn't you?
25:24Yeah, no.
25:25I just don't like that.
25:27We move on, I suppose.
25:30So when did your comp start, Lucy?
25:32So Cronulla's round one is this weekend.
25:35But unfortunately I haven't been selected.
25:38I've been out with a few injuries.
25:40So hopefully in the few coming weeks I might get selected for the team.
25:44Yeah, well you've won all that travel you do.
25:46Yeah.
25:47What injury have you got?
25:48Nothing serious, obviously.
25:49Been out with a hemi tear.
25:51Oh, really?
25:52I thought you said you didn't have any speed.
25:54Yeah, not anymore.
25:56But, yeah, it was only grade one, so I was only out for three weeks.
26:02So back full-training now.
26:04Well, that's one point.
26:05You've been a nurse.
26:06You know the pictures, don't you?
26:07Yep.
26:08Red Wings are doing hamstrings, aren't they?
26:10Yeah.
26:11Wet weather, wet weather.
26:12Wet weather footy.
26:13Is that what you think it is?
26:15Well, I think so.
26:17Like the tracks are so heavy at the moment.
26:19Legs are so heavy.
26:20Yep.
26:21Trying to get into that full speed on mud is just very hard.
26:24Ah, right.
26:25So where are they based then?
26:27Do they play at Shark Park too?
26:29So I think most of our home games will be at the Sharks Academy where all the teams train.
26:36We're training at the high school at the moment, though.
26:39Ah, okay.
26:40Is that in Denver Sports Hall?
26:42We do our gym sessions there, and we do field at Wooloware.
26:47So when does your training start?
26:50When is your very first training session?
26:52When was that?
26:53I think eight weeks ago.
26:56Ah, okay.
26:57So it hasn't been that long.
26:58No.
26:59A long operation, a long prep.
27:00So that's how long it should just be here in Group 3 starting January.
27:06We should be playing by the end of March.
27:10Yeah.
27:11We should start our competition.
27:12Yeah.
27:13If pre-season goes for too long, everyone starts losing interest.
27:17They do, yep.
27:18And they all worry about it falling around Easter, especially in country footy, as to when you start the competition.
27:24Well, you can play, and you can have Easter off.
27:27We used to play at Easter time back in the day, and you'd just have one day.
27:31You'd play on a Friday or a Saturday.
27:33You still got a couple of days off then.
27:34Yeah.
27:35Yeah, I agree with you.
27:36If they're only doing it down there for a period of pre-season, eight weeks, then straight into it.
27:42Yeah.
27:43Actually, Good Friday footy was always highly regarded.
27:46Pubs were all shut back in those days, so there's nothing else to lose.
27:49Most of the footy goes someplace we keep.
27:51Do you still sell drinks at the game on Friday?
27:53Yeah, of course.
27:54Yes.
27:55They used to get huge crowds.
27:57Yeah, bring it back.
27:59The pubs are open now, aren't they?
28:01Good Friday?
28:02Oh, yeah.
28:04That's why it's Good Friday now.
28:07All right, Alyssa, well, it's good to have you back.
28:09We'll follow your career.
28:11Hopefully, we'll see you in the NRL in the not-too-distant future.
28:14Yeah, hopefully.
28:16Are you giving yourself a timeline?
28:19Give myself the next two years to give it a real crack, and after that, I think I'll probably just stop travelling.
28:25Play rugby.
28:26See where I'm at.
28:27Well, you've got that rugby option, I guess, haven't you?
28:29Yeah, yeah.
28:32Well, if you're based in Newcastle, I suppose that's the thing, too.
28:35Where are you getting employment at?
28:36Yeah, no idea where I'll be yet, so sort of playing it by ear.
28:40You might be over in Western Australia somewhere.
28:42Who knows?
28:43Looks nice over there, so.
28:44Could surf there, too, isn't it, by the river?
28:46That'd be an AFL site.
28:47Well, they could have an RRW by then.
28:49Oh, yes, they probably will.
28:51That's nice.
28:52Yeah, I was going to say, well, there's a few girls playing in that Newcastle comp, too, isn't there, from around here?
28:57Yeah, there's a few girls travelling up down there, as well as a few who have moved.
29:02Yeah, I know there's a couple of names there.
29:05A girl who played State, oh, was it played State?
29:09She's your age.
29:11Did a knee a couple of years back.
29:13Sienna.
29:14That's the one there, yeah.
29:15Yeah, she's in the Newcastle Harvey squad.
29:17Oh, okay, right.
29:18Yeah.
29:19She's a second row, I see.
29:20Yeah.
29:21Sienna Limpick, is that her name?
29:23Yeah, Sienna Limpick.
29:24Yeah, she picked about three States' eyes and did a knee, I seem to remember.
29:26Yeah.
29:27Yeah, yeah.
29:28Hey, anyway, Liz, as I said, we'll follow your career with great interest.
29:32Hopefully we see you running around for an RRW site.
29:34Hopefully also see you in the New South Wales side of the wings.
29:37Yeah, that'd be nice.
29:39And if we'll hopefully see some people at the footy this weekend, but it doesn't look great at the moment.
29:44But either way, we'll be back next week on the bench in the tenure ward studio to talk about Group 3 footy.
29:50And again, thanks very much for coming in, Liz.
29:52Thank you for having me.
29:54Bye.
29:55Bye.
29:56Bye.
29:57Bye.
29:58Bye.
29:59Bye.
30:00Bye.
30:01Bye.
30:02Bye.
30:03Bye.
30:04Bye.
30:05Bye.
30:06Bye.
30:07Bye.
30:08Bye.
30:09Bye.
30:10Bye.
30:11Bye.
30:12Bye.
30:13Bye.
30:14Bye.
30:15Bye.
30:16Bye.
30:17Bye.
30:18Bye.
30:19Bye.
30:20Bye.
30:21Bye.
30:22Bye.