You know what I'm talking about.
The unconventional player that somehow warmed your heart.
The player everyone else panned but secretly you harboured favouritism for.
The player that, if you were to start a fan club, you knew you'd be the only member.
If we're big enough to admit it we've all had them.
I've got two.
In my youth as North Sydney supporter (RIP) there were plenty of unfashionable players that caught my eye, but in my younger more impressionable years I was more drawn to what were the big names of the time, firstly Billy Moore, and eventually Sean Hoppe.
But then in 1995, in the wake of the Super League fiasco, an underachieving winger from Illawarra landed on our doorstep, and until the club folded in 1999, he could (in my eyes) do no wrong. His name was Nigel Roy. I didn't care how much crap I got at school, how much away fans would laugh at my cheers of support, I was of the belief this man was the premier winger in the comp and I would campaign for that elusive representative call up year after year. I knew in my heart of hearts I was the only one who felt this way, but still I'd wait after every home game to let him know how well he'd played, and when news came through in mid 2000 that he was setting sail for the ESL (I remember my Dad breaking the news to me as I stood in a phone box, freezing my arse off on the Otago peninsula), I was heart broken like I'd never felt. That was the first wave of player exodus to the UK. And although the Bears were no more, I thought the NRL had lost something it never took the time to appreciate.
Maybe I was wrong, but I still like to think he was everything my youthful mind built him up to be.
Regardless, I was young.
I wasn't quite so young (so there goes that excuse) when in the 2005 as a Warrior I fell for another hopeless three quarter who promised so little and delivered only a wee bit more than that.
If you tried to tell me that Todd was not "Godd" then I wouldn't listen. And there's at least one member of this forum that may or may not man up to admitting he felt it to. Sure he lacked speed (why does a winger need that anyway?) And sure he looked like he'd snap if the wind changed direction, but even I couldn't have predicted how utterly protective I would become over Todd Byrne. We had every rhyming slang in the book to show Todd our support each game day, and didn't care what the opposition thought of him. I guess moments like that match winner against the Rabbits made it all worth while. But I also know that spending a god forsaken Easter weekend in a subzero Canberra watching him get chased down with a match-winning try in his sights made me take back every moment I'd stood up for him.
But truth be told he was the player I most wanted to see succeed every weekend, and, after Stacey's final game in 2005 when we were waiting outside Brookvale Oval to meet the boys and the guest of honour - it was Todd I hurried to for a photo, before Stacey even registered on my radar.
So.....
Anyone else wanna fess up?
Anyone who ever had a secret desire to see Cliff Beverley succeed?
Anyone who once chanted "Give Paul Dezolt a chance"
Are you the president of the Brady Malam fan club?
The unconventional player that somehow warmed your heart.
The player everyone else panned but secretly you harboured favouritism for.
The player that, if you were to start a fan club, you knew you'd be the only member.
If we're big enough to admit it we've all had them.
I've got two.
In my youth as North Sydney supporter (RIP) there were plenty of unfashionable players that caught my eye, but in my younger more impressionable years I was more drawn to what were the big names of the time, firstly Billy Moore, and eventually Sean Hoppe.
But then in 1995, in the wake of the Super League fiasco, an underachieving winger from Illawarra landed on our doorstep, and until the club folded in 1999, he could (in my eyes) do no wrong. His name was Nigel Roy. I didn't care how much crap I got at school, how much away fans would laugh at my cheers of support, I was of the belief this man was the premier winger in the comp and I would campaign for that elusive representative call up year after year. I knew in my heart of hearts I was the only one who felt this way, but still I'd wait after every home game to let him know how well he'd played, and when news came through in mid 2000 that he was setting sail for the ESL (I remember my Dad breaking the news to me as I stood in a phone box, freezing my arse off on the Otago peninsula), I was heart broken like I'd never felt. That was the first wave of player exodus to the UK. And although the Bears were no more, I thought the NRL had lost something it never took the time to appreciate.
Maybe I was wrong, but I still like to think he was everything my youthful mind built him up to be.
Regardless, I was young.
I wasn't quite so young (so there goes that excuse) when in the 2005 as a Warrior I fell for another hopeless three quarter who promised so little and delivered only a wee bit more than that.
If you tried to tell me that Todd was not "Godd" then I wouldn't listen. And there's at least one member of this forum that may or may not man up to admitting he felt it to. Sure he lacked speed (why does a winger need that anyway?) And sure he looked like he'd snap if the wind changed direction, but even I couldn't have predicted how utterly protective I would become over Todd Byrne. We had every rhyming slang in the book to show Todd our support each game day, and didn't care what the opposition thought of him. I guess moments like that match winner against the Rabbits made it all worth while. But I also know that spending a god forsaken Easter weekend in a subzero Canberra watching him get chased down with a match-winning try in his sights made me take back every moment I'd stood up for him.
But truth be told he was the player I most wanted to see succeed every weekend, and, after Stacey's final game in 2005 when we were waiting outside Brookvale Oval to meet the boys and the guest of honour - it was Todd I hurried to for a photo, before Stacey even registered on my radar.
So.....
Anyone else wanna fess up?
Anyone who ever had a secret desire to see Cliff Beverley succeed?
Anyone who once chanted "Give Paul Dezolt a chance"
Are you the president of the Brady Malam fan club?
Attachments
Last edited by a moderator:
