00:00but there are times for the club to to look to the past and that's where that's where old boys
00:04days and reunions and celebrations about things are really important and uh um i'm a part of two
00:12well three old boys groups um the melbourne storm wigan warriors and the new zealand
00:16warriors with you chad we're both old boys together what's what's your warriors number
00:19i am one eight seven you're one eight so i'm one nine one eight six sorry one eight one eight
00:27six
00:27yeah i'm i'm one nine five i'm number 62 at the storm yeah what do you what are you i'm
00:34i'm 463
00:36at the sharkies and then 301 at the cowboys and then like 1162 i think it is for the roosters
00:45yeah i'm i'm well in the 1000 i can't remember off the top of my head but i'm well into
00:49the
00:491000s at wigan too yeah don't worry about that but look the old boys old boys days are are really
00:55important for the for the club tell me actually sorry hoffy tell tell me about the melbourne storm
01:00old boys because i yeah i haven't been to an old boys day yet i've obviously just retired i look
01:04forward to going there but from what i understand that the melbourne storm do a fantastic job with
01:09their old boys what are some of the things they do really well from your point of view yeah so
01:13what
01:14what a good and strong old boys need is is someone to lead it and someone to run it and
01:18melbourne storm have a terrific person and peter robinson former player um you know did did a great
01:24job at the club stayed at the club a long time but he took a lot of ownership on on
01:27on the old boys and
01:28look old boys days used to be the same thing you rock up you get you meet at the pub
01:33at 10 a.m and
01:34then you drink all the way through you go to the game and go in the sheds afterwards a yahoo
01:38but
01:38which was great but peter robinson wanted wanted to change things quite a few years ago and
01:44he's the melbourne storm old boys they're the mob um so he's really passionate about the mob but he
01:49wants the old boys days to be about something more so what what the old boys days have started to
01:55become they become a because most people got to come into melbourne's become a couple of days things
02:00and there's normally a theme um about about the the old boys weekend um last year's theme was was
02:09was health and heart health so the club bought an ecg machine all the old boys went and got ahead
02:14in the ecg just to see make sure their tickers are going all right and then the old boys donated
02:19the
02:19ecg to to the club for the for the club doctor to use for for the players and what we
02:24did is then we
02:25went on a on a camping trip we went down to it to a campsite and basically we all got
02:30all got together
02:31we're in bunks we're enjoying each other's company having a beer telling stories and then we got a bit
02:35of a campfire and we all just sat around and just gave an opportunity for everyone just to talk about
02:40how they're going so everyone just to stand up if you wanted you just talk about how you how you're
02:45going in life what's working what's not and it was really interesting for a lot of guys because
02:51a lot of former players and um you know this they struggle to talk to people about what's going on
02:56unless they're players that know know what they've been through and a lot of rugby league players do
03:01struggle because out of went into retirement because they lose that connection um everyone
03:06when they retire what's he going to miss you're going to miss the boys so you lose that connection
03:09so having an opportunity as an old boys player to stand up in front of people you you love and
03:15respect
03:15and have been through so much for whether or not you played with them or not the fact that you
03:19wore
03:19the same jersey and and have a number is is is enough for that um and you know i'm not
03:25going
03:25to name names but some players really opened up about a lot of regrets they have when they played
03:29about how they treated people within the game how they treated teammates and how they wanted to
03:34remedy that so it is quite a lot of catharsis and what it did do is that it gave those
03:39conversations
03:40that you then have afterward a bit more substance to it a bit more meaning um rather than just spending
03:45two
03:46days on on on the drink with each other you actually you're still going to enjoy his company
03:50and have a beer and everything like that but those conversations are going to have a bit more substance
03:53and what they're also going to do is they they create follow-ups so boys on the on the whatsapp
03:58chat and whatever it is that they know who to follow up on because they asked for it they asked
04:02for a follow-up they asked for hey boys just give us a check-in every now and then so
04:06he's getting
04:07checked in by over 200 ex melbourne melbourne storm players just to know that checking in how he's
04:13going because we know struggles and some tough times that that that they've been through so this
04:18year's melbourne old boys is coming up and there'll be another theme that uh that peter robinson is is
04:24is gonna gonna provide but look i'm also looking forward to going to the warriors old boys at the
04:28at the end of the year run by jerry see you see you um he does a tremendous job there
04:32and look
04:33there's no right or wrong way to do an old boys day but um as as long as you you
04:37still feel that
04:38connection yeah look i absolutely love that um this to me it just sounds like melbourne storm are
04:45really setting the standard uh for what it means to to run your old boys program uh you know it's
04:51absolutely phenomenal obviously you hear about the old boys catching up and going to a game and having
04:56a couple of beers but actually to be able to tie it all together um to having some real conversations
05:00real connection and then the thing you mentioned like checking up right you know you rock up to
05:05someone you have a conversation how you going yeah good mate good this and that but actually you have
05:09time to actually open up how's the life actually going and then the follow-up it is just so important
05:14and i really hope a lot of clubs can follow those footsteps to be honest like i said i haven't
05:18been to
05:19an old boys um day ever the four clubs that i've played for i look forward to you know trying
05:23to get
05:23around it as many as i can because um you know having that connection post career it is so important
05:30that
05:30you stay connected to the game and your mates who you you know you bled for you had wins losses
05:35ups
05:36and downs with um because time may go by hopefully but you could see an old teammate where like you
05:41rock up you have a bit of a laugh and like you don't need to say anything but you just
05:46know that
05:46like you guys shared some special times together right yeah definitely and and look i have to admit
05:51the the rlpa is is doing some really really good stuff yeah in in that regard as well um making
05:57sure
05:58they have they're having those catch-ups a lot of them uh are gym based and um i don't know
06:02dale finucan does it for the rlpa down down here in melbourne he gets all the all the former players
06:07that now live in melbourne there's quite a few actually so um it's actually a great program
06:12it's keep fit keep connected so um the the rlpa runs a program where they have like different air
06:18obviously a melbourne based one you know southern sydney western sydney north in sydney um you know up in
06:23the hunter where the rlpa runs uh or they put on a gym class or play all past players are
06:29welcome
06:30it's free then they go out for breakfast together same thing connection so again an opportunity to
06:34not you know go to the pub so to speak and have schooners obviously there's time for that but like
06:40to connect exercise get healthy um yeah and there's no doubt that the rlpa have you know put more time
06:47and resource into that over the past couple of years it is and i think i know newcastle do do
06:52a
06:52great job benefits of clubs like newcastle melbourne warriors cowboy they are relatively young
06:58clubs so it is is quite easy to get that and you do find a lot of connection between former
07:02um player players that were at the at the beginning and players that only just just recently retired
07:09um so it it it has for clubs obviously like you know paramatta and the roosters and everything
07:15like that it was so old it is a bit harder like that but
07:22um
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