Don has the belief to be Titans leader
PAUL Broughton Medal winner Anthony Don says he is looking forward to mentoring the Titans’ next generation of outside backs after finally finding the belief he is a contributing member of the club.
Don was a popular winner of the club’s highest honour on Wednesday night after taking out most valuable player honours by two votes from NSW Origin hooker Nathan Peats.
Despite his win and the NSW Country honours that came earlier this year, the humble winger revealed he still battled confidence issues.
“I’m not too confident of a person but when I’m on the field I know what I’m capable of and I know I can do a couple of big plays if it comes my way,” Don said.
“In general I’m not too confident but it’s been a gradual build-up, each year I’ve gotten better and better.
“This has been my best year so far and hopefully I can continue the next couple of years.”
And with young backs the likes of Phil Sami and Tyronne Roberts-Davis coming through the ranks, Don, who turns 30 next Thursday, is ready to take a leading role.
“It’s definitely something that’s my responsibility now as I’ll be the elder statesman,” don said.
“Even though I’ve been older in the past I haven’t really had much NRL experience behind me so I was probably talking out of school if I was trying to tell people what to do.
“But it’s definitely a role that I’m looking forward to taking on.
“Phil and Tyronne are great young kids and I look forward to them teaching me and hopefully I can give them a few tips and one day pass my spot on to them.”
Don could be the perfect mentor, not just for the youngsters but any player looking to make his NRL break.
His path through the Grafton Ghosts and Burleigh Bears may have been the road less travelled to the NRL but there’s no doubt it has left Don more grounded and humble than many of his peers.
“I had a couple of under-20 trials with Manly and didn’t play very good and I obviously didn’t get selected, so I went back to uni and did my study and at that moment in my life I kind of realised that I wasn’t going to make it as an NRL player and I moved on and got on with my life,” he said.
“And then I went back through Grafton and played for the Grafton Ghosts and had a good season there, so it just went from there.
“It’s quite an emotional experience really (winning this award).
“I tried to hide it but I got quite emotional on stage just thinking of all the sacrifices my mum and dad made and my wife Samantha.
“It’s probably something I’ll look back on at the end of my career as a real achievement and even now I’m really proud.”