Will’s animal instinct
Retirement delivered perfect opportunity to pursue another dream
FOR more than a decade, Will Zillman was living life as an NRL player but it’s now that he has moved onto a “lifelong dream”.
The 32-year-old chalked up 180 first-grade games across three years at Canberra and nine at the Titans.
Zillman’s career was affected by a series of injuries but he bowed out on a strong run of form in the unfamiliar position of wing in 2017.
“Retirement has been kind to me so far,” he said.
“At the end of 2017 when I retired, I applied to go back to uni. I sort of wanted to live out a lifelong dream of becoming a vet so I applied for vet school and I got in.
“It’s going to take me six years to complete so it’s a bit of a long slog but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end.”
Zillman is in his second year studying at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus but for now is staying based on the Gold Coast, from where he runs his Will Zillman Horsemanship business.
“It keeps me really busy every other day of the week that I’m not out at uni so it’s a really good work-life balance that I have got going on at the moment, I feel very blessed,” said Zillman, who is also associated with company Vet Love.
“I work a lot with horses that may have some behavioural issues and can’t really be ridden so I’ll work with them and get them going nice and safe and sound for their owners.
“It’s a super rewarding job and I love it.”
Zillman’s country roots date back to his beginnings in Proserpine, where his extended family own a cattle station.
“When we were kids, I was on the farm and then when we moved to Brisbane, I was just a country boy at heart so I would go up there every school holidays and spend all my time up there with horses and cattle,” he said.
“It has always very much been in my blood.”