GROWTH MINDSET

Q You’ve done a lot of work with Far North Queensland AFL talent. What do you make of the young stars within the academy like Damien Burke, Timakoi Bowie, Fitzroy Greenwool and Tui Lowah? A There’s obviously a lot of talent up here. With the academy and the pathways, it gives kids the best chance to pursue a career. My pathway was a bit different. But it’s about how much you want to get out of yourself. I’ve always been self-driven and realised I had to make good choices if I wanted to play AFL. I had a chat with some high school boys from Woree this morning for breakfast at the hotel. I touched on when I left Cairns (as a teenager) to chase my dream (in Victoria). The main thing I told them is it’s something you have to embrace. It’s about understanding your endpoint and where you want to get to and not about how you feel in the moment. With the academy boys now living on the Gold Coast, support is so important and that’s all I try to do. Sometimes you just need to show you care. Those boys have already made the journey that shows they’re keen and they want to succeed. Just checking in and asking if they need a hand is all you need to do. Sometimes you can bottle things up when you’re living away from home and that’s when you break down. Personally, I think it’s great to see AFLQ investing in indigenous talent up here. The boys in the system have got plenty of talent and they’re pretty eager to learn. I haven’t seen too many of their games this preseason but I’ve heard really good things. I know (Suns academy head coach) Andrew Raines is rapt with them.