EYEING CHANGE

Q

Is there anything you would change about the local competition if you could?

A

It’s little things that I hear off other people, things like fees. Realistically, $300 is a lot for a lot of people and you could spend that in a lot of other ways. If players want to play, they should be able to but that’s always been an issue here and it’s just getting worse now that the prices keep going up for clubs. I don’t know how they fix grassroots rugby here. Do they get more Reds players going out to the Gold Coast because that doesn’t happen much. It happens a lot in their own area in Brisbane but they find it hard to come down this way. I don’t really see many of the games here but I know the top three teams are always going to be strong, the established clubs. I’d like to see teams like Tweed and the Alleygators come back up through the ranks but I’m not too sure how they fix that.

Q

Who have been some of your favourite teammates over the years?

A

One that sticks out is Ron Cribb (pictured), who I played with in Japan. We still keep in touch. We played together over there for seven or eight years and he still comes and visits here now and then on the Gold Coast. And probably guys that I played with for Tonga like Tonga Lea’aetoa. Myself and Tonga came through the whole system, pretty much the same time and same length. There was a young kid who’s not so young now who was our centre, Suka Hufanga, and I thought he was probably the best centre in the world at the time. The way he played for us, I think if he was playing for the All Blacks or the Wallabies he’d definitely be the best in the world.