OUT OF THE FOG
1000 days after last start, Titans half is ready for NRL
HE’S the proven winner at Intrust Super Cup level who hasn’t yet found his groove in the NRL.
Tonight, exactly 1000 days since his second and last NRL cap – a 20-16 loss to the Roosters in Round 26, 2017 – Jamal Fogarty gets his shot at the big time for the Titans.
The 26-year-old halfback has long been one of the bona fide stars of the second-tier competition for Burleigh.
The youth worker and father-of-two will partner with the shifted Ash Taylor in the halves as Gold Coast look to arrest their 0-2 start to the NRL season when they face the Cowboys in front of an empty stadium in Townsville.
This time around, Fogarty brings a lifetime of experience with him.
“As footballers we beat ourselves up if we lose a game but the kids I’ve worked with have issues that are way bigger,” said Fogarty (pictured right during his days as a Titans junior).
IT’S been exactly 1000 days since Jamal Fogarty last played in the NRL.
Time enough for the Titans late bloomer to reflect on the person he has become – and the social hardships that have shaped his perspective on life and rugby league.
If Fogarty isn’t the most inspirational player in the NRL, he is in the grand final.
In an age where NRL stars are perceived as pampered, overpaid prima donnas, Fogarty goes against the grain.
As he desperately chased his NRL dream, the 26-yearold father of two has juggled rugby league commitments with a job as a youth worker.
What Fogarty sees at the societal frontline every day is a fusion of joy and heartbreak.
The Gold Coast halfback has seen young children kicked out of home. Homeless teenagers sleeping in bushes. Drug-addled adolescents crying out for love, a hot shower and something to eat.
But then there are the moments that make youth work rewarding, like Fogarty talking a teen out of dark thoughts, or seeing someone emerge from custody to hold down a job and forge independence in life.
It is this backdrop that explains why Fogarty is grateful to be back in the big league tonight, clinching the Titans No.7 jumper against the Cowboys in his first game for the Gold Coast since 2017.
“My journey has given me great life experience … it’s been a long time between games,” says Fogarty, who works with the Gold Coast Youth Justice Service.
“As footballers we beat ourselves up if we lose a game but the kids I’ve worked with have issues that are way bigger.
“Some have no home to go to. They don’t have any food or can’t shower.
“The toughest thing in the job is seeing the youth be homeless, especially during the winter time when it’s freezing cold and they are sleeping on the streets.
“The best thing is seeing youth who struggle to engage with you at first, then they go and make a change for themselves to finish a program which might run anywhere from six to 12 weeks and get a job.
“I have taken 12 months leave without pay to fully commit to the Titans, but it’s an awesome job. I love the feeling when young kids you work with make good changes to be better.
“It’s unreal. I love it.” Buoyed by his social work, Fogarty, who plays his third NRL game tonight in Townsville, has undergone his own growth as a footballer. The classy No.7 played two matches for the Titans three years ago, but after a move to Sydney with Parramatta, Fogarty has a better grasp of his game and the sacrifices required to succeed in the NRL.
There is a view that aspiring NRL players are washed-up by their mid-20s, but Fogarty is motivated by the brilliant revival of former Titan Cody Walker, who made his topgrade debut at 26.
“Cody has done an amazing job – seeing his form has lit the fire in the belly for me to think I’m not too old to make it,” he said.
“If you still believe in yourself, you aren’t too far gone.
“I did think my time had passed me by for a while, but I