Oh, brother: Storm’s Kiwi connection
As a kid, Jesse Bromwich cheered on Stacey Jones in the grand final, now he’s preparing for his fourth appearance in it. David Long reports.
WHENthe Storm’s Kenny Bromwich was growing up in Auckland, he’d more often be out playing footy when the NRL grand final was on TV.
However, he can still remember the 2002 grand final, when New Zealand came to a standstill to watch the Warriors play the Roosters.
‘‘I watched a few when I was growing up. I watched the Warriors one when I was living back home,’’ Bromwich said ahead of today’s grand final against the Panthers.
‘‘I remember trying to cheer Stacey (Jones) home in that one.
‘‘But lately I’ve been trying to get there myself and I haven’t really thought too far back to when I was that young and watching, because mostly I was outside playing footy with everyone in our street.’’
In the eyes of some New Zealanders, Bromwich is perhaps overshadowed by the achievements of his older brother, Jesse. That’s unfortunate, because he is a world class second rower and has become one of the Storm’s key players in recent seasons.
They’re both part of a Storm team that never seems to go through rebuilding years, even when the likes of Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater retire and for Kenny, it’s a joy to be able to spend his career playing alongside Jesse, especially in a season where the team have had to relocate to the Sunshine Coast for four months, because of the high number of coronavirus cases in Victoria.
‘‘Both of us are getting on now,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m 29, he’s 31 and these opportunities don’t come around too often, so you have to make the most of them.
‘‘It’s been a really different year, moving away from home and everything that’s happened. But something we always set out to do was to be in the position we’re in and I’m stoked we’re here.’’
There has always been a strong connection between the Storm and Kiwi league fans.
Not just because the Storm play the Warriors on Anzac Day every year, but also because of the large number of New
Zealand players who’ve worn their purple and navy jersey.
Kiwi greats Stephen Kearney, Adam Blair, Tawera Nikau all played for the Storm in the past while in the current squad there’s not only the Bromwich brothers, but also Jahrome Hughes, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Brandon Smith and Albert Vete.
So because of all the New Zealand connections, Bromwich is hoping Kiwis are cheering on the Storm tonight.
‘‘I do hope that everyone back
home can get behind us,’’ Bromwich said. ‘‘We’ve had a lot of Kiwi representatives come through the Storm ranks and every time we go home and play at Mt Smart, we get a pretty good turnout.
‘‘We’ve got a lot of fans everywhere andwe know we’ve got a big base in New Zealand and we’re proud of that as well.’’
One of the most impressive players for the Storm this year has been Hughes, who has grown over the last couple of seasons from being a talented prospect, to one of the best halves in the NRL.
‘‘He’s been massive,’’
Bromwich said. ‘‘Just a year ago he was at fullback and killing it there. But he’s been given a new task of steering the team around and having a kicking licence.
‘‘But what a lot of people don’t see is the work that he’s put in.
‘‘He’s done hours and hours of work, trying to fine tune the things that are important for us, and it’s been a credit to how he’s been going lately.
‘‘His leadership and game management has gone to awhole new level and that’s from the hours of work he’s put in at training and after training also.
‘‘He’s a pretty cruisy dude when you know him, he’s a funny guy.’’
This will be the fourth grand
final Kenny will have played in, but for the first time the rest of his and Jesse’s family won’t be able to go the game, because to border restrictions on people coming from Victoria into New South Wales.
‘‘I think they’ll bewatching it at home,’’ Jesse said of his parents.
‘‘My sister, her partner and their little boy, they live with my parents too, so they’ll be all at home on the couch, watching it on TV and I think my old man will put on a bit of a spread for everyone at home.
‘‘They’ve been to every grand final. So it will be a bit different for them to watch it on TV. But it is what it is.’’