Grimmace
14-10-06, 09:15 PM
Kangaroos duties an honour
By Darren Lockyer
Australia Captain
October 14, 2006
I HAVE been asked a number of times this week about the difficulties of getting up for this year's Tri-Series after the hysteria of Brisbane's grand final win and the answer is it is not difficult at all.
Far too much is made of the extra demands the end-of-season Tests put on players.
It is certainly a challenge to try to maintain your best form for a couple of months beyond the club season, but, when weighed against the honour and privilege of playing for your country, the benefits greatly exceed any supposed negatives or difficulties players may face.
It's verging on an insult to the blokes who would kill for the chance to play for Australia to start talking about being tired.
But let me also say the NRL needs to ensure the clubs acknowledge the importance of international competition to our game as a whole.
While I accept the NRL is a business and the clubs are the major employer of the players, I sometimes worry about the influence they can have in convincing blokes to skip tours in favour of having an early operation or to protect a minor niggle that they have played through at club level.
I realise it is a balancing act, but I believe there is an onus on this generation of players and administrators to fix the mistakes of the past and ensure playing Test football is once again the pinnacle of achievement in our game.
As a kid, I remember my parents getting me and my brother out of bed in the early hours of the morning and huddling together to watch the Kangaroos play in England and dreaming about one day being a part of it all myself.
I finally got that chance in 1997, when I was chosen to be part of the Australian Super League team which toured Britain.
I remember that tour extremely well.
I was only 20 and was part of a squad which included the likes of Laurie Daley and Steve Walters -- the same blokes I had gotten out of bed to cheer on when I was I kid.
The tour was an amazing experience, but the highlight was the chance to play against England at Wembley Stadium, something I will never forget.
Unfortunately, the fallout from the Super League-ARL dispute saw international rugby league slide way off the radar and the integrity of the Kangaroos jumper was compromised somewhat in the years that followed.
The ARL and Wayne Bennett's work in re-invigorating international competition via the introduction of the Tri-Nations tournament was the first step to getting the Kangaroos back to their rightful place at the top of rugby league.
I think the responsibility of continuing their work falls to the players.
In this year's squad we have a group of guys who have done a tremendous job in laying the platform for the resurgence of Test rugby league.
Willie Mason, Petero Civoniceva and Nathan Hindmarsh have been wonderful servants of the national team over a number of years and I don't mind saying how proud it makes me to be part of that group, especially as captain over the past few seasons.
Then there is the great Newcastle pair of Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus.
Joey has retired from the international game and Danny is missing this year to be by the side of his pregnant partner.
Anthony Minichiello, who is out injured, also deserves a mention for wearing the jersey proudly and playing to the highest standard, as does Shane Webcke.
He played through some horrendous injuries to be part of past Test squads. No-one who was on tour in 2004 will forget the way he played after his dodgy knee seized up on the morning of the final.
Webbie couldn't even walk but got his leg warm enough to run, and ran and ran until half-time when it got cold and his leg seized up again.
That standard of commitment is the legacy we want to leave the next group of Kangaroos stars, many of whom will take the field for the first time tonight.
Guys like Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Karmichael Hunt and Cameron Smith are the future of this team. They will be part of the national side for the next decade and hopefully will continue to build the Kangaroos.
Source: the Australian
By Darren Lockyer
Australia Captain
October 14, 2006
I HAVE been asked a number of times this week about the difficulties of getting up for this year's Tri-Series after the hysteria of Brisbane's grand final win and the answer is it is not difficult at all.
Far too much is made of the extra demands the end-of-season Tests put on players.
It is certainly a challenge to try to maintain your best form for a couple of months beyond the club season, but, when weighed against the honour and privilege of playing for your country, the benefits greatly exceed any supposed negatives or difficulties players may face.
It's verging on an insult to the blokes who would kill for the chance to play for Australia to start talking about being tired.
But let me also say the NRL needs to ensure the clubs acknowledge the importance of international competition to our game as a whole.
While I accept the NRL is a business and the clubs are the major employer of the players, I sometimes worry about the influence they can have in convincing blokes to skip tours in favour of having an early operation or to protect a minor niggle that they have played through at club level.
I realise it is a balancing act, but I believe there is an onus on this generation of players and administrators to fix the mistakes of the past and ensure playing Test football is once again the pinnacle of achievement in our game.
As a kid, I remember my parents getting me and my brother out of bed in the early hours of the morning and huddling together to watch the Kangaroos play in England and dreaming about one day being a part of it all myself.
I finally got that chance in 1997, when I was chosen to be part of the Australian Super League team which toured Britain.
I remember that tour extremely well.
I was only 20 and was part of a squad which included the likes of Laurie Daley and Steve Walters -- the same blokes I had gotten out of bed to cheer on when I was I kid.
The tour was an amazing experience, but the highlight was the chance to play against England at Wembley Stadium, something I will never forget.
Unfortunately, the fallout from the Super League-ARL dispute saw international rugby league slide way off the radar and the integrity of the Kangaroos jumper was compromised somewhat in the years that followed.
The ARL and Wayne Bennett's work in re-invigorating international competition via the introduction of the Tri-Nations tournament was the first step to getting the Kangaroos back to their rightful place at the top of rugby league.
I think the responsibility of continuing their work falls to the players.
In this year's squad we have a group of guys who have done a tremendous job in laying the platform for the resurgence of Test rugby league.
Willie Mason, Petero Civoniceva and Nathan Hindmarsh have been wonderful servants of the national team over a number of years and I don't mind saying how proud it makes me to be part of that group, especially as captain over the past few seasons.
Then there is the great Newcastle pair of Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus.
Joey has retired from the international game and Danny is missing this year to be by the side of his pregnant partner.
Anthony Minichiello, who is out injured, also deserves a mention for wearing the jersey proudly and playing to the highest standard, as does Shane Webcke.
He played through some horrendous injuries to be part of past Test squads. No-one who was on tour in 2004 will forget the way he played after his dodgy knee seized up on the morning of the final.
Webbie couldn't even walk but got his leg warm enough to run, and ran and ran until half-time when it got cold and his leg seized up again.
That standard of commitment is the legacy we want to leave the next group of Kangaroos stars, many of whom will take the field for the first time tonight.
Guys like Justin Hodges, Greg Inglis, Karmichael Hunt and Cameron Smith are the future of this team. They will be part of the national side for the next decade and hopefully will continue to build the Kangaroos.
Source: the Australian