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Robinson's faith rewarded with a Friend he can rely on
October 3, 2013
Glenn Jackson
Rugby League Writer
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2gZbpCX00
''It was a long time ago,'' Jake Friend says. ''A lot's changed since then.'' He's right, but what remains in this remarkable redemption story - Friend's journey from being sacked, to sandwich-maker to, who knows, a potential skipper - is the coach who played a key role.
As Friend fought to save his career, having been sacked by the Roosters in late 2009, his current coach Trent Robinson was fighting for him.
Friend, approaching his second grand final since his time in purgatory, can remember the roles that then assistant Robinson and then head coach Brian Smith played. This week, instead of preparing for a grand final, he could have been lamenting how he threw away the chance to play in it. Rather than cut the cord completely, the Roosters decided to persevere. And when he proved he was ready to return, he was allowed to.
''He and Smithy both fought for me,'' Friend said this week. ''They said I had to go away and get myself right, but if I could do it, they'd help me to get back. He and Brian asked if this was what I wanted to do. 'Do you want to play footy?' I said yes, and they stuck by me. They said they'd help me.''
Ultimately, they helped to an extent which is difficult to fathom. If you had imagined then, in December of 2009, that the 19-year-old Friend, with a string of alcohol-related misdemeanours putting his career on hold, would now be one of the best hookers in the game, approaching a grand final, and one of the leaders of his club, you might have been accused of having a few too many alcohol-related misdemeanours yourself. But Smith and Robinson, who had only just joined the Roosters, stood by him. Time out from the game proved to be the best thing for him.
''Probably,'' Friend said. ''Because I probably wouldn't have changed much if I just kept getting told, 'it's all right, it's all right'. It gave me the kick in the bum that I needed. No one's perfect. You've just got to try and learn from your mistakes.''
What Friend learnt was you don't get many chances. ''You realise how much you like playing footy, and how much you want that as your lifestyle,'' he said. ''It's a pretty good lifestyle. It was a tough part of my life, but it's helped me in the long run.''
The Roosters, who brought him to Sydney from the Sunshine Coast, persevered with Friend because officials there believed he was genuinely sorry, not simply sorry he had been caught.
''Ripping up his contract was the easy option,'' said the then Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce. ''We had a duty of care to him. And he was genuine in wanting to learn.''
He did so by working at a Surry Hills cafe run by Roosters supporter James Spiropoulos, who had sent chairman Nick Politis a text offering his assistance, and by training with former first-grader Joe Thomas. ''He worked hard, for little money,'' Noyce said. ''It appears like it's one step backwards, to take 10 steps forward.''
His game this year has been taken to a new level. It's a result of a ''less is more'' approach, with Robinson having urged him to play less minutes each match for his own good.
''Getting that extra 15 or 20 minutes off definitely makes a difference,'' said Friend, who said he was reluctant initially. ''I feel a lot fresher than I did this time last year.''
''Calm'' and ''mature'' are words which sit well around Friend, in contrast to how he was perceived as a young man who appeared destined to have ''rugby league bad boy'' perennially attached to his name.
Now, the word ''leader'' is attached to it. Even he admitted it sounded a little strange.
Asked if he ever felt he would be where he is today, not just in a grand final team, but one of the leaders of said team, he said: ''I didn't really think I'd be in a leadership group. It was always my plan to get back playing for the Roosters. Everything else was never in the plans really.''
Twitter - @Glenn__Jackson
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2gZb9s21Q
Robinson's faith rewarded with a Friend he can rely on
October 3, 2013
Glenn Jackson
Rugby League Writer
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2gZbpCX00
''It was a long time ago,'' Jake Friend says. ''A lot's changed since then.'' He's right, but what remains in this remarkable redemption story - Friend's journey from being sacked, to sandwich-maker to, who knows, a potential skipper - is the coach who played a key role.
As Friend fought to save his career, having been sacked by the Roosters in late 2009, his current coach Trent Robinson was fighting for him.
Friend, approaching his second grand final since his time in purgatory, can remember the roles that then assistant Robinson and then head coach Brian Smith played. This week, instead of preparing for a grand final, he could have been lamenting how he threw away the chance to play in it. Rather than cut the cord completely, the Roosters decided to persevere. And when he proved he was ready to return, he was allowed to.
''He and Smithy both fought for me,'' Friend said this week. ''They said I had to go away and get myself right, but if I could do it, they'd help me to get back. He and Brian asked if this was what I wanted to do. 'Do you want to play footy?' I said yes, and they stuck by me. They said they'd help me.''
Ultimately, they helped to an extent which is difficult to fathom. If you had imagined then, in December of 2009, that the 19-year-old Friend, with a string of alcohol-related misdemeanours putting his career on hold, would now be one of the best hookers in the game, approaching a grand final, and one of the leaders of his club, you might have been accused of having a few too many alcohol-related misdemeanours yourself. But Smith and Robinson, who had only just joined the Roosters, stood by him. Time out from the game proved to be the best thing for him.
''Probably,'' Friend said. ''Because I probably wouldn't have changed much if I just kept getting told, 'it's all right, it's all right'. It gave me the kick in the bum that I needed. No one's perfect. You've just got to try and learn from your mistakes.''
What Friend learnt was you don't get many chances. ''You realise how much you like playing footy, and how much you want that as your lifestyle,'' he said. ''It's a pretty good lifestyle. It was a tough part of my life, but it's helped me in the long run.''
The Roosters, who brought him to Sydney from the Sunshine Coast, persevered with Friend because officials there believed he was genuinely sorry, not simply sorry he had been caught.
''Ripping up his contract was the easy option,'' said the then Roosters chief executive Steve Noyce. ''We had a duty of care to him. And he was genuine in wanting to learn.''
He did so by working at a Surry Hills cafe run by Roosters supporter James Spiropoulos, who had sent chairman Nick Politis a text offering his assistance, and by training with former first-grader Joe Thomas. ''He worked hard, for little money,'' Noyce said. ''It appears like it's one step backwards, to take 10 steps forward.''
His game this year has been taken to a new level. It's a result of a ''less is more'' approach, with Robinson having urged him to play less minutes each match for his own good.
''Getting that extra 15 or 20 minutes off definitely makes a difference,'' said Friend, who said he was reluctant initially. ''I feel a lot fresher than I did this time last year.''
''Calm'' and ''mature'' are words which sit well around Friend, in contrast to how he was perceived as a young man who appeared destined to have ''rugby league bad boy'' perennially attached to his name.
Now, the word ''leader'' is attached to it. Even he admitted it sounded a little strange.
Asked if he ever felt he would be where he is today, not just in a grand final team, but one of the leaders of said team, he said: ''I didn't really think I'd be in a leadership group. It was always my plan to get back playing for the Roosters. Everything else was never in the plans really.''
Twitter - @Glenn__Jackson
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...#ixzz2gZb9s21Q
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