Would it be controversial if we referred to you as the expert fisherman in the group?

I think Jezza has me covered! But I love it, it’s obviously one of my biggest hobbies and something I just grew up doing. Pot fishing, drop netting, surf fishing, beach fishing, I love the lot. Even here, it’s good to just get out for a walk and flick the rod over the rocks on the river bank. It’s a good way to clear the head for a while and not think about too much.

Was it the No. 1 hobby back in Millicent?

For sure. I grew up there and we have a beach shack at Southend which is about a 15 minute drive, on the coast. We’d go down there for Christmas holidays every year and go cray fishing, surf fishing or boat fishing. After school Dad would come pick me up and we’d go to the pots and catch some crays. It’s something that’s always been a big part of my life.

Cray fishing is big back home, isn’t it?

It’s a really big industry. They’ve actually been hit pretty hard this year, because most of the crays get sent to China. Because China had that first massive outbreak in December, a lot of people back home missed out on a lot of money because they couldn’t send any cray overseas. There’s only a few months of the year where you make your money cray fishing, it starts around October and finishes around now, so they’ve had a rough time. I think this season they’ve been lucky because all their quotas they didn’t catch this season, they’ve been allowed to transfer to next year. They’ll have to work really hard next year to catch enough cray to make up for this year.

What do you enjoy about it?

I just love being out on the boat, out there catching them. And obviously eating them, they’re some of the best seafood in the world. I just loved knocking off work, going down there, grabbing a boat and finding out what was in the pots. It’s exciting to see what you find.

There’s a few keen fishermen at the club – have you hit it off with them in your first six months at the club?

I’ve been going out fishing a fair bit with Binga (Brent Daniels) and Pez (Harry Perryman). Pez borrows Matthew Fynn’s boat so we just go out on his little tinny on the river which is fun. I’ve been out with Jez (Jeremy Cameron) and Lloydy (Daniel Lloyd) a few times, but a few of the other boys are into it. It’s been a good way to get to know some of them, just go out for a fish and chat about whatever.

How have you found living in a city like Sydney, after growing up in such a small town?

It’s been good. It’s a massive change. At first I found it weird but once I settled in and started getting used to the weeks it’s been good. Now it’s just go to work, come home and fill in the days. Now that (my partner) Nat’s here we’ve been starting to have a look around and see a bit of Sydney, but it’s obviously tough to do anything much at the moment. 

How about the footy? You played SANFL footy last year but were still training at home and travelling to Adelaide for the games each weekend. Has the training been a step-up since you started with the GIANTS?

It was at first. Some of the sessions were really hard but by the time the games stopped I was feeling really good. It took me a while to start seeing footy as a job, but I was getting used to that and loving it. My body was nowhere near as sore as I was early on and my body was feeling better than ever. I felt good in the first trial game we played and was keen to get stuck into some more footy. The biggest thing has been learning the game plan and about all the structures, so I was ready to get into the games and put some of that into practice.  To stop is pretty frustrating, but I was feeling good and I was getting some good feedback from the coaches. I had the chance to fully settle in before things stopped, which is good.

Have you stayed in Sydney while the games are off, or headed home?

I’m still in Sydney. We would have just jumped in the car and driven back, but Nat got a new job on the Friday before the games were called off. She’d been waiting a few weeks for something to come up and it was way too good to say no to, so we’ve stuck around. She’s a theatre nurse and she got a job at Concord Hospital which is right near where we live. It’s obviously a bit stressful with everything that’s going on at the moment but she should hopefully be able to stay away from that, being in the operating theatre. It just makes you admire what all the health workers are dealing with when they go to work every day, though. All I have to do is stay home, make sure the house is clean and cook tea every night. I can’t complain about that.

What’s your signature dish?

I’ll say crispy salmon. I have a long time to think about it each day. I’m always up early to get my training done and I’ve usually done that and had a walk and done five other things by lunchtime. After that it’s OK, what can I clean next? I’ve been vacuuming and cleaning the carpet about five times a day, so I’m keen to get back to footy because it’s the best job in the world. Hopefully we’re back soon but until then we just have to train and wait and hold on.