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WHEN Dale Finucane was a teenager, he rejected an offer from Craig Bellamy.
The coach was left liking the young lock even more after the rejection.
Why? Two things.
The first was the classy way he went about it and the second was the reason.
“In 2011, he was the captain of the under-20s and we made a big play for him,” Storm football director Frank Ponissi told foxsports.com.au.
“I’ll never forget, as a 20-year-old he rang us to say he was very appreciative and very impressed but out of loyalty he decided to stay with the Bulldogs because they signed him as a 15-year-old and we were very impressed, so when he became available, we took him without blinking an eyelid.”
To understand why Finucane was so loyal, you only need go back to when he was a teen playing bush footy.
He was signed as almost 16 when the Bulldogs picked him up.
The crazy thing is no one from the club had ever watched him play.
He was running around playing first grade for Bega and at 16 he was turning heads.
Finucane’s manager Andrew Purcell was watching him and Josh Jackson playing in the Country champions in Newcastle when former Bulldogs recruitment chief Peter Mulholland called.
He asked Purcell who’d caught his eye and Finucane’s name was offered up.
“He said ‘I’ll do some homework on the kids and he rung me back two hours later,” Purcell explained.
“He never does that. He goes ‘I’ve got a four-year deal for this kid if you want it’. I’ve thought, ‘who has he spoken to?’”
So who did Mulholland call?
And why the urgency to get the deal done?
“I rang a mate of mine from the South Coast and he gave him one hell of a rap as a player and as a kid,” Mulholland said.
“My mate was a teacher at the high school where (Dale) was. He’d been playing a bit of five-eighth in first grade at 16 so he had a bit of ball skill about him and he was tough. It was a no-brainer.
“You have to trust the people you trust and we did that one.”
Finucane could well be Melbourne’s next captain in waiting.
Sure, Jesse Bromwich is the man who takes the reins when Cameron Smith is unavailable but Finucane is quickly climbing the ranks inside the Storm’s coveted leadership group.
He was born a leader.
You only need look back to his teenage years when he left Bega for Sydney to join Canterbury in 2009.
While quiet, the hard-running lock is a people person.
One of only a handful of caucasian students at his new school in Bass Hill, it took only days for Finucane to settle in.
“He transferred to Bass High, which has a strong Polynesian influence. Dale had gone from Bega High with its surf and coastal culture to Bass High where he was one of few caucasian kids. A lot of the Country kids that relocate have major issues transitioning from the bush and this looked like it was going to go a similar way,” Purcell said.
“Within two weeks he was sitting at the front of the bus with his guitar and he had everyone singing tunes. Looking back on it, it underpins who this kid is, he is extremely likeable and with the minimal amount of fuss just gets on with what needs to be done.”
Finucane’s rise to the NRL is a remarkable story.
The country kid was headed for the big smoke.
Before he even had accommodation sorted, his bags were packed.
He’s ready to make the move.
He was hungry.
While the club had a house for young players known as ‘Bulldogs house’, the NYC players were given priority and they couldn’t justify giving him a bed when they were unconvinced he would even make the SG ball side.
So Purcell moved him into his home where Finucane lived for about nine months.
Not only did he make the team that year, he finished the season as the NSWRL SG Ball player of the year for the entire competition.
Climbing up the grades and staring in the NYC, Finucane made his first grade debut in mid 2012 he extended his deal 9 months later with the Dogs through until the end of 2016.
Little more than a year later and he was off to the Storm.
He was averaging 41 minutes in 2014 and hungry for more game time.
“He suited us down to the ground his style,” Storm recruitment manager Paul Bunn said.
“He was a no brainer for us.”
Enjoying his third year under Craig Bellamy, the lock has emerged as a leader.
It’s been a natural progression and one he’s enjoying.
“When I first came here in 2015 it was all about getting the opportunity to develop into a better player and playing bigger minutes in the starting role,” Finucane said.
“Last year was an improvement and this year again I’ve been promoted into that senior leadership group.”
With long-standing members of the leadership group, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk, nearing the end of their respective careers, Jesse Bromwich joined the group last year, while Finucane has replaced Manly half Blake Green.
Even from the outside looking in, it’s quite clear to see there’s a changing of the guard at the club.
“It’s something I’d like to keep developing into my game,” he said.
“What the clubs tried to do — we’ve got an emerging leadership system. They’re the next set of guys that will transition into that role.
“When those guys (like Slater, Cronk and Smith) do move on, it makes it an easier transition for those guys to step up and fill the void they’ve left.
“We’ve got a group of seven or eight players in that group.”
So does Dale have what it takes to be the next skipper of the Storm?
“Dale has every capacity to be a captain of any side,” Mulholland said.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...r/news-story/7d77c83a1b9406a5bcb5b17cbf4aa5ab
The coach was left liking the young lock even more after the rejection.
Why? Two things.
The first was the classy way he went about it and the second was the reason.
“In 2011, he was the captain of the under-20s and we made a big play for him,” Storm football director Frank Ponissi told foxsports.com.au.
“I’ll never forget, as a 20-year-old he rang us to say he was very appreciative and very impressed but out of loyalty he decided to stay with the Bulldogs because they signed him as a 15-year-old and we were very impressed, so when he became available, we took him without blinking an eyelid.”
To understand why Finucane was so loyal, you only need go back to when he was a teen playing bush footy.
He was signed as almost 16 when the Bulldogs picked him up.
The crazy thing is no one from the club had ever watched him play.
He was running around playing first grade for Bega and at 16 he was turning heads.
Finucane’s manager Andrew Purcell was watching him and Josh Jackson playing in the Country champions in Newcastle when former Bulldogs recruitment chief Peter Mulholland called.
He asked Purcell who’d caught his eye and Finucane’s name was offered up.
“He said ‘I’ll do some homework on the kids and he rung me back two hours later,” Purcell explained.
“He never does that. He goes ‘I’ve got a four-year deal for this kid if you want it’. I’ve thought, ‘who has he spoken to?’”
So who did Mulholland call?
And why the urgency to get the deal done?
“I rang a mate of mine from the South Coast and he gave him one hell of a rap as a player and as a kid,” Mulholland said.
“My mate was a teacher at the high school where (Dale) was. He’d been playing a bit of five-eighth in first grade at 16 so he had a bit of ball skill about him and he was tough. It was a no-brainer.
“You have to trust the people you trust and we did that one.”
Finucane could well be Melbourne’s next captain in waiting.
Sure, Jesse Bromwich is the man who takes the reins when Cameron Smith is unavailable but Finucane is quickly climbing the ranks inside the Storm’s coveted leadership group.
He was born a leader.
You only need look back to his teenage years when he left Bega for Sydney to join Canterbury in 2009.
While quiet, the hard-running lock is a people person.
One of only a handful of caucasian students at his new school in Bass Hill, it took only days for Finucane to settle in.
“He transferred to Bass High, which has a strong Polynesian influence. Dale had gone from Bega High with its surf and coastal culture to Bass High where he was one of few caucasian kids. A lot of the Country kids that relocate have major issues transitioning from the bush and this looked like it was going to go a similar way,” Purcell said.
“Within two weeks he was sitting at the front of the bus with his guitar and he had everyone singing tunes. Looking back on it, it underpins who this kid is, he is extremely likeable and with the minimal amount of fuss just gets on with what needs to be done.”
Finucane’s rise to the NRL is a remarkable story.
The country kid was headed for the big smoke.
Before he even had accommodation sorted, his bags were packed.
He’s ready to make the move.
He was hungry.
While the club had a house for young players known as ‘Bulldogs house’, the NYC players were given priority and they couldn’t justify giving him a bed when they were unconvinced he would even make the SG ball side.
So Purcell moved him into his home where Finucane lived for about nine months.
Not only did he make the team that year, he finished the season as the NSWRL SG Ball player of the year for the entire competition.
Climbing up the grades and staring in the NYC, Finucane made his first grade debut in mid 2012 he extended his deal 9 months later with the Dogs through until the end of 2016.
Little more than a year later and he was off to the Storm.
He was averaging 41 minutes in 2014 and hungry for more game time.
“He suited us down to the ground his style,” Storm recruitment manager Paul Bunn said.
“He was a no brainer for us.”
Enjoying his third year under Craig Bellamy, the lock has emerged as a leader.
It’s been a natural progression and one he’s enjoying.
“When I first came here in 2015 it was all about getting the opportunity to develop into a better player and playing bigger minutes in the starting role,” Finucane said.
“Last year was an improvement and this year again I’ve been promoted into that senior leadership group.”
With long-standing members of the leadership group, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk, nearing the end of their respective careers, Jesse Bromwich joined the group last year, while Finucane has replaced Manly half Blake Green.
Even from the outside looking in, it’s quite clear to see there’s a changing of the guard at the club.
“It’s something I’d like to keep developing into my game,” he said.
“What the clubs tried to do — we’ve got an emerging leadership system. They’re the next set of guys that will transition into that role.
“When those guys (like Slater, Cronk and Smith) do move on, it makes it an easier transition for those guys to step up and fill the void they’ve left.
“We’ve got a group of seven or eight players in that group.”
So does Dale have what it takes to be the next skipper of the Storm?
“Dale has every capacity to be a captain of any side,” Mulholland said.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...r/news-story/7d77c83a1b9406a5bcb5b17cbf4aa5ab
