Seeing NRL Players in Public

[Cosmo Kramer]

I was at Coles today when I heard this really familiar voice. I turned around and it was Moses Mbye, lol!

It got me thinking about all the times I’ve randomly seen NRL players (especially Dogs players) over the years in public, and ones who have lived nearby to me etc.

Do you bother to say hi and/or stop and chat to players when you see them in public?

I’ve always just left them alone, or at most give a head nod of acknowledgement. I've always presumed that they just want to go about their lives in peace.

Edit: I might as well also share the times I've seen players!

Roy Asotasi: Used to live a few streets down from me up until around 2012/13. Happened to walk by his house a couple of times on my way to the gym/post office; also saw him at the local Franklins (lol) a few times.

Lance Thompson (RIP): Saw him a couple of times at the local park when I’d go down to practice kicking goals. Saw him at the local gym a few times as well.

Jason Nightingale: Back in the day, walking home from school in year 12, 2012, he was in his front yard trimming the hedges. Was on the same street as my school was.

Dene Halatau: Walked by him at Hurstville once in 2013

Aaron Woods: I think he was in a takeaway shop I walked by in Hurstville a few months ago. Didn’t have time to look again and walk in; but I could see a large human with his beard, new short hair, and someone shaking his hand praising him. So it must’ve been him!

And I guess before he was a player: Reimis Smith and I went to the same primary school, circa 2004-06. He was a few years below me. Quickly becoming one of my favourite players, It’s funny how life works.

 

[Daustin]

jake trbojevic was in the car parked next to me today, almost parked him in he couldnt get into the car haha

 

[Mr Invisible]

I was at Coles today when I heard this really familiar voice. I turned around and it was Moses Mbye, lol!

Easy voice to recall... the bloke never stops talking..

Was he out buying tampons because of the butthurt end of season slump?.

 

[_BT_]

Phil Sigsworth road raged a mate of mine and I back in 88. Hilarious. I met Wally Lewis in the grandstand and Leichardt oval back during the Wednesday night Toohey's cup and another time I had a chat with commentator Bill Anderson at Leichardt in the stands as well, he was really cool.

Back in the very early 80s my bro, sister and I used to catch the old dark red trains to Newcastle on school holidays to visit my dad. On one occasion we were seated next to Javed Miandad, he was awesome to talk to.

 

[off-tap-robbie]

Couple of years ago I used to always see she-rex and his missus at Stockland Merrylands sometimes I saw Marty Taupau and his missus too. I have even taken a sneaky photo or two of them but I've never approached them.

 

[adamsapple]

I see Brett Oliver quite a bit (ex dog reserve grader and played a bit of fg)
Top bloke

 

[BELMORE]

I see a lot of them at Miranda. Saw Okunbor last week but he’s not an NRL player yet.

 

[Wahesh]

Josh Mansour - saw him at the end of either 2014 or 2015 - I can't remember which it was, maybe 2014, and I hardly recognised him because it was the off season and he shaved his beard lol. He was walking into the local pub.

Kevin Naiqama - just saw him last year walking back to his car in the car park after what appeared to be a gym session.

Ben Barba - back in 2008 before he made his debut with us. He was in Coles and went straight to the Sports Drink section.

Josh Jackson and James Graham - last year walking along Burwood Road in Belmore after purchasing coffee from that cafe on the corner where the players frequent. I just said hi to them and kept walking.

Robbie Farah and his cousin Charlie Farah - at church a few years back just after the 2005 GF. Charlie used to play in the reserves for us. He's a giant.

 

[Pity Fool]

I was at Coles today when I heard this really familiar voice. I turned around and it was Moses Mbye, lol!

It got me thinking about all the times I’ve randomly seen NRL players (especially Dogs players) over the years in public, and ones who have lived nearby to me etc.

Do you bother to say hi and/or stop and chat to players when you see them in public?

I’ve always just left them alone, or at most give a head nod of acknowledgement. I've always presumed that they just want to go about their lives in peace.

I’ve bumped into former Dogs 5/8 Ben Roberts many times at Mount Annan gym being he is local Narellan Jets junior, he is a top bloke and always up for a chat very humble! Also see Big Klemmer at Narellan Bunnings often, he’s always there with the missus and kids, tend to leave him in peace though due to him being out with his family.
Often go to Mick Cronin’s Gerringong hotel for lunch and dinner great food and atmosphere, Mick is always there, seen Rod Whishart there one night he was absolutely blind drunk and talkin shit, love it!

 

[MatstaDogg]

When I lived in Canberra, at the time I was 18 /19 I worked at a Supermarket in the mall and being close to Bruce and the A.I.S we would get a lot of the Raiders players, along with Brumbies, Canons( back when they still existed in basketball) and a lot of the Olympic athletes come through our store. I got to know a fair few of them through serving them regularly so it was pretty cool when I'd run into them outside of work they'd stop and chat like a mate. Got on the piss with some on nights out. Also would play pick up basketball games with some of the Canon players at the park courts. Met Kosta Tyzu too, he came through when he was having a training camp at the A.I.S.

Good times!!

 

[Bulldog_4_Life]

I've trained with Frank Pritchard and Greg Eastwood a few times. I've seen Hayne around heaps to.

 

[Dirty*Deeds]

Saw Greg Florimo about a year ago at a shopping center. I had a dogs polo on, he said gday & smiled, ended up walking with me talking footy all the way out to the car park, was a really cool bloke..

Mal Meninga a few times.
UMINA video ezy with Gary Belcher in the 90s, Week later down Terrigal Beach,
Then in 2009 at road house at deepwater nsw..

90s on a Sydney-Newcastle train, saw Laurie Nichols with his balmain singlet and Asian girlfriend a third his age.. he spotted a random old bloke sitting on the train he said this bloke stole his newspaper in the 1970s and had words ended up in a scuffle with the other old fella about this newspaper from 20 years earlier, Think he was blind..

 

[JayBee]

My younger sister sat next to Darren Lockyer en route to Brisbane back in 1997.

Lockyer was on the window seat, My sister the middle, and my mother on the aisle seat. Me and Papa were seated elsewhere.

My sister did not shut up the entire flight from Sydney. It was a good 1 hour of her straight talking, and him being the gentleman that he is, he just encouraged her. My younger sister was always a yapper. What I would call a "void filler". Feels the need to clog up silent times with her own voice. She was only 5 at the time.

When we came to land, my mum turned to Locky (again, unbeknownst that she was talking to a future immortal) "Did you know she is only 5 years old?" - his response? "I know, she told me"

Pissed myself laughing when we deconstructed what happened later.

In another note - Saw Gutherson at the Collaroy Beach Hotel on Saturday. Everytime I see him i think of Brett Finch and his epic commentary from back in Gutho's Manly days.. - "Yeah Gutterson has gone up the tunnel with a bad ankle and a bad hair cut"

 

[MatstaDogg]

Saw Greg Florimo about a year ago at a shopping center. I had a dogs polo on, he said gday & smiled, ended up walking with me talking footy all the way out to the car park, was a really cool bloke..

Mal Meninga a few times.
UMINA video ezy with Gary Belcher in the 90s, Week later down Terrigal Beach,
Then in 2009 at road house at deepwater nsw..

90s on a Sydney-Newcastle train, saw Laurie Nichols with his balmain singlet and Asian girlfriend a third his age.. he spotted a random old bloke sitting on the train he said this bloke stole his newspaper in the 1970s and had words ended up in a scuffle with the other old fella about this newspaper from 20 years earlier, Think he was blind..

Big Mal used to live round the corner from me for a couple of years back in the 80's. I remember he came round for breakfast one day to visit my brother, who was going through cancer at the time.

My family at the time spent a lot of time with the Raiders as my brother was signed as a junior but unfortunately got cancer at 16 so they would invite us to a lot of games and functions.

 

[Feendogz]

I’ve bumped into former Dogs 5/8 Ben Roberts many times at Mount Annan gym being he is local Narellan Jets junior, he is a top bloke and always up for a chat very humble! Also see Big Klemmer at Narellan Bunnings often, he’s always there with the missus and kids, tend to leave him in peace though due to him being out with his family.
Often go to Mick Cronin’s Gerringong hotel for lunch and dinner great food and atmosphere, Mick is always there, seen Rod Whishart there one night he was absolutely blind drunk and talkin shit, love it!

Dave is a good bloke, I live in Camden and we use the same gym.

A couple of times i've had a chat to him in the sauna but a lot of it hasn't been footy related.

Last year at Randwick races we were in a marquee where Nathan Hindmarsh was doing a bit of a speaking. He got to the racetrack early and saw us sitting around, we said hello and he sat with us for about an hour before we went into the marquee and he had to do his bit.

After he was done talking he came back and sat with us for the next 3 hours chatting about all things, footy, family, life in general and was just a genuinely top bloke.

I think the last thing a lot of these guys want is to be hounded by us fans. If you can slip in one or two comments or questions then go for it, but I find the non football conversations with these guys are far better.

 

[Malla]

Tim Browne lives in my unit block.

Gavin Badger and Ashley Klein live around my area too always see them going for morning runs.

Saw Langmack at Breakfast Point the other week he's short as fuck

 

[UmoGus]

Josh Reynolds bought a car from my work earlier in the year. Just before he injured his shoulder.

I spoke to clay priest earlier on in the year when he enquired on a car (he was abit of a tool)

 

[Dannyboi88]

I’ve bumped into former Dogs 5/8 Ben Roberts many times at Mount Annan gym being he is local Narellan Jets junior, he is a top bloke and always up for a chat very humble! Also see Big Klemmer at Narellan Bunnings often, he’s always there with the missus and kids, tend to leave him in peace though due to him being out with his family.
Often go to Mick Cronin’s Gerringong hotel for lunch and dinner great food and atmosphere, Mick is always there, seen Rod Whishart there one night he was absolutely blind drunk and talkin shit, love it!

I used to to see Benny Roberts’s and wherein together at mt Annan gym and the swimming pools always nice and have a chat genuine fella Sherwin was a cock head up himself

 

[Dannyboi88]

Seen Thurston at a fan day in 08 a young kid in a dogs jersey walked to him to get it signed Thurston moved him to side and keep walking
And Justin Hodges is a pure wanker living on Brisbane seen him a couple times typical qld cock sucker

 

[CroydonDog]

I used to work near the Sofitel in Brisbane, which is where travelling team stays. Of course, with the Broncos playing so many Friday nights, if I went to the pub below the hotel for Friday lunch (Harlequin Jacks), i'd nearly always see the opposition team, killing time before the game.

I used to fly with Virgin a lot. As they are the carrier for the AFL, it wouldn't be unusual to be flying from Melbourne to Brisbane on a Thursday afternoon and see a couple of teams hanging in the lounge. The always separated themselves though - i never saw any players from different teams mix with each other.

I tend to leave these types of people alone, but have made a few exceptions, like when I chatted with Hazem El Masri on a flight back from Perth once. Coincidentally, I had breakfast at the table next to Paul Harrogan that morning at my hotel (I think there was a NRL game there a few days earlier).