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BRETT Kimmorley is driving to Westmead Hospital this particular morning because it's as much as the man can do.
Little Taya Gibson is already gone, cruelly taken by a Nelson Bay house fire, while her baby sister awaits a liver transplant in Sydney. Grandma lays in the Royal North Shore burns unit. Grandpa too.
This family who raised Kimmorley's wife Sharnie feeling a pain that makes crying after grand finals seem ridiculous. And so the Cronulla playmaker heads west to gather up cousin Blair, 17. Going not because he has answers. Who could? Simply hoping a day with his Sharkies might bring some joy to this mad footballing teen.
"It's only a little thing,'' Kimmorley shrugs. "But how couldn't you help?''
If only there really were 5000 Brett Kimmorleys jamming into Toyota Park tomorrow night. Every grinning mask a clone of this gritty Shark with 258 games, cleanskin name and Storm premiership tattoo inked on his butt.
Related Links
A footballer boasting 15 Tests but none of the bouquets. A lifetime of success but none of the love.
The greatest advertisement our game has never recognised. "Oh, when it comes to Noddy, the league really missed the boat,'' close friend and retired Kangaroo coach Chris Anderson says. "I mean, he's never really been thanked. Never really been appreciated. No one's ever stood up and said 'he's one of us'.''
But why? Why has such a glowing endorsement like Kimmorley never received the same sugar as, say, Willie Mason or Sonny Bill Williams?
Why has no one put Noddy on a Pepsi poster? Or hijacked a Daily Telegraph poll like they did Todd Carney?
Kimmorley has been slammed for playing style, lifestyle and leg-ups as an Anderson pet. He was the import who cruelled Preston Campbell. The impostor who robbed Joey Johns. A Shark held accountable for every local problem bar the Australia Day riots.
"And these criticisms, they've always mystified our family,'' older brother Craig concedes. "When you consider what Brett's achieved, his image off the field, it's baffling.''
And herein lies the heartbeat of Brett "Noddy'' Kimmorley.
This gutsy No.7 who weighs 84kg and stands only a centimetre above Cronulla's shortest Toyota Cup player. A father who had to have all three daughters' names tattooed around his right arm.
"Yeah, because the left bicep is no good. Snapped,'' he laughs. "The same tattoo would probably go round it twice.''
It's also why Kimmorley plays broken and needled. Surviving all 2007 with a busted wrist.
"And by busted I mean needing surgery,'' Sharks conditioner Trent Elkin says. "But Noddy never missed a game, never missed a session. Then come October he was wrapped in plaster from wrist to elbow.''
And you thought only redheads were forced to fight their entire lives.
Think back to 2000, when Noddy was dubbed a Melbourne mercenary for jetting to Sydney and Brisbane in search of a dollar. "I just wanted to come home and start a family,'' he shrugs. "If it was money, mate ... there were two deals better than the Northern Eagles.''
It was a similar story in his debut year at Cronulla, when the club lost seven straight and supporters passed Toyota Park each afternoon screaming "why don't you f... off Kimmorley?''.
"Yeah, then I threw that Origin intercept in '05,'' he smiles. "Couldn't go anywhere without someone saying 'why did you do that?'.'' And each time Kimmorley returns to the character borne from his old man Des, the Hunter league legend who encouraged his boys to kick Steedens into a giant baseball cage every afternoon.
A competitive streak living in his golf game, real estate course studies and the three kicking sessions he does each week alone. Kimmorley arrives two hours early for appearances on 2UE and Fox Sports News.
Recently calling his first Toyota Cup games after "watching more tape than I would for my own weekly preparation''.
It's why hunting down a negative Noddy story is impossible.
Because, sure, there's the coffee addiction, shocking diet and an inability to putt under pressure. One mate, too, still blueing after his two boys waltzed into the Kimmorley backyard sporting fairy wings and handbags.
"But with three girls,'' Noddy laughs, "we're always playing dress-ups. Which isn't to say I'm not worried. I mean, some of their friends are already bigger than me ... what happens when the girls are 18 with boyfriends?''
And herein, remember, lies the heartbeat to Brett "Noddy'' Kimmorley. This unfashionable competitor who plays busted, braids hair and remains determined to keep his golf game in single figures.
A Sharks discard who leaves the shire without complaint. A public speaker who now introduces himself as "the only man to win Origin games for both states''.
A fella who, on this particular morning, is driving his car toward Westmead Hospital.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24295317-5006066,00.html
Great guy off and on the field.
Little Taya Gibson is already gone, cruelly taken by a Nelson Bay house fire, while her baby sister awaits a liver transplant in Sydney. Grandma lays in the Royal North Shore burns unit. Grandpa too.
This family who raised Kimmorley's wife Sharnie feeling a pain that makes crying after grand finals seem ridiculous. And so the Cronulla playmaker heads west to gather up cousin Blair, 17. Going not because he has answers. Who could? Simply hoping a day with his Sharkies might bring some joy to this mad footballing teen.
"It's only a little thing,'' Kimmorley shrugs. "But how couldn't you help?''
If only there really were 5000 Brett Kimmorleys jamming into Toyota Park tomorrow night. Every grinning mask a clone of this gritty Shark with 258 games, cleanskin name and Storm premiership tattoo inked on his butt.
Related Links
A footballer boasting 15 Tests but none of the bouquets. A lifetime of success but none of the love.
The greatest advertisement our game has never recognised. "Oh, when it comes to Noddy, the league really missed the boat,'' close friend and retired Kangaroo coach Chris Anderson says. "I mean, he's never really been thanked. Never really been appreciated. No one's ever stood up and said 'he's one of us'.''
But why? Why has such a glowing endorsement like Kimmorley never received the same sugar as, say, Willie Mason or Sonny Bill Williams?
Why has no one put Noddy on a Pepsi poster? Or hijacked a Daily Telegraph poll like they did Todd Carney?
Kimmorley has been slammed for playing style, lifestyle and leg-ups as an Anderson pet. He was the import who cruelled Preston Campbell. The impostor who robbed Joey Johns. A Shark held accountable for every local problem bar the Australia Day riots.
"And these criticisms, they've always mystified our family,'' older brother Craig concedes. "When you consider what Brett's achieved, his image off the field, it's baffling.''
And herein lies the heartbeat of Brett "Noddy'' Kimmorley.
This gutsy No.7 who weighs 84kg and stands only a centimetre above Cronulla's shortest Toyota Cup player. A father who had to have all three daughters' names tattooed around his right arm.
"Yeah, because the left bicep is no good. Snapped,'' he laughs. "The same tattoo would probably go round it twice.''
It's also why Kimmorley plays broken and needled. Surviving all 2007 with a busted wrist.
"And by busted I mean needing surgery,'' Sharks conditioner Trent Elkin says. "But Noddy never missed a game, never missed a session. Then come October he was wrapped in plaster from wrist to elbow.''
And you thought only redheads were forced to fight their entire lives.
Think back to 2000, when Noddy was dubbed a Melbourne mercenary for jetting to Sydney and Brisbane in search of a dollar. "I just wanted to come home and start a family,'' he shrugs. "If it was money, mate ... there were two deals better than the Northern Eagles.''
It was a similar story in his debut year at Cronulla, when the club lost seven straight and supporters passed Toyota Park each afternoon screaming "why don't you f... off Kimmorley?''.
"Yeah, then I threw that Origin intercept in '05,'' he smiles. "Couldn't go anywhere without someone saying 'why did you do that?'.'' And each time Kimmorley returns to the character borne from his old man Des, the Hunter league legend who encouraged his boys to kick Steedens into a giant baseball cage every afternoon.
A competitive streak living in his golf game, real estate course studies and the three kicking sessions he does each week alone. Kimmorley arrives two hours early for appearances on 2UE and Fox Sports News.
Recently calling his first Toyota Cup games after "watching more tape than I would for my own weekly preparation''.
It's why hunting down a negative Noddy story is impossible.
Because, sure, there's the coffee addiction, shocking diet and an inability to putt under pressure. One mate, too, still blueing after his two boys waltzed into the Kimmorley backyard sporting fairy wings and handbags.
"But with three girls,'' Noddy laughs, "we're always playing dress-ups. Which isn't to say I'm not worried. I mean, some of their friends are already bigger than me ... what happens when the girls are 18 with boyfriends?''
And herein, remember, lies the heartbeat to Brett "Noddy'' Kimmorley. This unfashionable competitor who plays busted, braids hair and remains determined to keep his golf game in single figures.
A Sharks discard who leaves the shire without complaint. A public speaker who now introduces himself as "the only man to win Origin games for both states''.
A fella who, on this particular morning, is driving his car toward Westmead Hospital.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24295317-5006066,00.html
Great guy off and on the field.
