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MATT LOGUE, The Sunday Telegraph
January 13, 2018 4:08pm
Subscriber only
IT’S late afternoon in Dubbo, the sun is setting and Dean Pay is in a frantic rush.
Pay has just finished training the local rugby league team and is bolting to the harness racing track while taking calls from his business partner about their $500,000 five-bay car wash.
This was the champion prop’s chaotic world in 2007 when he returned to his hometown following an illustrious first grade career spanning a decade.
Looking back, Pay says this period paved the way for his rise through the clipboard ranks to coach Canterbury.
Throw in coaching stints in France, Melbourne, Parramatta, NSW under 20s, Canberra and Hervey Bay — while running a pub — and the bookend is ready to make light work of his maiden NRL gig.
“I’ve done a fair apprenticeship,” Pay grinned.
“It certainly helped having my time there in Dubbo. I’ve also had 10 years as an assistant, so I feel like I’m ready to do the job now. But there were times when if you had asked me five or six years ago, I would have probably said no.
“But that has now changed.”
Much of Pay’s confidence comes from his two-year stint with Dubbo CYMS in 2007 and 2008.
It was a lifestyle which allowed Pay to devote time to his family’s passion — harness racing.
He drove horses around Dubbo and the wider region, while he steered Esron Rooster to seven wins — including a triumph at Sydney’s Harold Park.
Coaching commitments Pay no longer drives due to his coaching commitments, but he keeps a close eye on the trotters through his family.
“My brother has still got horses and it’s more of a hobby for them,” he said.
“I’ve still got an interest there, especially when you are winning which doesn’t come around that often.
“It is just part of who we are and what we do as a family.”
Dubbo CYMS president Kevin Walkom has fond memories of Pay’s time at the club, especially the team’s weekly ritual of watching their coach strut his skills on the harness racing track.
Walkom credits the current Bulldogs mentor for creating a ‘family’ culture at the CYMS club from top to bottom.
The new coach is coming back to his spiritual home. Photo: Kym Smith
“Dean was very good at building bonds,” Walkom said. “He’d regularly put on a big BBQ and bonfire night for all three grades.
“He really enforced that we might have three teams, but we are a club and he made sure everyone knew each other.
“Dean also involved his family to attend games and club social functions. He led by example and he was very good at bringing people together.
“Dean was very consistent in his life, whether it was his football, horses or his business and that rubbed off on people.”
Walkom says Pay’s unassuming personality is a reflection of his uncompromising and honest style as a player. The former Test and Origin star never said much, but when he spoke people listened.
Like the time Forbes comprehensively smashed CYMS in 2007, prompting a worried Walkom to phone Pay fearing for the team’s finals hopes.
“I remember calling Dean on my way home saying, ‘oh mate, what are we going to do?,” Walkom recalls.
“He just said, ‘don’t worry about it — we will win the premiership’.
“I was like yeah sure, but he said ‘don’t worry, it’s just a little hiccup’.
“That was Dean’s approach and he was very relaxed. At halftime he’d go in and say, ‘What do you think about the half fellas?
“Some coaches will go in and rant and rave, but he never raised his voice.
“When he spoke he just commanded a level of respect. You could see it in the players in the sheds, they’d just switch on.
“That’s just Dean’s personality. He is all actions and it has obviously assisted him to talk to senior NRL players.”
Pay says juggling the demands of bush footy helped prepare him for the big time.
“It has definitely helped me develop my people skills,” he said.
“It is a totally different environment out there. They may be bush footballers, but they are very passionate about their footy.
“And they all work and sometimes they can’t get to training, so your people skills have to be really good to keep everyone happy."
Pay will now look to use tips from Dubbo CYMS’ culture to reinstate the famous family values at Canterbury.
“It’s the people that are in the place,” said Pay, who played 108 games for the Bulldogs and won a premiership in 1995.
“It’s the same at Canterbury. We have good people that care about the club and want to see it do well and it’s no different in Dubbo. I think you can have any sort of footy club in any part of the country, but if you’ve got people that care about the club and put it first you are heading in the right direction.
“Every step of the way, whether you coach out in the bush or you are an assistant coach to an NRL team, it’s all important
“It’s all about learning and making sure that you keep going forward and progressing.”
No doubt Walkom will be watching on, hoping Pay can lead Canterbury to the same premiership success he delivered at Dubbo CYMS.
January 13, 2018 4:08pm
Subscriber only
IT’S late afternoon in Dubbo, the sun is setting and Dean Pay is in a frantic rush.
Pay has just finished training the local rugby league team and is bolting to the harness racing track while taking calls from his business partner about their $500,000 five-bay car wash.
This was the champion prop’s chaotic world in 2007 when he returned to his hometown following an illustrious first grade career spanning a decade.
Looking back, Pay says this period paved the way for his rise through the clipboard ranks to coach Canterbury.
Throw in coaching stints in France, Melbourne, Parramatta, NSW under 20s, Canberra and Hervey Bay — while running a pub — and the bookend is ready to make light work of his maiden NRL gig.
“I’ve done a fair apprenticeship,” Pay grinned.
“It certainly helped having my time there in Dubbo. I’ve also had 10 years as an assistant, so I feel like I’m ready to do the job now. But there were times when if you had asked me five or six years ago, I would have probably said no.
“But that has now changed.”
Much of Pay’s confidence comes from his two-year stint with Dubbo CYMS in 2007 and 2008.
It was a lifestyle which allowed Pay to devote time to his family’s passion — harness racing.
He drove horses around Dubbo and the wider region, while he steered Esron Rooster to seven wins — including a triumph at Sydney’s Harold Park.
Coaching commitments Pay no longer drives due to his coaching commitments, but he keeps a close eye on the trotters through his family.
“My brother has still got horses and it’s more of a hobby for them,” he said.
“I’ve still got an interest there, especially when you are winning which doesn’t come around that often.
“It is just part of who we are and what we do as a family.”
Dubbo CYMS president Kevin Walkom has fond memories of Pay’s time at the club, especially the team’s weekly ritual of watching their coach strut his skills on the harness racing track.
Walkom credits the current Bulldogs mentor for creating a ‘family’ culture at the CYMS club from top to bottom.
The new coach is coming back to his spiritual home. Photo: Kym Smith
“Dean was very good at building bonds,” Walkom said. “He’d regularly put on a big BBQ and bonfire night for all three grades.
“He really enforced that we might have three teams, but we are a club and he made sure everyone knew each other.
“Dean also involved his family to attend games and club social functions. He led by example and he was very good at bringing people together.
“Dean was very consistent in his life, whether it was his football, horses or his business and that rubbed off on people.”
Walkom says Pay’s unassuming personality is a reflection of his uncompromising and honest style as a player. The former Test and Origin star never said much, but when he spoke people listened.
Like the time Forbes comprehensively smashed CYMS in 2007, prompting a worried Walkom to phone Pay fearing for the team’s finals hopes.
“I remember calling Dean on my way home saying, ‘oh mate, what are we going to do?,” Walkom recalls.
“He just said, ‘don’t worry about it — we will win the premiership’.
“I was like yeah sure, but he said ‘don’t worry, it’s just a little hiccup’.
“That was Dean’s approach and he was very relaxed. At halftime he’d go in and say, ‘What do you think about the half fellas?
“Some coaches will go in and rant and rave, but he never raised his voice.
“When he spoke he just commanded a level of respect. You could see it in the players in the sheds, they’d just switch on.
“That’s just Dean’s personality. He is all actions and it has obviously assisted him to talk to senior NRL players.”
Pay says juggling the demands of bush footy helped prepare him for the big time.
“It has definitely helped me develop my people skills,” he said.
“It is a totally different environment out there. They may be bush footballers, but they are very passionate about their footy.
“And they all work and sometimes they can’t get to training, so your people skills have to be really good to keep everyone happy."
Pay will now look to use tips from Dubbo CYMS’ culture to reinstate the famous family values at Canterbury.
“It’s the people that are in the place,” said Pay, who played 108 games for the Bulldogs and won a premiership in 1995.
“It’s the same at Canterbury. We have good people that care about the club and want to see it do well and it’s no different in Dubbo. I think you can have any sort of footy club in any part of the country, but if you’ve got people that care about the club and put it first you are heading in the right direction.
“Every step of the way, whether you coach out in the bush or you are an assistant coach to an NRL team, it’s all important
“It’s all about learning and making sure that you keep going forward and progressing.”
No doubt Walkom will be watching on, hoping Pay can lead Canterbury to the same premiership success he delivered at Dubbo CYMS.
