Foordy
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An ISC premiership this year will look good on the resume
An ISC premiership this year will look good on the resume
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SOMETHING borrowed, something new.
Ipswich Jets co-coaches Ben and Shane Walker aren't afraid to utilise lessons from their training days and from sports like tennis if it means improving the team's chances of winning
There is a good reason why the Jets have had a spring in their step on game day this year.
On Sunday, three hours before kick-off in the Intrust Super Cup grand final clash with the Townsville Blackhawks at Suncorp Stadium, you can catch them training at 1pm at the Broncos training base at Red Hill.
"We always train on game day, regardless of where we play, but the Broncos have been good enough to let us train on game day at their training base in Red Hill before all our Brisbane games," Shane said.
"Tony Spencer, who we all know as 'Springer', keeps that field in top shape.
"That might seem like a small thing, but when you run around on a nice pitch with good facilities and in an excellent environment like the Broncos it gives the boys a lift.
"We do video, train for 15 minutes and then the boys have a feed and a shower and sometimes go off to the coffee shop before we go to the game."
The Walkers are putting into practice ideas that hark back to their Broncos playing days.
"When we were at the Broncos we'd have double-days, where we'd train in the morning, have some lunch, and then train again in the afternoon," Shane said.
"We found that when you trained again in the afternoon you always felt really good because you'd loosened up in the morning.
"We watch a bit of tennis, and even in major tournaments where the players have a match at night you see them in the morning having a hit-up. We thought 'why not do the same thing?'
"You can use a hell of a lot of nervous energy up just sitting around home or in your hotel room doing something that is not in your normal routine.
"But our players have the same routine every game day."
Spencer is a legend at the Broncos club behind the scenes.
He is the grounds manager, a trainer and, in his words, "the barbecue Nazi" who cooks up a storm for the Broncos after training.
Keeping the training ground at Red Hill perfectly manicured is his pride and joy and he's happy to help out the Jets.
"I enjoy doing it," he said.
"The Walker boys are both old boys from the club and we've always helped out our old boys the best we can.
"I spoke to Wayne (Bennett) about it and he has no issue with them coming down and using the field and the facilities as a warm-up before their game, and it seems to be working for them.
"The Walkers are both doing a really good job with their coaching. I am proud of them. They are good guys and come from a good family."
Spencer concedes he is ordering less meat patties and buns now the Walkers are retired.
"Shane and Ben were two of the best hamburger eaters at the barbecue. They went really good," Spencer grinned.
"Even now when they get the opportunity for a burger, they drop in."
Broncos boost Jets' spirits on game day | Ipswich Queensland Times
Ipswich Jets co-coaches Ben and Shane Walker aren't afraid to utilise lessons from their training days and from sports like tennis if it means improving the team's chances of winning
There is a good reason why the Jets have had a spring in their step on game day this year.
On Sunday, three hours before kick-off in the Intrust Super Cup grand final clash with the Townsville Blackhawks at Suncorp Stadium, you can catch them training at 1pm at the Broncos training base at Red Hill.
"We always train on game day, regardless of where we play, but the Broncos have been good enough to let us train on game day at their training base in Red Hill before all our Brisbane games," Shane said.
"Tony Spencer, who we all know as 'Springer', keeps that field in top shape.
"That might seem like a small thing, but when you run around on a nice pitch with good facilities and in an excellent environment like the Broncos it gives the boys a lift.
"We do video, train for 15 minutes and then the boys have a feed and a shower and sometimes go off to the coffee shop before we go to the game."
The Walkers are putting into practice ideas that hark back to their Broncos playing days.
"When we were at the Broncos we'd have double-days, where we'd train in the morning, have some lunch, and then train again in the afternoon," Shane said.
"We found that when you trained again in the afternoon you always felt really good because you'd loosened up in the morning.
"We watch a bit of tennis, and even in major tournaments where the players have a match at night you see them in the morning having a hit-up. We thought 'why not do the same thing?'
"You can use a hell of a lot of nervous energy up just sitting around home or in your hotel room doing something that is not in your normal routine.
"But our players have the same routine every game day."
Spencer is a legend at the Broncos club behind the scenes.
He is the grounds manager, a trainer and, in his words, "the barbecue Nazi" who cooks up a storm for the Broncos after training.
Keeping the training ground at Red Hill perfectly manicured is his pride and joy and he's happy to help out the Jets.
"I enjoy doing it," he said.
"The Walker boys are both old boys from the club and we've always helped out our old boys the best we can.
"I spoke to Wayne (Bennett) about it and he has no issue with them coming down and using the field and the facilities as a warm-up before their game, and it seems to be working for them.
"The Walkers are both doing a really good job with their coaching. I am proud of them. They are good guys and come from a good family."
Spencer concedes he is ordering less meat patties and buns now the Walkers are retired.
"Shane and Ben were two of the best hamburger eaters at the barbecue. They went really good," Spencer grinned.
"Even now when they get the opportunity for a burger, they drop in."
Broncos boost Jets' spirits on game day | Ipswich Queensland Times
R
rogerwilco
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- Jul 30, 2013
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Mr Spencer's secret to a good burger... make sure you only flip the meat patties once.
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1910
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Not a word from the 'experts.'
The style that was impossible to work beat an NRL side.
The style that was impossible to work beat an NRL side.
Huge
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Good one..that style really never was in doubt though, well not at least to me ! In fact, the Broncos scored a try just the other night in an Ipswich style with Boyd dancing across field to put Reed over. Well done to the Walker bros and the Jets....my home town is justifiably proud.
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1910
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I know you were a believer.
Even yesterday two un-named NRL coaches said in the paper it was stupid and would never bring success- tough talk from two guys on Mad Monday for a month and not prepared to say their name.
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1910
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BELIEF.
It is often spoken about, but so few of us really possess it.
But without real belief, nothing can be achieved, particularly in the field of high level sport.
After watching the Ipswich Jets for the past five years, it is abundantly clear to me that the quality of true belief permeates each and every member of the playing group.
I don't think I have met two coaches, in Ben and Shane Walker, with more genuine belief in themselves and their players.
There is a quote from J.M Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, which is worth considering: "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it."
The Jets coaches and players believe they can fly, in the context of a rugby league match.
If I had a dollar for every time pundits, and they include former Origin and NRL players, said to me "the Jets are great to watch but their style of footy won't work in big games" then I could retire.
They were referring to the use of short kick-offs for restarts, the Jets penchant to throw the ball around inside their own quarter and innovations such as 'the run backwards move'.
Basically, they were referring to the Jets determination to play rugby league without a straitjacket on.
How wrong the pundits were.
Case in point was the start of the second half of the Intrust Super Cup grand final against the Blackhawks, where the Jets scored inside a minute through captain Keiron Lander after a short kick-off by Marmin Barba.
The belief involved in attempting that in a grand final is impossible to quantify.
Short kick-offs don't just pay dividends on the back of luck.
The practice involved behind the scenes to enable Barba to produce a short kick-off in the highest pressure game of the year is not seen by the casual spectator.
There is also an art to retrieving the ball from such kicks which has been practised diligently.
It is worth considering another quote from J.M Barrie: "Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."
And sacrifice is what the Jets have done.
There is no fitter team in the competition, and that is due to the intense training sessions that are conducted each pre-season which have seen those not prepared to make the required sacrifices ordered to their cars.
The quitters drive away from North Ipswich Reserve never to be seen again.
Shane Walker says "there is no quit in our boys".
To wear a Jets jersey, that never say die quality is a pre-requisite.
It was fascinating to listen to Jets fullback Carlin Anderson tell me how he became more confident under the high ball, after self-doubt plagued some early efforts when he switched to the number one jersey.
A natural talent, Anderson said he would take 50 to 100 bombs at each training session to fine tune his skills.
For a young man born with abilities few possess, he has realised talent will only get you so far and that sacrifices must be made.
Billy McConnachie, who once had limited ball skills to say the least, can now throw spiral passes and pop balls with the best of them.
He has put in the hard yards to take his game to another level.
My favourite quote after the Jets' 32-20 grand final win came from McConnachie.
He won the Duncan Hall Medal as the man of the match after a ferocious display in attack and defence.
I said to him it was a great effort considering he was up against former NRL premiership winning forwards Neville Costigan and Glenn Hall.
He looked me straight in the eyes and said: "Names mean nothing to me."
It spoke to me about the belief that resides within the man they call 'Madness'.
He would have taken the same approach had he been up against star NRL props like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves or Matt Scott.
Going back to that original quote from J.M Barrie… you would have to say the Jets are flying now.
They are certainly flying to Sydney on Saturday, before taking on the Newcastle Knights in the interstate challenge clash on NRL grand final day.
It didn't happen overnight, but I am true believer now myself.
And I am backing them to fly back on Monday with another trophy in the cabinet.
http://www.qt.com.au/news/belief/2792182/
It is often spoken about, but so few of us really possess it.
But without real belief, nothing can be achieved, particularly in the field of high level sport.
After watching the Ipswich Jets for the past five years, it is abundantly clear to me that the quality of true belief permeates each and every member of the playing group.
I don't think I have met two coaches, in Ben and Shane Walker, with more genuine belief in themselves and their players.
There is a quote from J.M Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, which is worth considering: "The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it."
The Jets coaches and players believe they can fly, in the context of a rugby league match.
If I had a dollar for every time pundits, and they include former Origin and NRL players, said to me "the Jets are great to watch but their style of footy won't work in big games" then I could retire.
They were referring to the use of short kick-offs for restarts, the Jets penchant to throw the ball around inside their own quarter and innovations such as 'the run backwards move'.
Basically, they were referring to the Jets determination to play rugby league without a straitjacket on.
How wrong the pundits were.
Case in point was the start of the second half of the Intrust Super Cup grand final against the Blackhawks, where the Jets scored inside a minute through captain Keiron Lander after a short kick-off by Marmin Barba.
The belief involved in attempting that in a grand final is impossible to quantify.
Short kick-offs don't just pay dividends on the back of luck.
The practice involved behind the scenes to enable Barba to produce a short kick-off in the highest pressure game of the year is not seen by the casual spectator.
There is also an art to retrieving the ball from such kicks which has been practised diligently.
It is worth considering another quote from J.M Barrie: "Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."
And sacrifice is what the Jets have done.
There is no fitter team in the competition, and that is due to the intense training sessions that are conducted each pre-season which have seen those not prepared to make the required sacrifices ordered to their cars.
The quitters drive away from North Ipswich Reserve never to be seen again.
Shane Walker says "there is no quit in our boys".
To wear a Jets jersey, that never say die quality is a pre-requisite.
It was fascinating to listen to Jets fullback Carlin Anderson tell me how he became more confident under the high ball, after self-doubt plagued some early efforts when he switched to the number one jersey.
A natural talent, Anderson said he would take 50 to 100 bombs at each training session to fine tune his skills.
For a young man born with abilities few possess, he has realised talent will only get you so far and that sacrifices must be made.
Billy McConnachie, who once had limited ball skills to say the least, can now throw spiral passes and pop balls with the best of them.
He has put in the hard yards to take his game to another level.
My favourite quote after the Jets' 32-20 grand final win came from McConnachie.
He won the Duncan Hall Medal as the man of the match after a ferocious display in attack and defence.
I said to him it was a great effort considering he was up against former NRL premiership winning forwards Neville Costigan and Glenn Hall.
He looked me straight in the eyes and said: "Names mean nothing to me."
It spoke to me about the belief that resides within the man they call 'Madness'.
He would have taken the same approach had he been up against star NRL props like Jared Waerea-Hargreaves or Matt Scott.
Going back to that original quote from J.M Barrie… you would have to say the Jets are flying now.
They are certainly flying to Sydney on Saturday, before taking on the Newcastle Knights in the interstate challenge clash on NRL grand final day.
It didn't happen overnight, but I am true believer now myself.
And I am backing them to fly back on Monday with another trophy in the cabinet.
http://www.qt.com.au/news/belief/2792182/
1
1910
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Yep you guessed it....Anyone seen any experts around that want to offer more opinions?
jarro65
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- Jun 26, 2008
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Phil Gould wasn't totally for their style , but he wasn't against it either.
ningnangnong
HACK THE PLANET!!!
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[MENTION=8215]Morkel[/MENTION] I think this guy has a grudge against you!
Morkel
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I'm sacrificing my opinion for the greater good ;)
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No grudge at all if I held a grudge over that apart from the Jets players their wouldn't be anyone to talk to because everyone wrote it off.
But I do believe that if you have your opinion in March and bag people you should be man enough to admit you were wrong in September when they've smashed every trophy they can win and against NRL sides that were deemed unbeatable.
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1910
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I watched it back today when I got home and he seemed pretty happy to me; spoke about the Jets' high level of fitness, speed and smarts with outstanding defence.
T
talanoa
NRL Player
- Jan 16, 2014
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its a fantastic effort by the club, players and staff and there is no doubting that. It is still yet to be tested and proven in the nrl and we may never see that eventuate.
on the flip side, gould also did mention he was not impressed with the standard of the nsw cup this year, and the team the knights ran out yesterday looked like they had been on a bender with joey johns the past week and looked balf baked.
Morkel
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- Jan 25, 2013
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For sure, congratulations to the Jets, not just for their achievements but for thoroughly deserving it. I'll admit that I didn't think they'd beat the Blackhawks, in fact when I saw the weather I put a massive $2.83 on the Jets to lose.
But the Hawks are not an NRL side, and nothing that I said in March has changed now. You're just going to have to accept that I'm sorry.
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1910
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- #124
600 plus NRL games
2 NRL premierships
6 Origins
12 full time professionals
Sounds pretty impressive side to me. Out coached by part timers.
Last edited:
T
talanoa
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costigan can hardly even run let alone train these days hall was finished 2 years ago. mitchell and thorby are not nrl regular standard.
as for the knights, clint newton should have give it away 3 years ago, mataora is a bench player at best
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1910
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Easy to say that now; no one said it for the other 26 weeks they were unbeatable.
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