Foordy
International Captain
Contributor
- Mar 4, 2008
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Jordan Riki has revealed how personal mentoring from Gordon Tallis helped inspire his barnstorming display in the QLD derby on Friday.
Jordan Riki says:
“When ‘Kevvie’ (coach Kevin Walters) first started, he got me in contact with Gordie and I’ve had chats with him over the phone,” Riki said. “He has been really good to talk to.
“He is straight to the point, he is upfront and I love that. He just said make it personal which I try to take into every single game. Gordie is definitely a good fella to talk to.”
Tallis gives Riki a wake up call after a heart to heart talk, as young backrowers apply pressure for spots
“We have a good young bunch of boys coming through and I wouldn’t say I took my spot for granted at the start, but I may have got too comfortable,” he said.
“When the younger boys started coming through, I had to step back and think, ‘Far out, I have to work hard here and keep my game going’.
“I took the challenge personally but it’s friendly competition.
“You always have to work hard to stay in this team and the best way to do that is be consistent and work with the players around you.
“Gordie has been good for me with that advice as well.
“I’m really excited for Kurt (Capewell) to come, I will learn a lot from him. All of us young boys like me, TC and Brendan are very close, we do our extras at training together, but in the back of your mind, you know you want that first grade spot.”
Kevvie says:
“Jordy has a lot of ability for a young back-rower,” he said. “We haven’t seen the best of him yet but that (his game against the Cowboys) was a good glimpse to see some of his skills.
“You can‘t coach that stuff, it’s natural ability from Jordy. What we have to coach into him is to be consistent with his work as he’s only had 10 or 15 games of first grade.
“He is a very powerful athlete but we have to get the football athlete into him.
“He is here for a while which is pleasing.”
Jordan Riki says:
“When ‘Kevvie’ (coach Kevin Walters) first started, he got me in contact with Gordie and I’ve had chats with him over the phone,” Riki said. “He has been really good to talk to.
“He is straight to the point, he is upfront and I love that. He just said make it personal which I try to take into every single game. Gordie is definitely a good fella to talk to.”
Tallis gives Riki a wake up call after a heart to heart talk, as young backrowers apply pressure for spots
“We have a good young bunch of boys coming through and I wouldn’t say I took my spot for granted at the start, but I may have got too comfortable,” he said.
“When the younger boys started coming through, I had to step back and think, ‘Far out, I have to work hard here and keep my game going’.
“I took the challenge personally but it’s friendly competition.
“You always have to work hard to stay in this team and the best way to do that is be consistent and work with the players around you.
“Gordie has been good for me with that advice as well.
“I’m really excited for Kurt (Capewell) to come, I will learn a lot from him. All of us young boys like me, TC and Brendan are very close, we do our extras at training together, but in the back of your mind, you know you want that first grade spot.”
Kevvie says:
“Jordy has a lot of ability for a young back-rower,” he said. “We haven’t seen the best of him yet but that (his game against the Cowboys) was a good glimpse to see some of his skills.
“You can‘t coach that stuff, it’s natural ability from Jordy. What we have to coach into him is to be consistent with his work as he’s only had 10 or 15 games of first grade.
“He is a very powerful athlete but we have to get the football athlete into him.
“He is here for a while which is pleasing.”
