Coaching is very rewarding and everything I do off the field is very rewarding. Seeing young kids really getting involved and actually enjoying it so I like making it as enjoyable for them as possible. There are certain players that you just see have so much potential but then you see so many of them ending up playing bloody Fortnite and all that kind of stuff instead. So just trying to keep them involved and enjoying it and really wanting to be there and giving back to the club.
What is your most memorable game of football and why?
It would probably have to be the game against North Wellington last year. I suppose we hadn’t played in the Central League for 27 years and we had a lot of losses and it was our first win of the season. Two goals in extra time from Charlie Meredith was pretty unreal. That one meant a lot. We had probably 80 to 100 fans travel down to Wellington and they were all there. It was pretty euphoric to be fair. That’s probably something that will never be forgotten.
How do you think the Whanganui football scene compares to other places in New Zealand?
I think that small-town kind of vibe helps us a lot. We’ve never been the club or the town with all the money, flashy stuff and all that. It kind of makes people buy in and want to work quite hard for the club, not just on the field, but volunteering and all that kind of stuff.
You get other places and some of them have ridiculous money and the revenue they get per year is so much. But they just don’t have the people buying into the culture because they don’t know the hard work and everything’s kind of just handed to them, I suppose. Not necessarily handed to them, but it’s a lot harder for us to get anywhere. So we understand that and we have to work harder so we put in that graft on and off the field.
You can definitely notice it at our home games. We came last in the league last year, but we had the most fans. When we went to North Wellington, we had more fans than they did and it was a three-hour drive. So we all really love it and that’s probably one of the best parts about Whanganui football.
Being a keen sportsman, you clearly like exercise. What is one form of exercise you dread?
There are plenty. Well, fun fact - I can’t swim and I can barely ride a bike. Always got me out of school triathlon though, so that was good.
If you had to face any football team in the world, who would you pick and why?
2013 Manchester City. Mainly because Sergio Agüero is my idol. I’ve always looked up to him so getting to see him and have that experience with him. Would probably lose about 60-nil, but getting to do that would be pretty cool.
Growing up in Whanganui, what did you like to do for fun when you weren’t playing sport?
Don’t know what I was doing when I wasn’t playing sport. Mum didn’t let me play Xbox or anything like that, I had to go outside all the time. If I wasn’t playing sport, I was probably watching sport. I can’t really escape it to be fair.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
Right now, definitely Italy. That place is beautiful and it is constantly all over my TikTok feed.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who can’t spell the difference between you’re and your. Also using the wrong they’re or their or there. I don’t know why that annoys me so much.
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
This is not necessarily like a quote advice, but watching other people and what they do and always giving back because others have given back to you. A lot of those Athletic boys, when I was younger, always made sure I was giving back because when I was growing up there were a lot of people putting in time for me so I suppose it was just making sure you always gave back because of everything that was given to you. Just always being as selfless as you can in that sense because it makes a big difference to other people.
If you could change one thing about Whanganui, what would it be?
Probably the town scene, like going out. It’s horrific.
