Canteen Worker
First Grader
No luring Beaver away
John Greco in www.manlydaily.com.au
2 August 2008
NOT even the lure of an extra $150,000 a year to join Brad Fittler at the Roosters could convince Manly legend Steve Menzies to walk out on his junior club.
Menzies has revealed the lure of playing with the champion five-eighth almost saw him walk out on the club and link with the Roosters in 2001.
Menzies' frank admission is contained in his autobiography released yesterday: Beaver: The Steve Menzies Story.
A chapter in Menzies' book outlines how close he came to leaving his beloved club during the fall-out from the Northern Eagles debacle.
The joint-venture had fallen apart at the end of 2001 and while Manly was re-forming as a stand alone entity the toll left the club in disarray and finances critically low. It's been well-documented how hard the Eels chased the brilliant backrower at that time but Menzies admitted it was a move to Bondi that was the most appealing.
"My stepfather was keen for me to take the Roosters offer," Menzies wrote.
"He sat with me for 25 minutes giving all the reasons I should accept what they were offering.
"Part of it was the money and part of it was the vulnerability that Manly's financial woes had meant for them.
"But his biggest and most compelling argument was that it would give me the chance to play with Brad Fittler, at the time the best player in the game. I had played plenty of football with Freddie and I have to say it was a very tempting thought.
"Had I taken the better of those financial offers - Parramatta or the Roosters - I would have been $150,000 a year richer than I was at Manly. It was a lot to give up but I felt like I would have been giving my life away, my mates, my fun, my lifestyle and my heritage."
Menzies, who is now coming towards the end of 16 stellar seasons at Brookvale, said the biggest change from when he began in 1993 was the professionalism in the game.
But he warned it's not all necessarily good.
"I see 16-year-olds forced to train every day, pushed into weight sessions and multiple training routines," the 34-year-old wrote.
"When you consider the bigger picture it limits their life and development because they have no time for anything else, including education.
"For a kid subjected to professional training levels from the time he is barely past puberty the workload does more damage than good."
John Greco in www.manlydaily.com.au
2 August 2008
NOT even the lure of an extra $150,000 a year to join Brad Fittler at the Roosters could convince Manly legend Steve Menzies to walk out on his junior club.
Menzies has revealed the lure of playing with the champion five-eighth almost saw him walk out on the club and link with the Roosters in 2001.
Menzies' frank admission is contained in his autobiography released yesterday: Beaver: The Steve Menzies Story.
A chapter in Menzies' book outlines how close he came to leaving his beloved club during the fall-out from the Northern Eagles debacle.
The joint-venture had fallen apart at the end of 2001 and while Manly was re-forming as a stand alone entity the toll left the club in disarray and finances critically low. It's been well-documented how hard the Eels chased the brilliant backrower at that time but Menzies admitted it was a move to Bondi that was the most appealing.
"My stepfather was keen for me to take the Roosters offer," Menzies wrote.
"He sat with me for 25 minutes giving all the reasons I should accept what they were offering.
"Part of it was the money and part of it was the vulnerability that Manly's financial woes had meant for them.
"But his biggest and most compelling argument was that it would give me the chance to play with Brad Fittler, at the time the best player in the game. I had played plenty of football with Freddie and I have to say it was a very tempting thought.
"Had I taken the better of those financial offers - Parramatta or the Roosters - I would have been $150,000 a year richer than I was at Manly. It was a lot to give up but I felt like I would have been giving my life away, my mates, my fun, my lifestyle and my heritage."
Menzies, who is now coming towards the end of 16 stellar seasons at Brookvale, said the biggest change from when he began in 1993 was the professionalism in the game.
But he warned it's not all necessarily good.
"I see 16-year-olds forced to train every day, pushed into weight sessions and multiple training routines," the 34-year-old wrote.
"When you consider the bigger picture it limits their life and development because they have no time for anything else, including education.
"For a kid subjected to professional training levels from the time he is barely past puberty the workload does more damage than good."
manly
