RE: Choc 'forced' out of Manly - family gutted
Watmough sees the light ahead
New Parramatta recruit Anthony Watmough has seen the light according to fellow team mates.
After a year at Manly that saw the playing group fall apart, Watmough has accredited the Hillsong church for helping him build a closer bond with his new colleagues.
In the past year there have been remarks about his personality, that he pulled Manly apart and is arrogant, some say. He has a bad attitude, it was most recently claimed.
In his attempts to cope with criticism, Watmough draws comparisons with how the founders of the controversial Hillsong have dealt with accusations they oversee something more akin to a cult than a church.
''Anyone that is successful will get their critics,'' Watmough said. ''They're one of the biggest churches in the world, not just Australia. The amount of work that Brian and Bobbie Houston have put in you couldn't even explain it.
''There's always going to be someone that tries to bring you down. It's inevitable. It's in the Bible, it's everywhere. You see a lot of people when they have success, they're at the crossroads when people have shots at them; they can go the other way or they can just strive to be better.''
It should be of little surprise that Watmough, Hopoate and prop Tim Mannah - also a Hillsong devotee - spent plenty of time together in the US camp last week. Watmough was already close to Hopoate, a colleague at Manly, but said the trio had formed a strong bond in the US.
Watmough marvels at Hopoate's sacrifice for his religion - the 22-year-old quit the game three years ago to undertake a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "I finally see the light and why so many of my brothers take it so seriously."
First appeared in amh.com.au 27/11/2014 03.45
Anthony Watmough is thriving at his new club, the Parramatta Eels and has enjoyed being reunited with coach Brad Arthur, who he served under as Geoff Toovey's assistant at Manly in season 2013.
Watmough credits Arthur for reinvigorating his passion for the game and bringing back the enjoyment after a year fueled with speculation of his unrest and fractured relationships within the Manly playing group.
But he reserves the highest praise for the faith he has discovered since joining Hillsong church and the gift of salvation.
"A lot of the boys at Parra go there so I tagged along after training and haven't looked back," a proud Watmough boasts.
"We are training the house down and I can't wait for next year and hey I got Jesus on my team too now," Watmough laughs.
Below: Watmough finds the stairway to heaven at the Eels.
