Ryan Hoffman uses LEGO as a way to escape the pressures of NRL football

IT’S important to have a hobby away from work, even if you’re a first grade footballer. That’s why Ryan Hoffman has dived head first into the world of LEGO.

Melbourne Storm star Ryan Hoffman with his long-time Lego collection for Gil Gardiner's Sunday feature. Picture: David Caird

IT takes all kinds of athletes, and everyone is different.

Some collect shoes and watches, others horses and cars.

For Melbourne Storm champion Ryan Hoffman, it’s LEGO.

The appetite for plastic bricks is mostly passion, part distraction, with elements of addiction.

He buys, builds and rebuilds almost on repeat with four year-old son, Zach, and two year-old daughter, Mia, keen to get involved.

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But Hoffman, 34, would not have it any other way.

“It’s a good little hobby,” Hoffman said.

“Sometimes you just don’t want to watch TV so we sit down and build our LEGO.”

For the most part the finished models are used as they were intended — toys for the kids — but Hoffman said some had pride of place in the “front room”.

Hoffman has long been a LEGO fan.

A 1996-piece model of legendary Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett Slave I rates among the “special ones”, along with the 4600-piece Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, 1334-piece Volkswagon Camper Van and 857-piece Priates Chess Set.

“That’s the big problem, what do you do with them once they’re all built,” Hoffman said.

“In our front room we keep a couple because the kids don’t really go there, but you don’t want to put it where the kids can’t play with it — that defeats the purpose I think.

“The best part about LEGO if it breaks you just rebuild it.”

His passion reignited in New Zealand watching young Zach play with Duplo bricks.

Hoffman decided to get in on the act, shelling out for new Star Wars LEGO.

“I’ve started to brainwash him a bit with Star Wars,” Hoffman said.

The rugged backrower has returned for his third stint with Melbourne.

Now, father and son spend hours at the kitchen table building and rebuilding models.

“I just like that it’s something different,” Hoffman said.

“It’s got nothing to do with footy and it’s a good way to relax too ... all you do is sit and follow instructions and build.

“He’ll (Zach) follow the instructions to build it first time, but then after that he just wants to make his own things.

“He’s always building some type of car with an amazing booster or a space ship with this great big gun.

“That’s why it’s such a great thing to have because you can build what it’s meant to be and then you can build whatever you want.”

Hoffman’s collection includes pieces from the 1980s.

The collection, which does not include a treasure-trove of late-80s and early-90s pieces currently at his parents’ house, has swelled to about 25 boxes.

“She (Mum) had some models from the 80s which was really cool, that’s missing a few pieces unfortunately,” Hoffman said.

“I was into it as a kid and mum was one of those mums that held onto things because she knew that Zach would eventually want to play with it. She was 100 per cent right.”

A trip to Legoland in Malaysia gave the collection a major boost.

“We stayed in the Pirate Room because that’s Zach wanted to stay in, when we got into the room they had a treasure hunt,” Hoffman said.

“They had this really old school safe in the room and if you completed the treasure hunt you got the code to the safe and inside was three boxes of LEGO.”

Originally published as Ryan Hoffman uses LEGO as a way to escape the pressures of NRL football