Robbie Farah on mental toughness ahead of his 300th NRL game
Reflecting on his 300-game milestone, Robbie Farah says it was former Penrith hooker Royce Simmons who gave him the mental toughness to live with the condition that keeps him on the floor of the Tigers’ team bus.
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Robbie Farah’s back is so rundown, it has been likened to that of a 55-year-old.
It is 35-year-old vertebrae, not run-ins with former coaches, which makes his 300th appearance on Friday even more remarkable.
Farah only spent part of the trip to Newcastle on Thursday on the floor of the team’s bus. Last week he had to lay on that same floor for basically the entire trip to Canberra.
Earlier this year he was struggling to walk just hours before taking to the field against Penrith.
It has been a constant battle for Farah throughout his career, having undergone a back operation in his early 20s.
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His older brother and South Sydney physiotherapist, Eddie Farah, urged Robbie to give the game away two years ago, such were his fears surrounding his back.
“I would compare it to someone who is 55,” Eddie said.
“The degeneration in his back is quite rare for someone so young. He has a back that has far bit of degeneration and wear and tear
“The last two or three years it’s been worse and worse. He can’t sit for more than 10 minutes because it’ll flare up. Bus trips aren’t great for him. Getting out of bed and getting dressed is a chore.
“There have been times where there is no chance or he shouldn’t be playing but he gets it done.
“It’s something that he is going to have to manage for the rest of his life.”
For Farah, he simply puts it down to “something I’ve had to live with.”
GET UNCOMFORTABLE
Former Penrith hooker Royce Simmons has been one of Farah’s greatest influences.
Simmons was part of Tim Sheens’ coaching staff at the Tigers for years when a young Farah was just making his mark in the top grade.
He handed Farah one piece of advice which stuck with him.
“He said ‘make sure you put yourself through something tough every week’,” Farah said. “Whether it be mental or physical you have to do something uncomfortable because as an NRL player you have to make yourself comfortable, being uncomfortable.
“I used to wake up in the middle of winter at 6am on my days off and just jump in the pool freezing cold and do some laps. I hated swimming and the cold so much but I used to do it because it was tough.
“I would only do 10 laps. But it was the fact I had to get out of bed freezing my arse off. Royce taught me so much about mental toughness.”
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TACKLING PRACTICE
Simmons gave Farah more than just a mental edge. He made a point on fixing Farah’s defensive deficiencies.
“When training was finished everyone was knackered,” Simmons said. “I’d get him to do five sets of six tackles all the time. It was hard work but he did it after every session.
“He’d get the biggest guy that was around — be it John Skandalis or Mark O’Neill — and tackle, tackle, tackle.
“You could tell pretty quickly he was going to be an outstanding footballer but when he first came into grade I had to tell him to get rid of his white boots. He used to turn up with the flash white boots and I was like ‘you can’t turn up with those’. He got rid of them but it was just me annoying the Christ out of him.”
Simmons used to pull out the old rugby union scrum machines used by the West Harbour rugby team, with whom the Tigers share Concord Oval.
“I’d whack my shoulder into it again and again,” Farah said. “I defended because I had to when I was younger.
“Then I started to enjoy it.”
PEPPER PLAY
Farah and his teammates coined the phrase “pepper”, which meant identifying an opposition player and peppering them with defence.
Some of his favourites included Paul Stringer, Jarrod Hickey and Shane Tronc.
Former Tiger Liam Fulton said this plan brought much delight to teammates.
“Every week he used to pick out an opposition player and destroy them,” Fulton said. “Gibbo (Bryce Gibbs) and I used to ask him on the Monday ‘who is your bitch this week?’”
Farah laughed: “I built my career in the early days off pepper sets.”
ALMOST A TITAN
Farah is the most-capped Wests Tigers player. Had it not been for a forced 18-month stint at South Sydney he would have remained a one-club man.
But Farah had actually agreed to join the Titans in 2010.
“I was disillusioned with things going on up the club,” Farah said.
“Scott Prince was on the Gold Coast and he sold it to me. Playing with him again was really exciting.
“I made my mind up to leave and told my manager to do the deal. I went home that night and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t.
“I remember texting him in the middle of the night saying ‘I can’t sleep. I can’t do it, I can’t leave. I just love the club so much’.”
COMPETITIVE EDGE
Simmons told Farah when he presented him with his 250th Tigers jersey last year if there was a side picked for people who hated getting beaten, Farah would captain Australia.
Teammates too took advantage of Farah’s grit by poking fun at their captain.
“He and Gibbs used to go at it all the time,” Fulton said. “Fists and all. Robbie was supposed to go on TV one night and just before he went, Gibbo threw all his things into an ice bath. Robbie tried to snap Gibbo’s car keys but couldn’t. Then it was on.
“He is the most competitive bloke you’ll ever meet.
“One of the most asked questions I get from people is ‘what is Robbie really like?’ There is a perception that he is a bit of jerk. But he is the best bloke. If I was sick in hospital he’d be the guy there every day holding my hand.”
On Friday night in Newcastle, his teammates will be the ones there for Farah’s milestone.
Originally published as Robbie Farah on mental toughness ahead of his 300th NRL game
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