Sport Confidential: Joe Picker reveals his shower superstition
Boot scrubbing, long showers and teeth brushing. Former Raider Joe Picker has revealed the bizarre superstition he adhered to before every match during his NRL career in this week’s edition of Sports Confidential.
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It’s another huge weekend of footy as we draw ever closer to the grand final.
In today’s Confidential, check out what’s happening with the Blues Origin squad, what the Roosters got up to on Mad Monday, and in Blast From The Past, read about the Raider whose superstition in footy was all about being clean.
Two spots up for grabs
Despite a blistering season Api Koroisau could be a shock omission from the NSW squad.
The Blues expect Damien Cook to play 80 minutes and have the versatile Cameron McInnes in the squad as cover.
And with two hookers the NSW hierarchy don’t feel the need to go for another dummy half, which spells bad news for Koroisau.
NSW already have 15 of their 27 spots filled – with Boyd Cordner and James Tedesco cleared to play.
Canberra duo Jack Wighton and Nick Cotric are certainties as are South Sydney’s Cook, Cody Walker and Cameron Murray.
Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals on Kayo. Every game before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Melbourne’s Ryan Papenhuzyen and Josh Addo-Carr plus Penrith’s Nathan Cleary will be picked.
Liam Martin is also closing in on selection while at least one of Stephen Crichton/Campbell Graham will be picked – although both may make the side. It leaves just one or two spots wide open for someone who stars in the grand final with the likes of Isaah Yeo, Moses Leota and Tevita Tatola pushing for a spot.
How Cam was almost a Raider
Well before he was a household name, then Canberra coach Matt Elliott earmarked Smith to wear the No.7 jersey for the Raiders.
He took him for a tour of Canberra and the club offered him a stack more money to leave the Storm and head to the nation’s capital ahead of the 2003 season. Smith had played just two games for Melbourne — now he's preparing to play what may be his 429th and last top grade game when he plays the Raiders on Friday night.
“Cameron’s dad Wayne was our development and recruitment person at Souths Logan,” Elliott said.
“The Raiders owned the Souths Logan Leagues Club. He said in the most modest way ‘you should have a look at my son he is playing for Norths’. I went and watched him play twice. “He was playing hooker and I thought he was good. I didn’t see Cooper Cronk or Billy Slater who were in the same team. Cameron was super impressive so we got him to Canberra.”
Elliott was even more impressed after they spent the day together. Coupled with the richer offer the Raiders made he was hopeful Smith would join the club.
“When you’re 19 and someone offers you significantly more – we were talking $30,000 or $40,000 more than what he was getting, it normally seals the deal,” Elliott said.
“The truth was he just said ‘I’m at Norths and Melbourne have done so much for me, I don’t think it would be the right thing not to go to Melbourne’.
“He rang me directly, not his manager. In all my time coaching only two people have done that – Smith and Stephen Kearney. He said he appreciated all that I’d done and highly valued it but Melbourne have done everything for him.
“The way he handled the situation was all class. I’ve always been a fan ever since.”
The Raiders ended up signing Brad Drew to play halfback.
MOONEY BACK TO FIX CAP MESS
The key ingredient behind Cronulla’s 2016 premiership success and Newcastle’s re-build is close to making a return to the Sharks.
Cronulla is in discussions about Darren Mooney returning to the club as its head of football. Mooney played a huge part in putting together Cronulla’s grand final winning team before being head-hunted to re-shape the Knights and help them get off the bottom of the premiership ladder.
The return of Mooney would be a significant coup for Cronulla given its salary cap woes since he left the club in the months before they went on to win the premiership. The club is still in a difficult salary cap position next year but Mooney’s appointment will ensure the mistakes are not replicated when they finally free up some cap space heading into 2022. The likes of Josh Dugan, Shaun Johnson, Matt Moylan and Aaron Woods are off-contract at the end of next season.
Mooney quit the Knights at the end of 2018 to spend more time with his family. He has been most recently working with Tennis NSW.
MORE NEWS:
Origin teams: Storm giant Brenko Lee leads a wave of new Maroons set to make their Queensland debuts
State of Origin 2020: Ben Hunt on call to replace Cameron Munster at five-eighth
Paul Kent: Why ‘sulking’ David Klemmer copped NSW axe, Wayne Bennett rings rookies for Maroons
STORM BOLSTER BACKLINE
The Melbourne Storm have finally landed an outside back with Parramatta’s George Jennings expected to sign a two-year deal with the club. The Storm have been searching for a replacement for rugby-bound Suli Vunivalu, while Josh Addo-Carr’s future remains unclear with the representative winger wanting to join the Tigers next year. Jennings, 27, has played 35 top grade games since making his debut for Penrith in 2015. The off-contract Jennings was part of a historic loan with the Warriors this year where he played six games before playing his second game of the year for Parramatta in their semi-final loss to South Sydney last Saturday.
GEYER’S BIG BET
Mark Geyer is prepared to get a Rabbitoh tattooed on his backside to join the Rooster he had done a few years ago.
Geyer has made a bet with Triple M stablemate Anthony Maroon that if the Panthers lose to the Rabbitohs he will have an image drawn by our own Boo Bailey tattooed on his buttocks. He lost a similar bet a few years ago to Gus Worland and had to get Rooster tattooed.
“I’ll get it tattooed right next to the Rooster,” Geyer said.
If the Panthers win, Maroon will sing in-front of the crowd at ANZ Stadium on grand final day.
“He didn’t want to go with a bit of ink and he fancies himself as a bit of a crooner,” Geyer said. Maroon will sing the national anthem, hopefully well before kick-off.
SHARK SIGHTING AT GRAND FINAL
Australian indie pop star Amy Shark will headline the NRL grand final pre-match entertainment.
Shark is no stranger to rugby league, the Gold Coast-born singer having once worked for the Titans.
She also headlined the game’s festival of footy in Bega earlier this year and performed at Origin III in Brisbane in 2018.
“It’s been a really tough year for rugby league and live entertainment, so I’m really excited to be bringing the band and crew together for this exciting pre-match performance,” Shark said. “I can’t wait to celebrate the finalists on the field and bring some live music to homes across Australia.”
Her new single C’mon featuring Travis Barker will be released next Friday.
The pre-match entertainment will also feature the retiring players acknowledgment, a tribute to Arthur Summons, as well as the Ken Stephen and Veronica White Medal presentations.
Tickets @ nrl.com/tickets.
ROOSTERS DROWN SORROWS
Heartbroken about their premiership run coming to an end but relief the bubble they have been living in can finally bust. The Roosters players including co-captain Boyd Cordner (pictured) drowned their sorrows at the Clovelly Hotel on Sunday.
SALARY CAP SQUEEZE HITS ROOSTERS
The Roosters’ salary cap problems will force them to shed another player with a young prop set to become Anthony Griffin’s first signing at St George Illawarra.
ALL EYES ON
The two best attacking teams go head to head on Saturday night when the Panthers play South Sydney. The Rabbitohs have progressed to their third consecutive preliminary final but have failed in their attempts to qualify for the grand final.
Wayne Bennett is in the longest premiership drought of his career while counterpart Ivan Cleary has only made one grand final in his 14-seasons and has coached the second most amount of games without winning a premiership.
FLASHBACK
You only have to go back five years and it was a different time for then Wallabies superstar Israel Folau. Not only was he Australian rugby’s post boy he was also the key in Australia’s world cup hopes. Folau overcame injury to play against Scotland in the world cup quarter final which the Wallabies won 35-34.
BLAST FROM PAST
Joe Picker 121 top grade games (110 Canberra, 11 South Sydney) from 2007-14.
Joe Picker’s match day routine was all about being clean. Keeping clean and staying fresh even if he was about to embark on a physical 80-minute collision sport.
“I would get to the ground and have a shower,” Picker said.
“Depending on what time we played sometimes I would have four to six showers on the day of the game. Just before I went to the ground I brushed my teeth. I washed my boots each week, scrubbing the bottom of them. I didn’t like any dirt on them from the week before.
“I had to use yellow electrical tape on my boots. It would never be a set amount of showers. I just wanted to be clean and I liked having everything neat and tidy.”
The back-rower continued the game-day routine during his eight season career.
He made his debut in 2007 against the Storm and remembers “I was only out there for 30 or 40 seconds and blowing and thought ‘this happened quick’ ”.
The Picker family might also hold a rare piece of rugby league history. Joe was joined in the first grade squad by younger brother Mick in 2011 and the pair were excited by the prospect of playing alongside each other.
“I was named on the bench the week Mick made his debut,” Picker said.
“(Coach) Dave Furner called me into the office and told me I was getting dropped so he could play Mick. We have to be the only brothers to have one get dropped so the other can play.
“I was filthy.”
The pair went on to play three matches alongside each other. Picker played two more years at the Raiders before being told there was no future for him.
“I was blind-sided,” Picker said.
“I loved the club and followed them since I was a kid and considered it home. I was pretty much retired, I didn’t want to play anywhere else. I was on my honeymoon in Hawaii and (South Sydney coach) Michael Maguire called.
“I went there for 12 months. He asked me to stay longer but my wife was pregnant and I didn’t really like Sydney.
“I knew it was time because I couldn’t see myself going much further in the NRL.”
Picker retired at 27.
While the multiple game-day showers were a constant during Picker’s career he is far removed from that world now.
He returned to the family farm in Bigga - about two hours north of Canberra - which has about 12000 sheep across four properties.
Originally published as Sport Confidential: Joe Picker reveals his shower superstition