Melbourne Storm champion Billy Slater set to join NRL 300 club
AFTER a lifetime of rugby league and a haul of medals and awards, Billy Slater finally joins an illustrious club this weekend. But there is one thing above all else that still motivates him.
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PUT yourself in Billy’s boots, standing under the high ball as 100kg brutes run with intent to cause havoc.
Yet Billy Slater never blinks despite, at times, feeling like the Steeden is full of “helium”.
Talking exclusively to the Herald Sun on the eve of his 300th NRL game the champion Melbourne Storm fullback lifts the lid on the longest three seconds in sport.
The margin for error is slight.
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Defuse the bomb and run the risk of being pummelled.
Fumble the bomb and run the risk of being pummelled and then ridiculed.
“Sometimes you feel like it has got helium in it, just praying for it to come down a little bit quicker,” Slater told the Herald Sun.
“If you’re the most aggressive into that contest then most of the time you’ll come out on top.
“The boys in the front line have to put their bodies on the line in certain stages and we’re not different at the bomb.
“I rely heavily on my teammates, in particular Cameron Smith, to go out and put kick pressure on, that’s a part of their job to help me out and I repay that in other ways in the game.”
Slater has credits in the bank, having helped Storm to seven grand finals (four wins) in 16 highly decorated seasons.
The Innisfail, Queensland, junior is a three-time Dally M Fullback of the Year, two-time Clive Churchill Medallist and Golden Boot winner.
He holds the club record for tries (183*), the second most in NRL history, and the most tries in NRL finals (21*).
A competitive beast, with an insatiable appetite for the contest, Slater has revelled on the big stage — for club, state and country.
“I think the biggest fear is just the fear of failure and it’s more in big games,” Slater said.
“I don’t get nervous for any round games but the big games, the Origins, the finals.
“I think nerves are just the fear of what could happen and if you don’t get nervous well then the game probably doesn’t mean that much to you.
“When that game and the result mean a hell of a lot to you that’s when it starts to get butterflies in the stomach and I embrace that.”
All told, Slater has played 358 games — including 29 for Queensland and 30 Australian caps — but one game rates right up there with the best of them.
And there was no silverware to be toasted, just a purple jersey that was “three sizes too big for me”.
Slater holds his debut, Round 1, 2003, dearly.
“It feels like I’ve been on a tilt train the last 15 years it’s just gone that quick,” Slater said.
“I grew up living and breathing rugby league, my father (Ron) played and coached my whole childhood and that’s what I did, I played since I was four years old.
“I just wanted to be an NRL player and that day that I ran out in a Melbourne Storm jersey that was three times too big for me a very proud moment.
“It’s one of my favourite games and I’ve been fortunate enough to play in some very special ones.”
Originally published as Melbourne Storm champion Billy Slater set to join NRL 300 club