NRL legend Billy Slater’s insane career shift

Storm legend and Queensland coach Billy Slater has taken up a new position that nobody saw coming after the NRL season.

Billy and Nicole Slater in the Birdcage at Flemington Racecourse during the Melbourne Cup.

Billy Slater is set to turn the clock back 25 years when he takes up a job as a horse-riding interviewer.

The Melbourne Storm legend was on Tuesday unveiled as part of Channel 9’s broadcast team for the Melbourne Cup.

The network said in a statement Slater’s role will see him in the saddle interviewing winning jockeys once they’ve past the post.

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His role is one of several big appointments by Nine after the network picked up the Melbourne Cup Carnival TV rights through to the end of 2029 on a deal reported to be worth $50 million.

Billy Slater and Alicia Loxley hold the Melbourne Cup. Photo: Channel 9.

Slater confirmed his new role when speaking on Channel 9’s Today.

“It’s gonna be so exciting to be on the team that goes down and broadcasts the Melbourne Cup Carnival,” he said.

“Those four days at Flemington, it’s gonna be really exciting to be there and bring all our viewers into the action. I’ll get the ability to get in behind the barriers and talk to some of the jockeys after they win some of the biggest races of their life.

Nicole and Billy Slater at the Caulfield Cup. Picture: Mark Stewart.

Billy and Nicole Slater in the Birdcage at Flemington Racecourse during the Melbourne Cup.

“I might find myself on a horse and get out there amongst it and give the viewers an insight into what they are thinking and how calm it can be behind a barrier.

“Then also how emotional it can be after a race and talking to the jockeys that work so hard to get there.”

Slater, a trackwork jockey as a teenager, remains active in the racing industry as a horse owner and through the breeding stable operation he manages with wife Nicole — Slater Thoroughbreds.

His return to the saddle will come 25 years since he was last a trackwork jockey for racing icon Gai Waterhouse.

Billy Slater after State of Origin game at Suncorp Stadium. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

Billy Slater stands with the Matthew Ellerton trained and Group 1 winner Desert Sky.

“Horse racing is something I have always had a passion for,” Slater told News Corp this year.

“I was 16 years old and I finished Grade 11 and left school and I was living down in Sydney on my own and working for Gai.

“That was a real eye-opener. To see the operation of a high-quality trainer like Gai, it probably helped me subconsciously when I went on to pursue an NRL career.

“I was about 70kg when I was 16, so I was never going to be a jockey.”

Nine has also announced Eddie McGuire will host the coverage of the ‘Race That Stops The Nation’.

McGuire will front the broadcast from Flemington where he will be joined by racing royalty Francesca Cumani.

Melbourne Cup winning jockey Michelle Payne and Aussie Olympic hero Jess Fox will also feature.

The Melbourne Cup Carnival begins with the Victoria Derby on Saturday, November 2.

The Melbourne Cup will be run on Tuesday, November 5.