Accountants and law students by day, roaring Lions ruckmen after dark

Oscar McInerney and Stef Martin have formed a chemistry that allows them to offer different strengths in the ruck

Oscar McInerney has formed a strong partnership with Stef Martin at the Lions

Shortly after Brisbane’s finals campaign ended last September, Lion Oscar McInerney joined the weekday rat race with a longer-range view to a future beyond football.

The “Big O” would rise for an early morning run and then jump on the train into the Brisbane CBD every day throughout his off-season.

Even though the 26-year-old was only engaged in work experience at PwC, the aspiring accountant had good reason to zip into the office before the partners and proteges arrived.

As Brisbane’s chairman and PwC partner Andrew Wellington told The Australian recently, McInerney realised early on the pitfalls that come with hot-desking.

There was no problem finding a suit that fitted his 204cm frame. But he was all knees when trying to find a spot to work.

“I was lucky enough to find one of those ergonomic desks that rises up, so I would have to get in early to beat the troops to it, because it is dog eat dog out there, to find your own seat and find one that is raised high enough. I had to find one to fit the legs under,” McInerney told The Australian.

McInerney is a rare breed in football in that he had already completed an accounting degree by the time he was recruited as a mature-aged rookie by the Lions in 2017.

His father advised him that if he was to pursue a footy career, even at state or suburban level, he had best find a job he could complete while bruised and battered on a Monday.

“My old man always said that if you are playing footy, you may as well get a job where you can rock up on a Monday and even if you are a little bit sore, you can help out, so I thought, ‘Well, that is a desk job’, so I pursued accounting for four years and just as I was finishing my degree, I was playing with Casey in the VFL and that is when I got drafted,” he said.

“The timing actually worked out a treat. Footy has almost ended up being a gap year. I am very keen to keep that (accounting) ticking over, because I don’t want that work I did to become irrelevant, and it is something I want to pursue further down the track.”

For Friday night’s qualifying final against Richmond, and hopefully the remainder of October for Lions fans, McInerney will partner with the vastly experienced Stefan Martin.

As a Brisbane insider said last week, a pair critical to their premiership hopes are opposites in many ways, despite their shared position.

Martin, who is studying law, was described as an inner-city man who is well read and enjoys the finer things in life. McInerney, in contrast, could be found drinking a VB while wearing a pair of Stubbies.

But the contrasts between the pair are also complementary. And the respect between them is clear, even if their rucking styles and physique are different.

“We are a bit different. He is someone who has gone down the law path and is extremely intelligent and I could not speak highly enough about how much I have really enjoyed playing alongside him, with his smarts for the game,” McInerney said.

“Stef is very smart off the field but even smarter on the field. I have learned so much from him. He is severely, in my opinion, underrated. I think he should be talked about with all the best guys. He competes so well in the ruck, both in the air and on the ground, and he is someone I look up to.”

Martin, who represented Australia in under-age basketball before joining Melbourne, has been a star with Brisbane since 2013. His return for finals after a long-term injury is a blessing.

Martin is encouraged by the progression of McInerney, who has played 54 games in his three seasons as a Lion.

“Firstly on the personality, he has got a heart of gold and he is the most humble bloke you will ever meet. He is really great to work with,” Martin said.

“He is potentially too humble, because he has come on so much with his football and he has every right to be out there in the middle and play in the ruck, and sometimes he is so respectful, almost too deferential. But he is a ripper and he has got one of the best work ethics I have seen, of any ruckman I have worked with.

“We have different styles. He is a very good centre bounce ruckman and really good at catching the ball too, so he is really good for keeping us straight and giving us some integrity.

“Being a bit shorter, I am probably a little more of that follow-up type ruckman. I think (coach Chris Fagan) thinks we compliment each other quite well. I believe we do as well. There are lots of differences, but the net result is very good.”