Blake Ferguson determined to make history, not dwell on it

Blake Ferguson’s grand final story is one of redemption but the star has no interest in talking about the past.

Blake Ferguson at Sydney Roosters training this week. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant has done an instructional video for NBA rookies in which he encourages them to embrace their personal stories, to tell them loudly and proudly in the public domain, to understand any regrettable chapters in the past are actually what makes them appealing and inspiring to the imperfect and compassionate humans who support their franchises.

There’s no power in their tales of redemption, Bryant says, unless they acknowledge their frailties, and the times they’ve fallen short, and talk about what they’ve done to straighten up and fly right. What they think are the downsides of their yarns are what will earn them a million fans. Right now Bryant’s advice is springing to mind while the Sydney Roosters’ controversial Blake Ferguson, having one of the most consistent and drama-free seasons of his career, is blowing up at any mention of his past indiscretions.

Fair enough, too. Athletes can throw a chair across the room if they want to. They can stand up and walk away if they don’t like the line of questioning. But the big lug is missing the point. When I say, “You’ve had your ups and downs, mate, like all of us, but here you are in grand final week …,” he doesn’t get that it’s a salute. Ferguson has done himself proud this year. The best way to highlight it is to contrast it with prior events. As in, the dog days are over. No specifics are mentioned but he stiffens in his seat, shakes his head and says, “Here we go. Digging up the past. All you blokes ever do is talk about the past.”

Not true. I’m not remotely interested in his Bacardi Breezers in Canberra or his pre-Origin beers or any other drama that has been documented well enough. I’m just trying to set the scene. He’s come back from the dead as a footballer since Canberra sacked him in 2013. He’s been sacked from Origin this year, but he hasn’t dropped his bundle. He’s kept powering on for the Roosters. Bravo for the lot of it. But let’s not pretend there’s no backstory. It’s what makes his yarn so powerful. I explain all that, but he’s stopped listening. He’s offended. I tell him the most important part of any story is the ending. But he’s offended.

OK then, tell us about grand final week. “It’s going to be a good week and I’m looking forward to it,” he says. “I’ll do my job the best that I can. A lot goes into every season. We defended really well last week (against South Sydney) and it’ll be no different this weekend. I think they had five or six sets on our line and we held them out. That’s where we won the game. We’ll get some work done this week and when we go out on Sunday night, everyone needs to do their jobs.”

Without prompting, he adds: “I really don’t want to talk about the past. It’s grand final week. All I want to do is talk about the grand final. Seriously, every time I do an interview, it’s about what I’ve done in the past.”

Fair enough. The mistake Bryant makes in telling everyone to be open is that not everyone has that sort of personality. They may not be in the mood on any particular day. They may not be inclined to get deep and meaningful with a virtual stranger from the media. Ferguson looks uptight. Part of the story is how uncomfortable he is about parts of his story. “It’s pretty cruisy, to be honest with you,” he says of grand final week. “We’ve done all the work as a squad, all year. It’s a big week. I’m going to enjoy it. There’s media and functions and a fan day. It’s busy and it’s good. You just want to harness all that excitement and bring it out on game day. I’ve played some big matches and the best thing I can do is lead by example. Everybody in this team prepares the best they can, every week. You get a lot of confidence from knowing a lot of the work has already been done but then again, I’ve never been here before. I’ve never played a grand final.”

In his retirement, Bryant has won an Oscar for his short documentary called Dear Basketball. He’s encouraged storytelling from NBA players after he learned to embrace his villainous role at the Lakers. The good, the bad, the Bacardi Breezers, it’s all OK. You’ve come out the other side. It doesn’t have to involve personal issues. Sporting disappointments are the guts of it. Ferguson’s biggest disappointment this year has been his sacking from the new-look Origin side. He hasn’t missed a beat. Bravo. The Origin snubbing isn’t a criticism of him. It’s not an attempt to highlight a lowlight. It’s an attempt to applaud his response to it. “Why are we talking about Origin?” he says. “Here we go again. I just want to talk about the grand final. Why don’t you want to talk about the grand final? You keep talking about the past. You’re talking about NSW. It’s not about NSW. I don’t want to talk about what’s happened with rep footy. I know what you mean, but you’re talking about 2013 stuff. You’re talking about me not getting picked for Origin. I don’t care about any of it. The grand final is all that matters. We’ve got a pretty experienced team, so …”