“Rugby League is a team sport and it’s not about one person.” Marcus Bai

Marcus Bai is one of the few people who has won a NRL premiership, a Super League Title and a World Club Challenge. The only trophy he has missed out on at the top level is the Challenge Cup, which is played in the English competition.

His willingness to speak to anyone is a characteristic I have observed over a decade and I have tried to emulate that. I wanted to know more about how he developed the confidence to talk to anyone because I wanted to be able to do that as well.

When he first moved to Australia it was tough because he couldn’t speak English well and that meant he had little confidence to speak out in a team environment. In 1998 that all changed with the culture that Melbourne Storm was building. The team with which he won his first premiership. It was teammate Tawera Nikau who sparked his confidence to build in speaking up in team meetings. 

We speak about his upbringing with his family. How rugby league players can play a huge impact in creating positive change for Papua New Guineans and in the Pacific. How the Melbourne Storm implemented the systems and structures in the early days and where those structures came from. I hope you enjoy listening to Marcus’ stories as much as I did.

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Albert Kelly - One of the most talented rugby league players I’ve played with and against. But what I’ve seen is the hard work he puts in behind the scenes that gives him an opportunity to display and maximise that talent.

Albert spoke about how his cousins helped him gain many of the skills he has today and how grateful he is of that, what winning a challenge cup in the super league, U.K feels like. He talks about the uncertainty of your future in playing the game and how it can take its toll and how to overcome these thoughts and to keep moving forward.

We also explored what life was like growing up in Macksville/Kempsey, NSW, with his younger brother and how hard his grandparents worked to put him and his brother in school and sporting events, how more work needs to be done to protect sacred sites of this land and the importance of doing extra training to play at a higher level. What his self-talk is like leading up to a game and his pre game ritual. I found this very interesting.

Enjoy.

Connect with Albert and follow him on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a1bey/

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Glenn - Played 285 professional rugby league games at one club - a rare achievement, 12 international games for New Zealand, two with Cook Islands, the thought process of an elite athlete, resilience in overcoming injuries, social media - the good and bad, humble upbringing, parenting, captaining one of the biggest sporting organisations in Australia.

After speaking with Alex last week I got to hear how he made that many games possible. Playing and training at the top level takes a lot of commitment, focus and resilience. You will hear about his thought process during the early days and especially how he overcame the injuries to keep playing.

His upbringing in Beach Haven, New Zealand is an inspiring one. Living with several families under one roof is a common thing in the Pacific Island culture and he experienced that before the move to Australia. 

Three days before his final game he picked up a calf strain at training (the day the podcast was recorded). He went on and played the full 80 minutes and made a try saving tackle in the very last play. The example he has set for many young kids is a great one. 

Hope you enjoy it.

LIVIN is an organisation close to Alex’s heart. 

#ITAINTWEAKTOSPEAK

LIVIN is a non-profit mental health organisation that was founded in 2013 in loving memory of our friend and a great man, Dwayne Lally. Dwayne took his life after living in silence with a mental illness.

Like a lot of people, Dwayne lived in silence because of the stigma that surrounds mental health and he didn’t know how to ask for help. Everything we do is about empowering people to speak up because It Ain’t Weak To Speak®. We want to be proactive in combating mental Illness, through championing mental health; encouraging preventative action and help seeking before things become unmanageable.

1 in 5 people will experience a mental illness each year. Many suffer in silence due to the stigma and lack of education around mental health. LIVIN is helping change this. Each flag represents where we have delivered our LIVINWell In School program. Help us fill the map and spread the word that “It ain’t weak to speak”.

https://www.livin.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItfKUq9b18gIVr5lmAh0z5Q0aEAAYASAAEgJK8fD_BwE

Connect with Alex and follow him on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexglenn__/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexglenn___

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xavier Coates is a professional rugby league player. He is also a great friend whom I’ve had the pleasure getting to know over the past year.

At just the young age of 20 years he has already played at one of (if not) the highest possible arena of rugby league - State of Origin. He is a proud Papua New Guinean and Australian who attributes much of his achievements to his parents and the people he has grown up around. Being challenged by his siblings in the backyard at a young age gave him the competitive drive he has today. 

We talk about how he felt when making his debut for The Kumuls, Broncos, Qld Maroons, online bullying - how he deals with it, importance of recovery and much more.

Instagram: @xaviercoates

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rhyse Martin is a current professional rugby league player in the U.K playing for The Leeds Rhinos. He has played for his national side the PNG Kumuls on 11 occasions since 2014 when he made his debut.

We chat about the ups and downs of playing professional rugby league, his humble upbringing in Australia, what it felt like to put on the NRL jersey and what he wishes he did as a younger player when he first entered into the NRL system - being more aggressive and less timid around his senior and respected teammates. This is something I love seeing - when a young player comes into the training environment, shows no fear and gives everything. We shine some light on this and some mental challenges during the chat.

Enjoy.

Instagram: @rhysemartin

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elsie Albert represents The Orchids, Papua New Guinea's national women’s team in rugby league and she has just signed with St George Dragons as the first homegrown Papua New Guinean.

She was brought up in a Christian family and believes this helped her progress through school and in her rugby league career thus far. We talk about her story, the challenges women face playing rugby league in PNG, training in the hallway of her dormitory, how she didn't tell her parents she was playing for The Orchids until her father saw on on the front page of the paper much more.

Please enjoy.

Instagram: @elsiealbert96

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Genia played for the Wallabies (2009-2019) in 110 tests, Queensland Reds (2007-2015), Melbourne Rebels (2018-2019), Stade Francais (2015-2017) and currently Kintetsu Liners in Japan.

We talk about his upbringing in Papua New Guinea, moving away from his family at the age of 12 from PNG to Australia to attend boarding school in Brisbane, the challenges in his life and how he overcame them, the key difference between players who play test level vs super rugby, what helped him to make it to the top level and stay there for so long and much much more.

I’ve listened to this episode several times because I enjoyed the lessons that Will shared.

Will's Instagram: @willgenia 

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam Walsh is a former SAS (Special Air Service) soldier and is currently the Welfare Officer at the Brisbane Broncos. When asked what his role involves - “I’ve worked in elite teams in the SAS where everyone is alpha males and raw killers. I’ve also worked with elite athletes where there are alpha males in a gladiator type of sport. Everyday in the SAS or in the NRL I see the guys walk in through the door and they put a mask on. It’s my job to tear that mask off.”

Throughout the conversation I wanted to know the most important lessons he learnt while in the defence force. He said “the one percenters mean everything. It’s the difference between those who are good and those who are great.”

This episode is packed with plenty of great insights, lessons and messages. We speak about domestic violence, which is something we both witnessed as kids growing up, online bullying/trolling, how understanding and awareness on these issues is the way forward.

I certainly gained a lot from this episode and I hope you do too.

Instagram: @adam_walsh09

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Johnston is a professional rugby league player in Australia. In his first year of playing NRL he achieved something many players wish to do over their careers - winning a premiership. To date he has scored 130 tries in 160 games. To those who don’t understand rugby league, that is a ridiculously rare strike rate. He has also represented Australia and Papua New Guinea at international level.

We speak about more than his achievements during this interview. I wanted to find out the person behind the player and I learnt a lot about what makes Alex tick. His competitiveness at an early age set him up for a career in the top grade. It wasn’t easy though. He believes in hard work, doing extra training, focusing on your studies and much more. 

This was a great conversation. Hope you enjoy it.

Connect with Alex: 

Instagram: @alexjohnston95 https://www.instagram.com/alexjohnston95/

Swysh: https://heyswysh.com/collections/rugby-league/products/alex-johnston 

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Aiton played professional rugby league in Australia, England and in France. He played in the NRL and Super League for a combined 253 games over 13 years. He also represented his country’s national side Papua New Guinea Kumuls 16 times during this period. This was something he dreamt of doing since he was a kid. I met Paul for the first time in 2008 when we represented the Kumuls in the Rugby League World Cup. He has been a great friend ever since. 

While playing 13 years at the highest level, Paul learnt many lessons from which he continues to pass on to younger generations. He is currently an assistant coach for PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup. In this conversation Paul divulges that he wishes he "studied the game more”. This would’ve helped him grow as a player and then transition into the coaching role with better skills, a great piece of advice for young athletes coming through the ranks. Something he believes that did help him was goal setting. We are both big believers in this.

Paul shares moments of his upbringing in Mount Hagen, PNG and his early memories of Australia - some of which gave me plenty of laughter. I enjoyed and learnt a lot from Paul during this chat. I hope you enjoy it too.

Connect with Paul: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.aiton.54

Instagram: @paul_aiton - https://www.instagram.com/paul_aiton/

Aiton Fat Bikes: http://aitonfatbikes.com.au

My wife and I bought two bikes from Paul and we have loved them ever since. They made our experience in France much more enjoyable. We would go for long bike rides through the french villages without our legs getting tired (electric versions). They are comfortable and easy to assemble so we are able to put them in the back of the car when we want to take them with us for weekends away.

About David Mead

David Mead has played professional rugby league for 13 years. Spending time with other athletes, coaches and football staff has given him great insight into how the sport is played at a high level. He wants to use insights and stories from these people as well as from his experience to inspire and to empower the youth. He believes in "leaving the place better than you found it." This podcast will help him and others do just that. 

Connect with David and follow him on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.mead.94

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidmead411/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidmead411

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mead-7604b986/

Website: www.davidmead.com.au 

Producer: Jason Strozkiy (@strozkiymedia) www.strozkiymedia.com 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.