Friday, May 28, 2004
Thorman talks on life in the NRL
Chris Thoman, in a wide-ranging interview with RLFans.com, has admitted that the pace of Australian football has taken some getting used to, but he believes he’s now adapted.
“The sheer pace of the game is one of the things I’ve had to get used to the most,” Thorman said in the interview.
“The sheer intensity. You don’t get any time on the ball. The defence is up in your face, you know you’ve caught the ball and you make a decision in a split second, whereas in England you get a bit more time.”
However, he claims that he has not gotten “used to it here now and it doesn’t bother me”.
Thorman said he was happy with his form in the NRL, although he was annoyed about a key missed tackle against the Dragons. Still, he realises he has to earn the fans respect.
“I’ve heard good things from the fans, you’ve just got to earn their respect, but you only want to worry about things on the field. There’s no two ways about it, you’ve simply gotta perform on the field and that’s the only way you’ll get it,” he said.
Thorman, who Mick Vella has dubbed George (as in Foreman), said that the Eels were an incredibly professional club and that he had the greatest of respect for Brian Smith.
Asked how he was finding playing under Smith, who has a reputation as an intense coach, Thorman replied: “I’ve heard a few stories about him but I’ve got a massive amount of respect for him. He’s the most knowledgable person you’d want to meet. Anything about RL and you could talk to him for hours about it.”
He said the fact that players would sit around a white board studiously listening to what Smith had to say, was a positive thing, not a negative.
“They have that much respect for him. Even after the game, everyone was obviously very disappointed that we were just sort of sat there. But everyone knows not to do anything, like take your boots off or your strapping off, cos Brian’s gonna say something so you just sort of sit there and wait. We sat for about 10 to 15 minutes to hear what he has to say.
“The sheer pace of the game is one of the things I’ve had to get used to the most,” Thorman said in the interview.
“The sheer intensity. You don’t get any time on the ball. The defence is up in your face, you know you’ve caught the ball and you make a decision in a split second, whereas in England you get a bit more time.”
However, he claims that he has not gotten “used to it here now and it doesn’t bother me”.
Thorman said he was happy with his form in the NRL, although he was annoyed about a key missed tackle against the Dragons. Still, he realises he has to earn the fans respect.
“I’ve heard good things from the fans, you’ve just got to earn their respect, but you only want to worry about things on the field. There’s no two ways about it, you’ve simply gotta perform on the field and that’s the only way you’ll get it,” he said.
Thorman, who Mick Vella has dubbed George (as in Foreman), said that the Eels were an incredibly professional club and that he had the greatest of respect for Brian Smith.
Asked how he was finding playing under Smith, who has a reputation as an intense coach, Thorman replied: “I’ve heard a few stories about him but I’ve got a massive amount of respect for him. He’s the most knowledgable person you’d want to meet. Anything about RL and you could talk to him for hours about it.”
He said the fact that players would sit around a white board studiously listening to what Smith had to say, was a positive thing, not a negative.
“They have that much respect for him. Even after the game, everyone was obviously very disappointed that we were just sort of sat there. But everyone knows not to do anything, like take your boots off or your strapping off, cos Brian’s gonna say something so you just sort of sit there and wait. We sat for about 10 to 15 minutes to hear what he has to say.
