working dogwatch, which is midnight to 8.30 in the morning.
He would always say, ‘What do you want to be?’ and I’d say,
‘Coalminer,’ because that’s what everyone does, you know?
But he took me down once – oh, it was awful. That gave me
the incentive to not want to go down there.
Young players today have a lot to deal with. What sort of
advice would you give them?
Brown: Stay off Twitter. Seriously. I don’t see any gains they
get out of that. But I reckon the biggest thing is: just try to enjoy
it. You look back on your career and you think, don’t sweat the
small stuff. Work hard, but enjoy yourself, because they’re the
best years of your life. You’re playing sport for a living and you’re
with a group of your best mates every day. Sometimes you get
caught up being on the treadmill, especially if things are tough.
And that’s partly because you come from going to school to
playing professional football, so you haven’t really lived in the
real world. So I’d look back and say, ‘Just enjoy it all.’
Johns: I agree that avoiding social media and enjoyment go
hand in hand. The old saying is: ‘Imagine if you went around
and knew what everyone was thinking about you.’ Well that’s
now, isn’t it? That’s Twitter.
Do you have to deal with trolls?
Johns: I’m not on Twitter. I’m naive. I don’t even own a computer.
I don’t even know how to turn a computer on. So that’s good!
Your ratings are through the roof. Why do you think that is?
Brown: It’s entertainment. Coming from the footy industry – and
probably AFL tends to be more into this than NRL – it can get
a bit serious about the whole thing. You have to still remember
you’re here to entertain and have fun.
Is that how you go into it each week when you’re planning
what you’re going to do in your shows?
Brown: I try not to lose sight of it.
Johns: As Browny said before, you go on TV, you’re there to
entertain – it’s an extension of the game.
Which fans do you think are more passionate?
Brown: AFL gets bigger crowds but it’s hard to decipher between
who is more passionate.
Johns: NRL is a TV sport; it’s made for television. With AFL, to get
the full appreciation, it’s better live.
Brown: I love going to an Origin game, I always try to go at least
once a year if I’m in town.
Johns: I always look to back the worst team. So this year, I’m
on the St Kilda bandwagon, because last year they were so bad!
Brown: I’m still waiting for the North Sydney Bears to come
back into the comp! I love Melbourne Storm. I know [coach]
Craig Bellamy and the boys reasonably well.
How do you think the current seasons are panning out?
Brown: For AFL it’s very unpredictable. With the AFL in general,
the competition is becoming closer. Maybe the top end has come
back a little bit, but I noticed it’s more even.
Johns: In the rugby league, there appears to be a gap between
the very best. At the moment, that’s the Sydney Roosters,
Melbourne Storm and Souths. Those sides are exceeding
expectations; other sides aren’t meeting expectations, like the
Brisbane Broncos and the Panthers.
One thing about the Broncos is they have great scope for
improvement: they have a very good young team, a good coach,
huge support. It wouldn’t surprise me if they go on an amazing
run at the back end of the year.
Any disappointments?
Johns: My Newcastle Knights, as we were heading towards
the middle of the year, I thought would have been travelling
better than they had.
Brown: For me, I think it’s North Melbourne at this stage.
What do you do when it’s not footy season?
Brown: Our lives are in two parts really. You’re flat out for six
months, then the other six months are pretty quiet, school
pick-ups. Put the bulletproof vest on at 3pm every day and get
ready for war for the next four hours. Play golf with [Nova 100
co-host] Sam Pang.
Johns: I gotta find a hobby. I don’t play golf... I like playing
the pokies though!
COVER STORY
Johns lined up for
the Newcastle
Knights from
1992 to 2000Brown
won three
premierships
with BrisbaneW
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AR^COURTESYOF^CHEVY^REDHIRE.*SEE^PAGE^18910 Foxtel AUGUST
THE MATTY JOHNS PODCAST Wednesdays at 8.30pm
THE LATE SHOW WITH MATTY JOHNS Thursdays at 9.45pm
SUNDAY NIGHT WITH MATTY JOHNS Sundays at 6pm
all on FOX LEAGUE [502]
ON THE COUCH Mondays at 8.30pm on FOX FOOTY [504]
both available in the SPORTS pack