peachey
One of a kind
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2005
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i also hear stosic is off to the dogs..not sure..i will get back to this when i find out..i think its jus a rumor
"The way the Sharks are playing -- they missed out on a spot in the semifinals again last year -- and their play just didn't suit my style of play."
-- James Stosic
James Stosic's professional rugby league career is back on track after he red-carded himself from the game.
Stosic (25) turned his back on rugby league three years ago, frustrated at his lack of progress in Australia.
At the time, the former junior Kiwis prop was playing reserve grade and had dreams of playing first grade.
"But when you get shot down by the coach saying that you're not going to make it (in first grade) until all these other guys either retire or move on, I just got disillusioned," Stosic said.
"Instead of being mature about it and training twice as hard and saying `I'll show you', I thought `stuff it' and gave up."
Stosic headed to Brisbane to be with family.
It was 12 months before Stosic realised he did have a future in league and didn't want to end up on the scrap heap.
"I saw guys that played in my representative teams playing NRL and thought to myself, what am I doing to myself?"
A gentle nudge from his manager, who offered him a position playing premier grade for Sydney club Newtown, got Stosic's career rolling again.
He worked hard mixing league with work as a brickie's labourer for a couple of years.
"You can't just walk into any NRL team and say, `hey I want to play for your reserve grade team'. You've got to earn your stripes and work your way up."
Stosic spent a season with Newtown before being snapped up by the Cronulla Sharks, where he spent two seasons.
His career highlight was being called up to play first grade for the Sharks in the 2005 season. It was the first of 25 first-grade games Stosic racked up with the Sharks.
But he was still frustrated and cut his ties with Cronulla at the end of last year, signing a two-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans -- a new franchise in the Australian NRL.
"The way the Sharks are playing -- they missed out on a spot in the semifinals again last year -- and their play just didn't suit my style of play."
Stosic has had six weeks of hard training with the Titans and is one of 31 players all eager to play first grade.
Stosic is quietly confident of making the Titans' starting line-up when the 2007 season kicks off in March.
"Most of the other props are bench players, so they might put me in a starting position. I'm just trying to make the 17 at the moment.
"Being on the bench would do me fine, as long as I'm playing first grade."
The Titans have set an ambitious goal for their first season.
"We want to set a high standard and make the final, not just making the top eight, even though doing that would be a fine achievement for any team in its first year in the comp."