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Reality struck Jamie Feeney square in the eyes when 35-year-old Sonny Bill Williams greeted the Roosters NRLW coach at the clubhouse this week, some 16 years after the pair tied a boot.
Feeney was the Bulldogs’ servant for six years from whom Williams learned the meaning of a hard work ethic during the club’s victory for prime minister in 2004.
If it weren’t for his own title win in a local group 21 competition in the late 1990s, Feeney would be working his magic in the classroom as a PDHPE teacher.
Instead, he created a rugby league career as a player and coach in the men’s and women’s games, with experiences and knowledge of the best.
NRL.com caught up with Feeney recently for a trip back in time.
Q&A about the legend: Jamie Feeney
You were born and raised in Muswellbrook, what was your childhood like?
It was a normal upbringing in a country town with rugby league in the winter and cricket in the summer. I have two sisters and there are about three years between each, but I am the youngest.
Aside from when I made my own decisions, they were dressing me in tutus and we never shared the same interests. They were netballers and I played soccer. We used to come home from school, circle everyone in the neighborhood, ride our bikes, and play.
My kids don’t understand it, so there were no computers or phones. We just did something every afternoon and the season continued.
How did the Bulldogs get your attention?
It was fun for me. I finished school and went to university to teach physical education in Sydney, but hated the city. I would travel back to Muswellbrook as soon as my lecture was over on a Friday and then return late Sunday night for class. I played soccer on the weekends and we won the northern division one year.
They caught my attention but no one called me or asked me to go to the Bulldogs, it was more if a couple of us wanted to go to a trial than we could. I played well on that test and that’s when Mark Hughes said we’d like you to come down and I said I’m already living here. I had already decided to be a physical education teacher, not a rugby league player, but in the end I was able to do both. I finished college the same year that I made my debut.
What do you remember about your debut in NRL?
It was weird because he was playing part-time as a reserve and hadn’t trained with the full-time team at all. Brad Clyde was injured falling off a horse at Origin camp and I got a call from Steve Folkes on a Wednesday saying that I was going to make my debut that weekend.
The game was fast, but I walked onto the field for about eight seconds and scored on my first touch. I ran nervous as hell and said to Troy Stone ‘what do you want me to do?’ and he said ‘stay out of me, we got this play’. I threw a dummy and scored a try at the end.
I scored another later and we won the game 28-24 against the Warriors. I walked away thinking ‘will it be?’ I played another five games until Clydey came back.
Tell us about that 2002 season: 17 wins in a row and then it all crashes due to salary cap violations. You played in all the games, how was it in your eyes?
It was a strange moment, my ex-wife was also pregnant with our first child so I was excited about it and this all started to flare up. Points were taken away from us, I know I wasn’t bothering the accountant, but we all tried to accept pay cuts.
We didn’t really know what was going on behind the scenes, but on the field we stayed very strong and it taught each other a lot. I refer to many things from that experience today around how teams must stick together to win games.
It was disappointing because it looked like we were going to end up with a really good year, but I had better things to worry about with the birth of my daughter.
A couple of years later, the team lifted the trophy in 2004; You missed the grand finale, but what was that ending like?
Yeah, he was man number 18. He was out of me and a guy named JT (Johnathan Thurston) for the last spot on the bench after Steve Price suffered a knee injury. We started the training week and I knew which way Folkesy would go, so I warmed up and was part of the whole preparation.
Your departure from the Bulldogs occurred after that year when you moved to Melbourne. What was an inexperienced Craig Bellamy like then?
It doesn’t look like it has changed when I still see it in the box. It’s always been intense and I probably learned about 80 percent of my training from Craig after spending time there as a player and coach. It is a good environment to live there. I think people underestimate the Melbourne environment as something positive for them.
For me coming from Sydney and especially after ’02 and ’04 with the scrutiny the Bulldogs were under, they still stare at you in stores and sometimes people come up to you. In Melbourne, I think even Cameron Smith is still anonymous there and there is comfort in that because you can disconnect.
You go to train, then you go home and you are a dad, a couple or a single guy who goes out and can have fun. The guys in the AFL can’t do that, but the league players can.
You would have very fond memories of playing alongside the likes of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Sonny Bill Williams, Israel Folau and Greg Inglis in your early days, do you pinch yourself looking back now?
I pinch myself, but it makes me feel old. For example, Sonny was 19 years old when he was playing alongside him and now he is 35 years old and about to turn around.
I went to Roosters’ office the other day as part of his bubble and here is Sonny saying ‘Hey Jimmy, how are you, buddy?’ And I’m thinking I can’t believe you’re still playing and I was done so long ago.
I was quite honored because when I complimented how good he looked physically, he said that it was you (former Bulldogs players) who taught him how to train. Back then he was just a boy, but now he’s a humble man and father. It’s great to see players like him bring so much publicity to world sport.
Who had the greatest influence on your career?
Garry Carden was one, he was fired at the Bulldogs after more than three decades. He taught me to train enough to be a footballer.
When I arrived at the club I had not lifted a weight in my life and the only physical training we did was running on the field.
With his methods and influence, Gaz made us work hard and learn what it took physically and mentally to take the next step. Craig Bellamy was another one as I mentioned before and my father was also a very good coach in the juniors.
You are Roosters NRLW’s new coach and an assistant to Jillaroos. How important is the women’s game to you and how did you get involved?
I probably wanted to be a coach for the NRL after the influence of Craig Bellamy, but that’s where I grew. I came on board as NSW’s director of roads in 2015 and that was the first year I saw a game of the women’s rugby league.
He ran the shows but helped coach NSW men’s youth teams and then watched the women’s game. I love the development space available, they have a greater ability to learn because they have not played in their entire lives and they have not been over-trained.
I just like to see the change and the impact it can have on people through teaching or coaching. A lot of people want to get into women’s football now.
How is life now for Jamie Feeney?
I have five children, including two almost 11-month-old twins with whom I live in Miranda with my wife. It’s a different life, but I stay in the game through training and really enjoy every aspect of it.
I don’t take my job for granted, but when I’m not in front of a computer, I’m in front of two young children who have their own different personalities, my wife, and three teenagers who keep me busy.
