I'm often asked about my teammates and what they are really like behind the scenes, what are the more obscure nicknames, who spends the most time in front of the mirror - that sort of thing.
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While we are still in isolation and training predominantly on our own is probably as good a time as any to let the cat out of the bag about a few of them.
Best nicknames: Around the boys Mitch Barnett gets called "Muscles" quite a bit. It relates back to the pre-season army camp we had at McDonald Jones Stadium prior to the 2019 season.
One of the instructors was loud and kept slamming doors and carrying on while we were trying to get some limited sleep. He and Barney had a few words this night so we started calling him Muscles. Barney does love the odd flex too so it really suits him.
Kalyn Ponga is obviously KP but he cops "Wild Tiger" a bit because he is full on at training and can get into the odd scuffle at times while Kurt Mann answers to "Smokey" because of those smokey eyes of his.
The best one is probably our backrower Lachlan Fitzgibbon, who gets called "Socks" or "Socksy" but you need to ask him why because I'm not telling.
On the coaching front, we've got Adsy [Adam O'Brien], Furnsey [David Furner] and Willie Peters gets "Peters of Kensington''. I thought we named him that after a bar in Oxford Street but apparently, it's a department store.
Who hogs the mirror: There's a few but I reckon Connor Watson probably wins out in this one. There is a mirror in the sheds and he is straight there after he showers and is always looking good Connor.
Best singer: KP and Connor do everything together and have alright voices and would probably make a decent singing duo I reckon. But I'd go with Tau Moga. He can hold a tune and hit a pretty good note.
Best trainer: Take your pick from Connor, Kalyn, Junior [Pearce], Randy [Chris Randall] and Bradie [Bradman Best]. The Saf boys [Daniel and Jacob] have really lifted in this area too while Phoenix Crossland always puts in a great effort.
Coffee king: A lot of the boys don't mind a coffee but Junior probably spends the most on them because every time he asks who wants a coffee, the whole squad puts their hand up. We call him Piccolo at the coffee shop.
Best handyman: I can tell you who it's not and that's me. I'm hopeless but I'm sure quite a few of the boys are just as useless. Kingy [Josh King] wins this hands down. He's a qualified electrician for starters but if anyone's got something that needs fixing, Kingy's our man.
Who won't I sit next to on a bus/plane: That's an easy one - Dos [Aidan Guerra]. He could fart for a living.
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