This week’s guest on BTR is former Wests Tigers, Panthers and NSW prop, Tim Grant.
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Much of this chat is about Tim's role at the Wests Tigers as head of wellbeing, and we take a look at the link between mental fitness and player performance.
He talks openly about his own battles post-retirement, and the struggles of others who failed to cope when all they knew was suddenly taken away.
These days he’s helping players in many ways, whether just there as a friend who’ll listen, or helping them form a plan for life after footy.
He also talks about his penchant for pruning hedges, and his football-loving grandma who was a nurse, who would stich up the wounds of his fathers’ bush-footy teammates, without anaesthetic!
Grant played 196 NRL games and played two games for NSW in the 2012 State of Origin series. He played eight seasons with the Panthers, making his NRL debut in 2007. After a brief stint at the Bunnies in 2015 he joined Wests Tiger, where he played 46 games over three seasons, before returning to the Panthers for his final season in the NRL.
This bloke is footy through and through and readily admits it wasn’t so much his talent, but hard work, that enabled a professional career in football.
These days he is clearly still loving being involved in rugby league here at Wests Tigers, where he is making a significant contribution.
“We all need support and just being someone they [the players] know they can lean on, that’s important to me,” Grant said.
It’s about trust and respect and I want to be the guy the boys know they can call, doesn’t matter if it’s two in the morning.
Tim Grant
Grant has looked at various wellbeing models being used in professional sport and says the NRL is out in front.
"I can honestly say in terms of resources poured into wellbeing, I think the NRL is leading the way worldwide."
