It wasn’t too long ago that playing in the NRL was just a pipedream for Melbourne Storm co-captain Jesse Bromwich.
Jesse Bromwich beams with pride when he talks about the simple twist of fate that led to his journey from a New Zealand warehouse to the rugby league penthouse at the Storm.
The 32-year-old prop will co-captain Melbourne against Penrith in the preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday in his 272nd NRL game for the Storm, which he joined after leaving his country of birth on a wing and a prayer as a teenager.
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Bromwich took a punt and went to play for the Orange Hawks in NSW in 2008.
“I was living a life in New Zealand where I was working full-time with my dad. He was a supervisor in a warehouse in an aluminium company and I was working with him,” Bromwich recalled.
“I’d dropped out of school and had an opportunity to go to Orange and get paid to play footy.
“It was a very easy decision for me at the time; to be able to get out of what I was doing and make a bit of money playing footy was what I wanted to do.
“I got lucky. I got picked up and the rest is history.”
A trip to watch his brother Kenny train, and an innocuous question from Eels coach Brad Arthur, then the Storm’s under 20s coach, changed his life.
“I was down watching Ken train for the Melbourne Storm under 20s,” Bromwich said.
“I was 19 at the time and Brad Arthur called me over and asked me if I played footy. I said ‘yes’. Then he asked if I’d brought my boots. I said ‘no’, so I borrowed someone else’s boots and trained that day. They ended up giving me a contract after that … and here we are.”
Earlier this year Bromwich became the sixth Storm player to reach 250 career first grade games and will co-captain the team for the first time in a preliminary final.
“It is a very proud moment for my family,” Bromwich said.
“When I first started I just wanted to play one game but to play over 250 for the club is fantastic for my family. I am just very grateful to the club and hopefully there are a couple more.
“I wasn’t sure how we were going to go this year without Cameron (Smith). I think everyone was like that.
“I knew after the pre-season we would be all right. Brandon Smith has just come on this year and Jahrome Hughes has been huge for us as well. It has been nice to see those younger guys take a step forward. At times they have carried our team on their backs.
“It is also nice to be able to field a full team for once. We haven’t been able to do that for a long time. I know a lot of clubs are carrying injuries but to be able to name your best side in a prelim final is really good and a credit to our medical staff.”
Josh Addo-Carr is back on the wing after a break with a hamstring injury and Brandon Smith has been cleared of a facial fracture. Bromwich was crushed when he initially thought Smith had fractured his cheek in the Storm’s 42-10 finals win over Manly. News he had not suffered a break has given everyone at the club a lift.
“That was gutting for the team. I didn’t want to see him have a great year and then miss out. It has given us a real boost having him back,” Bromwich said.
“He is a bit of a character in our team. He gets on with everyone, and annoys everyone, too.
“Having him in our team, he is the spark plug that we like to have in the middle. When he gets tired, Harry (Grant) comes on and we know what he can do. It is a very good one-two punch combination to have. They can’t do anything without the rest of us forwards doing our job.”
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