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Friend one of NRL's toughest: Gillmeister

25th September, 2014
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The man who famously risked his life to captain Queensland – Trevor Gillmeister – reckons Sydney Roosters rake Jake Friend is cut from the same cloth as rugby league’s great hard men including South Sydney’s John Sattler.

In what has now become rugby league legend, Rabbitohs captain Sattler played 77 minutes with a shattered jaw to lead South Sydney to the 1970 title.

Friend also entered the tough guy annals after doctors discovered Friend was just hours away from death before treating him for internal bleeding around his chest – an injury sustained in their round-25 clash against Melbourne.

Friend completed that game but was rushed to hospital early the following morning and diagnosed with a lung injury similar to that of a severe car crash victim.

Remarkably he missed just two games before chiming into the Roosters’ 31-30 semi-final win over North Queensland.

Ex-Roosters bruiser Gillmeister was not surprised, saying Friend boasted a quality shared by the likes of Sattler that could never be taught.

“That’s his nature. That toughness is something you can’t coach,” he told AAP.

“It annoys me when people say a coach has put that aggressive edge on him because I think it comes down to the fact the bloke has matured a bit and he’s got natural toughness about him.

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“You can improve on people’s skills but not their toughness.”

Sattler – the last man to captain a Rabbitohs premiership side in 1971 – is a hard act to follow in the tough guy stakes.

But Gillmeister did his best when he left his hospital bed to lead Queensland in the 1995 State of Origin series “dead rubber”.

Suffering a blood disorder, Gillmeister was told by doctors he could die if he played.

History shows Gillmeister inspired a Maroons outfit decimated by the start of the Super League war to a 3-0 series sweep.

He spent the next two days in hospital.

“It was up to me, I had no one to blame but myself – or maybe Fatty (Queensland coach Paul Vautin),” laughed Gillmeister, dubbed `The Axe’ in his playing days.

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“But in this day and age you wouldn’t be allowed to play.”

As Friend prepared to put his body on the line again in Friday night’s preliminary final against South Sydney, Gillmeister admitted it was hard to explain to people how players could defy the pain barrier like the Roosters No.9.

“I don’t know. It’s hard to pinpoint. Call it stupidity maybe,” he laughed.

“But if you listened to the doctor every time, you’d never go out on the field.”

It may be hard to explain but the impact of Friend’s bravery on the Roosters side was clear in Gillmeister’s mind.

“It makes the other blokes in the side say `what am I whingeing about’ and stand up,” he said.

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