Josh Schuster has opened up on the frank conversation between him and Daly Cherry-Evans late last year that started his transformation into Manly’s long-term option in the halves.
The five eighth, who excelled in the Sea Eagles’ win over Parramatta last Thursday night, revealed that DCE had showed him some tough love and challenged him to get his body and his head right to turn his undoubted talent into a long career.
“Chez had a word for me at the end of last year, and said to me, the way you’re going, you’re going to have a short career,” said Schuster.
“It’s up to you. You can’t depend on anyone else but you. If you want a long career, you have to own it with two hands and stand on your own two feet.
“I think I took it personally, which is a good thing. I definitely want to be the six for the next 10, 12, 15 years.
“It’ll be stupid if you don’t listen to a guy like Chez. He captained Australia, played Origin, captain of Queensland, captain of his club. It’d be stupid enough not to listen to him.
“If he says something like that, you have to take it seriously and take it on board. We’re very lucky to have him as our captain.”
DCE honed in his huge potential and how, on the trajectory that he had been on for the last few years, it was set to be squandered, pointing to guys like Tom Trbojevic who are able to wring every last drop out of their talent.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“I think he knows what I’m capable of and my potential in the game,” said Schuster. “I think it was just a little kick up the bum. I’m still new to the NRL, he’s obviously very experienced so to get advice like that from him, it’d be stupid not to pick his brain and take it on board, which I’m doing right now.
“It’s my first game. I can play bad next week and the whole world’s coming down. My main focus is next week.
“I’m so sick of that word, talent. I don’t want to be known as a guy with so much talent but just a waste. I want to be six for the next 10, 12, 15 years. Hard work beats talent. I gotta keep working hard and building for next week.
“I’m very fortunate to play with players like Turbo and Chez. They play a big part for my role. I’m happy that I had a performance like that. But my main thing is next week and it’s going to be a tough game against the Rabbitohs.”
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Wow at the hyper sensitive Manly supporters. It could be some kind of peanut allergy.
Louis McIntyre
Roar Guru
It was 36 degrees on Thursday and he was coming back from injury Tony, give him a couple of weeks :laughing:
matth
Roar Guru
How is it mocking to say that he needs to work on his defense?
NSWelshman
Roar Rookie
Just like 99% of other players from all teams were….I respect your opinion but the tone of your comments appear to show you have a dislike of Schuster. In any case I’ll listen to what Andrew Johns said about the kid not what you perceive!
The Spectator
Roar Guru
Didn’t even realise he missed any tackles, too busy looking at the scoreboard ????
The Barry
Roar Guru
Surprised at some of the comments here. I read this story thinking “I love this sort of stuff” Veteran player takes talented rookie aside and he gives him a few home truths about talent only getting him so far, rookie takes it to heart and vows to work hard. I just listened to a podcast about Rocky III and this could have come straight from it Schuster is an amazing talent. He was superb playing second row in 2021. He started last year with an injury which impacted his weight and his fitness and he struggled. Which he’s completely owned One game into his transition to 6 and he’s had an absolute blinder. He’s probably still got a bit of work to do on his fitness - which he’s acknowledged. I don’t know how any footy fan can watch a performance like Schuster’s on Thursday and not be at least a little bit excited… regardless of how many tackles were missed
Tony
Roar Guru
Plenty, but this article was about Schuster
Tony
Roar Guru
You don't need to be a clinical exercise physiologist to see a player walking and standing behind the ruck
NSWelshman
Roar Rookie
I guess you’re a Clinical Exercise Physiologist? So you know what a fit person looks like & feels like internally? I think he went pretty well for a player that has been out of action for a while. Pretty sure he’ll prove you wrong!
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Fair enough. His words echo your sentiment, he needs to keep digging in. And judging by the defensive frailties over all 8 games on the weekend, I’d say there are dozens of others who need to work on their fitness too.
NSWelshman
Roar Rookie
Tell that to Parramatta lolol
Tony
Roar Guru
Just my opinion about where his game is at the moment.
Tony
Roar Guru
No doubt he's a rare talent, but I'm not sure he's got the physical set up for a 5/8 required to play 80 minutes each week. Same applies to Mitchell at fullback. He may be better suited to a ball playing lock role.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
Tony, you are literally replying to an article where he identifies that he needs to work harder to succeed. That he can’t rest on his talents alone. And I’m guessing the result from this chat with DCE is one of the reasons why he stood down from playing at the World Cup to focus on his fitness. He dropped a lot of kgs but he knows he can’t stop there. No wonder these young guys have to turn off social media for fear of being abused. Even being open and honest isn’t enough to please the guys watching from the couch.
Noel
Roar Rookie
He's got the words right. He's got the right people in place to help him put those words into action. And he clearly has the talent. The rest is up to him. If he didn't play for Manly and wasn't a Blue, I might've wished him luck. :silly:
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
I can see where the hype is coming from and I agree with it. He will clearly need to be very dedicated to fitness and giving the Fish and Chip shop a miss but I'll accept his word that he'll do that. Time will tell. He's got enough good role models at the club and he just needs to copy them and he will be around for a decade and probably playing rep footy. Fitness and work ethic are often what separates the great players from the rest.
Nathan Tee
Roar Rookie
Who let the Flat Earther's in here???
Adam
Roar Guru
So you're saying the media are overhyping players? Why I never!!
Dean
Roar Rookie
He's certainly got work-ons Tony and, if we are fair about it, the only measure we have for his fitness is his appearance. Missing tackles and lazy defence can be caused by a number of factors. The main dispute in the comments is that a number of us see that he has massive upside, some disagree and some such as yourself have identified a number of weaknesses. My preference is to pump his tyres a bit as the potential he has shown, in my eyes, suggests a player who may become worth the price of admission alone.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
For those saying he is over hyped , I have two words.. Joseph Suavllii