By JAMIE HUMPHREYS
MY JOURNEY into the NRL owed a hell of a lot to the community game in London, for which I will always be grateful.
Going from Wests Tigers ballboy in 2011-2013 to a place in the (London) Broncos academy – U16s to U19s – having moved to England with my family, was the building block for my career.
My first grade debut at Manly in the back half of 2024 was great, but it did feel overdue. I’d been there a few years by that point and loved the club, everything about it, but there were two experienced halves in Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Brooks in front of me. I felt ready for first grade but knew the chance to play consistently wasn’t going to come, as much as I wanted it to.
So when a new opportunity to play at South Sydney Rabbitohs under a new coach in Wayne Bennett came up, I knew it would be extremely beneficial for me – and this first full NRL season has been a crazy ride. Nothing was guaranteed when I decided to leave Brookvale. I kind of took a leap of faith, backed myself to impress, so heading into pre-season training last November was nerve-wracking for sure.
I’d only really known how they do it at Manly since I’d been back in Australia, so to join a foundation club with such history behind it under a coach like Wayne was exactly what I wanted, although I knew I’d have to work exceptionally hard if this was going to be any sort of breakthrough year.
It paid dividends, though, because my willingness to go that little bit further to show him what I was all about resulted in me getting picked in the Charity Shield trial and, from there on, the number seven jersey became mine for the rest of the season. Personally, I probably did achieve almost everything I set out to do this year – which is pretty cool – and it’s exciting to see where we can take things in 2026.
Round two, when my field goal won it against St George Illawarra, was probably a pivotal moment. My halves partner Cody Walker and I hadn’t trained together at all because he’d just had an interrupted pre-season with injury, but I felt a lot more confident about us as a partnership going into that match. It felt great to get the team across the line.
Clearly my rival for the shirt was Lewis Dodd, who had joined us from St Helens, and he took some really unfair criticism. I know all about travelling halfway around the world to try and make your name because I did it as a 16-year-old. It’s extremely challenging when no-one knows much about you, never mind when there are huge expectations. I can’t imagine the pressure and expectation he experienced from being such a high-profile signing, but as a person and friend he is someone I really admire and he has so much to offer in the game.
For whatever reason it was tough for Lewis this year, which happens sometimes, especially if you have a number of niggling injuries as he did. I’m sure he’ll be fantastic at Catalans, though, and wish him nothing but the best. He deserves it, a great bloke.
The first time I met Wayne, I’d spoken to a lot of people who had played under him in an effort to figure out what made him tick, and I got nothing from them! I was a bit unsure. The only thing I was told was that he doesn’t like shaking hands, but he looked me in the eyes and offered his hand which took away any anxiety on my part.
In fact, he was honest with me from the start and immediately put me at ease. He pulled me into his office on the first day of pre-season. I was suffering from an injury at the time and it didn’t seem to be improving, probably because I was pushing myself too hard to get back on the field. Wayne told me he’d seen enough already to know that he wanted me in the side and didn’t care how long it took to get right.
That brief five-minute conversation took so much stress off my shoulders and allowed me to focus on getting right – and the injury improved quickly after that chat. He only gives you what he wants to, little else, and never asks too much of you because he trusts you if you’re in his team.
His honesty is what his players value the most – even during his notorious video review sessions! I grew up in the Cronulla area of Sydney – eventually one of eight siblings – although my dad worked for British Airways and they were living in London when mum was pregnant with me. He stayed and she flew back to be around her family when she had me. We stayed in Sydney for six weeks and from there moved back to London with my older brother, who is just over a year my senior.
We were in England until I was three and moved back to Australia when dad took up a job with Qantas. Growing up on the beach was idyllic for kids. I went to primary school there; it was the best childhood ever. We played footy in the backyard, sport a massive part of our lives. We always had a ball, although I played soccer before league. Dad was adamant he wanted me to learn how to kick before I could pass, but I would walk to school with a Steeden in my hands. There were a bunch of us kids in the street who played touch in the middle of the road.
I’d just started secondary school when dad let us know, in 2014, that he was taking us back to London because he’d taken up another role with BA. That was a shock to the system for me and my brother. All our friends were in Australia. It was a massive move. My parents had seven kids by then, yet returning turned out to be the best thing we ever did.
We lived in Surrey and started high school straight away. We were never going to forget rugby league, though, as there is a big family connection. I’m third generation to play – dad Stephen and grandad, Kevin, both did for Balmain, hence me being a ballboy at Wests Tigers. Grandad is well known down under as an administrator, an ex-NSWRL chairman, so playing in the NRL was something that I always dreamed of.
In the south of England, though, rugby league was almost impossible to find – I reckoned I wouldn’t see it again. We were looking for a team from the moment we got there, though, and luckily for us came across Elmbridge Eagles nearby who we joined up with straight away. It was there I met Kevin Rudd, dedicated to the club in a number of roles and stalwart of London Rugby League. He took us in and looked after us. It is, honestly, the best club, so caring, such attention given to all the age groups. I was lucky to join them; everyone I met there was so passionate about the game and growing I have nothing but admiration for the people at the Eagles and total respect for the impact Elmbridge had on me, amazing to be a part of. I still feel close to them and follow their results from the other side of the world.
Hopefully the investment in the Broncos will filter down into the community clubs who do such a fantastic job on the ground. I was selected for the North v South London Origin series and played for the Broncos from that.
It’s an exciting time at the moment with Darren Lockyer taking over. That’s exactly what the club needs. When I joined the scholarship, I felt the junior talent was amazing. Kai Pearce-Paul was in the side and we remain great friends, but most schools in the south play union, so to attract the talent is difficult. But even when I was 14, the coaching I received at London Broncos and the club itself were extremely well run. We knew going into the academy league that we didn’t have the infrastructure and history of the sides we’d face. We had to be supremely fit to give ourselves a chance, so that was what we concentrated on. It was really hard work, but the quality of training was excellent.
Just before I left, in 2019, the Broncos were promoted to Betfred Super League and being in the U19s then I felt there was a clear pathway. I could see where they going. It has been frustrating to see some of that momentum drain away over the last four or five years, but the investment now and getting more eyeballs on the game – a lot of people are talking about it in Australia at the moment with Jason Demetriou being appointed coach and Reagen Campbell-Gillard signed – is definitely going to make the club more attractive for potential players and raise the profile internationally.
Kai is a classic example of what’s out there and there are plenty more like him. He was always the standout and I had a feeling he would end up in the NRL one day. We catch up regularly; when he joins the Tigers next year he’ll be just around the corner. We came fourth in the Academy system that year and that was significantly higher than any other Broncos side had managed. I was still 16 and filling holes in the side where needed, but it was such a great group that included Bill and Ollie Leyland, Josh Hodson and Ramon Silva.
My first scholarship game was at Odsal. It was absolutely freezing, raining sideways, but it was such an amazing sight when the coach pulled up and we looked down at the sunken stadium below. That’s an experience I will never forget. The game was so different to what I was expecting because we’d trained on astroturf in London and it was so tough and physical. I was a lot smaller at the time, but I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything.
Later that season we played at the Totally Wicked Stadium against Lewis, Wakefield, the Jungle, Widnes … and it was so good to get to some historic grounds.
Going back down under in January 2020, though, I went into the U18s SG Ball comp with Manly and went from the middle of winter to the peak of summer. That was a struggle, especially as I went straight into a trial game the next day. It felt so fast and I didn’t know anyone, but ended up going okay. I made the squad for round one – but that was when Covid happened and everything got shut down.
Thankfully, footy got back on its feet and in the interim I had used the time to really train hard and practice goal-kicking, reaching a level where I knew that I could take my ambitions further. I progressed through the grades at Manly and trained with the first-team, learning a lot from Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry- Evans and coach Des Hasler.
My debut last year was moment, something I wanted to do, become part of their history. The whole time I was at Brookie, it was always pitched to me that I would take over from Daly when he moved on, but he gets better with age and didn’t slow down at all! He was selfless with his time and imparted all his knowledge to me. I’m so grateful for that.
It just got to the stage, as I say, when I felt I needed to test myself at the next level and I had already turned the Rabbitohs down the year before.
My residency growing up in England means I would qualify to play for them. If Shaun Wane was to give me a ring I’d consider it, absolutely. I learned so much during my time going through the system in London, played against so many of the current squad as a junior, and feel as though I have really strong connections.
