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It was fitting that Jack Bostock celebrated his Origin selection on Monday night by joining members of the victorious NSW Blues team from 30 years ago, including Tim Brasher – the champion fullback who played a big role in putting Bostock on the road to the NRL.
Brasher helped recruit Bostock’s father, Josh, to Balmain in the mid-1990s after spotting him play in Jindabyne.
Josh played two first-grade games as a winger for Balmain in 1997. Brasher then did his best to make sure things happened for his boy, Jack.
“I think Josh holds the record for being the only player to get players’ player, then sacked the following week by [coach] Wayne Pearce, and never play first grade again,” Brasher said. “Josh was a big human who was fast and liked to run over people.
“A few years back, Josh asked me to come and watch Jack play down at Cronulla. He was in the under-15s or under-16s, and I ended up putting him in touch with a mate who is an agent, Paul Sutton. It’s amazing how things happen. He’s now playing state of Origin. I can’t wait to have a beer with him.”
Brasher, now 55, sent this masthead a photo of he and Bostock as he enjoyed a cold can of Stone and Wood Pacific Ale at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where David ‘Cement’ Gillespie and Test spinner Nathan Lyon addressed both the 1996 and current Origin squads about the challenges of winning away from home.
Bostock replaces Brian To’o for next Wednesday’s decider, with his height giving NSW an extra attacking aerial threat on the left wing.
He was brought into the squad for game two but did not figure at the MCG, and was delighted he would now get his chance to play against Queensland.
The 22-year-old grew up in Shellharbour on the NSW south coast, and was a member of the same Illawarra Steelers SG Ball team that featured Hamish Stewart, Dylan Egan and Ryan and Toby Couchman. Those four players are now regulars for the Dragons, but Bostock was shown little interest by the Red V and quickly snapped up by Wayne Bennett and the Dolphins.
How the Dragons could let a player like Bostock slip through their fingers – especially when they could do with a top-shelf winger or centre – was a question still being asked by Beau Ryan as he holidayed in the south of Italy on Monday. The former Wests Tigers favourite played with Josh at Illawarra club Western Suburbs Red Devils, and was one of Jack’s favourite players growing up, along with Benji Marshall.
“I still can’t believe the Dragons let Jack go because he was always going to be an Origin player,” Ryan told this masthead on Monday.
“He did his ACL at the worst time [last year], but he’s come back and started braining it straight away. Not many people can do that. He will play for NSW and Australia for a very long time.”
Bostock ruptured his ACL and MCL during a game in Perth midway through last year, but has been nothing short of phenomenal in his eight games back for the high-flying Dolphins.
He thanked Bennett for handing him his NRL debut, and will never forget their first meeting.
“Wayne was the biggest factor at the start, and once I met Wayne, I was keen to get up there [to Redcliffe],” Bostock said.
“When I had my first interaction with him, I thought we’d talk about footy. But Wayne spoke to dad the whole time, and asked me what I liked to get up to away from footy. When the footy chat came around, Wayne got up to leave and said, ‘I haven’t seen you play, so I can’t talk about your game’.
“[Recruitment guru] Peter O’Sullivan had seen me play, and that was enough for Wayne.”
Bennett said of Bostock on Monday: “Jack’s got a lot of outstanding attributes. He was a late bloomer, he’s getting better each year – most of them do when they are young – but he was someone down at Wollongong that had mixed vibes about him. He was not as quick to develop as the other boys.
“Peter O’Sullivan had a big rap on him, and I spoke to a few guys down there who all thought he had a good future.
“Jack is a very confident person with his behaviour and attitude to football. I enjoyed being around Jack; I enjoyed being in his company.”
Bostock’s younger sister, Indie, is playing in the NRLW with the Gold Coast Titans, with the pair never allowed to play in the backyard because it would always end in fights.
Bostock is off contract at the end of next year, and while a Dragons homecoming has a certain romance to it, such a move seems unlikely.
“The Dolphins have given me everything in the game so far, and I want to repay them,” he said.
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