2 days ago
Inside the wholesome new State of Origin bonding sessions as stars replace kegs of beer with soft drinks, lollies and talk about their childhoods
The days of footy players heading out on boozy bonding sessions are long gone.
Even Queensland great Billy Moore once shed light on how wild the team meet-up sessions were back in the 90s, stating that players stayed up all night drinking beer for the first four nights of one camp during one series.
But, in the age of sports science and premium performance, bonding sessions for NRL players in the modern era look drastically different, as New South Wales have shown this week.
The Daily Telegraph revealed on Thursday how Laurie Daly's squad are getting to know each other better, in order to win this year's State of Origin Series.
The Blues suffered an agonising defeat in their second Origin clash against Queensland, meaning bragging rights for 2025 will all come down to next Wednesday's final clash at the Accor Stadium in Sydney.
While they outscored the Maroons for tries, they were unable to kick their conversions, meaning they missed out on retaining the shield by just three points.
But as they re-group and re-gather to go again next week, the team have also been focusing on their camaraderie in order to best Billy Slater's side.
Every week while they are in camp, the Blues all come together on a Thursday for what's known as 'Sirro's Happy Hour'.
Organised by Paul Sironen, an Origin legend, and now the Blues 'moral officer', players gather at the Two Doctors Whiskey Tavern, at their residence, the Fairmont Resort.
Here the players spend several hours competing in groups against each other, taking part in quizzes, joke telling, singing contests, interviews and also speaking about each other's childhood.
As for the refreshments, the team drink fizzy drinks and tuck into a pack of lollies during the evening.
'Sirro's Happy hour has become a big part of camp,' New South Wales star Connor Watson said.
'It's about connecting with everyone. We have had trivia, interviews, a bit of music and it has also allowed us to learn more about the players and staff.
He then opened up on why the meetings were so critical to the team.
'That's really important when you're building proper connections by digging a little bit deeper, not just surface-level stuff. It bonds us.'
Sironen, who made 14 appearances for the Blues during his distinguished footy career, knows all about just how important camaraderie and team bonding is.
The 60-year-old former Balmain Tigers second-row, who won three back-to-back Origin series, said that the team were learning new things about each other.
'It's a good laugh but is also great for our camaraderie. It's a crack-up but we're also learning stuff we didn't know – people's life stories,' Sironen said.
'It's a lighthearted hour. It's become part of camp and is another layer of connection. We do trivia, music trivia and interview players about when and where they grew up.
'We dig down and find some personal things about our staff and players, their quirky habits and anecdotes. We might have a singing contest.'
However, he revealed the challenges and games that the players will undertake don't stay the same from camp to camp.
'Last camp, players had to guess songs,' he said. 'Other players had headphones on with music being played and they had to try and sing the song while the rest of the team had to guess what song it was. It was quite entertaining – there are some very ordinary singers in the team.
'I do a little bit of research to find out some bits and pieces. It's good fun.
'It adds to the camp. I love it. We did last year as well and we're finetuning it. It's a good idea. We bring out some lollies and they have soft drinks.'
For Sironen, this will be the 30th anniversary of New South Wales' victory in 1994, when they completed the three-peat.
That was his last-ever appearance in a Blues jersey, however, the footy great says he is loving still being involved in the side.
'It's been 30 years since I last played Origin so it's great to still be involved, particularly at this level.'
