IT’S a little-known fact that the Roosters once had a red-hot go at pinching Sam Thaiday from Brisbane. They needn’t have bothered. Thaiday wasn’t interested back then and, while other clubs are lining up to lure him away from Red Hill at the end of next year, Thaiday’s overwhelming preference is still to remain a Bronco. He wants to be a one-club man. And he wants to rack up 300 games in the maroon-and-gold. Only Darren Lockyer, with 355 games, has reached the milestone for Brisbane with Corey Parker (298) closing in. Thaiday is off contract at the end of 2015 and his manager George Mimis is set to sit down with the Broncos to negotiate his final deal in the NRL. The 29-year-old reveals he may then finish his career in Super League. “I am probably signing my last contract in the NRL,” Thaiday says. “I might venture overseas afterwards if the body is still holding up. It all depends on the family situation as well. I have to put them at the forefront of my mind. But I want to stay here at the Broncos and bring up 300 games for the club. “I’ve had a few people chasing me. But I’m a big family man, and the Broncos are a big part of my family. That is why I want to get the opportunity to stay here for life.” Thaiday, who has played 208 games for Brisbane since debuting in 2003, credits former Broncos recruiter Paul Bunn and his wife, Donna, for moulding his early years and keeping him on the straight and narrow when he lived in their family home. “I’d moved down from Townsville to Brisbane and I struggled,” Thaiday says. “I needed a family base down here and Paul and Donna took me in. “Now I consider Paul and Donna my Brisbane parents. They are a huge part of my life and career and will continue to be for a lot of years.” Bunn, who now works for the Storm, says Thaiday has made immense changes over the past decade. “Sam had a couple of years living somewhere else when Wayne Bennett came to us and said, ‘I want you to take this lad on. I think he will be a good player for us, but I want you to keep an eye on him and look after him’,” Bunn says. “He was up and down between the Clydesdales and Broncos and he was wondering whether he was good enough. He was a wild kid in his day. In the early days Sam didn’t take footy too seriously. It was just fun to him. “He had a few issues with his diet and lifestyle but over the years he matured and made the changes. “There were a lot of helping hands. Now he lives a really good lifestyle with his wife (Rachel) and his little one (Gracie).” Being a one-club man is a rarity in the modern era but Bunn says Thaiday deserves the honour. “I’d like to think he’d get to 300 games,” Bunn continues. “Sam is such a loyal bloke and he loves the Broncs. “He could have gone away years ago. I remember the Roosters had a real good crack at him but he came to us and said, ‘I am not going anywhere’. He took a lot less money way back then. “But you always knew he was going to be a real good footballer. He has true grit about him and he also has empathy for the rest of his team-mates.”
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 02:30:36 +0000