6.30pm: I eat pretty cleanly so veges and a bit of protein, either steak, lamb, or pork, is always good, before getting the kids off to bed. I like to go to bed around 9pm and read for a while to unwind. I've just finished reading Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and now I'm starting on a real estate book.
Game Day
I don't have any firm rituals but like to be on time, so I work back from the scheduled kick-off.
If we have a 4pm game, I will eat lunch three hours earlier - usually leftovers - before heading to Mt Smart.
Going back to mid-morning, I might eat an omelette around 11am and breakfast is usually around 8.30am. I like to have bacon and eggs with some avocado and I'll try to drink a litre or two of water. The wife allows me to sleep in and might take the boys out so I try to relax, though I find it difficult to sleep in.
2.30pm: We have to be at the ground at least 90 minutes before the match and, soon after arriving, I'll have a protein shake. Some of the boys like to stretch out on the foam rollers or have an ice bath - everyone has their own routine. We have a television in the sheds so we keep an eye on the under-20s or NSW Cup games and I'll just float around and have a joke and enjoy other people's company.
3pm: Coach Andrew 'Cappy' McFadden will address the team as the boys continue their individual preparations - getting rubbed down, strapped and dressed. He'll remind us of our goals for the match and go through a few things while keeping things low-key and straight-forward.
3.35pm: The backs will head out onto the park to run through some positional plays - receiving kicks and running through some moves - before the forwards join them in some drills. We've got our warm-ups down to a fine art so take around 20 minutes before heading back to the sheds.
3.55pm: Cappy will get us together for a final chat and reinforce some key messages. There's a two-minute bell that signals the boys to go to the bathroom one last time and get their mouthguards and then we'll shake each other's hand before getting out on the park.
Fulltime: Win or lose, the first thing we'll do is thank the members and fans around the different parts of the ground. We hear their support during games and the least we can do is show them we appreciate it.
Once we're back in the sheds, Cappy will give his opinion on the game and then, if we've had a win, we'll sing the team song.
Our recovery process starts immediately so we'll have our protein shakes and get the ice bags on any bumps and bruises before having more ice baths and a shower.
Once that stuff is out of the way we will often meet our wives, partners and families in the players' lounge and have a nice meal together and maybe a few beers.
Sometimes we have official team functions at Sky City so we'll suit up for those, but otherwise we can go our separate ways.
I always record the game on MySky and, once home, I'll settle down and watch that. The body might be tired and sore but the mind is still ticking over everything that happened in the game so I generally don't get to sleep before 2am or 3am.
