My summer job: Ryan Hoffman, Warriors captain

Ryan Hoffman of the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

What was your summer job when you were at school/uni, and what did it entail?

My first job was actually a paper-boy delivering the afternoon newspapers in Wellington for the Evening Post!

How/why did you end up working there?

I met someone when I first moved to New Zealand at school who was delivering papers and he asked if I could be his reliever when he couldn't do it. That's how I started and eventually I got my own paper route.

What did you like/not like about it?

What I liked about it was getting my own money!!! It was pretty good too. About $21 a week which was great for an 11-year-old. What I didn't like were the Saturday deliveries because those papers weighed a tonne - ha!

Did you have any embarrassing moments working there, and if so what happened?

It was the first time I was working and I got my stack of papers, put them in my carry bag and hopped on my bike. I must have stacked them the wrong way because I only lasted about 5 minutes because I couldn't carry and pedal at the same time. I actually panicked so I hid the papers in a park, raced home to mum and asked her to drive me around to deliver them. Not a good first day! However, a great lesson in paying attention and after that I worked out how to stack them properly.

What was your dream job at that age?

My father played professional league for the Canberra Raiders and like most boys I wanted to be just like my dad, so my dream job was to be a professional rugby league player. My dream came true, especially now playing in New Zealand for the Vodafone Warriors, bring on 2017!