One of my most reluctant interviewees in three decades as a reporter answered the phone at just after 4pm on Friday and promptly said: “I wouldn’t know what to say.”
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Twelve minutes later and Boggabri Roos five-eighth Kialu Brown had probably said more than he thought he would. While the words were not shot from his mouth like anti-aircraft gunfire (more like a fat man’s jab), enough was said to piece together a portrait of a bush rugby league journeyman.
About to turn 29, Brown’s traverse through New England’s senior league landscape has taken him to Tingha, Moree, Inverell, Narrabri, back to Inverell and now to Boggabri. He played his junior football in Inverell.
And although on the surface he emitted an air of casualness verging on disinterest during the interview, he talked about his league exploits with a level of detail suggestive of someone who has more pride in his achievements in the game than perhaps he would like to let on to a nosey journo he has never met.
For Boggabri, it is a good thing that Brown does his talking on the field. His coach Shane Rampling described the new signing as a high-energy, highly instinctual performer.
Rampling will need his No.6 to be at his best when the Roos chase their first win of 2018 away to Gunnedah on Saturday.
He said the first he knew of Brown’s interest in playing for the Roos was when he “popped down to training” during the off-season. “He's a very elusive player … He brings a lot of energy,” Rampling said.
“He brings a lot of off-the-cuff football. He plays what he sees, which is great for us. He’s just a live wire, really … He’s one of our main attacking weapons.”
Brown chose Boggabri because he works in the area, although the father of two lives with his parents, Sharon Brown and Raymond Binge, in Narrabri.
He began playing footy as a child and, apart from one season about nine years ago, the sport has been a constant in his life ever since. He won the 2011 premiership with the Inverell Hawks, playing fullback.
Asked to describe his enduring passion for league, he answered: “It’s good to play footy and meet new people. That’s the main part I like about it.”
“All my family’s played it, so I thought I'd play it too,” he added. “I haven’t tried to be better or tried to be less [as a footballer]. I just like to show up every year like I am and play footy.”
