Adrian Lam can still remember the parents from opposition teams coming up to him after junior games and complaining about the little backrower wearing headgear.
“You need to tell that boy to stop tackling so hard – he’s hurting people,” the unimpressed locals would often tell the Sydney Roosters and Queensland favourite.
That boy was none other than Victor Radley.
Radley insists he would not be playing in the NRL, nor getting the chance to make his NSW Origin debut tonight, had it not been for Lam and the nearly 10 years he was his coach at the Clovelly Crocodiles.
“I guarantee you I wouldn’t be playing in the NRL if it wasn’t for ‘Lammy’ – that’s a fact,” Radley said.
Lam, who is based on the other side of the world coaching Super League club Leigh, will tune into Origin I cheering his beloved Maroons, plus any time Radley gets involved for the Blues.
Radley and Lam’s son Lachie were the same age, and they enjoyed some wonderful times at the Crocodiles, one of the few Roosters’ junior clubs that would train at the picturesque Burrows Park. The Crocodiles lost their share of finals there to the Mascot team that had a young Cameron Murray, who will now team with Radley for the Blues on Wednesday night.
Lam, 55, loved everything 28-year-old Radley represented back then and now.
“He used to wear headgear when he was younger, his dad [Nigel] made him wear it, and because he was really small, the big boys used to single him out and run at him, but then he’d absolutely smash them,” Lam said. “Nothing has changed now in terms of his aggression.
“His tackle technique has always been on the edge, but when he gets it right, he’s as good as anyone in the world.
“He was always one of those kids who would say to his teammates, ‘we need to stop this guy, I’ll show you how it’s done’, then he’d go out and do it.
“He was also a great leader, and one of those guys you’d go to war with.
“If anything happened to you on the field, he’d stand up for the players, but it was the same off the field. If you’re his mate, and someone harassed you at a pub or a cafe, he’d do everything he can to make sure you were all right, including knocking the bloke out. He’s just so loyal.”
Such was his respect for Radley, Lam approached his old club the Roosters about taking him on when he was 17, only to be almost laughed out of their offices by a former official.
“I saw someone in recruitment at the time and said, ‘You need to get this kid signed up as soon as possible’,” Lam said.
“This guy said, ‘Is it Victor Radley?’, I told them it was, and he said, ‘We’re not sure that’s going to happen, mate – he’s not going to be with us’.
“I told him Victor was one of the best 17-year-olds who would play for Australia. This guy put a green and gold magnet next to Victor’s name on the whiteboard, and asked me if I seriously thought he was one of the best kids in the country. I realised he was taking the piss and wanting to have a laugh.
“Victor was a bit naughty, he grew up with boys and had to fight for everything. We worked on making him a better person. Two years later he was starting at the Roosters.”
Lam, Lachie and a few Clovelly teammates made sure they were there for Radley’s NRL debut in 2017.
The former halfback loved his Origin moments, including the infamous night Billy Moore yelled “Queenslander” as he emerged from the tunnel in Sydney – Lam’s then home ground for the Roosters – crying while listening to Paul Vautin and Chris Close talk about what the Maroons meant to them one night at the Roma St Travelodge, and the 1999 all-in brawl at the MCG.
“I’ll be supporting Queensland but cheering Victor,” said Lam, who added the wonderful mix of intense fear and adrenaline made Origin games so impossible to forget.
Radley, who has been named on the bench, spoke fondly about his Clovelly playing days, and the influence his old Queenslander mate had on his professional and personal life.
“I’ve got three other brothers who were all good footy players, tough, they wandered through their junior footy and ended up doing trades,” Radley said.
“I would have done the same if it wasn’t for Lammy. There’s nothing wrong with being a carpenter, I love being a carpenter, but he shaped me into the person I am today, and definitely the player I am today.
“Even though we don’t catch up as often because he’s in England, I will never forget that.”
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