Anyone who is great at their rugby league job is intriguing.
Melbourne Storm talent identification guru Paul Bunn started at the Dolphins, Crushers, Broncos and then Storm finding those rare and beautiful gems that would bring a smile to Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett’s face.
Paul Bunn Q&A
You were at the Dolphins as a full-time development officer a long time before anyone else had one - how did that come about?
Ross O’Reilly had been appointed head coach of the Redcliffe Dolphins and he suggested I would be worth employing as their development officer, so I came down and was the first development officer that was employed by a club. Before that, the QRL had a few, but clubs weren’t doing it. I loved my time at the Dolphins, such good people there. Des Webb was tremendous. I did miss Yeppoon and still do very much, but Dolphins made it easier to be living away from my home.
You moved onto the Crushers and then Broncos?
The Crushers had a lot of Redcliffe staff because of 'Tosser' and then I moved to the Broncos in 1997 and then Storm in 2011, which was Greg Brentnall’s doing.
What role has your teaching career played in helping your rugby league role?
Teaching skills are pretty important. It teaches you about relationships with people and just getting a good read on people. I wouldn’t say I miss teaching, but I appreciate it and the role it’s played.
You worked closely with Cyril Connell at the Broncos, what did the great man teach you that’s still relevant today?
I loved working with Cyril, he was a true gentleman of the game. He never had a bad word to say about anybody. I learned the real art of talent identification and recruitment from Cyril. I spent a lot of time with him, he wouldn’t fly so we’d drive to all parts of Queensland. I remember driving with him to Townsville for a schoolboys carnival. On the drive up and back we did a lot of chatting about life, but mostly about football and people in general, it was a long drive. Cyril had these qualities that he valued - be humble and work hard and that’s what he looked for in players. He’d sign these kids and the Broncos would put them through uni, many were never going to play NRL, but Cyril wanted to help them. This was part of his ‘social program’ that Wayne and I laughed about but valued. I remember he signed this kid that would be lucky to be four-foot tall, and I remember Bennett saying 'Cyril, how big is he?' 'Oh, he’s big Wayne, really big'. Needless to say he was a part of Cyril’s ‘social program’. I remember when the Broncos won in 2006, Cyril had identified 15/17 Broncos of our grand final team, they were developed from within. Cyril didn’t like to fly at all, but I remember we got him on a plane to New Zealand - myself, Alf and Chris Johns went with him - I have got to say he absolutely loved it. Without Cyril it would have taken me a lot longer to figure things out in talent ID and recruitment, I learnt a lot of valuable insights from him and cherish every moment I spent with him.
Peter Mulholland told me he always looks for the kid picking up the witches’ hats after warm up - do you have a left-field success criterion?
I look for how they handle adversity, how they react to points scored against them, do they look to blame others.
Yourself, Craig Bellamy and Frank Ponissi are seen as the golden Storm triangle - how does the great alignment between you work?
The Storm as an organisation is very inclusive. If you work for the Storm, you’re included and valued. Doesn’t matter if you’re the membership salesperson or played 300 NRL games, you are part of it. There is no secret sauce it’s just the people and hard work.
How would I pass the famous Bellamy and Ponissi coffee test to get to play for the Storm?
They have great instincts and they would sniff out a fake straight away, but they look for those qualities - gratefulness, being humble and people who are willing to work hard. Cyril had a very similar test and I have just refined it over the years. I can tell five minutes after I sit down in your family lounge room what the Storm are getting.
What’s your best story, not the best player but best story finding a player?
We don’t really have left-field stories because we are only looking for a certain type. One of my best mates from Yeppoon who came down to Redcliffe with me but got hurt was Paul Grant. I remember I was at a barbecue at the Grant’s house and I told a young Harry running around kicking a ball 'I will sign you one day'. I was at the Broncos then, but it ended up being to the Storm. It was Paul Grant that rang me and said you better look at this kid in Rocky called Cameron Munster.
What’s the sock story from the 2002 Baby Broncos?
I was working as football manager and Craig Bellamy was coaching for the first time, it was against the Wests Tigers. Wayne was away coaching Origin at the time. We are on the bus, stuck in traffic, running late. We got the players to get dressed on the bus - that’s when we realised I had left the playing socks behind. The team manager at the time Brian McGrath rang a contact and got hold of Peter Wynn and explained we needed 17 pairs of Broncos football socks in a desperate hurry. They’ve tracked down 17 pairs of socks and delivered them to Campbelltown. We had players warming up in no socks and some in ankle socks.
I am always intrigued by the Storm succession planning. Some clubs take 20 years to replace a great player and they still never do it.
We knew that Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk were coming to the end of their careers, so what we did was recruited four fullbacks - Munster, Hughes, Drinkwater, Papenhuyzen - and Billy was still playing great footy, so we thought we would cover halves and fullback that way. Out of that four will be our replacement for Cronk and Slater. Fullbacks can cover halves mostly nowadays, so we picked our four, developed them and waited. Importantly, we had two hookers to cover Cameron Smith, Harry Grant and Brandon Smith and Harry was our choice there. Harry is developing into a great leader, which makes us Yeppoon Seagulls proud.
What impact did Cameron Smith have on you?
Cameron Smith is one of the greatest players to play the game - we all know that - possibly the greatest captain of all time. However, his influence on his teammates, the young players coming through, the front office, the sponsors, the fans cannot be measured, but it was enormous.
