WHEN the late great Arthur Beetson called into Dubbo, it was a game-changer for the then fresh-faced schoolboy David Peachey who would go on to become one of the best rugby league fullbacks of the modern era.
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On Thursday, Peachey told Year 9 and 10 students at Nambucca Heads High School he wondered what might have been had he not been in class that day when he was scouted by Beetson, which eventually opened doors to a glittering NRL career with the Cronulla Sharks and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
“All my cousins and brothers were wagging and if I wasn’t at school that day when Arthur Beetson came to town I wouldn’t have had that opportunity,” Peachey said.
Beetson is widely recognised as one of the finest prop forwards the game has seen, and his message of chasing ‘the dream’ is now spruiked by the current generation of ex-players like Peachey and Souths’ flyer Nathan Merritt.
Peachey and Merritt were both in Nambucca to talk with students, delivering the ‘Tackling Domestic Violence’ program.
Peachey said Merritt had walked a similar path, where the ‘little choices’ could make a world of difference.
“When some of his mates were probably out stealing grog and smoking cigarettes, Nathan was going to training and putting the hard work in,” Peachey said.
The upshot of making better life decisions saw both men go on to distinguished careers as professional athletes, where they rubbed shoulders with the likes of Souths owner Russell Crowe, and his entourage of the rich and famous.
“Who would have thought that the boy from Dubbo would go on to meet Snoop Dogg one day,” Peachey said.
Merritt said domestic violence was a scourge on society, and people had to work toward healthy relationships based on a “50-50 balance, trust and loyalty”.
“When I was your age all my mates were jigging school or dropping out. They just sat around all day smoking and listening to music. But I chose to go through and finish Year 12 and if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have played NRL or be where I am today,” Merritt said.
While Merritt is only just retired, Peachey hung his boots some years back, though you wouldn’t have guessed as the kids queued for autographs and ‘selfie’ snapshots on their phones.
Now sporting a salt and pepper beard but still lithe and fit, Peachey had a ‘presence’ with the youngsters as he delivered a message with power.
“You’ve got to be the first in your family to make a difference because you mob coming through are our next leaders,” he said.
“Ask yourself that question: Who do I want to be?”
