Exclusive interview with Jodie Broughton (Thursday 6th January 2022)

 

Exclusive Interview with Jodie Broughton (Thursday 6th January 2022)

Hello and welcome to my first blog post. I think its a very good one to start with too as I have an exclusive interview with Jodie Broughton!

Jodie Broughton is an ex-Hull FC, Salford Red Devils, Huddersfield Giants, Oldham, Catalans Dragons, Toulouse Olympique, Halifax Panthers and Batley Bulldogs player; a true rugby and Super League stalwart. He retired at the end of the 2021 season, aged 33. He retired in Batley's Championship play off semi final, a game which they lost 51-12 to Toulouse. The free scoring winger scored 140 tries in a career that spanned 13 years and 218 first team appearances. I asked him a range of questions about his career and plans for the future.

How did you find moving to France to play for Catalans as I imagine it was quite different to playing to Huddersfield?

"It was a really daunting move to be honest, I hadn't ever wanted to live anywhere else other than Leeds or Manchester so for me to stop working (aside of rugby) and move to a country where I could not speak the language was a massive commitment and challenge for me but as it turned out it was the best thing I ever did. The people in the Catalan Region are so passionate about Rugby 'a treize' (rugby league). They just want to see their team put in a solid proud performance."

What was the best stadium and/or crowd you've played in front of?

"I always have fond memories of playing at the Willows for Salford, it was an old ground but when the crowd (the shed) got going it was brilliant. I always love playing at Headingley as that was the place I used to go when I was younger as I was a Leeds supporter. St James' Park was always a special place to go for Magic Weekend and when we (Catalans) beat Salford in 2018, that was a pretty special game and special performance for me."

Who was your rugby idol growing up?

"As a kid, I used to love watching Jason Robinson, Anthony Sullivan and Alan Hunt- they were all players I felt I could relate to and just loved players with genuine speed."

I'm presuming Leeds is the club you support or supported, so, even though you did quite well at Hull, do you regret not staying at Leeds and maybe playing a senior game with them?

"I didn't really have the option of staying at Leeds; I went on loan to Hull FC which I loved but at the time Leeds were champions and had a lot of young players coming through- Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins had just come through and were playing brilliant. I was never full time at Leeds, only part time in their academy. I would have loved to play a few competitive games for Leeds as it was my childhood team."

Your last game was the playoff semi. What was it like not reaching the final and are you unhappy your career ended that way?

"Good question, I had already decided I was going to retire. I loved the season I played with Batley and many people thought we over achieved and that we should have been happy with how well we did but I feel we could have achieved more. I was disappointed with the loss but as it ended I was happy that I got to play my last game in the south of France in front of many of my good friends. So I was disappointed with the result but very proud of what we achieved."

What do you put your consistent try scoring throughout your career down to?

"Fear. I used to be petrified of not being good enough so I was always on edge. This caused me to do quite a lot of unexpected things- sometimes it paid off and sometimes it didn't. I was never a fancy winger; I was blessed with pace and fortunately played outside some very good players."

You worked as a quantity surveyor throughout your career. Did this get in the way of training and rugby etc?

"It did on occasions but moreso when I was at university. I would have to be really well organised and speak with the coach at the time if there were any clashes and make sure we had a plan. Everyone was really helpful and I never really had any issues other than being tired from doing long nights in the library and training the next day but it was worth it in the end."

And finally, you are taking on the role of Player Welfare Officer at Batley. Do you have ambitions of going into coaching in the future or do you have ambitions of helping Batley achieve their Super League dream in the future?

"I have no intentions of going into coaching, it's not something I have ever wanted to do. I wouldn't mind doing S&C or something like that but not actual coaching. I more want to help people outside of rugby with their everyday lives. There are far too many people with issues outside of rugby and I just want to help those people where I can."

So, there we have it. I just want to say a massive thank you to Jodie for doing this interview. There will be an interview with Stephen Wild coming out at the start of February too. Thankyou to Stephen for taking time out of his busy schedule to do it.