Were you always confident of getting back to the top level?

Um, yeah.

I mean, um, you never know with these things.

They can be, uh, uh, a bit of a pain in the bum sometimes, but, um, you know, I've, I've done one before back in 2020 and probably learned a lot from that one.

I probably took it a bit lightly that time and, um, you know, came back, uh, in really good shape and, um, was really focused on making sure I wasn't coming back heavy and I was still strong and- Took the opportunity to get a bit stronger and, and try and get a bit faster and, and whatnot.

And, um, yeah, I feel like it's, it's, uh, paid its dividends at the moment, but, um, yeah, just kind of working on it week in, week out.

As a player, Billy, do you feel the same way?

Yeah, for sure, mate.

What's broken down from what the players are saying, that everything's going great at training, to then the game?

Yeah, it's hard to really pick one thing I mean if we knew that we probably would have turned our season around a lot earlier but you know what it's like Corey we do we do I know we sound like a bit of a broken record but we are training hard and we are we are doing everything we can it's just doesn't seem to be going our way and we're pretty positive though we know that how much one win can kind of turn your season around and change the confidence in the group and what better way than to get a win against Penrith who's the best team in the competition and all of a sudden, you know, one win can turn into two wins, which can have a bit of a snowball effect.

And then, you know, who knows where we might end up if we can just get that first win.

Well,

It's a hell of a yarn, mate, isn't

it? Yeah, it's crazy.

I mean, at least with my injury, there's a lot more known, I suppose, with ACLs happening a lot more often.

But I suppose with him, it was just the unknown.

What's the last 12 months been like for you, mate?

Yeah, it's been a bit of a roller coaster.

Back in the 25, we were playing some really good footy and being a part of that is pretty special.

Getting to watch Reece Walsh doing what he did on the field with him was pretty special.

And then obviously the big injury at such an important time of the year was pretty devastating.

But it's footy sometimes, life goes on.

I was still healthy outside of my knee, so a lot of things to be grateful for.

Give us your thoughts on some of the Broncos youngsters and also Duffy.

Navigate from that to, uh, what you're doing now and helping people?

So there was another in-between step where I started working with schools, um, helping them place, uh, one-to-one teacher aides and paraprofessionals, uh, so that the students that were on the spectrum or had learning disabilities were able to get the services they need.

And I did that for quite a long time, and what I noticed was when I was meeting with the parents, no one was really paying attention to them when it came to finances, and they were always struggling.

And I'm like, "Well, how come no one's helping you with your budget? How come no one's creating a long-term care plan? How..." And I kept asking the questions.

They're like, "Well, 'cause no one wants to." [laughs] So I'm like, "Well, what if I helped you?" Like, "Are you licensed?" I'm like, "Yeah, I've been licensed since '91, but, you know, it's just not something I do 'cause, on a regular basis, 'cause it's just my focus is elsewhere." They're like, "Well, no, we need your focus here." So what ended up happening was out of a labor of love, I got involved with that and started organizing, explaining how special needs trust work, how to fund the trust, what rules are legal in each state, and trying to make a difference in, in everyone's lives.

Uh, and, and sometimes people don't realize that you could protect a family member for as little as $40 a month, especially someone that's atypical or neurodivergent, because every dollar counts, but if something happens to mom or dad, you don't want the, the child or adult child to go into state custody with no direction.

So you want a game plan.

Yeah.