A two-time premiership winner with the Sydney Roosters, Victor Radley, has highlighted the influence of junior coach Adrian Lam, admitting he may not be where he is right now without the help of the former Roosters halfback.
Commonly referred to as ‘Victor the Inflictor’, Radley will run out for the Roosters in his 150th NRL match this weekend against the Cronulla Sharks, but the lock revealed that he may not have even played in the NRL if it wasn’t for the influence of Adrian Lam.
Starting his junior career at the Clovelly Crocodiles at the age of seven, Radley was fortunate enough to be coached by the former Kangaroos assistant and current head coach of the Leigh Leopards due to his close bond with his Lam’s oldest son, Lachlan Lam.
Not only did he train three times a week with the Lam family, but Adrian helped mentor him and grow as a person, which eventuated with him going down the path of becoming a football player rather than working on a building site.
Revealing that he owes nearly “everything” to his former junior coach, Radley admitted that if it weren’t for him, he likely wouldn’t have come close to reaching the level that he has gone on to achieve.
“He did everything,” Radley said ahead of his 150th appearance in first-grade this Saturday against the Cronulla Sharks.
“Without him, there’s no way I’d be playing first-grade right now.
“I was really lucky to play with Lachie and have him as my coach because I probably would have just been doing exactly what my brothers are doing.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re having a good life and we still see each other at times but without him, there’s no way I’d be playing first-grade.”
A nine-time international for England, Radley has achieved both the very highs, which saw him win back-to-back premierships with the Roosters, and the very lows, which saw him constantly being sidelined due to concussion problems throughout his career.
However, he admits he still feels pretty young and will still lace up the football boots for a long time as he attempts to achieve premiership success with the Roosters once again.
“I still feel pretty young to be honest. It’s gone quickly so fingers crossed I can play for a long time,” Radley said.
“This is my home club. I grew up here and to play 150 games at this club is pretty special. Fingers crossed, there’s many more to come, but I haven’t really thought of this game.
“I just got told. I thought it was next week, so I haven’t thought too much about it.
“My dad would be proud. He comes to most games. My mum would be stoked. She’s really proud of me and where I’ve come to.
“When I was a kid, me and my brothers were all kind of ratbags, and we still are, so I think she’d be really proud that I’ve got to this milestone.
