Hardened Ford: How crucial life lessons have shaped Carter for grand final

One of the most treasured lessons that Carter Ford has received over and over in his life is the value of hard work.

Off the field, on the field, at home, at training, the young Redcliffe Dolphins Mal Meninga Cup forward knows that to achieve his goals, he must work harder than anyone else.

Ford has been fortunate in life to have some strong mentors to teach him these things.

His mum, Melissa Ford, is a dual international in OzTag and basketball and is the one who steered him towards rugby league in the first place.

His stepdad, Cody Ford, is a helicopter pilot who helped raise Ford on a property in the small town of Capella, Central Queensland.

And his dad, Carl Webb, left behind a whole legacy on being tough before he passed away in 2023.

A Queensland Maroons great, Webb showed this both through his career in the NRL and through his battle with motor neurone disease.

With five siblings – two on his mum’s side and three on his dad’s – Ford is very aware of the impact his support network has had on him over the years.

Carter Ford with his mum, stepdad and two sisters.

“I was very well supported by my two families,” Ford said.

“It was never a hard question to ask for help when I needed it or to get input on what I could be better at.

“Probably my dads are my inspiration, both my stepdad and my dad. They’ve had a very big impact on my life and shown me everything I need to know.

“I try to do what they do and hopefully do it as good as them.

“My stepdad, he’s become my best mate in life. He taught me to work harder than other people and you’ll see the results and what happens.

“There was a lot of working on the property, things like fencing… it was hard work at all levels.

“With my dad, the impact he’s had is trying to be like him on the footy field but knowing I could never do the things he could do.

“No one could replicate it but for me, it was trying to play as hard as him… as he did with anything, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“When I play, I try to take in the mentality that I’m going to run the ball harder than the opposite number or play harder than the opposite number.”

Carter Ford with his dad, Carl Webb.

Ford’s mentality has taken him to a lot of places.

After starting rugby league in his junior years with Souths Mackay, Ford then moved to Capella, where he took up with the Clermont Bears.

He then went to boarding school at famous rugby league nursery, St Brendan’s in Yeppoon.

With the help of coaches, this is where Ford realised his true potential in the game and started to take his rugby league more seriously.

In time, he signed with the NRL Dolphins.

And now, this Saturday, he will play in the 2025 Mal Meninga Cup grand final against the Burleigh Bears at Kayo Stadium.

He will need that hard edge more than ever.

“For me, it’s to play my best game of footy that I have yet and to leave it all on the field, bring nothing to the sideline,” Ford said.

“I’ll have a bit of a support network there… (my family) will be down and yelling from the stands. Mum, you can definitely hear her from the other side of the country.

“To win it, it would be a very big accomplishment for the team. Everyone has put in the hard yards to get where we are now, whether you were on the field or it was the fellas that don’t make the grade every week.

“I think it would not only be an accomplishment for the club, but all the teammates and boys as well.”

Carter Ford at training.

The 18-year-old, who graduated from St Brendan’s at the end of last year, loves being in the team environment.

His teammates from school are friends that he considers family, the people who helped him through the loss of his dad.

“The support system I had around me helped a lot,” he said of that time.

“A lot of my schoolmates – I call them my brothers – they helped me through. I was never shy to ask for a shoulder to lean on.”

Now, he’s feeling similar bonds grow in Redcliffe’s Mal Meninga Cup squad too.

Ford was lucky to come down to the Moreton Bay region with a few familiar faces, as fellow Rockhampton-and-surrounds products Seth Carpenter, Eli McKay and Braelan Marsh – son of former NRL hooker, PJ Marsh – all came down to Redcliffe together at the start of the year.

McKay went to The Cathedral College while Carpenter attended Emmaus College. Marsh went to St Brendan’s alongside Ford.

The four now live together and Ford said it’s helped him as he’s settled into city life and an NRL system.

“It has helped a lot with all of us,” he said.

“We didn’t feel uncomfortable not knowing who we were living with. We all got along and we’re all brothers to each other.

“Coming down here has definitely been an eye-opener. Obviously doing a pre-season with NRL was very tough but it was good at the same time because I’ve seen the level I’ve got to be to be at a competitive state.

“I’ve looked up to a lot of them fellas to better myself and make it to that level eventually.

“In Mal, I’ve had great coaches in Andrew (Wynyard) and Scott Murray. It was good to learn a lot of tips off them.”

On Saturday, Ford is expecting a lot of physicality to come from the clash against Burleigh.

Redcliffe last year fell one game short of the Mal Meninga Cup grand final, suffering a 32-point loss in the prelims to the Bears.

They know now what kind of opponent they’ll be coming up against.

But with his support network behind him, his teammates on and off the field, and his hard mentality, Ford is ready for the challenge.

“It’s going to be a very physical game,” he said.

“I love a physical game… I bloody love doing a back fence carry or a hit up through the middle.

“I love a good bit of contact and it’s something I really pride myself on and love doing.”