Resilient Woolf hits 100-game milestone
There was a moment ahead of this season when veteran hooker Brent Woolf paused and questioned if he was willing to go through another year of footy.
Another pre-season, weekly training sessions, the pain of niggles, the toll on the body and more potential heartbreak after last year’s grand final loss.
But as the former Wynnum Manly, Townsville and Tweed rake prepares to play his 100th Hostplus Cup game today against the Ipswich Jets, there are certainly no regrets in going around yet again.
The milestone has been a long time coming for Woolf.
The 27-year-old, who joined Redcliffe last year, debuted in 2016 with Wynnum Manly and has endured many highs and lows.
But he’s always found the motivation to keep coming back.
Woolf getting presented his 100-game jersey by coach, Eric Smith.
“Honestly, what else would I be doing, really?,” Woolf said ahead of game 100 today.
“I’d be training anyway. I wouldn’t just be sitting at home, so I figure, I may as well go do it with some friends.
“I may as well come here and see some of the boys and train with them and play and go on trips around Queensland. It’s a pretty good gig.”
As he spoke to his teammates at captain’s run on Friday night, Woolf said the key to his milestone was never giving up.
Even from his debut – coincidentally also against the Jets – he was handed some tough lessons, but they just helped shape him into a better player.
“I remember I played shit,” he said.
“I remember it being a lot harder than what I was used to, because I’d been playing under 20s the whole year. And I just remember it being harder to tackle men.
“I think I missed like four tackles out of 10 or something ridiculous like that. It was just a big step up.”
But while he’s always managed to find that inner motivation to come back, it definitely hasn’t been an easy road.
Over his nine seasons in Cup, Woolf has done an ACL, undergone two shoulder reconstructions and – like many – also missed a season due to Covid-19.
And even outside of the major injuries, the little ones can have their impact as well.
“It’s just the toll it takes on your body and the injuries and finding motivation to keep going would be the biggest challenges,” he said.
“Feeling like you’re sore all the time, like there’s been stages when I felt like, ‘far out, do I even really want to keep training?’, especially through pre-seasons.
“Even this year I was thinking after the (2024) grand final, do I want to do another pre-season and especially at Redcliffe… they notoriously make you train pretty hard.
“Then the injuries and setbacks… You feel like you get some form and then you lose it again when you have some time off.
“Two shoulders and an ACL, those are the main ones that have made me miss significant amounts of time, but I think I did my hammy in the pre-season and I was out for the whole pre-season, pretty much.
“I was like, 95 kilos. They’re just little things like that hurt you as well.”
But, with plenty left in the tank ahead of his 100th game, Woolf keeps going.
While he hasn’t put too much focus on his milestone match, it was one of the factors that pushed him back into another season of Cup.
That and the elusive premiership victory.
“I want to win a grand final,” Woolf said.
“I was pretty close last year. But that was the main thing coming into this year.
“I was at 92 or 93 games at the end of last year and we lost the grand final as well. That put a sour taste in my mouth, where I was like, ‘do I want to do it again?’
“But I guess that also motivated me to come back and get the 100 games. And then also see if we can go one better this year, hopefully.”
The Redcliffe Dolphins will continue their premiership push tonight when they take on the Ipswich Jets from 5pm at Kayo Stadium.