Drinkwater: When he said that it really hit home

In the fifth episode of the club’s ‘Cowboys Saloon’ podcast, in partnership with Triple M and Toyota, host Elliott Lovejoy sits down with fullback Scott Drinkwater to talk about the stacked Australian Schoolboys team he was a part of, joining the Melbourne Storm and the crazy story behind him making his NRL debut.

The 27-year-old then talks about joining the Cowboys, starting a family here and what it means to play for the North Queensland region.

>>> Listen to episode 5 with Scott Drinkwater here
>>> Listen to episode 4 with James Maloney here
>>> Listen to episode 3 with Kirra Dibb here
>>> Listen to episode 2 with Tom Mikaele here
>>> Listen to episode 1 with Tom Dearden here

Key topics:

1.21 – Being born in Penrith and making the move to the Central Coast when he was 2 years old.

2.07 – Growing up in a rugby league family

2.49 – Playing in a stacked 2015 Australian Schoolboys team, including Reuben Cotter, Nathan Cleary and Cam Murray.

3.44 – Moving to Melbourne in 2016 to play in the Storm’s Under 20s team

4.35 – Playing in the 2017 Queensland Cup Grand Final against the PNG Hunters

6.40 – What it felt like playing for the Queensland Residents in 2018 and why he opted to take the opportunity to play

8.09 – Biding his time in the Q-Cup and having to wait until Round 25 to get his opportunity to play in the NRL

9.23 – The crazy story about how he found out he’d be making his NRL debut just a couple of hours before the match

12.05 -  How Craig Bellamy broke the news to him

12.59 – Seeing his parents after his debut and the sacrifices they made for him when he was younger

14.06 – Being the first-choice Storm fullback heading into 2019 before tearing his pec in a trial match against the Cowboys and dropping to third choice

16.05 – When the Cowboys came knocking during 2019 and having to call Craig Bellamy to tell him he was going to ask for a release

18.39 – The version of himself that arrived at the Cowboys and how good Michael Morgan was for his development

21.20 – How the North Queensland community immediately made him feel at home and the message from Johnathan Thurston that really hit home for him

23.23 – What has changed about him since becoming a father

24.53 – What's different about the team's game plan over the last six weeks

26.18 – How tight the competition is in 2024

28.12 – His aspirations to wear a NSW Blues jersey in the future