Jack de Belin, the veteran St. George Illawarra Dragon, sat down for a raw, extended interview on a club-centric podcast, opening up about a career defined by both extraordinary highs and deeply challenging lows.
Reflecting on the Dragons’ recent season, he didn’t sugarcoat the disappointment, noting, “I think it’s the season as a whole where it’s been a series of kind of lost opportunities.” It was a frustrating pattern, he admitted, where “so many of the games we were up by 12 points in the second half and blew it, so, yeah, just icing those key moments” was the constant failure. Yet, ever the optimist, he found a positive spin: “So many of those games we could have won, but as a positive, there was every single game pretty much, except for the two, we’ve been in, so we’ve given ourselves a chance to win every single week, and that’s all you can ask for as a footy player, I suppose.”
His journey from a “young kid from the country, Cootamundra,” has been a dramatic one. “It has been a roller coaster of a journey. It’s crazy. I’ve achieved so much, so much more than I’ve ever expected,” he mused. He shared a genuinely funny story about how he ended up at boarding school, St. Greg’s, in Sydney. His parents were struggling with the expense, but a lifeline came in the form of an academic grant: “I ended up getting a scholarship based on my mathematics score from my Year five NAPLAN or whatever it was. So I ended up getting like a half-board scholarship.” The irony, he revealed with a laugh, was palpable: “Evidently, I had to do advanced mathematics, and I think I went to two sessions and just went, ‘No, this isn’t for me,’ and pulled out. So I was going to St. Greg’s on a mathematics scholarship and didn’t even do any mathematics.”
Despite his academic detour, he thrived, loving “getting out of my little country town.” From St. Greg’s, he was spotted and offered a pre-season with the Dragons’ Under 20s, and “I’ve been there ever since.”
His debut under the legendary Wayne Bennett was a moment he’ll never forget.
“We were actually sitting in this room when I got told I was debuting I had no idea, and Wayne was up the front and just read the team out, and then he’s like, ‘making his debut this Monday night will be Jack de Belin.’” He recalled being “petrified,” so nervous he “couldn’t even eat food.” The gravity of the moment was amplified by the connection he shared with the coach, noting that Bennett might have had a “little soft spot” for him because Bennett’s uncle, Eddie Brosnan, “played for Australia with my Pop, Fred de Belin.”
This family connection was significant; Fred de Belin, a “Balmain team of the century” member, was a constant source of inspiration, with his old jersey and touring portraits always visible at Pop’s house. “I’ve obviously been able to replicate some of what he’s done,” he said, expressing a special pride in continuing the family legacy.
He spoke about the massive evolution of the game, contrasting the old era of 120kg forwards like the Burgess brothers with today’s focus on speed and small men.
“The way the game’s going, it’s definitely kind of going back to the small man. You don’t have to be massive to be in the forwards now,” he observed. The change in the interchange rules and the ‘six again’ rule has been profound, eliminating the slow-paced scrums that were once a welcome rest.
“You’d be talking to the halfback, kick it out, kick it out, and then they would kick it out, just roll up to the scrum, walk up, take your time, pack it, so you are getting heaps of rest, while now, you don’t ever get the rest you’re used to.” For him, the fast pace is a benefit: “Fitness is probably the strong part of my game and the faster, the quicker it is, it’s always going to suit me. That’s probably why I’m still in the league, to be honest.”
The interview took a serious turn when he addressed the toughest chapter of his life—the two-and-a-half years he was sidelined. He spoke of being “big on training recovery” and the inner strength that kept him from “going the other way.”
His mental fortitude was aided by his aversion to the public gaze: “I’ve always been lucky that I haven’t been on social media, and I don’t read the papers.”
The true difficulty lay in the enforced inactivity: “The thing that was probably the hardest regarding football is your body’s perfectly fine… I’m sitting there, like, I’m ready to go, but you just can’t play because it’s out of your control.” His guiding philosophy became his anchor: “You control what you can control and the things you can’t control, just you can’t let that affect you.”
He lit up when discussing his proudest moment: “Game two, State of Origin in 2018, when we won it, was the best moment of my career.” He was “chomping at the bit” that year, having gained crucial experience as the 18th man in the squad the previous season.
More recently, he was equally enthusiastic about his decision to play for Papua New Guinea, having overcome initial reluctance. He felt uncomfortable about “taking away a spot from someone”, despite his Nan being born there. It was teammate Dan Russell and coach Justin Holbrook who won him over, convincing him he could be a role model. “I just took a step back and thought about it, then I chatted to my wife about it, and she’s like, ‘I think you should really do it.’” He has no regrets: “I absolutely loved every single minute of it. Like, I’ve been truly blessed.
The most emotional part of the interview came when discussing his Dragon’s farewell. “I didn’t think the emotion would hit me as much as it has. I only ever envisioned myself playing for the Dragons, being a one-club man, and it just wasn’t to be,” he shared honestly. Despite the disappointment of not being offered a new contract—a “tough” business decision he understands— he has found solace in the fan reaction. “I’ve never felt so much love and support from the fans,” he said, praising their support even now that he’s going to a new club. “I’m super excited for the opportunity at Parramatta. They took a chance on me,” he stated, promising the Eels, “I ain’t going to let anyone down over there and I’m all in.”
Looking ahead, he is already preparing for his life after football. He has been accepted into the service, and his “dream job” is to be a firefighter. “I’m hoping to be able to delay it and then walk straight from footy into the firies,” he said, joking that in a decade, he hopes to be “saving your life, putting out the fire.”
Above all, he wants to be remembered as someone “hardworking, tough and consistent, who went out there and did his job.”
– Tully Potts
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