Malcolm Norman Meninga Quotes
born 1960
Malcolm Norman Meninga (born 8 July 1960) is an Australian professional rugby league coach and a former professional rugby league footballer.
Random Malcolm Norman Meninga quote
24 quotes
And once you understand that really well, that helps you make better decisions in life as well and make contributions in life.
That’s what happened in those days, you’d get king hit and play on.
This is how ambitious I was and what goal-setting does to you and I’ve never really told this story.
No one turned up at their wedding but eventually as time heals and the families came back around.
We’ve obviously got huge support around the Pacific [nations], so I’d like to see that forge ahead in various forms.
That was a really powerful message for me and it reinforces things because you respect this man and he’s got an aura about him.
My view is you’ve got to be connected with your heart,You’ve got to be emotionally engaged with the jersey you put on, whether it be club or state or country.
Dad told me it’s okay if they call you names as long as they’ve got a smile on their face because if they’re joking that’s fine.
I still goal set today. So those things that he taught me in those early years I still carry with me today.
He set me in a direction around who I was again and to be proud of who I am. You didn’t want to let him down and you didn’t want to let Queensland down.
I was very physical and I was pretty big at those times as well so you get to learn to use your size.
I’ve been on a little bit of a journey to understand our history and what our great grandfather did to get to Australia.
They protected me from it, They protected myself and my brothers and there were tensions between both families both white and black.
And that’s what I preached when I was coaching Queensland.
We’ve closed the door on all that, If you want to play in the green and gold jersey and be part of our environment you’ve got to put those differences aside.
He had to give a name and it had to be spelt frenetically and they spelt it Meninga. Ironically beside it was the number four which was his trackable number throughout all his history.
We always knew we were Australian South Sea Islander but we really weren’t quite sure where we came from, we come from Tanna, but, where did the Meninga name come from?
It became the norm for me and my brother at school and we were fighting all the time for our own existence and fighting for respect.
He said to me I could be anyone or anything I wanted to be as long as I put my mind to it and having that purpose and a mindset that you want to succeed and not be beaten.
When I look back on that life it’s made me the person I am today and that enables me to do what I do today as well. I am not regretful of that I am just a bit disappointed I guess but that’s life.