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Here is a nice article (well I liked it) by Stuart Honeysett in today's Australian newspaper:
THE Roosters star will carry the memory of his father into the grand final.
TODD Carney would never suggest the death of his father, Daryl, was the reason he went off the rails. He does, however, credit his dad with making him the player - and the man - he is today.
It is less than two years ago that Daryl Carney lost his battle with dementia, an awful debilitating disease that affects the mind and can strip a person of their dignity.
Daryl staged a brave fight against it for several years before, in a weakened state, he succumbed to a bout of pneumonia.
By the time his father passed away in December 2008, Todd's life was already a wreck. A prodigiously talented footballer, his contract had already been torn up by Canberra following a series of alcohol-related incidents. And he didn't know where his next game of football would be.
Given he was only 22 when his father passed away, and the effects of dementia had left his only son without a significant male role model in his life, it would be easy for Carney to use that as the reason for his bad behaviour. But he refuses to go there.
"I think all my misdemeanours were pretty much before Dad passed away - he passed away pretty much after all those things," Carney told The Australian.
"For me I didn't cop the whole brunt of it. My sisters and mum did. It was probably good I was in Canberra because I didn't know how I would have handled it . . . seeing someone so strong and as a mentor fade away.
"But never did I turn back and say that's why I did it because that's weak. I take responsibility for the things I did. It would have been the easy option to turn around and say, 'I did that because of that and I wasn't being guided and my head wasn't right'.
"But that wasn't it because he wasn't there doing the things I was doing. A lot of people have loss in their life with family and friends, so it was a big part of me changing as a person from the person I was."
That change accelerated when Carney headed to Atherton in north Queensland to continue his career after the NRL had pulled the plug on any other club signing him for the 2009 season. He combined playing bush football with his duties as a barman pulling beers in a local pub.
By the time he returned to the NRL with the Sydney Roosters this season he had already eaten a fair slab of humble pie. He swore off the drink, switched from fullback to five-eighth, and provided the spark for the Roosters to turn their season around.
By the time the dust settled, Carney had won awards - Dally M player of the year, five-eighth of the year and the Provan-Summons medal for being the darling of the fans - and the Roosters had gone from wooden spooners to grand finalists in the space of one season.
While there are plenty of people who can take credit for his transformation, including his mum Leanne, sisters Krysten and Melinda, Roosters' coach Brian Smith, his teammates and the club itself, Carney has never forgotten the impact his father had on his life.
"The player you see today is because of him," Carney said.
"Dad had me passing the football from the day I could pass a football.
"The day he realised I could be strong enough to do weights he made me do weights.
"As soon as I finished school I had to train.
"There was always football and no skateboards and no roller blades.
"If I had football the next day I had to be in bed at a certain time.
"They say NRL players watch football after games to see how they play. I was 12 and he'd get the tape of the game and show me what I was doing wrong. He lived and breathed football.
"If I could have one bloke to watch me on Sunday it would definitely be him."
Carney knows one way to thank his father would be to topple St George Illawarra in the grand final at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night and honour his memory with a premiership. However, he believes there is another way which is infinitely better and shows just how far he has travelled to being the man he always wanted to be.
"What Dad taught me, the traits about life, I'll never forget," Carney said.
"Hopefully one day I have a boy, and everything I was taught as a kid, I would teach my boy what dad taught me."
THE Roosters star will carry the memory of his father into the grand final.
TODD Carney would never suggest the death of his father, Daryl, was the reason he went off the rails. He does, however, credit his dad with making him the player - and the man - he is today.
It is less than two years ago that Daryl Carney lost his battle with dementia, an awful debilitating disease that affects the mind and can strip a person of their dignity.
Daryl staged a brave fight against it for several years before, in a weakened state, he succumbed to a bout of pneumonia.
By the time his father passed away in December 2008, Todd's life was already a wreck. A prodigiously talented footballer, his contract had already been torn up by Canberra following a series of alcohol-related incidents. And he didn't know where his next game of football would be.
Given he was only 22 when his father passed away, and the effects of dementia had left his only son without a significant male role model in his life, it would be easy for Carney to use that as the reason for his bad behaviour. But he refuses to go there.
"I think all my misdemeanours were pretty much before Dad passed away - he passed away pretty much after all those things," Carney told The Australian.
"For me I didn't cop the whole brunt of it. My sisters and mum did. It was probably good I was in Canberra because I didn't know how I would have handled it . . . seeing someone so strong and as a mentor fade away.
"But never did I turn back and say that's why I did it because that's weak. I take responsibility for the things I did. It would have been the easy option to turn around and say, 'I did that because of that and I wasn't being guided and my head wasn't right'.
"But that wasn't it because he wasn't there doing the things I was doing. A lot of people have loss in their life with family and friends, so it was a big part of me changing as a person from the person I was."
That change accelerated when Carney headed to Atherton in north Queensland to continue his career after the NRL had pulled the plug on any other club signing him for the 2009 season. He combined playing bush football with his duties as a barman pulling beers in a local pub.
By the time he returned to the NRL with the Sydney Roosters this season he had already eaten a fair slab of humble pie. He swore off the drink, switched from fullback to five-eighth, and provided the spark for the Roosters to turn their season around.
By the time the dust settled, Carney had won awards - Dally M player of the year, five-eighth of the year and the Provan-Summons medal for being the darling of the fans - and the Roosters had gone from wooden spooners to grand finalists in the space of one season.
While there are plenty of people who can take credit for his transformation, including his mum Leanne, sisters Krysten and Melinda, Roosters' coach Brian Smith, his teammates and the club itself, Carney has never forgotten the impact his father had on his life.
"The player you see today is because of him," Carney said.
"Dad had me passing the football from the day I could pass a football.
"The day he realised I could be strong enough to do weights he made me do weights.
"As soon as I finished school I had to train.
"There was always football and no skateboards and no roller blades.
"If I had football the next day I had to be in bed at a certain time.
"They say NRL players watch football after games to see how they play. I was 12 and he'd get the tape of the game and show me what I was doing wrong. He lived and breathed football.
"If I could have one bloke to watch me on Sunday it would definitely be him."
Carney knows one way to thank his father would be to topple St George Illawarra in the grand final at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night and honour his memory with a premiership. However, he believes there is another way which is infinitely better and shows just how far he has travelled to being the man he always wanted to be.
"What Dad taught me, the traits about life, I'll never forget," Carney said.
"Hopefully one day I have a boy, and everything I was taught as a kid, I would teach my boy what dad taught me."
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