Grant told TWG:
About hot-air ballooning and 360 million year-old fossils;
What he would do if he won $10 million in Lotto;
How he really loves being reminded of that training shirt incident;
Where he'll head for a holiday first chance he gets;
Why he loved growing up in a small country town;
What it's like to rub shoulders with Alessandro Del Piero
TWG: You're from the town of Canowindra in the central west of NSW. Can you take the boy out of the country, but not the country out of the boy?
RG: Yeah, I'm still a country boy at heart. My old man and a few of my cousins get stuck into me a bit and say I've turned into a bit of a city slicker, but it's all a bit of a laugh. It does get quite cold out in the central west in the winter, though, and I'm not as accustomed to it as I used to be. When I go back to my parents' place, they live at Bathurst now, I feel it a bit. My old man loves to give it to me about that.
TWG: Hot-air ballooning is big in Canowindra. Have you ever been up in one?
RG: I've never been up in one, but Canowindra is called the capital of ballooning. They used to have an event called Marti's Fiesta and I remember every year I'd get up early in the morning and go down with my parents and sisters and watch it and it was amazing. It seemed like there were hundreds of balloons going up. It was a great family event.
TWG: Canowindra was also the site of one of the world's great fossil discoveries in the 1950s - 360 million-year-old fish fossils. Are you aware of that?
RG: Yeah, I am aware. There's actually a little museum there that they were building while I was still living in Canowindra. The Age of Fishes Museum is quite an attraction.
TWG: When was the last time you got back to Canowindra?
RG: It's probably been about five years now, but I do get back to Bathurst to see my parents when I can.
TWG: What was it like growing up in Canowindra (population 2381)?
RG: It's a very small town, but it was unreal. I wouldn't change it - I loved growing up in a small town. The community is very tight-knit and although some people say there's nothing to do in a country town there was always something for us to do while growing up. Either go to the pool, or the river, or ride your bike with your mates. It was a great upbringing and I was very fortunate to experience that. I loved it and I wouldn't change it. Now that I've lived in Sydney for a while I wouldn't move back, but I really enjoyed my childhood.
TWG: How old were you when you left Canowindra to further your football?
RG: I was 15 when I moved to Sydney to join the NSW Institute of Sport. I went to a sports school at Seven Hills and then I went to the AIS in Canberra when I was 16 and stayed until I was 17. I finished my schooling in Canberra. I was living with my aunty and uncle when I was at school in Sydney, and when you go to the AIS you live on campus.
TWG: You've been at Sydney FC for your entire senior career and that includes the Alessandro Del Piero era. How was the ADP experience for you?
RG: Yeah, it was a pretty cool thing to have arguably one of the best footballers ever in your team. He's massive in Italy and he's done everything a footballer dreams of when it comes to World Cups, Champions League and all of that, so, for me, personally, to be able to play with him was unreal. And to be able to connect with him on a personal level and get to know him and have a laugh with him was as good as being able to play football with him. He's a terrific guy, down to earth, and would say 'hi' to anyone, so it was a great experience for all of us.
TWG: They say he had his own dressing-room at your training base. Did you get a look inside of that?
RG: It wasn't really a dressing-room, he got changed with us, but he had his own little gym. At his age he had to look after himself pretty well, so he had his own personal gym where he would do his routine in the morning and after training. I did get a look in there and he had a few pretty cool machines and a TV and an armchair, so it was a pretty good set-up.
TWG: Did he give you any advice?
RG: At training if he saw something I could improve on or something I should have done he would always say something. Always positive, though, always very encouraging.
TWG: What do you do in your spare time in Sydney?
RG: I like to get out and play a bit of golf. I've sort of gotten into that lately. I'm definitely not a good golfer at this stage, but I enjoy having a game and for the last couple of months I've really been into it and playing quite regularly. So that's my thing at the moment.
TWG: What's your favourite place in Sydney, whether it's just to go for a walk or have something to eat or whatever?
RG: I'm living at Drummoyne now, but I lived in Coogee for a couple of years and I loved it around there. In the summer I used to go snorkelling at Clovelly and try to have a surf at the beaches around the eastern suburbs. So living in that area was really good.
TWG: You're renowned for having a big motor as a player and being able to keep going at a high pace for a long time. Do you feel like you can recover quickly and go again in games?
RG: Yeah, I've always been known for that, which is quite a positive thing. I've always been a fit bloke, just naturally, and with Andrew Clark on-board as conditioner at Sydney FC he helped me a lot and got me back to full fitness and really better than ever after I tore my ACL late in 2013. When you have someone like 'Clarkie' pushing you at training, it's hard not to be fit.
TWG: Have you lived down the time you went to the sideline to come on as a substitute wearing a training shirt during a game last season yet?
RG: Oh, mate, I don't like to think about it. Thanks for bringing it up! No, I still cop it from the boys every now and then. If we're sitting around having a laugh and I'm having a dig at someone, they'll always bring that up. It's something that I can look back at and have a laugh about now, but at the time it was quite embarrassing. I definitely won't be doing it again - well, hopefully!
TWG: How do you get on with Graham Arnold? Is he a coach you can go to with a problem not only to do with football, but away from football?
RG: Yeah, definitely. He's a very good man-manager and has a good relationship with every player. If you need to talk about something you can go to him. Everyone knows how good he is as a coach, but also as a man-manager he gets the best out of everyone. He's very easy to talk to and as a player that's what you want.
TWG: What about your team's two new players from overseas - Filip Holosko and Milos Ninkovic. How are you getting on with them? How are they mixing in?
RG: They're great blokes. They're a bit quiet at this stage, only having been here a few weeks and English not being their first language, but they have really impressed on the field. They look really good, both of them, so it will be interesting to see how they go in the competition. They're good people, really down to earth and quite funny, actually.
TWG: What do you like musically? What's on your Ipod?
RG: At the moment I'm listening to The Rubens. They've got a few new songs out that I'm enjoying. I also love Sticky Fingers. It's not sort of mainstream music, more the sort of music you'll hear on Triple J and I'm really into that sort of stuff.
TWG: What about TV or movies? Is there something you've got to watch on the box every week? Have you seen a good movie lately?
RG: I saw Southpaw the other night. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. It was quite heavy, quite deep. I'm a big movie guy and I watch a lot of TV shows too. I'm enjoying The Walking Dead at the moment. Suits is good as well - I think a lot of people enjoy that.
TWG: If you could go anywhere in the world with your best mates or your girlfriend, all paid for, where would you go?
RG: Oh, that's a toughie. I'd like to go somewhere different, not so cliche. I went to Cancun with the boys on our end-of-season trip and had a great time, but Bora Bora looks unreal from all of the pictures I've seen. So maybe there. I think if I went to Bora Bora I'd go with my girlfriend, Nikki. There are plenty of places you can go with your mates and have a good time.
TWG: If you won $10 million in Lotto, would you keep playing or give it away and live like a king for a while?
RG: I've actually had this discussion with a few of the boys. I'd definitely keep playing - it wouldn't so much take the pressure off out on the field, but you would have more security and feel more confident within yourself. I'd keep playing and enjoy it and still live like a king for as long as I could.
TWG: Go home to your mansion every night.
RG: Yeah, exactly. No complaints there.
