Elliot Minchella reveals how talking can help end Hull KR’s cup drought
ELLIOT Minchella believes putting mind over matter can propel Hull KR to their first major trophy in 40 years, and the help of an ‘auntie.’
The Rovers skipper has become a huge part of their push for silverware, in both Challenge Cup and Super League.
Willie Peters’ table-toppers tomorrow go for what may be the first leg of a double and getting their hands on the trophy for the first time since 1980.
While arms, legs and body throw and kick the ball as they look to cut through Warrington, much of what goes on is in the mind.
And Minchella believes the way his boss has brought the concept of mindfulness into his side is paying dividends, big time.
After lying on a Tenerife beach staring at the stars when it was first introduced, some players now write journals while the loose forward believes it is good to talk.
But he admitted: “To be honest, a few of us to start with were like, ‘What’s this? Never heard of this before.’
“As men and professionals, you stick to what you know and when someone challenges you or comes up with a new thing, it’s very easy to say, ‘I’m not going to do that because that’s not what I normally do.’
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“But you brush your ego aside and say, ‘Do you know what? I’ll jump into this and try something,’ and it really works. It really works for me as an individual and I know the boys think the same.
“You can take it as deep as you like and it’s about manifesting what you’re about to do, thinking about it, being grateful for where you’re at. That comes in different forms. You can journal, you can speak out loud, you can think.
“I like to talk to people. I like to sit and talk and get stuff off my chest, stuff in the universe, I guess, and talk to people.
“That’s not making predictions but being grateful for what I’ve got. We have tough days, but these aren’t really tough days. Tough days when you’re on the tools and you’re grafting. Doing this is a privilege.”
Hull KR are favourites for Wembley glory tomorrow (Sat). If it happens, you can bet Minchella, 29, will be making plenty of noise.
But while he would be happy to talk all about success, it would be built on what he speaks about to Rovers’ player welfare manager Sue Thompson.
And what she sometimes says to him.
He added: “I call her Auntie Sue, so she really is a family member to me.
“I speak to her weekly, just get stuff off my chest, or even just have a coffee with her and just have a chat.
“It just makes big problems you think you’ve got in your mind, they’re really just small ones and Sue puts stuff into perspective.
“I’m really honest with her and she’s really honest with me, which is what I value from Sue.
“No-one wants to talk to someone who just tells you what you want to hear. Sue’s great because she doesn’t pull any punches.
“She’s very abrupt sometimes, but she’s got to know me, I’ve known her for six years now, so she knows how I take things and what I need to hear sometimes.
“Equally, some of the other players probably need a little bit more of an arm around them, or a bit of a motherly figure.
“It just makes us, with all our worries, just concentrate on the game, what happens on the field and she’s in every day.
“If I say, ‘I’m nervous,’ she’d put me right. I’d have that conversation with her.”
Minchella hopes to be the first Hull KR captain in four decades to lift a trophy – if that happens, he will inflict misery on a fella he used to idolise as a Bradford fan, Warrington coach Sam Burgess.
He told SunSport: “He’s probably one of the best forwards ever in the game. His name itself just says it all. Whatever I say wouldn’t do him justice.
“He had the instinct to be able to beat a defender, but then he could run over someone. He did everything, he had everything.
“I have massive respect for him, as a player but now as a coach as well.”