Jade Culph reflects on his time in tennis and winning flags with Holbrook and Mitta United

BRENT GODDE: You played your junior football at Holbrook?

JADE CULPH: I was born in Albury but moved out to Holbrook when I was 12. So I went to Billabong High School and played my junior football for the Brookers.

BG: You were coached by one of Holbrook's biggest names in the under-14s in Bert Haynes?

JC: Bert is a legend and looking back was certainly good for my development.

BG: You also had some talented team-mates at Billabong High who enjoyed a lot of success in school footy?

JC: We had some teenagers who would go on to have glittering careers. Kids like Matt Fowler, Shaun Brooker, Chad Willis, Danny Whitley, Dallas Lodge, Brent Barber, Malcolm Lieschke and Luke Kohlhagen to name a few. We were coached by another legend in Bill Taylor who has sadly passed away.

BG: Your old man, Rod 'Flea' Culph was a sharpshooter who topped the ton on five occasions throughout his career?

JC: Dad certainly could play and I remember most of his career growing up. I've got fond memories of going to the footy with Dad to Henty, Jindera and East Lavington. I was a bit young to remember when he played at Osborne.

BG: You often helped out by doing the scoreboard?

JC: I used to get a pie and a can of coke at the end of the day for doing it which I thought was a good deal at the time.

BG: In contrast to your old man, you played more as a midfielder than a forward in junior football?

JC: I was only a small kid and didn't develop until late so I spent most of my junior football in the centre and didn't play as a key forward until later in my career when I was at Mitta United.

BG: Growing up at Holbrook, you were also showing some promising signs as a tennis player?

JC: Like most kids I tried most sports growing up including football, tennis, cricket, basketball and golf.

BG: How old were you when you started taking more interest in tennis?

JC: Probably when I was about 13 but there were no synthetic courts back then.

BG: It took a bit of work preparing to play on the dirt courts?

JC: You would spend 30 minutes before you could even hit a ball. You would have to water it, then mark the lines and put the net up.

BG: Did you have coaching lessons growing up?

JC: I used to come into Albury every Monday and spend one hour with Ken Wurtz who was my first coach.

BG: Did you play competition tennis at Holbrook?

JC: No, I used to come into Albury and play pennant tennis on a Saturday and play in all the Riverina tournaments around the region.

BG: When did you start taking your tennis a lot more seriously?

JC: Probably when I was about 15. I was playing all sports and was lucky enough to represent the Riverina and NSW in quite a few different sports.

BG: The novelty of driving you around the countryside all the time to play sport was wearing thin with your mother?

JC: It was fairly time consuming as well as costly, so it got to the stage where Mum said to me that I would have to choose one sport to focus on.

BG: You opted for tennis?

JC: As a 15-year-old I got offered to play tennis down in Melbourne for Grace Park over the winter. So instead of playing football I would travel to Melbourne each Saturday on the train to play tennis.

BG: Did you travel by yourself?

JC: Dad came with me the first time but after that I would catch the train at 6am, head out to Hawthorn to play and then get back home late on the train every Saturday night.

BG: Playing the higher level of tennis down in Melbourne was good for your development?

JC: It was, I started to also compete in the local open events as a 16 and 17-year-old and had a bit of success.

BG: You also attracted the talent scouts from the USA while playing down in Melbourne?

JC: The talent scouts got in contact with my parents and enquired what I wanted to do when I finished high school even though I was only 15 and still in Year 10.

BG: You put your name in the spotlight after you won the Albury Easter Open as an 18-year-old?

JC: I beat the No.1 and No.4 seeded juniors in the country at the time and that's when my tennis started to get a lot more serious and opened a lot more doors for me.

BG: The victory led you to accepting a sports scholarship in the USA in 1999?

JC: About six months after that I went over to Middle Tennessee State University and I was surprised how many other Australians were over there which was good for me.

BG: The tennis in the USA was a real eye-opener for you?

JC: Just the size of the facilities and the scale of everything. The head coach at the time told me it would take a while before I was a regular on the team because of how strong they were.

BG: Where were you in the pecking order?

JC: Most colleges had a squad of 10 players and the coach ranked me about the sixth or seventh best on our side. That meant for the first six months, I was given limited opportunities in the team.

BG: Other colleges could see your potential and came knocking?

JC: I told the head coach I was weighing up my options which he wasn't too happy about.

BG: It was by chance that you were able to prove to the head coach how good you were?

JC: At the end of the year we had a bit of a wind up and a shootout amongst all the players on our team. I ended up beating everybody except the No. 1 player on our side.

BG: You decided to switch colleges after that?

JC: I just wanted an opportunity to prove myself and was able to do that by going to a different college.

BG: Your decision was justified when you rose in the rankings to as high as No. 4 in the college singles system and as high as No. 8 in doubles. You were also rewarded with All-American recognition on three occasions?

JC: It is something that I'm proud of and something that I may not have achieved if I didn't switch colleges.

BG: How long did you end up spending in the states?

JC: Basically four years, from when I was 18 to 22 except for when I came home in 2000 and spent six months at home.

BG: What do you rate as the highlight of your tennis career?

JC: Probably being recently named in 2020 as one of the top 50 athletes to attend Middle Tennessee State University as part of their 150-year celebrations. That included all sports and not just tennis which was very humbling.

BG: Who do you regard as the biggest name player that you have come up against?

JC: Probably James Blake when he was at Harvard University. He was the No. 1 USA junior at the time and went on to be ranked in the top ten in the world. For the record, I didn't beat him.

BG: You returned home to Australia in 2004 and resumed your footy career with the Brookers?

JC: I made my senior debut for Holbrook before I went to America under coach Brian Kelly as an 18-year-old. We had a fairly ordinary side that year and were struggling in the Tallangatta league.

BG: A bit changed while you were away and the Brookers had joined the Hume league and were coached by Marc Duryea?

JC: When I arrived home from America, I needed a bit of a break from tennis and was just looking to play a bit of footy and spend time with my mates.

BG: You got a few offers to join other clubs?

JC: Because I had been out of the loop in regards to footy, I asked Dad what I should do. Dad told me I would be mad not to play for Holbrook because they had made a couple of grand finals and were on the brink of the ultimate success.

BG: Did you slot straight into the seniors?

JC: From memory I spent the first month in the reserves before earning a call up.

BG: Osborne and Holbrook were the two standout sides of the Hume league in 2004?

JC: I recall playing Osborne at home early in the season and we got spanked by eight goals.

BG: Duryea read the riot act to the players after the game?

JC: 'Finna' wasn't a happy camper. He basically said bring your mouthguards to training for the next couple of weeks. There were no excuses from now on and if you missed a training session you would come back through the reserves.

BG: How intense was training in the following weeks?

JC: Being 23, I was one of the younger boys and training was a real eye-opener and 'Finna' left no stone unturned. I remember the first Tuesday after the Osborne loss, there were no footballs seen and we were doing wrestling drills, tackling drills and laps. I never felt so sore after a training run. It was a tough training block for three weeks.

BG: It paid dividends?

JC: I think it did, especially mentally. Especially later in the season and during finals we were physically and mentally a lot tougher than previously.

BG: The Brookers boasted one of the biggest trump cards ever seen in the history of the Hume league in triple Azzi medallist Noel Coutts?

JC: Big 'Coutta' was a ripper but was a fairly casual bloke when you got to know him. He was at that stage of his career where training wasn't a priority. I remember he would often tell me 'you don't get paid to train Culphy.'

BG: What was big 'Coutta' like to play alongside?

JC: Probably the best word to describe him would be dominate. When he wanted to turn it on, there wasn't anybody in the league that could stop him. 'Coutta' was a special player in that he could kick five or six in a short burst and then go off and have a rest. It was no surprise that he won three Azzi medals because he stood out like a beacon.

BG: 'Coutta' was a nightmare for defenders?

JC: He was simply too big for anyone to match up. Not only was he well over 200cm but he could leap and with his long arms, nobody had a hope in hell of spoiling him. 'Coutta' was also a competitive beast and could also intimidate the opposition and had a bit of arrogance about him as well and definitely one of the more lippier team-mates I've played with.

BG: Chad 'Silly Willy' Willis cleaned you up one day when you were playing Culcairn?

JC: I started on a half-forward flank and Willis comes and shakes my hand and starts chatting to me.

BG: You hated your opponent talking to you?

JC: I did, I never understood guys that wanted to talk to you on the footy field. If an opponent tried to strike up a conversation I would say 'don't talk to me mate.' It wasn't hard to work out why they call Chad 'Silly Willy.'

BG: You got knocked out early in the match?

JC: I thought I was in space out on the wing and was chasing a loose ball but before I knew it, I was laying on the ground and seeing stars.

BG: You had to be assisted from the ground?

JC: I had no idea what had happened and all I could hear as I was coming off was the crowd yelling 'you're a dog Willis.'

BG: The Holbrook crowd gave Willis a spray at quarter-time?

JC: They were into him but he just stood there and laughed at them with that unique laugh of his.

BG: Willis often reminds you of the incident when you cross paths?

JC: I would love a dollar for everytime he's said to me 'remember that day I cleaned you up. You didn't see me coming did you?"

BG: You had a bit of revenge on Willis the second time you played Culcairn?

JC: Chad lined up on me again and I was getting plenty of the ball early and kicked a couple of goals on him. I could see he was getting angrier and angrier. All of a sudden he snapped and pulled my jumper over my head and was going to give it to me. Fortunately a few of my team-mates came in to save me.

BG: Willis ended up being moved off you and played forward?

JC: It's funny, he ended up kicking a few that day and ended up spending the rest of his career as a forward. I often tell him if it wasn't for me, he would have remained as a half-back flanker.

BG: Holbrook ended up winning their maiden flag in the Hume league that season?

JC: After Osborne beat us early in the season we went the rest of the year undefeated.

BG: After winning the flag, you decided to switch clubs and head to Mitta United in 2005?

JC: I had a few mates up there I was keen to play alongside including Leroy Mulholland, Craig McMillan and the Nelson twins.

BG: McMillan had a nickname at Mitta United?

JC: We used to call him the 'Mud Basher' because he was little and super in the wet and picked the ball up like it was dry and dish it out.

BG: Peter Copley was coach of the Mountain Men at the time?

JC: I was a big fan of Copley as a coach and the way he went about it. He just had a no nonsense approach and kept things simple. A lot of coaches over complicate things in my opinion.

BG: Copley has a simple coaching philosophy?

JC: It does sound simple but Copley was a big believer in having his best ball winners around the ball. You can't do that all the time but he could identify pretty quickly in a match when it needed to happen. Copley also liked to isolate his best forwards so they could get a one-on-one contest.

BG: One player caught your old man's eye when he watched you play your first match for Mitta United?

JC: Dad came up to me at half-time and said 'that Nelson is everywhere.' 'One minute he is mopping up in defence and the next he is taking a few bounces on the wing, he should have leather poisoning the amount of touches he's racked up.

BG: You burst out laughing?

JC: I said 'Dad look over there' and pointed to Justin and Chris who were standing together - 'their twins.' The look on my old man's face was priceless at the time.

BG: The Nelson twins are now comedians but were they pranksters and entertainers during their playing days at Mitta United?

JC: Off the field they were, they were very sharp. On the field they were very serious. Chris would dish out plenty of lip off a half-back flank while Justin seemed to get angrier and angrier each season.

BG: Justin was involved in his fair share of dust ups with opposition players?

JC: He did seem to get reported quite often and alongside some concussion issues, missed a fair amount of football.

BG: The twins used to love watching the reserves play each week?

JC: The two knuckleheads got immense satisfaction watching the reserves and would often be laughing because they thought it was hilarious some of the mistakes you would see during a game.

BG: You were able to win another flag in your first season with the Blues after defeating Dederang-Mt Beauty in the decider?

JC: Heading in, I thought we were the best side all year but knew we would have to play at our best to win.

BG: It ended up being a comfortable victory?

JC: We played well in the first half and were six goals up at half-time.There was a big storm after that and once the rain started pelting down, I knew we were never going to get beat.

BG: A young Ben McEvoy played for the Bombers that season?

JC: Ben was running around on a wing and would have only been 16 or 17. He was a lanky teenager but he was athletic and a thumping kick. I wasn't surprised to see him get drafted.

BG: Copley stood down after the flag triumph and was replaced by Phil Packer?

JC: There was a bit of a turnover of players over the off-season as well, with the Nelson twins taking a year off and Shaun Harper retiring.

BG: Harper had been playing predominantly full-forward?

JC: We didn't have a recognised full-forward so I started the season off playing out of the goal square.

BG: It didn't take long for you to cement your spot in the side as the full-forward?

JC: I was lucky enough to boot 30 goals in the first four rounds, so 'Pack's' was happy enough to leave me at full-forward.

BG: You were fortunate enough to win another flag and make it three in a row?

JC: We played Chiltern in the decider who were coached by Brendan Way. It was another decider played in fairly miserable conditions but we were able to get the job done.

BG: The following season you decided to have a crack at the O&M and join Lavington?

JC: I was enjoying my time at Mitta United but I wanted to play at the higher standard while I was still fairly young.

BG: How did you find 'Timba' Sanson as a coach?

JC: 'Timba' can be a polarising figure but overall I rated him fairly highly as a coach.

BG: Were you a senior regular?

JC: I was and played in a variety of positions. I started as a forward, then had a run in the midfield when injuries hit alongside Kade Stevens, Matt Pendergast and a young Luke Garland for a few weeks. I also played half-a-dozen matches on a back flank which I enjoyed as well.

BG: After a season at Lavington you decided to head back to Mitta United in 2008?

JC: I enjoyed my season at Lavington Sports Ground but I decided to head back to Mitta and play under Danny Cohen.

BG: After another season at Mitta you decided to head back overseas?

JC: I went back over to America to complete my masters in exercise science and spent two years over there.

BG: You returned to Mitta in 2013 to play under coach Clint Gilson?

JC: I tossed up playing with Henty under Brent Piltz but in the end went back to Mitta.

BG: You played in another grand final with the league heavyweight?

JC: I did but to Barnawartha's credit they beat us in the decider after coming from the elimination final which history says is hard to do. I think they kicked the first five goals of the match and we couldn't reel them in.

BG: Tensions between Mitta and Thurgoona were running high that season?

JC: I remember we played Thurgoona up at Mitta and there was an incident early in the match and I think Justin (Nelson) was involved. There were no reports but we found out later in the year that Thurgoona had video footage of the incident.

BG: Thurgoona lodged a formal complaint and asked the league to investigate the incident?

JC: Justin played the next couple of weeks but then all of a sudden when it was close to the finals, Thurgoona produced this video and had to front the tribunal.

BG: Justin ended up being suspended?

JC: Justin ended up missing finals but we were furious about it as a club because it took so long after the incident before the suspension was handed down.

BG: After 2013 you decided to have a stint with Bullioh in the Upper Murray?

JC: I was good mates with Shayne Ried who was president of Bullioh and spent two seasons there. After that I hung up the boots but still enjoy playing in all the big tennis tournaments we have in the region.

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