As a part of the Mother’s Day celebrations at the Dyldam Parramatta Eels, several players welcomed their mums to watch a training session last week and surprised them with lunch, flowers and presents. See photos from the visit.
We caught up with the Blue and Gold mothers to chat about what their sons were like growing up, on and off the field, and how they celebrate Mothers day.
- Read our interview with David Gower’s mum, Henny Gower
- Read our interview with Tim Mannah’s mum, Abi Mannah
- Read our interview with Will Hopoate’s mum, Brenda Hopoate
Have you ever wondered what Anthony Watmough was like as a child?
Choc’s mother Diane Martin told us a little bit about her son. As well as being cheeky and lots of fun, Diane also told us about the kind, caring and softer side of her son.
“Same as he is today, you love him or you hate him, there’s no in between," Martin said.
"I'm in trouble already!" she joked.
“If he saw a dog or anybody in trouble, he was there. Just one of the kindest but cheekiest kids you’d ever meet.”
“He is still the same, he hasn’t changed!” she added.
Martin’s sons attitude has never changed as he has gotten older. When Choc arrives at Martin’s place, he is still just her son.
“He is just a normal kid when he gets to my place," Martin said.
"He has a bit of a whinge with his brothers and sister, because my grandchildren’s rooms are all done up and Choc and his siblings did not have these things as kids."
“I’m like ‘Darling, they weren’t invented when you were born!’"
“He is just at mum’s and that’s it, he’s normal.”
One quality that Diane believes Choc inherited from her is his kind heart.
“He’s like ‘Mum, me and a couple of the boys are coming home for a feed’
‘Ok, how many?’
‘6’
'Ok give me an hour to go woollies and get some food" because we’re talking first graders here!
"Well I get there and there’s the team!"
On the football field as a young boy, Choc’s skills came naturally to him.
“His first game, he was actually having a run with his older brothers but and he sat on the sideline building sandcastles. I thought that’s where he would remain but he was just a freak on the field," Martin recalled.
“Just loved the sport and he was just a talent. They didn’t give him direction he just knew what he was doing."
"It was like he was born with a pair of boots on.” Martin added.
Martin spent Sunday afternoon at Pirtek Stadium cheering on her son and the Eels, however she admitted that she gets just too nervous during the game.
“I pace, people will go ‘Oh there goes Di again, she’s pacing!’. I don’t want to sit, I just want to pace!
"I have to go and watch the replays because I’m too nervous to watch properly. I yell at the TV at home but at the game I just pace and pace."
