What do you think of when you picture Billy Slater?
Flashy tries? Darting runs? Bullet passes? Winning Premierships?
What about all the work behind the scenes that goes into all of the above?
That is the true Billy Slater in the eyes of the man who has coached him for every one of his 299 games to date.
“People outside of the Club think of the flash, the flair and the excitement he provides you with the way he plays footy and the way he has always played footy,” Craig Bellamy said.
“Inside it is different. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player handle the grind as well as Billy. Away from match day it can be a grind, especially the amount of work he puts in.
“I look at him as a really hard worker. He is mentally tough and he is physically tough. You have to be mentally tough to handle that grind and Billy handles it better than everyone.”
Champions do not happen by accident.
It is those unseen hours in the video room and gym that have seen Slater reach the heights very few have before him.
“He is the best I’ve seen,” Bellamy said.
“I couldn’t imagine too many better fullbacks than Billy – he changed the way fullbacks play to be quite honest.”
“He just works so hard on things at training until he got them to work.”
