Bronson Garlick has been a mainstay in Canterbury Cup NSW for nearly five years but there’s one NRL player who stands out in his mind who’s destined for higher honours.
Speaking with Jamie Soward on The Short Side, Garlick reflected on his time in the NSWRL’s premier competition which includes a Grand Final and NRL State Championship win with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2018.
Garlick, the son of former South Sydney hooker Sean Garlick, left Belmore to take up a one-year deal with the Rabbitohs this season. He still praises Elliott, who now plays lock for the Bulldogs’ NRL team, for being the one player who gave him the most confidence whenever he took the field.
“I played with him for a year back in 2016 and he was in and out of first-grade…he would come back every single week and be the toughest, most energetic, talkative (player on the field),” Garlick said.
“He’s one of those players where…you run out onto the field and you felt so safe next to them and so confident.
“Whenever you get on the field, no matter who was coming at you or who you were playing against, he’ll be there beside you and help you through it.
“You’ve seen what he can do in first-grade, I think it’s only a matter of time before he’s getting a representative call-up.”
As for the toughest player he’s ever faced Garlick opted for a NRL and representative star in Latrell Mitchell, who left the Sydney Roosters after winning back-to-back premierships to pursue an opportunity at the Rabbitohs to play fullback.
In the handful of games he played in the Under-20s competition against the Kangaroos centre before his transition into the Canterbury Cup NSW, Garlick remembers a freakishly talented fullback that was playing well above his age.
“I think it was in my last year of (Under) 20’s and I think he was playing two ages up and every single time he we played against him he made us feel like school kids,” Garlick said.
“It was crazy. He had the biggest impact in the 20s when I was coming through.
“Obviously you have seen what he’s done in first-grade but he was doing that to kids who were 19, 20 years old, and you can only imagine what that looks like on a (footy) field.
Garlick managed two games for the Rabbitohs in Canterbury Cup NSW before the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He currently works as a Business Development Manager for Garlos Pies but continues to train behind closed doors despite the announcement of the season being cancelled.
