STEVE PRICE: BE YOUR BEST
With Ben Blaschke
$39.99
Hodder Moa
My editor, Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, the lovely Isla Fisher and cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Slater might gasp when I say Steve Price is my favourite Australian.
He is certainly the best sporting import we've poached from a southern hemisphere rival since Irene van Dyk decided she had had enough of South Africa.
There was some scepticism about the mega deal that landed the Warriors their biggest recruit four years ago. Even this year, a Sunday newspaper questioned whether Price was all he was cracked up to be.
But a few weeks later, Price had led the Warriors to two massive upsets in the NRL playoffs and all were silent.
Having led the league in metres gained, earned the respect of the whole country, as well as the league community, and fronted up week after week in the cauldron of the NRL, Price has more than justified his price tag.
Be Your Best is a bit of a limp title for a big, strong man, but one of the interesting themes pursued in his book is how he was perceived for years to be soft.
Price reveals his own self-doubt as a teenager and the years of struggling to convince various coaches he was tough as well as talented. He is also refreshingly honest about his own failings.
The book revisits the gay rumours that lingered around Price after he posed for (tasteful) nude photographs and they were sold to a gay magazine. Price claims that just last year, Newcastle and fellow Kangaroos prop Josh Perry called him a "poofter" during a game.
Price's devotion to his family - he and high school sweetheart Jo have three children - runs deep in the book, as does his genuine concern for those less fortunate, his willingness to stand up for his beliefs, and his absolute passion for the game of rugby league.
He obviously touches on the issues that plagued the Bulldogs, but I felt he skimped a little on the Coffs Harbour sexual assault allegations and the salary cap scandal. The Bulldogs still have not recovered, and Price is the best person to tell all.
Price makes it clear he loves life at the Warriors but has heavy criticism for previous boss Mick Watson.
