This week we catch up with our former centre Adam Mogg who scored 38 tries for the club during two separate stints.
Mogg played for the Raiders between 2003-2006 and also 2010. He also played for the Parramatta Eels, Catalans Dragons and represented Queensland twice during the 2006 State of Origin series.
Adam Mogg
Canberra Raider #238
Appearances 96
What do you do for work now?
I currently coach the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup. I also own a large health club on the Sunshine Coast called Ezyfit Health Club.
What’s your favourite memory as a Raider?
I used to love playing alongside Ruben Wiki and Jason Croker to be honest. They were two great legends of the club and two guys that I was honoured to play with.
What did it mean to you to wear the Raiders jersey?
Growing up as a kid, the first team I ever supported was the Balmain Tigers. When the Raiders beat them in the 1989 Grand Final I was nine years old and jumped ship to start following the Raiders!
I used to love watching them play with the likes of Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley and Bradley Clyde. As a kid I was such a big fan of the Raiders and then when Brisbane came in I followed them and the Raiders because they were two Queensland based teams. Canberra had a lot Queensland players and obviously Wayne Bennett coached the Raiders and then the Broncos, so I ended up following those two teams.
I was pretty stoked to wear the jersey to be honest. I didn’t debut until I was 24 and a half – that was at Parramatta – and when I put the Raiders jersey on I was 25. It’s something that I am very proud of and I’m not just saying that, I genuinely grew up watching the Raiders and to put on the jersey was an opportunity to live out a childhood dream. It’s something that I’m stoked to have achieved.
Who was your favourite teammate?
I think I’ve already touched on that with Ruben Wiki and Jason Croker. They were two great guys to play footy with and great guys off the field.
Do you keep in touch with any of your former teammates?
Yeah I do. I spoke to Jason last week and Ruben was over last year and I trained with him here on the coast. I worked with Ruben when I was an assistant coach with the Warriors over in Auckland in 2014.
I still speak to Clinton Schifcofske from time to time who’s a player manager and a good mate. So I still keep in touch with some of them.
What was your funniest moment as a Raider?
We went on a pre-season camp where Matty Elliott was the coach and Jason Smith let off the fire extinguisher. Matty got really cranky the next morning in front of the whole team but we all just thought it was pretty funny to be honest. I don’t think Jason Smith cared too much about what Matty was saying at that point.
We were all trying to keep a straight face and Matty was trying to be serious. I’m sure deep down that he realised that there was a funny side to it all.
Do you have any advice for younger players?
My advice is for all players to be honest. The game has become very commercial, very money focused. However, when you retire you just want to make sure that you got everything out of yourself and you worked as hard as you can.
If you look at one of the former captains of the Raiders, Alan Tongue, he wouldn’t care if he got paid $10 or $1 million. He can honestly look at himself in the mirror and say that he poured himself into rugby league and I think it’s important for players to realise that.
It’s such a special game that we play and such a privilege to run out on that footy field to play at a high level with great venues and great supporters watching you. To be honest, any retired player would do it for free now.
