The Storm broke Rod Wishart’s heart in 1999. Now his son is out to set things right

Rod Wishart is Illawarra Steelers royalty, and he can see the irony.

Wishart’s premiership dream was crushed by Melbourne – and a controversial penalty try – in the 1999 NRL grand final. It was Wishart’s last game.

Now his son, Tyran, is 160 minutes away from potentially winning an NRL premiership … with the Storm.

“You’re right, there’s a lot of irony, but of all the clubs, I’m glad Tyran is with Melbourne, and I hope they can go all the way,” Rod says.

“I could have won a premiership that final year, but I have nothing but respect for Melbourne. They deserved the win that day. I’ve got no reason to be upset with them.

“I know a lot of people talk about the dream of winning a grand final. I never won one, but I don’t know … I felt like I was still living the dream by playing first grade, and having those rep honours with NSW and Australia.

“I’d love nothing more than to see Tyran and Melbourne win the grand final.”

Wishart was a Steelers’ icon before being forced into the marriage of his club with the St George Dragons in his final year.

To prove how popular Wishart was in Gerringong, on the NSW south coast, he was given the honour of joining the Sydney Olympic torch relay through the main street of his home town in 2000.

Tyran, the youngest of his four children, was born six weeks after the heart-breaking loss to the Storm. Tyran’s mum, Gil, quipped that she almost went into labour on grand final day when referee Bill Harrigan awarded a penalty try to the Storm just four minutes before full-time.

Wishart, 24, is arguably the most improved player in the NRL this season. He looks like his old man with the blond hair and stocky build, but has the versatility to play just about anywhere.

Wishart has developed into a genuine No.14, like Nicho Hynes before him, and even Cooper Cronk before that when he was starting out in the Victorian capital. The only position he has not played is second row.

Storm football manager Frank Ponissi, who was part of the coaching staff during the 1994 Kangaroos tour that featured Rod, said of Tyran: “He’s been our Mr Fix-It the past couple of years and done a safe job. This year he’s been our Mr Fix-It who has done an excellent job.”

Wishart is a five-eighth by trade, but also spent a lot of time training in and around the ruck.

The one afternoon he slotted into fullback mid-game after an injury to Ryan Papenhuyzen, he picked up the players’ player award. It just happened to be “parents’ day” at the Storm, against the Dragons in 2022, and Rod and Gil could not have been prouder.

Wishart came through the Dragons’ system, but was signed by the Storm midway through 2021 and never looked back.

There was a little bit of luck involved given the Storm only had a look at Wishart after Rod had phoned Ponissi to ask how he should go about getting a player agent. Melbourne liked what they saw, and the rest is history.

Rod was careful with his words when asked about Wishart being prised away from his junior club, saying: “It’s easy for players to slip through the cracks, but when you look at a place like the Storm, they don’t make mistakes like that – their focus on recruitment and retention is second to none.

“And there’s definitely a correlation between a club’s recruitment and retention, and where they sit on the NRL ladder.

“Like I said earlier, the way it has turned out for Tyran, it’s perfect. The Storm have done the right thing by him in terms of coaching, and the club is outstanding in terms of being inclusive – I’m not sure who gets along better, the players or their partners and families.”

Tyran was well aware he was joining the club that broke his father’s heart, and told this masthead this week: “I know when I first signed with the Storm, a lot of people were saying to Dad, ‘Geez, how about your young bloke signing with the club you have bad blood with?’

“But Dad has always said he had nothing but respect for them with the way they’ve gone about their business.

“There was a lot of pride when I got to wear the Steelers’ jersey in the SG Ball comp, and wearing the Dragons’ jersey in the lower grades was a privilege.”

Wishart is not the biggest player but has shown tremendous resilience. He lives with Storm captain Harry Grant, the pair often spending days off surfing at the famous Bells Beach. Anything over five metres and Wishart will think twice about paddling out. Wishart was also a gifted skateboarder growing up, and often had the local kids at the skate park making way so they could watch him strut his stuff.

When COVID-19 struck in 2020, and the NSW Cup competition was cancelled, Wishart returned home where he won the Group 7 competition. Parramatta legend Mick Cronin, who runs one of the local pubs, was the coach.

Rod pointed out he had lost his only two grand finals with Gerringong under Cronin.

“Some people are cursed, some people aren’t,” he says with a laugh.

Tyran pocketed about $100 a game. If he hit the open market tomorrow, Wishart could command a little more than that. The Dragons, for starters, would welcome his services. The Storm, however, have Wishart locked down until the end of 2026.

He has not really let his mind wonder about a return to the Dragons or Sydney.

“One of the benefits of living down here is you don’t get much of that rugby league talk or [speculation],” Tyran says.

“I’m happy at the Storm. Any chance I get to wear this jersey is an honour, and it’s something I never take for granted.

“Whatever number I have on my back, it doesn’t change my approach to the game.

“Where I am now is the best place to develop my game, to improve as a player and person, and, hopefully, I have a lot of footy ahead of me.”

Wishart spent the weekend off in Sydney attending a surprise birthday for his older brother, Callum. He’ll knuckle down this week preparing for Friday’s preliminary final – and try to right the wrongs of 1999.

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