The Kayo Sports NRL Podcast · Fox Sports Australia

Gary Larson | ‘Can’t wipe the grin off my face’

·29 min·1 clip

Larson calls the 1995 State of Origin series his favourite and says the team became known as "Fatty's Nevels."

1. The Kayo Sports NRL Podcast episode with Gary Larson focuses on his North Sydney Bears career, his life after rugby league, and the Perth Bears' return to the NRL in 2027. 2. Darcy MacDonald hosts Larson, a former North Sydney Bears forward who played just under 250 first-grade games, represented Queensland 24 times, and played eight Tests for Australia. 3. The episode asks what Larson is doing now and why the Perth Bears announcement has left him grinning "from ear to ear." 4. Larson says he was in the lounge room with his wife when the Perth Bears were "rubber stamped" as the NRL's 17th franchise. 5. He describes living in Tenham Sands, about six hours north of Brisbane between Gladstone and Bundaberg, and says he comes from Miriam Vale. 6. Larson says he works shift work in coal production at the Gladstone Port Authority, where trains are unloaded and coal is loaded onto ships. 7. He says he has two grandchildren, aged two and four, and spends time with them and "mulling around the yard." 8. Larson explains that after retiring at the end of 2000, he worked with the Australian Rugby League development team, coached North Sydney's Jim Bain Cup side, and later returned to the fitness industry. 9. He says his playing fitness came from being a "closet trainer," doing extra work after an ACL injury to his left knee in 1987. 10. Larson says he was a fitness instructor at Norths Leagues Club, mainly in weights and gym equipment, while still playing. 11. He recalls the 1980s and 1990s training schedule as swimming on Mondays, video and weights on Tuesdays, another lay day on Wednesdays, and two more weight sessions plus three ball sessions later in the week. 12. Larson says his first-grade debut came against Penrith in 1987, when he was asked to sit on the bench after reserve grade and ended up scoring a try. 13. He says a 1985 exhibition game for Miriam Vale in the Northern Districts competition led Noel Kavanagh, a former North Sydney player, to approach him about joining the Bears. 14. Larson says the North Sydney group in the 1990s was close because the players lived, trained and worked together like a family. 15. He says the Bears were approached by both sides during the Super League war, but he stayed because the club had shown patience and loyalty during his knee troubles. 16. Larson recalls the Northern Eagles merger meeting as a blunt moment where players were told, "you're wanted" and "you're not wanted" by the new club. 17. He says the 1999 season was interrupted, the team used other grounds as home venues, and the last few matches felt like they were being played for future jobs. 18. Larson says Queensland's 1995 State of Origin win stands out, and he remembers the squad being called "Fatty's Nevels" before a ball had been kicked. 19. The interview style is relaxed and reflective, with Darcy MacDonald asking direct questions and Larson answering with detailed memories, jokes, and corrections. 20. Listeners who follow North Sydney, State of Origin history, or late-career rugby league stories will get the most from it; casual fans of modern NRL expansion may skip it.

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