Reserve goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne is somewhat of an unknown to some Brisbane Roar fans.
Reserve goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne is somewhat of an unknown to some Brisbane Roar fans.
But, for those in the know, Redders, as he is known around the club, has been a strong presence within the squad since singing from his hometown club Central Coast Mariners in 2010.
Here, he talks about the difficulty of not playing regular football every week, his thoughts on the Qantas Olyroos qualifying for London 2012 and his tips for making jerky.
Brisbaneroar.com.au caught up with Redmayne after training on Wednesday morning to ask your chosen questions from Facebook and Twitter.
1.How does being the second choice goalkeeper affect you mentally and how do you keep yourself focused week in week out?
Having the Olyroos stuff gives me something to focus on but at the same time, you never know when your opportunity is going to come so you have to stay focused and always give 100 per cent. The thing that keeps me going is wanting to be a better goalkeeper. As a player, I know one day my chance will come and I-ll have to be ready for it, like Matt Ryan was last year for the Central Coast. I know Matty really well, I-ve trained with him a fair bit and he always gave 100 per cent when he was at training and he never dropped the standard and now I guess that shows, he-s come in and done really well.
2. How-d it feel you got subbed on for Michael Theoklitos in the last 10 or 15 minutes against Gold Coast United last season?
It was pretty exciting, I didn-t think Rado (Vidosic, Brisbane Roar assistant coach) was calling for me to come on so it was a bit of a shock. I didn-t have a clue but it was great to get on and make my debut. It had been a long season and that was a little highlight at the end for me. I wasn-t scared, just pumped up and excited. It was just good to get on and share it with the boys and with the fans, it was such a great atmosphere that day when we wrapped up the minor premiership. It had been a while since I-d had a run. Actually, I reckon that would be a good stat to look into – years in the A-League compared to games played. I reckon I-d be up there! Four games in six years, it would be worth a check.
3. What has been your best representative career moment so far?
I-d probably have to say the U20 World Cup. Although I didn-t start as a goalkeeper, I got put in for the Brazil game for Dean Bouzanis, so that was a good game to play I guess. We-d been working hard to qualifying for two and a half years for that so to see it all come together and to be on the world stage against those kind of players, it was a fantastic opportunity and something I-ll never forget. It was a once in a lifetime thing.
4. How do you rate the Olyroos- chances of qualifying for London 2012 and how much would it mean to you to represent Australia in the Olympics?
It would be absolutely fantastic. It-s one of the biggest tournaments in the world and one of the most widely recognised competitions. It-s so prestigious in every sport, not just football. To represent Australia at the Olympics would be fantastic and seeing that it-s London, they-re so passionate about football over there so it would just be amazing to play over there. I think we-ve got a real shot at qualifying – the first game we didn-t perform the way we would-ve liked to but I think we-ve got a real crack at it. I said before my best representative moment was the U20 World Cup but I think if I played at the Olympics, that would definitely exceed that. It-s just be that extra step up. Like I said before, it has been a bit hard not playing much and I have been told that I need more game time to secure a spot in the team. Having said that, I can only control what I can control and that is the way I train and the way I prepare myself mentally. I-ll give myself every chance of getting over there but with the likes of Matty Ryan doing so well and a few of the other boys in the overseas club, they-ve kind of maybe got an advantage there. I-m just going to keep working hard and prove myself when my time comes.
5. Where do you see yourself in five years time?
I-d like to be playing in five years time but if you-d asked me that five years ago, I probably would-ve said the same thing. I-ve always said all along that I-ve wanted to play in the A-League, I don-t want to go overseas because even if I went overseas now, I don-t think I would go anywhere to played because I haven-t played and haven-t proven myself yet. I want to stay in the A-League and play and prove myself before I make the step overseas. In five years time, I guess I-d like to be established in the A-League and maybe looking for a overseas move. Goalkeepers can play until their late thirties I guess and if the body holds up, I-d love to have a long career.
6. Do you have any tips for young, aspiring goalkeepers?
Fernando (vaz Alves, Brisbane Roar goalkeeping coach) is a great coach, he-s been in the national team set up for so long and you-re always learning little things training with the likes of Theo (Michael Theoklitos) and Matty (Acton). We-re always constantly pushing ourselves to bigger and better things. All I can say is just keep working hard and take in all the advice that you can. Also, make sure you eat your veggies and listen to your mum!
7. Why did you cut your hair this pre-season?
It-s not really a great story but I cut it because it was starting to hurt at training. I-d dive and dive onto my hair and it would pull so that-s the main reason. It was getting a bit hot under there too. Mum was pretty persuasive of me getting a haircut and I got another haircut yesterday. I have to keep Mum happy, my main lady! I get my hair cut by (former Brisbane Roar player) Luke DeVere-s mum so I always go in there for a bit of gossip as well. Luke is actually here at the moment, back in town for a knee operation.
8. Do you have any off-field hobbies or interests? We hear you like to make jerky.
I quite like a bit of jerky. It all started down at the AIS, a few of the boys had a dehydrator down there. We were making jerky there and then when I moved from the AIS to the Mariners, I invested in a dehydrator. It was only about $110 so a solid investment I think. I mainly do beef but in my last batch, I made a bit of kangaroo so I can do all different flavours. It-s really good for you, zero fat. You just cut up the meat, marinade it and put in the dehydrator for eight hours and you-re done! The marinade is my secret, I can-t reveal that! I also quite like a game of golf and I don-t mind going for a bit of a dive or spearfish with (Matt) Mundy. I can-t reveal my location though – that-s another secret. I like cycling even though I-m not allowed to, I still like it.
