Tim Membrey’s recollections of day one at the Saints start with Jimmy Webster’s child-like enthusiasm at the prospect of a fellow fisherman.
“I just said, ‘G’day how you going?’, blah, blah, all that stuff when I first got there,” Membrey recounts.
“I was meeting everyone and somehow Jimmy found out that I liked to go fishing and being out in the bush.
“The next minute this bloke comes flying back up to me and goes, ‘Do you go fishing do ya?’, and ever since we just clicked and we were best mates.”
Locker buddies, house mates, best mates.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that six years on, ‘Jimmy and Timmy’ have formed one of the closest friendships at St Kilda.
Their common love of bush life led to a mateship so inseparable that just two months after arriving at the Saints, Tim tore up the lease to his apartment and moved in with Jimmy.
Thanks to a new partnership with Dare Iced Coffee and R U OK?, we’re here to discuss the importance of?checking in on your mates and speaking up.
It’s easy for modern-day footballers to be consumed by the constant analysis and training now involved in the AFL system, all while being squarely in the public eye.
Having an outlet away from work and external scrutiny – in the pair’s case, the outdoors – has been incredibly important.
“It’s massive, because footy is so full on these days and that’s basically what we do every single day,” Webster says.
“That was the best thing, because we lived and breathed footy at the club and then we’d come home and live with someone who does the same job as you.”
For Membrey, the most important commodity they share is trust.
“We’ve just built a good relationship right from the get-go and we’ve just gone from there, being able to speak to each other about anything and everything,” Membrey says.
“It just comes back to trusting each other, which is a big part of our friendship.”
And despite all their mischief, Webster and Membrey both know when to be serious.
“No matter what it is, if I’ve got any issues or something pretty personal, something I love about Skunk is that I can trust him, and whatever I tell him isn’t going to go on to the next bloke,” Webster says.
“Having that trust that I can speak to him about anything is something that’s really important.”
Membrey agrees, adding that having someone in your corner can’t be understated.
“And the flipside of that, holding it in and trying to deal with things yourself it’s often not the best result.
“I think being able to talk to someone, you automatically feel better straight away after doing so.
“It’s just so important that you are talking about how you’re feeling or what you’re struggling with, and it’s really important to have that person to lean on.”
