If anyone knows Daniel Mortimer, it his Uncle Steve, a Bulldogs legend – and in his eyes, he cannot see his nephew giving in to anything, and he will not get angered about not playing.
‘He’s not a dummy-spitter,” Bulldogs great Steve said.
”He’s got the same traits that were bred into his father and uncles, which means he will do everything in his power to make it work at Parramatta. He’s a positive person, like my brothers and myself, and he’s committed to doing that.”
Despite all the speculation surrounding Mortimer’s future, both club and player are committed to each other, and neither is going to part ways.
”I’m sure that’s the case,” he said. ‘
‘I’ve been in contact with Daniel. I’ll be trying to get to his game at Wenty tomorrow, and I’ll be catching up with him for a coffee in the next couple of weeks.
”It’s only natural he would be disappointed about being dropped but it’s how you react to the disappointment that matters. What Daniel is going through now, I went through myself, the same as hundreds of other players have over the years. It happened to me in my first year at Canterbury. I got dropped because I didn’t think tackling was important but I realised I was wrong, and I worked at it and got back into first grade a few weeks later.
”The Eels gave Daniel a contract because he’s got a set of skills that can help the team win. Now, if he needs to change his game around a bit in the lower grades to fit in with what the coach wants then he will aim to do that because that’s the sort of determined person he is. We all go through challenging times in life, and this is just another example. Dealing with this will make Daniel a better player and a better person.”
It would seem that Mortimer is more likely to remain with the club then Robson, after Kearney said:
‘That’s right, yep.”
The coach then added: ”He’s a young half, so it’s going to take some time for him but we’re committed to him and he’s committed to us, and we’ll keep working through it. He’s a great young lad, and I’m sure he’ll be better for the experience.”