Latest news with #Faessler
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘Not here (just) to participate': Reds keen to tame touring Lions
To this day, Matt Faessler is still confused by it all. On a quiet day in early June, as he went through rehab training at Ballymore, the unassuming Queensland hooker was shown a graphic that had him ranked as one of the most marketable athletes in Australia. In a Gemba study measuring athletes' profile and social media clout, Faessler was ranked fourth and second for 'interest' and 'influence' respectively, ahead of names like Pat Cummins, Sam Kerr, Gout Gout and Oscar Piastri. Faessler is happy to admit his sleepy social media footprint, with a couple of thousand followers, isn't a buzzing hive of activity. 'It was as big a surprise to me as it was everyone else,' Faessler said. 'I thought it was one of the boys in the team had edited it, to take the piss. I am not sure how they worked that out, but it gave us all a good laugh.' Faessler's best guess is the snapshot was taken around the time the 14-cap Wallaby scored a hat-trick for Australia in their win over Wales on their spring tour last year - the first ever by a Wallabies hooker - and duly made a few digital waves. Heaven knows what fame and online virality might be unlocked, then, if Faessler and his Queensland teammates make some much bigger waves on Wednesday night, by toppling the mighty British and Irish Lions in a midweek tour game in Brisbane. In their second stop on a nine-game tour of Australia, the Lions will meet the Reds at a near sold-out Suncorp Stadium and the hosts are aiming to make an historic night, by causing an upset and downing the famous Home Nations team. It's not done very often. Away from Test matches, only the Brumbies (2013) and Australia A (2001) have managed to claim wins over the Lions in the past two tours.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not here (just) to participate': Reds keen to tame touring Lions
To this day, Matt Faessler is still confused by it all. On a quiet day in early June, as he went through rehab training at Ballymore, the unassuming Queensland hooker was shown a graphic that had him ranked as one of the most marketable athletes in Australia. In a Gemba study measuring athletes' profile and social media clout, Faessler was ranked fourth and second for 'interest' and 'influence' respectively, ahead of names like Pat Cummins, Sam Kerr, Gout Gout and Oscar Piastri. Faessler is happy to admit his sleepy social media footprint, with a couple of thousand followers, isn't a buzzing hive of activity. 'It was as big a surprise to me as it was everyone else,' Faessler said. 'I thought it was one of the boys in the team had edited it, to take the piss. I am not sure how they worked that out, but it gave us all a good laugh.' Faessler's best guess is the snapshot was taken around the time the 14-cap Wallaby scored a hat-trick for Australia in their win over Wales on their spring tour last year - the first ever by a Wallabies hooker - and duly made a few digital waves. Heaven knows what fame and online virality might be unlocked, then, if Faessler and his Queensland teammates make some much bigger waves on Wednesday night, by toppling the mighty British and Irish Lions in a midweek tour game in Brisbane. In their second stop on a nine-game tour of Australia, the Lions will meet the Reds at a near sold-out Suncorp Stadium and the hosts are aiming to make an historic night, by causing an upset and downing the famous Home Nations team. It's not done very often. Away from Test matches, only the Brumbies (2013) and Australia A (2001) have managed to claim wins over the Lions in the past two tours.
