‘Wish I could have gone back’: Storm recruit’s flood heartache

All Nick Meaney has wanted to do the past couple of weeks is hop in a car or plane and do his bit to help his friends and family who have been wiped out by the floods back home in Lismore.

It will almost be bittersweet on Saturday night when Meaney makes his club debut for the Melbourne Storm while most of his loved ones are coming to grips with the worst floods seen in the northern NSW town.

Meaney almost made the hit-and-run trek last weekend when the Storm enjoyed one final weekend off before the season proper starts.

But the logistics of travelling with his wife Shania and their five-month-old son, Reign, not to mention the risk of being stranded up north so close to the start of the NRL opener, meant he had to pass.

At least his family and mother-in-law will be at Bankwest Stadium to watch Meaney wear the Storm No. 6 – not to mention take their own minds off a harrowing fortnight.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the town during the week and was given a frosty reception, and the damage caused water levels that exceeded 14m are only now being realised by the heartbroken locals.

“The chaos has now come after the floods with the town left in mud,” Meaney told the Herald.

Nick Meaney will fill in for the suspended Cameron Munster on Saturday night. Credit:Getty

“I’ve been watching the news and getting photos from family and friends. My wife’s mum has a lingerie shop on the main street that is gutted – it looks like a demolition site. Luckily, she was able to save all of her stock, and having been flooded before, the businesses know how to prepare.

“But I’ve got mates at Woodlawn and Coraki, their parents’ houses are fully under. It’s so sad.

“It’s hard having been in Melbourne, and I wish I could have got back up there to help. They’ve had no resources back home, no fuel, food or water.

“When we had the weekend off I was going to head back, but with our baby, it would have put too much stress on the family back home with so much going on.

“My family will be in Sydney for Saturday’s game, as will my mother-in-law, so it’s a good chance for them to get away from it all. People back home can’t escape it. They’ve all been on my mind the past two weeks. It’s been hard to focus on footy, but I also know I’ve had to focus on the job at hand.”

Meaney, 24, moved from Canterbury to heavyweights Melbourne over the summer and impressed everybody at the club with his attitude and willingness to learn. Even though Ryan Papenhuyzen has a mortgage on the No.1 jersey – Papenhuyzen will definitely start at fullback against Wests Tigers – Meaney backed himself to develop his game.

Even though he will start at five-eighth, a position he hasn’t played since his high school days at St John’s College near Lismore, he is more than up to the challenge.

Regular five-eighth Cameron Munster, who will miss the Tigers clash because of his white powder video scandal, has been giving Meaney plenty of advice on the all-important position.

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