Part Two of a series on the people backing KJAFC
GREG Norris and Kiama sport are inseparable. He has been a player, coach, office-holder or sponsor with just about every team going around, and for the past few years our club has been especially lucky to have Greg involved.
Anyone who was at the Trivia Night would have seen his star turn as MC and quiz master, not to mention Greg's uncanny likeness to former Geelong ruckman Billy Brownless, especially with a Cats jumper on.
Greg and his family have lived in and around Kiama for two generations, his father Rick having operated a successful accounting business for over 30 years.
After he left school, Greg worked as an electrician at the BHP Steel in Port Kembla, as it was known before it became Bluescope Steel in July, 2002. “Gone are the days when you had a job at the steelworks for life,” he says.
Towards the end of his time at the steelworks, Greg started looking at new career paths. “Dad asked if I wanted to work for him, so I retrained, did three years of TAFE then a couple of years of university by correspondence. It was pretty full-on,” he says.
Mr Norris senior ran the business until he retired in 2007, and Greg set up his own practice in 2008 in Manning Street with the help of his wife Nikky, where business has been flourishing since.
Born in Wollongong as the oldest of four boys, Greg has lived in Kiama since he was five, and sport has always played a huge role in his life. “Dad was a mad rugby league follower, but he wanted me to play soccer when I was little. He had a theory that you cannot play rugby league properly until you’re 13 or 14.”
So Greg played soccer until he was 12, then played rugby league, tennis and soccer in his remaining school years. He excelled at rugby union, where he packed in at No 8 in the Kiama under-19s team. Greg’s play caught the first grade coach’s eye and he was straight out of under-19s into first grade, where he remained for three seasons.
“My first coach at Kiama was a real hard bloke. We used to go over to his place for dinner, but it would be forwards only.
“Back then the standard of rugby outside the cities was very high. At one stage Vikings had the NSW Country front row, and players from Randwick used to come down to play in the Kiama Sevens.” Greg’s first-grade coaches at Kiama included Gary Grey, the former Wallaby who was born and raised in Kiama.
After rugby, it was off to the Kiama Knights rugby league team in 1995, where Greg stayed for three seasons, before heading south to play two seasons for great rivals the Gerringong Lions. “And Kiama people still hassle me about it,” he adds. Still with itchy feet, Greg headed into the foothills for a season with the Jamberoo Superoos. Throughout this sporting odyssey, Greg played cricket every summer.
But there was one code missing from his sporting CV, Aussie Rules. What sparked Greg’s interest?
One of Greg’s sons, Joshua, played Auskick with the Kiama Power in 2004 and got to play at the SCG and ANZ Stadium at Swans games. Greg recalls being blown away by Joshua getting that opportunity, and the seed was planted.
“I’ve really only got into it in the last few years, with my son Tom’s involvement. I thought it would be a game which would possibly suit him because he loves to kick the ball. We started watching it on the TV, then we went down to the MCG a few years ago to watch Collingwood play Carlton on a Saturday afternoon.
“Curiosity gave way to wanting to play the game, so he joined and last year he won the coach’s award. In the last few years we have gone to see more AFL games live.
“I really like the speed of the game. Although AFL doesn’t lend itself to watching it on television, when you first go to a game you really appreciate what goes on around the field, especially where the players position themselves.”
He feels the shine has come off rugby league in the past few years. "When we were kids, we'd all go to church on a Sunday morning, then mum and dad would pack the rolls and we would head to Redfern to watch all three grades.
"Now it's a game that is a shadow of its former self. NRL is dominated by coaches and referees and is poorly administered. I used to watch Souths and four or five other games a week. These days I still watch Souths with my daughter Caitlin, but that's usually it. Joshua goes for Manly and Tom for St George, so occasionally I'll watch those too."
On the business side of life, it has been all growth for Greg's accountancy practice in recent years. His wife Nikky, who helped him get the firm off the ground, is working five hours a week.
Tricia McCoskery, the firm's bookkeeper, does three days a week. Kylie Jacobs, who has been with the firm for two and a half years, does some of the accounting work and they have just employed Caitlin Giles, who does administration work.
Like Greg, KJAFC is looking forward to many years of growth. And the Power is especially grateful for the involvement of the Norris family.
Go the Power!