From a rugby league career emerging from the footy fields of France, creating Storm history as a father son duo and a whirlwind NRL debut in front of family, Joe Chan’s rugby league story is unlike many have heard before.
After earning his NRL debut in Round 27 of last season, the former Catalans Dragons player is set to be rewarded with his second cap for Craig Bellamy’s side on Friday night, named to start in the second row.
Son of Storm player 71, Alex Chan, the 21-year old’s journey to first grade has been far from your traditional rugby league pathway, having moved to France at the age of 15 after his dad’s appointment as General Manager of the Catalans Dragons in 2016.
While most young rugby league prospects continued to put their best foot forward under the watchful eye of nearby NRL clubs, Chan continued to ply his trade some 16,000 kilometres away, playing 26-games for the French club before signing with Storm ahead of the 2023 season.
While it might not be the traditional pathway to the NRL for a young player, Chan said the opportunity to train and play alongside Premiership winning NRL and Super League talent played a big role in fast tracking his development as a junior player.
"When these guys came from the NRL and moved to the Super league, I looked at that as an opportunity to study them as much as I could and really learn from them,” Chan said.
"It’s a different environment but I think for me it’s probably one of the best things for me because while people could say it’s a lot of obstacles, I try and turn it around and make it a positive,”
“Learning off the likes of James Maloney, Sam and Joel Tomkins was great...Michael McIlorum was another really key influence on me,” he said.
“A big one was actually a former Storm player, Sam Kasiano, he was someone that took me under his wing a lot,”
“He was key for me, really pushed me and looked after me both on and off the field and taught me to have perspective as well,”
“Even though he's a big and powerful player, one of the best attributes of his game is his ball skills so I learnt a lot off him, he taught me so much...I still text him and talk to him a lot to this day."
With the opportunity to create history as the first father son duo to pull on the purple jersey, an opportunity to learn in the Storm environment was one the St Clair Comets junior knew he couldn’t turn down.
“Dad always spoke extremely highly of the Melbourne Storm, he just spoke of the training conditions and how they always hold themselves to a very high standard on and off the field,” Chan said.
After packing his bags and moving to Melbourne, Chan enjoyed a stellar first campaign at the club, named Brisbane Tigers Rookie of the Year as he helped the club break a 32-year Premiership drought in the HostPlus Cup, while also getting represent New Zealand Kiwis ‘A’ team.
When Chan’s major milestone moment came in Round 27, it was a late word from Craig Bellamy during the team's Captain’s Run that confirmed he would get his chance to make Storm history, news he couldn’t wait to tell his family back in France.
"I rang Dad three times but he didn’t answer as he was actually asleep because it was about 4am in the morning,”
“I had to ring my mum and she picked up straight away before waking up my dad and to be honest I think he was a little bit annoyed that I woke him up initially!”
“My uncle, my grandfather, my sister and her husband came to the game against the Broncos and that was something really special playing in front of them,”
“My grandfather actually has cancer, so it was extra special getting to play in front of him,”
“It was a big privilege to not only debut but make my debut somewhere where I made history with my family,”
“Being the first father and son to play for the Storm...it was a dream come true.”
