Fresh from meeting his Scottish partner's four elder brothers for the first time, Chris Lewis was still in holiday mode ahead of what he believes will be his Melbourne Storm swansong.
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Speaking before teeing up at Yarra Bend Golf, the self-described "horrible" golfer is back in Melbourne after spending three weeks of the off-season travelling around Europe with his partner, Jill McCann, a Melbourne-based doctor.
On December 1, the 31-year-old will start pre-season training at the Storm.
The former Ashford Roosters junior is back among the Storm's top 30 players, after enduring what he has described as a "f**king frustrating" 2023 season. He spent it on the club's development list, and only played one NRL game.
Next year will be his fifth season at the Storm - where, at age 27 in 2020, he became their oldest-ever NRL debutant. He hopes to prolong his Storm tenure beyond 2024, the final year of his contract, but is realistic.
"I'll be 32 by the end of that," he said of his existing deal. "So probably my last year, to be honest."
"I'll try hard and see how I go, but Melbourne don't re-sign many older players ... unless you're Cameron Smith or Billy Slater."
Lewis, who has made 41 appearances for the storied club, spent most of last season playing for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup. The Falcons are a Melbourne feeder club.
"I think I've still got something to offer," said the former high-school history teacher. "If I thought I wasn't good enough, I'd go find something else to do.
"But it's a matter of convincing everyone else that you've got something to offer ... It's just a matter of getting a crack."
Someone he presumably doesn't have to convince of his worth is McCann, a Glasgow-raised emergency doctor whom he has been with since 2021. Next year, McCann will start training as a GP.
At the end of the 2023 NRL season, the couple travelled to Scotland - where Lewis met most of her family for the first time - before they ventured to England and Greece.
"I hope I made a good impression," he said of meeting McCann's family.
Upon returning to Australia, Lewis spent a few weeks on his family's Wagyu cattle farm near Ashford. It's run by his parents, Mick and Pauleen. McCann returned to Melbourne.
When Lewis's top-flight rugby league career is over, he plans to help his family run the farm.
"Pretty dry," he said of the property. "It's not good up there at the moment."
Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
