Interview with Australian Men’s Star Craig Payne

1- Can you give us a bit of a background of your Dodgeball playing career, and how you ended up representing your country?

I started playing 6 years ago in a social league just for fun then that fun turned into a passion and lead to me representing the Dodgeroos in the first Asian Pacific Championships 2015

2- Any highlights from your international career? Best games etc?

My biggest highlight so far would have been Australia vs Northern Ireland in 2016 World Cup finals. The game was tied at 8-8 and only had a few seconds left of the match to decide who would go through to the next stage. I threw a deciding ball and got a double out for the win!

3- You’ve gone from being a player, to just focusing on coaching, and now back to playing. What’s inspired these decisions? And how do you feel your time coaching has improved yourself as a player?

My inspiration for focusing on coaching came from seeing how developed England lions and the other nations were at the 2016 World Cup. I wanted to help the Australian Dodgeroos reach those heights so I took a year off to focus on it. The experience coaching has improved my tactical perspective of the game.

4- What’s your workout routine and training like in preparation for the 2018 Dodgeball World Cup? Any tips you can lend to aspiring dodgeball players?

Taking a year of playing has inspired my passion to become the best player I can be so at the moment I’m training 4x a week down at the gym and on top of that I have weekly club training. My tip would be conditioning and eating well. You can only train as hard as the body allows it so looking after it is important.

5- How does it feeling knowing that in a few days you’ll be playing in one of the most famous stadiums in the world, Madison Square Garden?

It feels amazing. This will be the biggest dodgeball event to date and I am so grateful to be giving the opportunity to be a part of it.

6- One of the core beliefs of the Asian Dodgeball Federation is our #StrongerTogether campaign. So we’d love for you to share your thoughts on who you believe some of the best players in Asia-Pacific are. Who should we be looking out for?

As for the Australian players we have a few new upcoming stars who I believe will have a great showing in NY, for our Asia Pacific friends. Tan Yong Yan was a formidable player in API who stood out for me alongside Malaysia’s mens captain Heidy who demonstrated impressive on court skill and passion.

7- As a former coach at the Dodgeball World Cup, is there any nations we should be looking out for to do something interesting tactically?

I think Egypt will be interesting and may surprise a few nations on how well they have developed since 2016 World Cup. However I’ll be definitely looking out for England and Austria who have in the past showed amazing depths in tactics and team structure.

8- Any predictions for Australia at the World Cup? Can the Dodgeroo’s Women (the team you coached to World Cup success) defend their title?

I predict Australia all 3 followed by Malaysia, Singapore and HK. Asia-pacific takeover 2018 jokes no predictions from me however the Australian women definitely have it in them to defend the title. I think it will come down to whether or not it comes out when they need it.

9- Any lastly, how do you think the other Asia-Pacific nations will go at the World Cup? Any nation you’d like to single out for being a favourite for success on this stage?
I’d say Malaysia is the favourite as they have shown they have what it takes both in Manchester and the 2017 API. I also think the Singaporean women’s team will do well!

10- Where is the best place to eat in Australia? And what’s your favourite Australian dish?

11- Which country in Asia-Pacific has the best food? Which dish is the best?

Eeep I’m terrible with food
I’m the type to eat food to live not live to eat food