Book Review: FULL CREDIT TO THE BOYS by Mel Hoffman

            

FULL CREDIT TO THE BOYS

by

Mel Hoffman

Publication Date: 27 April 2021

Publisher: Affirm Press

About the Book

When Mel fell in love with NRL player Ryan ‘Hoff’ Hoffman, she had no idea what she was getting into. Firstly, she was from Melbourne, so she didn’t even know the rules of rugby league. Secondly, she’d always been more the theatre and literature type – sport was pretty much a mystery to her.

But she soon learned that marrying a professional sportsman means marrying a whole team of players, their managers, fans, wives and girlfriends. She also learned that the rules of the game extended far beyond the field, and as part of the rugby league ‘family’, she would be expected to fall into line. Two kids and a feminist awakening later, Mel found that while there was much to love about a life in footy, its failures – particularly when it came to women in the game – were impossible to ignore.

In Full Credit to the Boys, Mel charts the highs and lows of life on the sidelines of a professional sport career. Hilarious, biting and unabashed, it’s a story for sports lovers and haters alike – an insider’s look at a life dedicated to the games that sit at the heart of Australian culture.

***

My Thoughts

Living in Sydney, I am in definitely in rugby league land, but admittedly, I don’t pay much attention to the game except when the game, or frankly, more often, players are in the limelight for behaving badly. FULL CREDIT TO THE BOYS was on a shelf at my library and I was curious to read about a different side of the rugby league juggernaut.

I whizzed through this book one day. Hoffman’s writing is articulate, insightful, humorous, and a pleasure to read. The behind the scenes look at the life of the spouse of a professional sportsperson wasn’t entirely unfamiliar but I never really thought about the never-ending pressure and uncertainty that comes with it. Above all, her story is relatable.

Hoffman makes good arguments – as well as some easy to implement policy suggestions – about how the entire league would benefit from better support of spouses and families as well as female representation in the industry.

I don’t know what Hoffman’s future writing plans are but I do hope there will be new books coming down the pipeline. I am a fan!

I love libraries! I borrowed this book from my local library. 

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About the Author

Mel Hoffman is a writer from Melbourne who was thrown into the limelight when she started dating rugby league star Ryan ‘Hoff’ Hoffman. Mel wrote about her experience as a ‘WAG’ in the Melbourne Storm blog called Confessions of a Rugby League Wife, giving insights into how the demanding industry affects players’ lives.

In 2018 Mel hit the front pages when she wrote about her disappointment over the treatment of women by rugby stars, noting the issues in the industry as a whole that she believed led to this behaviour. She decided to write Full Credit to the Boys when her young son started playing rugby, in the hope her experience could help create a better, more respectful culture she could fully support. This is her first book.