Siblings can be a pain. Just ask Jesse Bromwich, who “couldn’t go anywhere” without his younger brother while they were growing up.
“He was the worst, I couldn’t go anywhere without him,” Bromwich told foxsports.com.au.
“He used to be a bit crazy though. He used to do my head in and want to always follow us everywhere which was fine but we used to make him work for it though.”
And surprisingly, there were no denials from Kenny — or ‘Porks’ as his big brother calls him.
Jesse was the first of the pair to speak to Bennett after his manager informed him the Dolphins were interested.
“I suppose I just went into the meeting with an open mind… And at this point I hadn’t even thought about leaving the Storm — it wasn’t even an option,” he recalled.
“I just had this feeling after the meeting that I wanted to do it and that I was willing to pick the family up and move them all the way up (to Queensland).
“It wasn’t one single thing that (Bennett) said, it was more so a bunch of things he said.
“No disrespect to anyone down in Melbourne, but the feeling I had outweighed anything I sort of thought at the time… Wayne just worked his magic on me I guess.
“Obviously I had been at the Storm for a long time and I had a great relationship with Frank (Ponissi), Craig (Bellamy) and the owners there… But I think the opportunity to be able to do something different before I finish was far too great for me to decline.”
It was a “really tough decision” for Jesse to leave the Storm but after settling on it he had to tell his brother.
“He was shocked,” Jesse said about Kenny’s reaction.
“We used to carpool to every training session down in Melbourne. I remember telling him that I think I’m going to leave.
“Before that I really hadn’t had a thought of leaving, but (Kenny) picked me up the next day and I said ‘I spoke to Wayne last night and I’m pretty sure I’m going to be leaving.’
“He was kind of caught off guard and said ‘really? I didn’t even know you were talking to them’ and I said ‘neither did I.’ He was pretty shocked and then he said — because we have the same manager — ‘I think they want to talk to me as well.’
“I didn’t really want to be involved in it so told him to do what’s best for him and his family. I didn’t want to push them either way, I knew he had a good thing going down in Melbourne and I didn’t want to be the one to force him to pack up and move up here and maybe not enjoy it.”
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But it didn’t matter what Jesse said. Kenny was always going to follow him.
“I think they spoke to Jess first and then not long after that they came to me. My mind was sort of made up when Jess made it official, I was pretty keen to stay with him,” Kenny recalled to foxsports.com.au.
“I never really thought I was going to leave Melbourne but when Jess mentioned to me that he could be leaving and started talking to me about why he was thinking of leaving I guess I started to get curious about what else was there.
“My old man spoke to me too and wanted me to go with my brother, I’ve done everything with him as a child coming through so he was pretty keen for me to follow him up there.
“But I think learning some new things, especially under another great coach in Wayne, the lifestyle change up here and experiencing something different with my family — those were a few things that helped me make my decision.”
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Jesse inked a two-year deal in January 2022, while Kenny signed on for three years not long after. Having secured their futures, the next step was to break the news to Storm coach Craig Bellamy.
Jesse was first.
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“It was pretty tough,” he said.
“It was a private conversation, but I remember ringing him and telling him that I was going to be leaving.
“I think he asked if I could give him another week or something but I said I had to sign and I couldn’t really get much time.
“I didn’t really want to make the call. I’m just so grateful that I was able to be coached by him for such a long time.
“I said to him ‘I’m not going to be like those guys that come to Melbourne like Billy (Slater), Cam (Smith) and Cooper (Cronk) — I’m not going to be involved in footy for life like those guys. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and my family to come up here’
“He was pretty understanding.”
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The reason Jesse won’t be like the three Storm legends he mentioned is because he plans on “getting a real job” when he hangs up the boots.
But that didn’t mean Bellamy wasn’t going to try and find a way to keep his star prop — who had been a part of three premierships — at the club.
“I think just out of respect he wanted to try, but I couldn’t really give him the chance to. I knew what I wanted to do,” Jesse said.
A couple of weeks later it was Kenny’s turn. He conceded it was “pretty hard” to tell Bellamy he was leaving too but it turned out the veteran coach had an inkling.
“He said he knew it was coming,” Kenny revealed.
“He was disappointed that we couldn’t finish there but that’s just the way it goes sometimes.
“The chance to come here and have two different perspectives on football — not just know one club — I think it’ll be good for me.”
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Kenny admitted the move was “a little bit daunting” at first but after a brutal three-day army camp earlier this month he felt like he’d known his new teammates for “at least a year.”
The squad were able to take a moment during the camp to let it sink in that they will be a part of NRL history when the Dolphins run out at Suncorp Stadium on March 5.
That “most definitely” played a role in Jesse’s decision to sign — and now the New Zealand skipper has put his hand up to be the Dolphins’ inaugural NRL captain too.
“One of my goals is to captain the side so to be able to do that would be pretty special,” Jesse said.
“He (Bennett) knows that’s one of my goals. I don’t think they’ve come out and announced anything yet but it’s something I’m really working towards.”
It may be a new chapter for the brothers, but they’ve actually carried a small piece of the Storm with them up to Redcliffe — Kenny’s nickname.
“That’s actually a ‘Bellyache’ (Bellamy) name for him, Craig used to call Ken ‘Porks’ and Brandon Smith ‘Porky’. He used to reckon they looked a little bit overweight,” Jesse laughed.
Asked if Kenny had ever bit back with a not-so-flattering nickname in return, Jesse served a perfect big brother response: “Porks is pretty hard to top.”
