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Chris Heighington earned stripes hard way
* Josh Massoud
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* August 14, 2010 12:00AM
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WEEK in and week out, Chris Heighington is at the top of his game.
Shoulders creak in agony whenever he charges the ball into the defensive line. Ribcages rattle whenever he launches into a hapless ball-carrier. And the whites of his eyeballs maniacally expand whenever a teammate is in strife.
Somehow overlooked by NSW this year, Heighington simply can't be ignored any longer.
Now in his eighth season at Concord, he's nearly synonymous with the Tigers. Like Paul Gallen at Cronulla or Nathan Hindmarsh at Parramatta, Heighington has earned his stripes as a player who both enshrines and enriches his club's culture with a fierce commitment that can sometimes leave his teammates red-faced.
The Central Coast product has replicated Hindmarsh's dedication since he rode the rails from Woy Woy to Burwood for training as a youngster.
But this season a streak of Gallen's aggression has been just as effective.
Heighington is generally the first Tiger into a catfight, like last weekend when he crossed swords with fiery Rabbitohs prop Ben Lowe.
Although injury-free and fitter than ever, Heighington admits there's still something bigger that's pushed him to become one of the NRL's most intimidating back-rowers.
"The team has never been as close," he says. "I've been at the club eight years now and this is as close as I've seen the boys.
"Everyone enjoys each other's company and if a mate's in trouble then you've got to be there to back him up."
Given Heighington was part of the fairytale 2005 premiership-winning side, it's a huge statement. But the Tigers have gone to greater lengths to tighten their bond in 2010.
Just about all the players live in the narrow inner-west corridor between Five Dock and Concord. They lunch together at a pub across Parramatta Rd from head office and have regular team dinners at an Italian haunt on Leichhardt's nearby Norton St.
And then there are the camps, such as this week when coach Tim Sheens led the team to Kiama for the third time in 2010 to refocus ahead of the finals.
"It's my personal take," says Heighington, when reminded about the team from five years ago. "Back in 2005 I was only a young fella. I've been at the club for a while and as a senior player I've now got the benefit of looking down on the situation.
"As a senior player I feel more part of the group. I feel closer to the boys. I feel a bigger responsibility to them.
"Back in 2005, the senior players then probably felt the same way as I'm feeling now. But these days, I know a bit more about what's going on with the club as a whole."
Heighington also knows the precise reasons for the performances that won him a second Country jersey, and then left Tigers fans furious when the 27-year-old wasn't rewarded with a sky-blue wardrobe companion.
In short: he's leaner and looser.
"We didn't do as many power weights and I'm probably the fittest I've ever been," says Heighington, who has dropped from 102kg to 97.
"It all comes back to being fitter. If you've got the energy then you can put that extra effort into each run and tackle, and that's why people might see me as being more aggressive now."
Along with the weight, Heighington has also shed his worries.
"I just keep thinking that I'm playing the game I love - there's no need to get too wound up," he says.
"I'm better at tuning out away from the games and training, and then switching back on to 100 per cent when it's required."
* Josh Massoud
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* August 14, 2010 12:00AM
\
\
WEEK in and week out, Chris Heighington is at the top of his game.
Shoulders creak in agony whenever he charges the ball into the defensive line. Ribcages rattle whenever he launches into a hapless ball-carrier. And the whites of his eyeballs maniacally expand whenever a teammate is in strife.
Somehow overlooked by NSW this year, Heighington simply can't be ignored any longer.
Now in his eighth season at Concord, he's nearly synonymous with the Tigers. Like Paul Gallen at Cronulla or Nathan Hindmarsh at Parramatta, Heighington has earned his stripes as a player who both enshrines and enriches his club's culture with a fierce commitment that can sometimes leave his teammates red-faced.
The Central Coast product has replicated Hindmarsh's dedication since he rode the rails from Woy Woy to Burwood for training as a youngster.
But this season a streak of Gallen's aggression has been just as effective.
Heighington is generally the first Tiger into a catfight, like last weekend when he crossed swords with fiery Rabbitohs prop Ben Lowe.
Although injury-free and fitter than ever, Heighington admits there's still something bigger that's pushed him to become one of the NRL's most intimidating back-rowers.
"The team has never been as close," he says. "I've been at the club eight years now and this is as close as I've seen the boys.
"Everyone enjoys each other's company and if a mate's in trouble then you've got to be there to back him up."
Given Heighington was part of the fairytale 2005 premiership-winning side, it's a huge statement. But the Tigers have gone to greater lengths to tighten their bond in 2010.
Just about all the players live in the narrow inner-west corridor between Five Dock and Concord. They lunch together at a pub across Parramatta Rd from head office and have regular team dinners at an Italian haunt on Leichhardt's nearby Norton St.
And then there are the camps, such as this week when coach Tim Sheens led the team to Kiama for the third time in 2010 to refocus ahead of the finals.
"It's my personal take," says Heighington, when reminded about the team from five years ago. "Back in 2005 I was only a young fella. I've been at the club for a while and as a senior player I've now got the benefit of looking down on the situation.
"As a senior player I feel more part of the group. I feel closer to the boys. I feel a bigger responsibility to them.
"Back in 2005, the senior players then probably felt the same way as I'm feeling now. But these days, I know a bit more about what's going on with the club as a whole."
Heighington also knows the precise reasons for the performances that won him a second Country jersey, and then left Tigers fans furious when the 27-year-old wasn't rewarded with a sky-blue wardrobe companion.
In short: he's leaner and looser.
"We didn't do as many power weights and I'm probably the fittest I've ever been," says Heighington, who has dropped from 102kg to 97.
"It all comes back to being fitter. If you've got the energy then you can put that extra effort into each run and tackle, and that's why people might see me as being more aggressive now."
Along with the weight, Heighington has also shed his worries.
"I just keep thinking that I'm playing the game I love - there's no need to get too wound up," he says.
"I'm better at tuning out away from the games and training, and then switching back on to 100 per cent when it's required."
