Chris Lawrence and injuries

[maxxy86]

I think he had 3-4 good years…..hasn't set the world on fire after that. Even the move into the pack he's been so so. Great club stalward tho.

 

[hobbo]

So over hearing how Lawrence is a top bloke , great club man ….
He's paid to play footy and he's crap !

 

[cochise]

So over hearing how Lawrence is a top bloke , great club man ….
He's paid to play footy and he's crap !

I find it very hard to call him a crap footballer, if not for his injury he would have played for NSW for 10 years. Anyone that was their the night he dislocated his hip will remember the severity of that injury. We had a horror run with injuries at that point losing Dwyer and Tuiaki to career ending injuries and effectively losing one of our best to get an inferior model in return.

Chris could have stayed on his huge contract, a contract he deserved at the time of signing but he chose to renegotiate to a more team friendly, longer contract. He is entitled to his spot at the club even if that is in reserve grade. The people calling for him to be shown the door are the same people disappointed in the loyalty shown by some of our high profile players. Loyalty needs to be shown both ways.

 

[VanillaThunder]

So over hearing how Lawrence is a top bloke , great club man ….
He's paid to play footy and he's crap !

I find it very hard to call him a crap footballer, if not for his injury he would have played for NSW for 10 years. Anyone that was their the night he dislocated his hip will remember the severity of that injury. We had a horror run with injuries at that point losing Dwyer and Tuiaki to career ending injuries and effectively losing one of our best to get an inferior model in return.

Chris could have stayed on his huge contract, a contract he deserved at the time of signing but he chose to renegotiate to a more team friendly, longer contract. He is entitled to his spot at the club even if that is in reserve grade. The people calling for him to be shown the door are the same people disappointed in the loyalty shown by some of our high profile players. Loyalty needs to be shown both ways.

Hear hear.

 

[colmcd]

Lawrence is the only player qualifying for long service allowance, so he's not included in the cap. Costs nothing, strong defender, looks after Brooks, runs good lines off the ball, did I mention he costs us nothing?

If he is not included in the cap how does he get paid?

Long standing player allowance (8 years) of 300K can be allocated to 1 player or among a number of players..Chris is the only player we have that qualifies..

There is also the 600K Marquee Player allowance outside of the Cap that may be paid by Club affiliated sponsors ..again to 1 player or spread among a number of players..

Doesn't take away that he IS a spent force tho in the NRL….we should never have resigned him.

He is a NON cap player. He does a job for us that will do.

So would you rather 3 good forwards and a Cap free player or 4 Average forwards?

Cmon, lets get more "average" in our side. Stuff buying good players like Matalino..

Seriously Chris brings Depth. He is the last remaining Tiger. I think Cleary is wanting the club to believe in it's culture and Hence Brett Hodgson's return. We need to let this guy retire as a 1 clubber, if it means he just fills in one game during SOO, so be it. He will be around training and around helping the young guys settle into the squad. TAKE the depth, especially when it is offered for FREE.

 

[kh_canada]

Lawrence is the only player qualifying for long service allowance, so he's not included in the cap. Costs nothing, strong defender, looks after Brooks, runs good lines off the ball, did I mention he costs us nothing?

If he is not included in the cap how does he get paid?

Long standing player allowance (8 years) of 300K can be allocated to 1 player or among a number of players..Chris is the only player we have that qualifies..

There is also the 600K Marquee Player allowance outside of the Cap that may be paid by Club affiliated sponsors ..again to 1 player or spread among a number of players..

Doesn't take away that he IS a spent force tho in the NRL….we should never have resigned him.

If your CEO told you that you have an experienced backrower on the roster for free, would you just chuck him away? He isn't the worst backrower in the game so it's not like they're just keeping him to save money. At the very minimum, you keep him there for depth :unamused:

 

[underdog]

He seems to not recover as well from injury as we'd like him to.

He has now become an honest toiler who does a lot of dirty work.

A far cry from what he could have become had he not have that horrific injury against the Raiders all those years ago.

 

[Tiger_Steve]

He actually renegotiated his contract tonhelp the club out of the backloading mess.

As a result as he's on about 300k I think, which is cap exempt due to him being a long service player. Sad what happened to him, but he's a club legend regardless.

He doesn't add much to the team IMO and he is far from a club legend also. As someone has stated on here backrow may still be our weakness next season also.

He's one the club's only Australian representative's, he's only one or two tries away from being the club's all time leading try scorer, and is a good chance of finishing his career here with having played the most games for the club. If that isn't a legend then God knows what your criteria is.

X2

 

[Jobymac]

Lawrence is a club legend. Been here the longest, seen coaches come and go, seen all the drama queens try to bring our club to its knees and still carries on like the ultimate professional.

Yes, after seeing him debut as a 17 year old schoolboy, he was destined to become Wests Tigers greatest player.

That all changed that night at his home ground, people don't realise how close he came to never being able to walk properly again let alone play get back on the field.

If this ultimate team player is ever punted, it would be very hard for me to follow the Tigers again, especially after the carry on this year of players who care little for Wests Tigers!

Leave him be, he has been playing since he was 17 so probably will retire in 2 years anyway.

He lives and breaths the Wests Tigers and you better get use to him being around the club for many more years to come, as he will obviously take up a position within the club

Love ya Rowdy

 

[jctiger]

Lawrence is a club legend. Been here the longest, seen coaches come and go, seen all the drama queens try to bring our club to its knees and still carries on like the ultimate professional.

Yes, after seeing him debut as a 17 year old schoolboy, he was destined to become Wests Tigers greatest player.

That all changed that night at his home ground, people don't realise how close he came to never being able to walk properly again let alone play get back on the field.

If this ultimate team player is ever punted, it would be very hard for me to follow the Tigers again, especially after the carry on this year of players who care little for Wests Tigers!

Leave him be, he has been playing since he was 17 so probably will retire in 2 years anyway.

He lives and breaths the Wests Tigers and you better get use to him being around the club for many more years to come, as he will obviously take up a position within the club

Love ya Rowdy

Well said Joby.

 

[earl]

Lawrence deserves more respect doesn't he. He also belts it back at pace and runs good lines. Not the best edge backrower in the comp but a decent one.

 

[jirskyr]

I agree with Joby, I was convinced that Lawrence was destined to become a Tigers great, I've hardly seen a player debut so well, so early, and keep the form up. I don't know if it was the hip or hammys or both, but he was very seriously injured in our service and that should always be remembered.

He's not a crap footballer or a lost cause, any more than Simon Dwyer or Tuiaki are failures because they were seriously injured playing for the Tigers.

 

[MightyMaggy]

In my eyes, Chris Lawrence is a club legend, who is as good as any role model for young people. Hopefully, he has a long-term future at the Club.

 

[Club_Sandwich]

Absolute legend. In all his time he's never had any off field dramas, never thrown a tantrum and never said anything bad about the club despite everything that's gone on the past 10 years.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I agree with Joby, I was convinced that Lawrence was destined to become a Tigers great, I've hardly seen a player debut so well, so early, and keep the form up. I don't know if it was the hip or hammys or both, but he was very seriously injured in our service and that should always be remembered.

**He's not a crap footballer or a lost cause, any more than Simon Dwyer or Tuiaki are failures because they were seriously injured playing for the Tigers.**

And that's the real sad part. Tuiaki to this day is a cult hero. Dwyer gets the "what could have been treatment, meanwhile Rowdy gets the "he's crap, he's a cripple". If the hip injury ended his career, he'd be considered the biggest waste of talent in the club's history. He'd be remembered as being on par with Tedesco. Unfortunately, his injury has clouded the judgement of many who can't stand him. The other 2 will live in people's memories of being remembered fondly and warmly while Rowdy is destined to be belittled and disrespected. And that's very unfair.

 

[Pawsandclaws]

Yes he is a loyal servant but there must come a time when one injury is one too many for him. He is still a young man and has a life to live hopefully not as a former player crippled with injury. We certainly should find a spot for him in the organisation, especially now with the emphasis the RL places on women in league.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

He seems to not recover as well from injury as we'd like him to.

He has now become an honest toiler who does a lot of dirty work.

A far cry from what he could have become had he not have that horrific injury against the Raiders all those years ago.

His injuries stem from the hip injury. His hammies have never been the same.

 

[kh_canada]

I agree with Joby, I was convinced that Lawrence was destined to become a Tigers great, I've hardly seen a player debut so well, so early, and keep the form up. I don't know if it was the hip or hammys or both, but he was very seriously injured in our service and that should always be remembered.

**He's not a crap footballer or a lost cause, any more than Simon Dwyer or Tuiaki are failures because they were seriously injured playing for the Tigers.**

And that's the real sad part. Tuiaki to this day is a cult hero. Dwyer gets the "what could have been treatment, meanwhile Rowdy gets the "he's crap, he's a cripple". If the hip injury ended his career, he'd be considered the biggest waste of talent in the club's history. He'd be remembered as being on par with Tedesco. Unfortunately, his injury has clouded the judgement of many who can't stand him. The other 2 will live in people's memories of being remembered fondly and warmly while Rowdy is destined to be belittled and disrespected. And that's very unfair.

Exactly right. He has kept playing after an almost career-ending injury because of his love for footy and the Tigers but you people are trying to punt him to the kerb despite him being a club legend. Some fans

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I agree with Joby, I was convinced that Lawrence was destined to become a Tigers great, I've hardly seen a player debut so well, so early, and keep the form up. I don't know if it was the hip or hammys or both, but he was very seriously injured in our service and that should always be remembered.

**He's not a crap footballer or a lost cause, any more than Simon Dwyer or Tuiaki are failures because they were seriously injured playing for the Tigers.**

And that's the real sad part. Tuiaki to this day is a cult hero. Dwyer gets the "what could have been treatment, meanwhile Rowdy gets the "he's crap, he's a cripple". If the hip injury ended his career, he'd be considered the biggest waste of talent in the club's history. He'd be remembered as being on par with Tedesco. Unfortunately, his injury has clouded the judgement of many who can't stand him. The other 2 will live in people's memories of being remembered fondly and warmly while Rowdy is destined to be belittled and disrespected. And that's very unfair.

Exactly right. He has kept playing after an almost career-ending injury because of his love for footy and the Tigers but you people are trying to punt him to the kerb despite him being a club legend. Some fans

Marshall is a good example. Early in his career he was on another level. Later on people began to hate his guts because he wasn't half the player he was early on in his career. He's still considered a legend. Some would class Tuiaki as a club legend too, So why isn't Lawrence? This has nothing to do with him being a nice guy. That's a cop out from his detractors. Its acknowlwdging he was on track to being top 5 of players the club has ever produced, maybe even top 3\. That's how good he was. And he has struggled ever since. But he has a legitamate excuse, unlike Marshall who just went off the boil and is considered probably the no 1 player in the history of the club.

 

[jadtiger]

Yes he is a loyal servant but there must come a time when one injury is one too many for him. He is still a young man and has a life to live hopefully not as a former player crippled with injury. We certainly should find a spot for him in the organisation, especially now with the emphasis the RL places on women in league.

x2