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Lawrence tackles demons
Daniel Lane
October 23, 2011
CHRIS LAWRENCE might have played only nine NRL games this season, but a monstrous tackle in last week's Test win against New Zealand proved why the Wests Tigers centre looms as one of the Kangaroos' danger men in the Four Nations tournament in England.
Lawrence, who turned 23 during the week, poleaxed Fuifui Moimoi late at Newcastle and it said volumes about his mental strength and commitment after a tough season in which he dislocated his hip and was then sidelined by a hamstring injury.
''It's a bit of a reward,'' Lawrence told The Sun-Herald of his Four Nations selection.
''I worked pretty hard on my injuries to get back, initially for the Tigers because I believed we had the squad to go all the way if we had the opportunity to do so. I wanted to really be a part of that. Obviously going out with the [hamstring] injury was disappointing, and while [selection] doesn't make up for everything I definitely see it as a reward for all the work I put in.''
Lawrence played down the bone-rattling tackle that left the seemingly indestructible Moimoi on his haunches. ''Fuifui is a big boy, he loves running straight and you have to throw everything at him, otherwise you'll end up on your back,'' he said. ''So, I tried to get under him and threw everything at him.
''I think he may have been a bit tired when he got the ball and that may have worked in my favour … he was probably a bit puffed out afterwards and I'd guess it was good for me he wasn't so fresh.''
However, he said his commitment to that tackle should have proved he was prepared for the rigours that awaited him during Australia's campaign to win the Four Nations trophy back from New Zealand.
''In terms of getting back on the field I'd done so much running and contact work I wasn't apprehensive at all,'' he said of any psychological scar from the hip injury some feared would end his career. ''I know I've done the work so that helped, I did the contact work at training and the intensity was very close to playing in a game and that helped ease my mind … I was ready to go.''
However, Lawrence said while he loved his life and the challenges involved with being an elite footballer, he noted the demands on a rugby league player's body had increased significantly since he made his top-grade debut as a 17-year-old in 2006.
''With the competition the way it is in being so close, you have a hard game every week, there's no easy games,'' he said.
''So every week you back up, you play at your best, go through recovery, train at a high intensity and you pick yourself up and play again. In my short period in first grade it's got a lot tougher as so much work and effort goes into [playing] now, you have to do everything properly.
''The intensity of training has really ramped up so you're not only playing a physical game week in, week out you have to recover for training, not just the game.
''A lot of hard work goes into it and a lot of the hours we spend on the training field go into the little things like recovery. Doing that for 26 rounds takes its toll, especially on the representative players.''
Lawrence said the workload was one reason he admired Test teammate Paul Gallen, who signed a new deal with Cronulla during the week that will keep him in a Sharks jersey until the end of the 2015 season.
''That's why Paul Gallen is impressive,'' he said. ''The amount of work 'Gal' does by playing in the middle, he has an enormous amount of collisions and yet he backs up week in and week out, and … he proves if you do all the right things it can be done.''
Daniel Lane
October 23, 2011
CHRIS LAWRENCE might have played only nine NRL games this season, but a monstrous tackle in last week's Test win against New Zealand proved why the Wests Tigers centre looms as one of the Kangaroos' danger men in the Four Nations tournament in England.
Lawrence, who turned 23 during the week, poleaxed Fuifui Moimoi late at Newcastle and it said volumes about his mental strength and commitment after a tough season in which he dislocated his hip and was then sidelined by a hamstring injury.
''It's a bit of a reward,'' Lawrence told The Sun-Herald of his Four Nations selection.
''I worked pretty hard on my injuries to get back, initially for the Tigers because I believed we had the squad to go all the way if we had the opportunity to do so. I wanted to really be a part of that. Obviously going out with the [hamstring] injury was disappointing, and while [selection] doesn't make up for everything I definitely see it as a reward for all the work I put in.''
Lawrence played down the bone-rattling tackle that left the seemingly indestructible Moimoi on his haunches. ''Fuifui is a big boy, he loves running straight and you have to throw everything at him, otherwise you'll end up on your back,'' he said. ''So, I tried to get under him and threw everything at him.
''I think he may have been a bit tired when he got the ball and that may have worked in my favour … he was probably a bit puffed out afterwards and I'd guess it was good for me he wasn't so fresh.''
However, he said his commitment to that tackle should have proved he was prepared for the rigours that awaited him during Australia's campaign to win the Four Nations trophy back from New Zealand.
''In terms of getting back on the field I'd done so much running and contact work I wasn't apprehensive at all,'' he said of any psychological scar from the hip injury some feared would end his career. ''I know I've done the work so that helped, I did the contact work at training and the intensity was very close to playing in a game and that helped ease my mind … I was ready to go.''
However, Lawrence said while he loved his life and the challenges involved with being an elite footballer, he noted the demands on a rugby league player's body had increased significantly since he made his top-grade debut as a 17-year-old in 2006.
''With the competition the way it is in being so close, you have a hard game every week, there's no easy games,'' he said.
''So every week you back up, you play at your best, go through recovery, train at a high intensity and you pick yourself up and play again. In my short period in first grade it's got a lot tougher as so much work and effort goes into [playing] now, you have to do everything properly.
''The intensity of training has really ramped up so you're not only playing a physical game week in, week out you have to recover for training, not just the game.
''A lot of hard work goes into it and a lot of the hours we spend on the training field go into the little things like recovery. Doing that for 26 rounds takes its toll, especially on the representative players.''
Lawrence said the workload was one reason he admired Test teammate Paul Gallen, who signed a new deal with Cronulla during the week that will keep him in a Sharks jersey until the end of the 2015 season.
''That's why Paul Gallen is impressive,'' he said. ''The amount of work 'Gal' does by playing in the middle, he has an enormous amount of collisions and yet he backs up week in and week out, and … he proves if you do all the right things it can be done.''
