PLENTY OF PRIDE FOR CHRIS LAWRENCE
By Wayne Cousins
28/02/2012 5:55:39 PM
Wests Tigers centre Chris Lawrence looks back on his 99 game career in the NRL with plenty of pride.
It has been one exciting ride for the former Western Suburbs Magpies junior who first burst onto the NRL as one of those very talented young schoolboy stars.
Since scoring a try in his NRL debut in front of more than 30,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium against Brisbane in round 21 of the 2006 season,
Lawrence has made the left centre position his own at Wests Tigers.
His first taste of senior rep football came in 2007 with selection in the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII side He then represented City Origin in 2010 before making his Test debut for Australia on the Four Nations tour later that year.
The classy centre has represented Australia in 6 Tests and is rated a strong chance of finally pulling on the coveted NSW Origin jersey this year should his form warrant selection. He has put the horrific hip injury suffered in round 3 last year behind him.
Lawrence is determined to make his 100th appearance in a Wests Tigers jersey a memorable one when he lines up against Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval in the opening round of the Telstra Premiership.
“It doesn’t feel that long ago I started and here I am 100 games later. To make it in the first game of the season is pretty exciting,’’ he said.
“Hopefully we can get a good afternoon. A Sunday afternoon at Leichhardt is pretty hard to beat.
“The last 18 months have been frustrating with injuries. The body feels really good at the moment so all I need to focus on is getting out there and trying to get a few games in a row.
“I’ve done plenty of work on the training field.”
Lawrence sits second on the list for most tries for Wests Tigers with 55 tries - 11 behind Benji Marshall (66 tries in 155 games).
He also sits fifth in the record books for most tries in a season (16 in 18 games, 2007) and fifth for most points for the Club (226 points).
