tigersrule4life
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OF all the things Tigers prodigy Curtis Sironen can do, it's defence that matters most.
And with last night's result in the balance, the 18-year-old son of club great Paul Sironen got no better opportunity to measure his tender progress.
Sensing a comeback win with his side trailing 10-6, Storm giant Sika Manu spotted Sironen and bowled straight at him from point-blank range.
What happened next was probably the most pleasing thing to come out of the 80 minutes - not least of all because it essentially secured victory.
Sironen stopped Manu in his tracks and from there the Tigers held on.
"He picked me out a few times and I tried to get up in his face," Sironen said.
In just his third first-grade outing, the Dundas Shamrocks junior is quickly looking the part under the stewardship of halves partner Benji Marshall.
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He ignited several Tigers breaks on the right-hand edge of Marshall and also kicked more often than over the previous fortnight.
"I'm a runner of the ball, but the thing I really want to work on is my defence," Sironen said. "I defend alongside Chris Lawrence and he has taught me a few things."
Marshall, however, is Sironen's primary sounding board.
"It's easier when I've got Benji telling me what to do because I don't have to overplay my hand," Sironen said.
"He controls where the ruck is moving and I just try to get outside him."
The Tigers have been protective of past youngsters such as Lawrence, but Sironen - despite his lineage - appears completely at ease with the attention that his surname inevitably invites.
"I'm proud of my name and I'm comfortable at the club," he said.
"I've been here for a while now and I want to stay. I've never thought about changing.
"I've gotten no special favours. I'm just like any of the other blokes in the under-20s trying to get a go."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/son-of-sironen-starting-to-make-a-name-for-himself/story-e6frexnr-1226389597173
And with last night's result in the balance, the 18-year-old son of club great Paul Sironen got no better opportunity to measure his tender progress.
Sensing a comeback win with his side trailing 10-6, Storm giant Sika Manu spotted Sironen and bowled straight at him from point-blank range.
What happened next was probably the most pleasing thing to come out of the 80 minutes - not least of all because it essentially secured victory.
Sironen stopped Manu in his tracks and from there the Tigers held on.
"He picked me out a few times and I tried to get up in his face," Sironen said.
In just his third first-grade outing, the Dundas Shamrocks junior is quickly looking the part under the stewardship of halves partner Benji Marshall.
\
\
\
He ignited several Tigers breaks on the right-hand edge of Marshall and also kicked more often than over the previous fortnight.
"I'm a runner of the ball, but the thing I really want to work on is my defence," Sironen said. "I defend alongside Chris Lawrence and he has taught me a few things."
Marshall, however, is Sironen's primary sounding board.
"It's easier when I've got Benji telling me what to do because I don't have to overplay my hand," Sironen said.
"He controls where the ruck is moving and I just try to get outside him."
The Tigers have been protective of past youngsters such as Lawrence, but Sironen - despite his lineage - appears completely at ease with the attention that his surname inevitably invites.
"I'm proud of my name and I'm comfortable at the club," he said.
"I've been here for a while now and I want to stay. I've never thought about changing.
"I've gotten no special favours. I'm just like any of the other blokes in the under-20s trying to get a go."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/son-of-sironen-starting-to-make-a-name-for-himself/story-e6frexnr-1226389597173
