Prop Brenton Lawrence has fired back at suggestions that there are factions and dissent among the Sea Eagles playing group.
"We are the tightest bunch of guys I have ever played with," one of the key men in the club's premiership campaign said.
"And you can see that from week to week when we show up and we are side by side making tackles and pushing in support.
"When someone makes a break you have five or six blokes chasing up his tail to try and help him out."
He said is what the playing group works on every day and every week.
The speculation resurfaced this week with revelations that star centre Steve Matai had requested a release from the final year of his contract and was still disappointed by the circumstances in which his good mate Glenn Stewart will leave the club
"I believe he is happy, as far as I know about a release he hasn't spoken about it at all," Lawrence said.
"And I think that is a credit to him, putting the team ahead of his own concerns."
Lawrence said in rugby league people come and go.
"I love Stevey and I would love him to stay, I would also just respect whatever he is thinking and whatever he wants to do in the future."
Lawrence said there was the business side of the club and there was the football team.
"All we are really concerned with from day to day is the football team," he said.
Lawrence said any outside influences involving the Sea Eagles brand really doesn't filter down to the playing group.
"To be honest it is all water of a duck's back, it doesn't affect me and I know it doesn't affect a lot of the players," he said.
Lock Tom Symonds admitted he was sick of talking about the topic.
"I think it has been beaten up a bit more than probably is the truth," Symonds said.
"If you look at some of the combinations that have been going really well and some of the footy we have been playing just shows that we are a tight-knit group.
"You guys can come up with something new to write about hopefully," he told reporters today.
.
.
Jon Geddes
Manly Daily
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/sea-eagles-star-brenton-lawrence-fires-back-at-dissension-rumours/story-fngr8iii-1226991235240