NEW Sea Eagles prop Josh Starling has revealed how he wants to emulate the deeds of teammate Brenton Lawrence as he prepares to make his NRL debut for Manly against the Storm on Saturday night.
Lik
e Starling, Lawrence made a low key arrival at Manly last season and quickly established himself as a key member of the pack.
“He had a great year last year, if I can have anywhere a year as good as that it will be up there,” Starling said.
“He is a good bloke ‘BJ’, he is always helping you out giving you tips here and there whenever he can because he has obviously been around for a while.”
The pair have an association that stretches back to the time they were rivals on the Gold Coast when Starling played for Tweed Seagulls and Lawrence played for the Burleigh Bears
When Lawrence was with the Titans, Starling spent an off-season training with the NRL club.
Last year when Starling was weighing up his move from Souths to Manly, he sought out Lawrence’s advice.
“I thought it would be great for his football and he is a good strong runner,” Lawrence said.
“If he builds up his minutes he can be a really good player,”
The 23-year-old gets his chance following the departures of Brent Kite, Joe Galuvao, George Rose and Richie Fa’aoso along with the unavailability of Jason King.
“It’s a good opportunity for a lot of us young guys coming up,” Starling said.
“You might not get too many this year if everyone stays healthy so you just have to take them while you can.
Jon Geddes
Manly Daily
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/sea-eagles-prop-brenton-lawrence/story-fngr8iii-1226845042901
