St George Illawarra Dragons prop Blake Lawrie has lifted the lid on a tough conversation he had with coach Shane Flanagan, who told him he was the lowest-ranked prop on his NRL roster.
With the speed of the game constantly moving in an upward direction, the 'old-school' forwards have been left to adapt and evolve to become more agile and nimble.
After an end-of-season review, Flanagan revealed his thoughts to Lawrie, who has declared he will come back more athletic and get back to his best as a starter for the Red V.
It inspired Lawrie to work hard on his game over the summer, speaking with the Daily Telegraph, saying that although it stung, it gave him fire back in his belly to put in a strong offseason.
“He was honest and said ‘mate you're the last front-rower on my list in the squad',” Lawrie said. “I was like holy … It hurt me.
“It was a tough conversation but I thanked him for looking out for my career.
“I got left behind the last 18 to 24 months in terms of how fast the game has gotten. The game has changed. It's harder for bigger men. A lot of people were drifting out of the game. Hopefully I've done the work in the off-season that I am not one of them.”
Lawrie and Flanagan discussed that he took part in a specialised training program away from the rest of the NRL squad in a bid to improve his athleticism, which started in October.
The Wollongong junior shed 12 kilograms of fat and gained four kilograms of muscle during the offseason.
“I feel so much better than what I did before,” Lawrie said. “I am a lot lighter and more powerful in the legs.
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