Curtis Sironen
Age: 20
2013 NRL games: 16
After playing six games in 2012, Curtis Sironen had a tough off-season overcoming a shoulder reconstruction to make it back on the field. Starting the year in Holden Cup, the strong-running utility made his first NRL appearance of 2013 in Round 6 against the Dragons.
Playing the majority of the year in the halves alongside Benji Marshall, Sironen has excelled in recent weeks after a move to the back-row. With coach Mick Potter selecting Sironen on the bench for the past four matches, the utility has added much-needed spark once on the field.
With exciting young halves Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses coming through the ranks, its likely that Sironens shift to the forwards will be a permanent one.
Earning a start with City Origin was no doubt the highlight of Sironens 2013 season, with many predicting he will progress further in the Representative arena in years to come.
KEY STATISTICS
- Averages 7 runs for 57 metres per game
- 21 tackle breaks, 4 try-assists and 11 offloads in 2013
MICK POTTER SAYS
Curtis has had to overcome two shoulder reconstructions. He started this year in the Under 20s and virtually couldnt do any contact in the pre-season because he was still in a build-up phase.
You could see that the young fellow has got talent, he is skilful and he knows the game. After a few (NRL) games he got elevated into the City team, which I find extraordinary. It was probably a little bit before he was ready but I thought he handled it, probably for his development it was a little bit off-kilter.
He has come in and played a fair bit in the halves for us and has done a good a job. Ultimately his frame and his size is just growing out of that position and being only 20 years old he still has a lot of growing to do. With one more pre-season he is going to be even bigger.
Curtis is starting to find his feet in the back-row for us, I think coming off the bench in the last few weeks he has done a fantastic job. He has made some impact and dinted the line back and you want your back-rowers to poke their nose through and blast the line open, come up with offloads and be defensively strong. He is going to be doing that and it should be exciting for Wests Tigers fans to know that Curtis next ten years in Rugby League are going to be better than what he has had prior.
He has had a fairly slow start due to a few setbacks but he is one of those kids that is driven and wants to play footy every week. He knows the game and has a good intelligent Rugby League mind.
READ PART 1: DAVID NOFOALUMA
READ PART 2: SAUASO SUE
READ PART 3: AVA SEUMANUFAGAI
READ PART 4: JAMES TEDESCO
READ PART 5: JACK BUCHANAN
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