Wests Tigers vice-captain Chris Lawrence says it's important for his side to start the year strong as they prepare for Friday night's clash against the Rabbitohs.
Winning the opening two games of the year for the past two seasons, Lawrence said his team were well aware how tough the opening month of football was going to be — facing the likes of Penrith, Canberra and Melbourne in the opening four rounds — but enthused that the side were ready for the challenge following a strong pre-season.
"The first month of the year is always tough, regardless of who we're playing," he said.
"Every club wants to start off on the right foot and start the year strong.
"We won our first two games last year and then we lost six or seven in a row and that really put a lot of pressure on us for the back end of the year in that finals push.
"So for us, we just need to start well regardless of who we're playing.
"Those first six weeks are important at every club and for us it's no different."
See what Lawrence had to say in full about this week's game in the video above!
Be there for our first home game of 2017 when we take on the Penrith Panthers!
