Article about the svelte Lawrie. Interesting bit in bold!
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan hit Blake Lawrie with a hard truth at the end-of-season review after the St George Illawarra prop conceded the game had moved beyond him in recent years.
“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.”
The conversation left Lawrie at the crossroads despite being the Dragons’ player of the year award winner in 2023. He could either tick along the way he was going and spend much of his final season contracted at the Dragons in reserve grade or change his ways to try to rekindle his NRL career.
Following the meeting last October Lawrie and Flanagan drew up a game plan. Lawrie would spend the entire pre-Christmas period training away from the club.
Instead of slugging it out with his teammates during summer he would train with a specialised program under the guidance of Justin Lang in the Sutherland Shire. He started his pre-season on October 28.
“I feel so much better than what I did before,” Lawrie said. “I am a lot lighter and more powerful in the legs.
“I am a better athlete than what I was six months ago and I feel better about myself.
“It was a good four sessions a week sometimes five and at least three sessions a day. I went all in on the program and the training and it has paid off.”
Lawrie only rejoined his teammates in the new year. And he looks like a completely differently player. His body shape has changed significantly – while he has lost about five kilograms his body composition has been revamped. He has lost up to 12 kilograms of fat and added four kilograms of muscle.
“It was weird (not training with my teammates),” Lawrie said. “I had FOMO (fear of missing out). I like getting around the boys. I was keeping in contact with a fair few of them.
“When they had a hard session I was thinking – am I working hard enough?"
Lawrie and the Dragons split the costs to help transform his body.
“It was (a) hefty (price),” Lawrie said. “I had the conversation with my wife but I invested in myself to better myself. That’s what you have to do. I am thankful to the club for jumping on board. I’ve got massive benefit out of it. Hopefully it pays off in the 2026 season and beyond.
“I want to thank Flanno for that initial conversation. My whole focus is paying the club and myself back. It was an investment in myself and the club invested in me too.”
Lawrie has been rewarded for his hard work after being named to start off the bench in the Dragons round one clash against the Bulldogs in Las Vegas.
