bonstonker
Juniors
- Messages
- 450
FITTER, faster, stronger. They are not the sort of buzz words you usually associate with hulking front-rowers.
For under-rated Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis, those ingredients could hold the key to another crack at the representative scene.
One of the form players in the NRL, Skandalis has shown in the first seven weeks of the competition that he has benefited from a strict off-season regime which he believes has helped produce close to the best form of his career.
While he does not usually get public recognition, there can be little doubt the easy-going forward should be in line for selection in the City Origin side to be named on Sunday night.
But his terrific start to the season will be put to the test tonight when the ninth-placed Tigers (3-3) play premiers Penrith Panthers (4-3) at Penrith Stadium. That's when he will come face to face with classy prop Joel Clinton.
Skandalis knows that a big performance against the Kangaroos prop will go a long way to putting him in the frame for the City Origin side and maybe a crack at State of Origin.
"Yeah, that will definitely be a good test," he said yesterday. "He is a Test front-rower and it is always good to get over the top of an international player. Playing against Joel will show me where I am as a player."
Skandalis, who played for City in 2002 and was a member of the Kangaroos train-on squad at the end of last season, admits he did not set himself any goals in terms of representative duty.
"The main thing I wanted was to get more consistency," he said. "That was my goal. I worked on a few things, especially my fitness and speed and that is paying off now.
"I needed that extra bit of pace because that has probably held me back a little in the past. The younger guys are getting quicker every season and you have to try to keep up.
"That's why I'm very happy with my form so far this season. It is close to my best ever."
Skandalis has also benefited from the fact that coach Tim Sheens has relied more heavily on him in terms of match time.
"Tim made a point of telling me he wanted me to stay out on the field longer," Skandalis added. "I've been able to get a lot more involved and I've really enjoyed that extra responsibility."
A Wests junior since he was nine, Skandalis, 27, says he is a Tiger through and through now and is hoping to finish his career with the club.
"I'm off contract at the end of the season and I'd like to stay here. I'm not sure if talks have started with the club about next season," he said.
Having accounted for Manly last week, the Tigers will be keen to produce back-to-back wins to maintain pressure on the top eight.
Despite injury problems which have sidelined key players for a lengthy period, they have had a good start to the season.
Penrith, however, have slumped to two heavy defeats (St George and Brisbane) in their past two matches and have undone a little of their good early season form.
sign him up now tigers, while he is still under rated.
WESTS TIGERS captain Scott Sattler yesterday admitted to feeling myriad emotions in preparing for a return to Penrith Football Stadium tonight.
During a 10-minute interview yesterday with The Daily Telegraph, Sattler said the match would be "nerve-racking", "funny", "welcoming", "weird" and "exciting".
But Sattler then asserted the Wests Tigers were ready to spring an upset against the side he inspired to last year's grand final triumph.
"Everyone has written us off and thinks there will be a big points spread," Sattler said.
"But people expected Penrith to fall over last year. We won't be lying down on Friday night.
"Self-belief is a big thing in rugby league.
"We have to work hard and have faith in our teammates."
Sattler still lives in Penrith and says he regularly sees his old Panthers teammates.
"It's a funny feeling - it's something I've never encountered before," Sattler said.
"It will be a little bit nerve-racking but I'm also really exited. I left Penrith on pretty good terms with the officials, fans and supporters.
"It won't be a spiteful return, more a welcoming return even though I was forced out due to the salary cap which was also a bit bitter for me."
Sattler said he has to remain focused on the match and not get too excited about his homecoming.
"If you get too nervous and work yourself up too much, you can play bad football," he admitted. "But deep down in my belly, it will be exciting night. I'm really looking forward to leading the side out and tossing the coin with Craig Gower.
"It will be a weird feeling but at the same time will give added incentive to hopefully play a part in a good win."
It will not only be a big night for Sattler.
Consistent Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis will play his 100th game for the joint venture club. Skandalis, who made his first grade debut with the old Wests Magpies in 1996, becomes the first Wests Tigers player to reach the milestone.
"I can't believe I've made it to 100 games for the club, I'm really enjoying my football and the guys I play with here make this club great," Skandalis said.
"Off the field I'm a pretty easygoing guy, but I have a competitive streak and I'm focused on playing my best for Wests Tigers and seeing this side be a competitive force in 2004."
After two broken legs and a shattered knee, Scott Prince admits his game suffered as he concentrated on not getting injured. Now, though, he's putting his body back on the line. Brad Walter reports.
It was probably long before the game he describes as the worst of his career that Scott Prince started doubting himself. Long stints on the sideline through injury can do that to a footballer - and during the past three years, he has spent more time watching than playing.
In fact, the 24-year-old playmaker felt more like a spectator than a member of the Brisbane team as he battled the two broken legs and a serious knee injury that restricted him to just 28 games out of a possible 80 during his time at the club. It's partly why he left the Broncos to line up for Wests Tigers this season.
"Coming here was a fresh start and I thought I could just leave my injuries behind," Prince said yesterday after the Tigers' final training session in preparation for tonight's clash with the Panthers.
But he couldn't - not entirely, anyway. Touted as one of coach Tim Sheens's key signings as he attempts to rebuild the club, Prince said he put pressure on himself not only to perform but also to stay free of injuries. While he has so far played in every premiership match for the club, Prince had not been happy with his form until last Sunday, when he spearheaded the Tigers to a 30-22 win over Manly.
The club's previous match, a 39-10 thrashing by St George Illawarra, was "the worst game I'd ever played in the NRL", he said of the performance that prompted Sheens to pull him aside for a heart-to-heart.
"Last week, I just put my body on the line and had one of my better games but it's taken a while for me to get over the injuries, mentally," Prince said.
"You don't like to say it's in the back of your mind but somewhere it is. I didn't want to come here and be a waste of money, to put it bluntly. I wanted to come here and do a job for the club week in and week out without getting injured and I was playing like that, just as if I was trying to get through each week.
"My family and friends could see it and Tim and the coaching staff could see it. It's a fine line. I had a talk with Tim about it and he said pro football is living on the edge, injuries happen every day.
"There's 16 other blokes out there putting their bodies on the line, so you've got to do the same for them. There's no point me going half-hearted. If an injury happens, it happens. You either go hard or you go home."
While the latter option isn't something he has ever seriously considered, Prince admitted he and his partner, Kristy, had taken time adapting to the pace of life in Sydney. The couple, who have a seven-month-old daughter, Taliah, encountered similar problems when they moved from Townsville to Brisbane at the end of the 2000 season, and Prince said his horror run of injuries had made it even harder.
"Those first couple of months after you have surgery and you're off the scene, that's the hardest part," he said.
"You lose that social contact because you're not around the other guys all the time. You feel like you're not even a footballer. You feel like you're just a spectator. Your mind is a funny thing. You feel useless.
"The first time, I tried to look at it from the view that things happen for a reason. I lost my father in my first year at the Broncos and I really didn't have time to grieve, so I thought that breaking my leg was something that happened to give me time to do that. But the second time it really knocked me around. You start doubting yourself, you start wondering whether you can be the player you were before you got injured.
"A doctor explained to me how the body and mind works. You're running around one day and you can't even walk the next. You go through sorrow, then you go through a mad stage and then you get over it as your body improves."
Now, however, Prince feels that those times are behind him and he is even daring to think about the possibility of playing Origin for Queensland.
He wasn't named in the 22-man squad chosen this week but the Maroons selectors have yet to settle on a halfback, and Prince and Brisbane's Brett Seymour and Shaun Berrigan are all under consideration.
"It has crossed my mind but it's something I've got no control over," Prince said. "What I do have control over is the way I play each weekend.
"One thing I've learnt is that the only person who can put pressure on you is yourself, so if I go out, do my job and be consistent, then representative football and everything else will take care of itself."
For under-rated Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis, those ingredients could hold the key to another crack at the representative scene.
One of the form players in the NRL, Skandalis has shown in the first seven weeks of the competition that he has benefited from a strict off-season regime which he believes has helped produce close to the best form of his career.
While he does not usually get public recognition, there can be little doubt the easy-going forward should be in line for selection in the City Origin side to be named on Sunday night.
But his terrific start to the season will be put to the test tonight when the ninth-placed Tigers (3-3) play premiers Penrith Panthers (4-3) at Penrith Stadium. That's when he will come face to face with classy prop Joel Clinton.
Skandalis knows that a big performance against the Kangaroos prop will go a long way to putting him in the frame for the City Origin side and maybe a crack at State of Origin.
"Yeah, that will definitely be a good test," he said yesterday. "He is a Test front-rower and it is always good to get over the top of an international player. Playing against Joel will show me where I am as a player."
Skandalis, who played for City in 2002 and was a member of the Kangaroos train-on squad at the end of last season, admits he did not set himself any goals in terms of representative duty.
"The main thing I wanted was to get more consistency," he said. "That was my goal. I worked on a few things, especially my fitness and speed and that is paying off now.
"I needed that extra bit of pace because that has probably held me back a little in the past. The younger guys are getting quicker every season and you have to try to keep up.
"That's why I'm very happy with my form so far this season. It is close to my best ever."
Skandalis has also benefited from the fact that coach Tim Sheens has relied more heavily on him in terms of match time.
"Tim made a point of telling me he wanted me to stay out on the field longer," Skandalis added. "I've been able to get a lot more involved and I've really enjoyed that extra responsibility."
A Wests junior since he was nine, Skandalis, 27, says he is a Tiger through and through now and is hoping to finish his career with the club.
"I'm off contract at the end of the season and I'd like to stay here. I'm not sure if talks have started with the club about next season," he said.
Having accounted for Manly last week, the Tigers will be keen to produce back-to-back wins to maintain pressure on the top eight.
Despite injury problems which have sidelined key players for a lengthy period, they have had a good start to the season.
Penrith, however, have slumped to two heavy defeats (St George and Brisbane) in their past two matches and have undone a little of their good early season form.
sign him up now tigers, while he is still under rated.
WESTS TIGERS captain Scott Sattler yesterday admitted to feeling myriad emotions in preparing for a return to Penrith Football Stadium tonight.
During a 10-minute interview yesterday with The Daily Telegraph, Sattler said the match would be "nerve-racking", "funny", "welcoming", "weird" and "exciting".
But Sattler then asserted the Wests Tigers were ready to spring an upset against the side he inspired to last year's grand final triumph.
"Everyone has written us off and thinks there will be a big points spread," Sattler said.
"But people expected Penrith to fall over last year. We won't be lying down on Friday night.
"Self-belief is a big thing in rugby league.
"We have to work hard and have faith in our teammates."
Sattler still lives in Penrith and says he regularly sees his old Panthers teammates.
"It's a funny feeling - it's something I've never encountered before," Sattler said.
"It will be a little bit nerve-racking but I'm also really exited. I left Penrith on pretty good terms with the officials, fans and supporters.
"It won't be a spiteful return, more a welcoming return even though I was forced out due to the salary cap which was also a bit bitter for me."
Sattler said he has to remain focused on the match and not get too excited about his homecoming.
"If you get too nervous and work yourself up too much, you can play bad football," he admitted. "But deep down in my belly, it will be exciting night. I'm really looking forward to leading the side out and tossing the coin with Craig Gower.
"It will be a weird feeling but at the same time will give added incentive to hopefully play a part in a good win."
It will not only be a big night for Sattler.
Consistent Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis will play his 100th game for the joint venture club. Skandalis, who made his first grade debut with the old Wests Magpies in 1996, becomes the first Wests Tigers player to reach the milestone.
"I can't believe I've made it to 100 games for the club, I'm really enjoying my football and the guys I play with here make this club great," Skandalis said.
"Off the field I'm a pretty easygoing guy, but I have a competitive streak and I'm focused on playing my best for Wests Tigers and seeing this side be a competitive force in 2004."
After two broken legs and a shattered knee, Scott Prince admits his game suffered as he concentrated on not getting injured. Now, though, he's putting his body back on the line. Brad Walter reports.
It was probably long before the game he describes as the worst of his career that Scott Prince started doubting himself. Long stints on the sideline through injury can do that to a footballer - and during the past three years, he has spent more time watching than playing.
In fact, the 24-year-old playmaker felt more like a spectator than a member of the Brisbane team as he battled the two broken legs and a serious knee injury that restricted him to just 28 games out of a possible 80 during his time at the club. It's partly why he left the Broncos to line up for Wests Tigers this season.
"Coming here was a fresh start and I thought I could just leave my injuries behind," Prince said yesterday after the Tigers' final training session in preparation for tonight's clash with the Panthers.
But he couldn't - not entirely, anyway. Touted as one of coach Tim Sheens's key signings as he attempts to rebuild the club, Prince said he put pressure on himself not only to perform but also to stay free of injuries. While he has so far played in every premiership match for the club, Prince had not been happy with his form until last Sunday, when he spearheaded the Tigers to a 30-22 win over Manly.
The club's previous match, a 39-10 thrashing by St George Illawarra, was "the worst game I'd ever played in the NRL", he said of the performance that prompted Sheens to pull him aside for a heart-to-heart.
"Last week, I just put my body on the line and had one of my better games but it's taken a while for me to get over the injuries, mentally," Prince said.
"You don't like to say it's in the back of your mind but somewhere it is. I didn't want to come here and be a waste of money, to put it bluntly. I wanted to come here and do a job for the club week in and week out without getting injured and I was playing like that, just as if I was trying to get through each week.
"My family and friends could see it and Tim and the coaching staff could see it. It's a fine line. I had a talk with Tim about it and he said pro football is living on the edge, injuries happen every day.
"There's 16 other blokes out there putting their bodies on the line, so you've got to do the same for them. There's no point me going half-hearted. If an injury happens, it happens. You either go hard or you go home."
While the latter option isn't something he has ever seriously considered, Prince admitted he and his partner, Kristy, had taken time adapting to the pace of life in Sydney. The couple, who have a seven-month-old daughter, Taliah, encountered similar problems when they moved from Townsville to Brisbane at the end of the 2000 season, and Prince said his horror run of injuries had made it even harder.
"Those first couple of months after you have surgery and you're off the scene, that's the hardest part," he said.
"You lose that social contact because you're not around the other guys all the time. You feel like you're not even a footballer. You feel like you're just a spectator. Your mind is a funny thing. You feel useless.
"The first time, I tried to look at it from the view that things happen for a reason. I lost my father in my first year at the Broncos and I really didn't have time to grieve, so I thought that breaking my leg was something that happened to give me time to do that. But the second time it really knocked me around. You start doubting yourself, you start wondering whether you can be the player you were before you got injured.
"A doctor explained to me how the body and mind works. You're running around one day and you can't even walk the next. You go through sorrow, then you go through a mad stage and then you get over it as your body improves."
Now, however, Prince feels that those times are behind him and he is even daring to think about the possibility of playing Origin for Queensland.
He wasn't named in the 22-man squad chosen this week but the Maroons selectors have yet to settle on a halfback, and Prince and Brisbane's Brett Seymour and Shaun Berrigan are all under consideration.
"It has crossed my mind but it's something I've got no control over," Prince said. "What I do have control over is the way I play each weekend.
"One thing I've learnt is that the only person who can put pressure on you is yourself, so if I go out, do my job and be consistent, then representative football and everything else will take care of itself."
