Chris Lawrence retires: Wests Tigers legend calls time on NRL career
Wests Tigers veteran Chris Lawrence will hang up his boots at the end of the season after a stellar career, but coach Michael Maguire is adamant he won’t be lost to the club.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Chris Lawrence coaches what coaches can’t. Even on the day he announced he would be walking away after a decorated 15-year playing career, the Wests Tigers veteran still had something to give.
It didn’t quite catch Tigers coach Michael Maguire by surprise but it provided an insight into the importance Lawrence has as a Tiger.
“I was watching him today grabbing (rookie) Shawn Blore and talking to him about his game,” Maguire said.
“That’s what replicates what Chris Lawrence is all about. That’s how I know and I see Chrissy – willing to do anything for his teammates and staff.
Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership. Every game of every round Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
“It’s priceless. Those things I see every day. You can see what the club has been doing, bringing in quite a lot of young kids.
“At the back end of last year I spoke to him about being around the young kids and how important that will be.”
It’s why Maguire is adamant Lawrence won’t be lost to the Tigers at season’s end. The pair sat beside each other at Leichhardt Oval to announce the 31-year-old’s retirement.
The first inkling Lawrence had that this may be his final year came during the COVID shutdown.
“I had motivation to do training and the work necessary but I found myself working really hard on my business,” Lawrence said.
“I really enjoyed having a challenge different from footy. I found a real passion and drive.
MORE NRL NEWS
Run home: Premiers in real fight for top-four spot
Benji’s fears for Lawrence: ‘Worst injury I have ever seen’
GRAPHIC: NRL star drank his own blood
“Coming back into training and a mini pre-season before we started playing, the body is getting older and it was tougher to recover. I started to feel week in, week out, that drive wouldn’t be there.”
Lawrence will retire as just one of three to play 250 top grade games for the club.
While coaches and players have come and gone, he has been the one constant at the club for more than a decade.
He was the fresh-faced schoolboy who burst on to the scene in 2006, whose first-grade debut celebrations because were cut-short because he had to study for a trial HSC exam.
By the end of 2010 he was a Kangaroo.
Injuries cruelled him at times and his career looked destined to be cut-short. He recovered from a dislocated hip in 2011 before making a successful transition from the centres to the back-row. A serious facial injury last year also threatened his career.
“It wasn’t be the be-all or end-all to finish on my terms,” the Tigers life member said. “Just to get back on the field last year I was grateful.
“When (wife) Kathryn walked in a couple of days after the accident the first thing she said was ‘you’re not playing footy again’. She knew I’m very stubborn.
“If I have a drive or passion I’m going to have a crack. If the surgeons said I shouldn’t come back, I made a promise I would pull a pin. I meant that because it was out of my hands.
“If I had the choice I knew I would give it a crack. If I got back and couldn’t commit to putting my body on the line, I said I would pull the pin.
“As a young kid you dream of playing one game. To be able to make my debut then and sit here 15 years later, is something I’m proud of.”