Son of Sironen starting to make a name for himself

OF all the things Tigers prodigy Curtis Sironen can do, it's defence that matters most.

OF all the things Tigers prodigy Curtis Sironen can do, it's defence that matters most.

And with last night's result in the balance, the 18-year-old son of club great Paul Sironen got no better opportunity to measure his tender progress.

Sensing a comeback win with his side trailing 10-6, Storm giant Sika Manu spotted Sironen and bowled straight at him from point-blank range.

What happened next was probably the most pleasing thing to come out of the 80 minutes - not least of all because it essentially secured victory.

Sironen stopped Manu in his tracks and from there the Tigers held on.

"He picked me out a few times and I tried to get up in his face," Sironen said.

In just his third first-grade outing, the Dundas Shamrocks junior is quickly looking the part under the stewardship of halves partner Benji Marshall.

He ignited several Tigers breaks on the right-hand edge of Marshall and also kicked more often than over the previous fortnight.

"I'm a runner of the ball, but the thing I really want to work on is my defence," Sironen said. "I defend alongside Chris Lawrence and he has taught me a few things."

Marshall, however, is Sironen's primary sounding board.

"It's easier when I've got Benji telling me what to do because I don't have to overplay my hand," Sironen said.

"He controls where the ruck is moving and I just try to get outside him."

The Tigers have been protective of past youngsters such as Lawrence, but Sironen - despite his lineage - appears completely at ease with the attention that his surname inevitably invites.

"I'm proud of my name and I'm comfortable at the club," he said.

"I've been here for a while now and I want to stay. I've never thought about changing.

"I've gotten no special favours. I'm just like any of the other blokes in the under-20s trying to get a go."

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