Tough end to return
Brenton Lawrence’s second Gold Coast stint didn’t quite go to plan
IT didn’t take long for Brenton Lawrence to realise his Titans homecoming would not play out the way he had hoped.
After five years at Manly, Lawrence returned to the Gold Coast club where he made his name in 18 NRL appearances across 2011-12.
But this time, something wasn’t quite right.
Just weeks into the 2018 pre-season, the Mackayborn, Adelaide-raised prop called time on his 104-game career.
“Obviously I came back to play on the Coast and just found I wasn’t really able to do that the way I wanted. I knew within myself I felt I wasn’t half the athlete I was the first time I was here,” said Lawrence, now 34.
“In 2015 I had disc replacement surgery and was able to get back and play but now that it’s all over and you have time to think about how things played out, I don’t think I ever really got back to the athlete I was before the surgery.
“I could play the game and was big enough and strong enough but I liked being fast and I feel like I was never quite as quick as I was.
“I didn’t care what anyone thought outside (the club), I cared more what my teammates thought and didn’t want to let them down.”
A late bloomer by NRL standards, Lawrence took the long road to the NRL after progressing through the Canberra Raiders’ under-20s system.
He arrived on the Coast in 2010 following a chance phone call from close friend and Burleigh captain Scott Smith, helping the Bears narrowly miss the Intrust Super Cup finals.
Lawrence’s form caught the attention of Titans scouts, with an initial trial offer leading to his first NRL contract.
While he was made to wait for a debut until Round 16 of 2011, he played nine of the Titans’ last 10 games and doubled that tally the following year.
“I loved it (at the Titans), I really enjoyed it. It was a good bunch of guys and … it was also my introduction to first grade football so I was having the time of my life,” he said.
“It was a different club back then, we were out at Robina and the Centre of Excellence was amazing. I was proud of myself that I ended up being offered a contract.
“The squad that we had at the time was obviously different to now as far as experience.
“We had guys like Presto (Preston Campbell) and Luke Bailey, and I still think about how good they were for my development into first grade. For work ethic you couldn’t go past (Mark) Minichiello, he was just the consummate professional and a great person. Everybody there was just good blokes and we all had fun.
“It was hard (to leave) because I liked it here and wanted to stay here, but there was an offer for three years from Manly and no counteroffer from the Titans. I went to Manly and was the starting front-rower.
“(In 2017) I was excited about bringing back what I could contribute with a leadership role and some experience that I might have picked up at Manly.”
Now working in property management on Brisbane’s bayside, Lawrence said he hoped to make it to the Titans’ battle with Manly at Robina at 3pm on Saturday.
I WAS EXCITED ABOUT BRINGING BACK WHAT I COULD CONTRIBUTE WITH A LEADERSHIP ROLE BRENTON LAWRENCE