Lisone looks to fill void up front
Clubs warned off Mad Monday antics
Departing prop Ben Matulino leaves some big boots to fill at the Warriors next year but Sam Lisone is not shying away from the chance to fill the void.
The Warriors forwards have been under the pump this season and the club is in the market to bolster the pack, with Kiwis captain Adam Blair the No 1 target.
After a slow start to the season due to injury, Matulino has regained some of his best form and, with 211 games under his belt, the 23-test Kiwi will not be easy to replace.
But as Matulino prepares to play his final match for the Warriors tomorrow against the team he is joining, Wests Tigers, Lisone said it is up to the players already in the squad to lift their game. of a mentor to Lisone, showing him the ropes in the rough and tumble world of life as an NRL front-rower.
It was only natural the pair struck up a close friendship and Matulino’s generosity stretched far beyond the field.
‘‘Pretty much my whole career he’s looked out for me. When I was coming through, that’s when he bought me boots, he gave me my dream car, Subaru WRX, he hooked me up,’’ Lisone said.
‘‘So yeah, he looked after me pretty good.’’
About to complete his third year in the NRL, Lisone has performed well in patches but, much like the rest of the team, has struggled for consistency in 2017.
The 23-year-old plays with no shortage of aggression, which can at times backfire with referees, although feels he has done a better job of finding the right balance.
After coming off the bench for the majority of his 62 appearances, Lisone is poised to start his sixthstraight game tomorrow, which he believes will hold him in good stead for next season.
‘‘I don’t like taking a backward step but I know when to pull it back when I’m in the wrong and going too aggressive,’’ he said.
‘‘Obviously we haven’t got the results on the field but just being out there, starting a few games, Rugby league players have been warned against bad behaviour and illicit drug use in Mad Monday celebrations as the NRL’S final round in the regular season begins.
Mad Monday, the infamous nickname for a day of post-season revelry enjoyed by NRL teams, turned sour in 2016 for Ben Barba who tested positive for cocaine afterwards, leading to a 12-match ban. He later left the NRL to take up a contract with St Helens in England’s Super League.
The NRL’S general manager of integrity Joe Collins has issued a warning to all club bosses imploring them to remind players of the chance of being drug-tested in the post-season.
‘‘Players should be particularly aware that they are subject to testing in the period immediately following their team’s elimination
playing more minutes it’s pretty that’s probably the positive out of my season.’’
Meanwhile, Lisone has been enjoying pre-game banter with Tuimoala Lolohea as the latter prepares to square off against his old team-mates.
The pair came through the Warriors system together and were part of the under-20s team that won the 2014 NYC grand final, before Lolohea was released midseason from the NRL competition,’’ he wrote
‘‘End-of-season celebrations and the like are a risk period for players and their clubs, so please take this opportunity to remind your playing group about the NRL’S expectations and rules in relation to illicit drugs.’’
One club which won’t have players partying next Monday is Souths. Rabbitohs general manager of football Shane Richardson accepts that the players will have an end-of-season celebration among themselves at some point.
But Souths players will spend next week having medicals, a season de-brief as well as a visit to a children’s hospital and attending a barbecue with a sponsor.
‘‘We don’t endorse Mad Monday,’’ Richardson said.
‘‘It’s not a punishment, it’s just a work week.’’
to join the Tigers.
‘‘I talked to him on [Tuesday night]. I told him I’m going to come after you, he’s like ‘yeah, come on’,’’ Lisone said laughing.
‘‘I’m really happy for him, he’s doing some good things over there. At the end of the day, we’re brothers.
‘‘He’s doing his thing, we’re doing ours but when we see each other nothing changes. He’s still the same old Tui.’’