By Nathan Beuman
St George Illawarra Dragons prop Rory O’Brien is buoyed to have been named in the team to face Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium on Monday.
The local Hurstville United junior, who joined the Red-and-Whites midway through last season, made his first-grade debut against the Melbourne Storm last round and is hopeful to build-off that experience this campaign.
The prop is part of an 18-man travelling squad named by Head Coach Paul McGregor for the fixture and recognises that while there are areas of his game that require improvement, he knows that will come with game time.
“McGregor has had a lot of faith in me since I joined the Club and I need to prove that I am willing and ready to step-up,” said O’Brien.
“It was good to be able to make my debut, especially to do so at Jubilee Oval because I grew up playing here.
“When I ran out onto the field, I was really happy. I just wanted to get the first touch to get all of the nerves out.
“I just tried to stay calm and just think about what I had to do and try and not let the nerves get the better of me.
“I trained well, and hopefully next week, I can get a few more minutes in my game against the Tigers as that’s how experience is built.
“I am just going to have to keep working on the little things and keep improving as I know I can hang with all of the other first-graders.”
