By Blake Edwards
Illawarra Cutters hooker Sam Coster believes he is ready to become a leader ahead of the opening round fixture against the New Zealand Warriors at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Saturday.
Coster is in the midst of his third season with the NSW Cup club having previously been a graduate of the St George Illawarra Dragons National Youth Competition team.
The rake admits he has utilised the pre-season to grow as a person as a result of the physical and mental challenges he faced these past four months and is ready for whatever comes his way this campaign.
“There’s always something you can work on, and this pre-season I wanted to work on improving my skills out of hooker,” said Coster.
“Pre-season is always tough, but this year was a little tougher due to the reduction in interchange down to eight.
“We have trained that little bit harder and put more kilometers in to our legs to prepare for it.
“I would like to think that I am one of the leaders within the team as I’ve been here a couple of years now.
“It’s a good club to be at and this year by far has been the closest playing group I’ve been a part of.”
