Parramatta’s forgotten man Justin Poore was contemplating life as a plumber this time last year as his NRL career hung in the balance.
Great fanfare surrounded Poore’s arrival from St George Illawarra two years ago with big things expected from the prop following a break-out 2009 season when he made three State of Origin appearances for NSW.
However, much like Parramatta’s fortunes since reaching that year’s grand final, Poore has endured a nightmare spell, with a serious knee injury restricting him to just 27 appearances in the blue and gold.
A return from the bench for the final four games of last season was a huge boost for the front-rower, who twice went under the knife in 2011 due to a problem related to the erosion of his cartilage.
But 2012 promises to be a good year for Poore, who’ll start the new campaign pain-free for the first time since his arrival at the club.
And the 27-year-old is ready to show Parramatta’s long-suffering supporters just why the club forked out $350,000 a season to make him one of the best-paid props in the game.
“I have a lot to offer this team,” Poore told AAP.
“Just over two years ago, I was playing Origin and it feels like I am starting again here.”
It was those memories of playing for the Blues that helped Poore through the dark days.
He enrolled in a plumbing apprenticeship course after contemplating the prospect of never playing again when a first operation failed to cure the issue.
However, with the knee giving him no more pain, Poore’s aiming to help plug a leaky Parramatta defence that yielded an average of 22.4 points a game and improve an attack that scored a joint low of 65 tries for the year.
“Origin has been at the back of my mind,” he said.
“But it’s more important to me to show to myself that I can still do it and that my body is still able to cope with playing regularly.
“I know what I am capable of doing and I get quite down on myself if I don’t reach those high standards.
“Pre-season has been really tough mentally – it’s been torturous.
“But I’ve come out the other side now and I feel much better as a person and now it’s now done to me to show that I’ve still got it as a player.”
