The arrival of James Segeyaro has kept Jake Turpin on his toes, but the Brisbane hooker is backing himself after learning from two of the NRL’s best rakes.
Turpin is set to play just his second NRL match of 2019 and fourth overall in Friday night’s clash with the ladder-leading Sydney Roosters.
But it remains to be seen how many more games Turpin will get as injured hooker Andrew McCullough’s replacement after PNG international Segeyaro’s signing.
Segeyaro arrived at Red Hill on Monday as a mid-season recruit from Cronulla and has been named on an extended bench for the Roosters clash.
However, Turpin has welcomed Segeyaro’s challenge.
“It’s good to have him here. He’s a good fella. He brings a lot of energy at training – I am looking forward to having him here,” he said.
Turpin remains unfazed despite Segeyaro threatening his starting spot just as he got his shot after McCullough broke down with a knee injury which is set to sideline him for at least another month.
The 22-year-old said he was confident after learning from incumbent Queensland No.9 McCullough and Melbourne great Cameron Smith.
Before becoming fast friends with McCullough as the Broncos understudy in 2018, Turpin also learnt from the best watching Smith during a stint with Melbourne’s under-20s team.
“It was great to learn off two of the best hookers in the game,” Turpin said.
“And Macca talks to me a lot. We’re real close off the field.
“It’s good to have someone like Macca here. He said to me to just keep everything simple, keep calm and collected, go do your own thing, be your own player.
“So now I want to make sure I grab every opportunity I take and not let anyone down.”
The thought of lining up against a monster Roosters pack also does not scare the 178cm Turpin.
“My defence is probably the best part of my game. That’s probably how people explain how I play – I rip in,” he said.
“I love that challenge to get into the big fellas. It doesn’t worry me too much.
“And the way we have trained this week, we know we are ready for them.”
