RUGBY LEAGUE - DRAGONS
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Giant Dragons recruit Rory O'Brien is confident he can make the step up to NRL level after a strong performance in his starting debut in the pre-season Charity Shield.
O'Brien had been named on an extended bench for the match but was called on to start at late notice after Mike Cooper was given the night off to be with his wife and newborn son.
Veteran Dan Hunt (knee) and Jack de Belin (virus) were also late withdrawals, leaving the 25-year-old rookie to pick up the slack upfront.
He fared well, providing some strong carries with the football and working hard in defence. It was enough to book a ticket to England where he will keep the starting role for the World Club Series Clash with Warrington.
It puts the former NYC standout right in the picture for a round-one NRL berth.
"It was a bit nerve wracking but as soon as we hit the field all the nerves went away and it was straight into football which is what I know," O'Brien said.
"It was the best hit-out I could get.
"To have that trial to warm up then go into that game against the defending premiers was great for me."
It's been a whirlwind return to NRL contention for the 195-centimetres, 117-kilograms giant who walked away from the game at age 20 to support a young family. It's forced him to wait a little longer for his chance but he's confident he can grab it this time.
"It's still hard to believe that I'm here," he said.
"It's happened so fast but I feel humble and blessed that I'm here and very grateful for the chance. Hopefully I can go over to England, play well and then come round one I'll be in the picture. I feel that I can step up [to the NRL] but that's up to the coach. Hopefully I can do all the right things and make his decision easier."
O'Brien's was one of several pleasing performances for coach Paul McGregor with a host of experienced forwards missing against the Rabbitohs.
"We only had two forwards on the bench who had first grade experience before and those two were George Rose and Will Matthews, who don't play many minutes generally," McGregor said.
"We had Green, Hunt, Merrin, de Belin, Cooper to name a few that didn't play. Cooper, Merrin and de Belin for us are the guys who play long minutes and they weren't there, so for the guys to rotate around like they did and play the football we showed was a real positive thing to come out of it."