13 January 2023 , 14:35
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Tom Opacic was left “shattered” when his NRL Grand Final hopes were ruined but he’s now aiming to turn Hull KR into winners.
The Australian centre, 28, is one of the Robins big signings for the new campaign after flying in from Sydney. He’s desperate to get going after being sidelined since pulling a hamstring last season, just two games before Parramatta’s title decider against Penrith. Parramatta missed out on glory that night and Opacic admitted: “I was shattered by it all.
“Knowing I’d signed (for KR) and we’d obviously had a great back end of the year with the Eels, I thought to myself ‘This is the last chance I’ll probably get to win - even play in - an NRL Grand Final.’ Unfortunately injuries are part of the game. But it’s all healed now and ready to go. And I guess it just makes you want to taste success more. I’m sure winning a comp’ over here will be just as good as winning one there.”
Rovers haven’t lifted the championship since 1985, though, so it will take some effort. They reached the Super League semi-finals for the first time in 2021 but struggled last term. Australian coach Willie Peters has taken over for 2023 and Opacic said: “They looked like they were up and down last year and struggled with injuries and player depth.
“But they’ve done a really good job to fix that and the standards at training are really high. Everyone is ripping in. I don’t see why we won’t be a top-four side. I’m pretty confident of that.”
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And the rangy ex-Brisbane and North Queensland player will bring some extra strike threat as he comes into his peak years. Opacic has not always been a starter in the NRL but impressed in Parramatta colours. He said: “I debuted in 2016 and then had a few injuries. I didn’t play any of ‘17. I was in and out ‘18, moved clubs ‘19 and ‘20 and moved on again to Parramatta.
Parramatta's Tom Opacic in action against Canberra Raiders in the NRL play-offs (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) (Getty Images)“My last two years at Parramatta have probably been the best of my career so I’ve come over here in my best form. I don’t see why I can’t string together, hopefully over the next three years, 80 or 90 games. That’d be good and if I could get to 100 after that it’d be great.”
Now Opacic just has to get used to the harsh English winter. He conceded: “This morning was hard - it was a struggle! My eye-brows were numb. My fingers were numb. That cold rain and the wind on top of it made training pretty hard! But I’m sure I’ll slowly get used to it. It’ll only be the first month or two of the season…”