West Coast defender Shannon Hurn tips Reilly O’Brien tweet on ‘lazy’ Nic Naitanui to fire the big man up – The West Australian

West Coast defender Shannon Hurn has tipped ruckman Nic Naitanui to fire up against direct opponent Reilly OBrien in tomorrows clash following yesterdays Twitter gaffe.
The Crows number one ruckman accidentally tweeted his notes on how he planned to take Naitanui down on Saturday, labelling him as lazy and unfit.
He swiftly made amends for the error, owning his actions with an apology video on Twitter, but premiership winning captain Shannon Hurn believes it will have left his teammate with a bit of fire in his belly.
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Hes quite competitive and I think that will fuel him a little bit for sure, Hurn told SEN Breakfast.
Also, its not a surprise, he knows thats what teams try to do against him and they think thats where they can beat him in that area.
If we put good pressure on around the ball and get the ball going our way, hes aware of that but I think certainly hell be keen to get out tomorrow and compete.
I suppose well see what the end result is.
The 32-year-old admitted there may be a few chirpy midfielders at the first centre bounce, in what will be West Coasts final game on the Gold Coast.
I think theres a couple of blokes in our midfield that dont mind having a chat every now and again, Hurn quipped.
I think once the games going I think itll just be youre playing from there.
Sometimes if teams get on top they can get a little bit talkative. I dont think therell be too many blokes, Nic will just let his footy do the talking.
Prompted by the hosts over whether theres any truth to OBriens words, Hurn admitted Naitanuis two knee reconstructions have hindered his running ability, but pointed to his other unrivalled strengths.
Yes, he cant cover the ground like Dean Cox used to be able to, Hurn admitted.
That was one of the strengths he had, he could just run and run and run and run and now a lot of ruckman can do that.
But I think for us, our real advantage is with Nic in the midfield there with his jump and speed in and around the contest with his pressure on.
Teams will try and do that all the time, I think hes combated it pretty well.
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Shannon Hurn of the Eagles handballs during the round 5 AFL match. Credit: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
Thats why we need to be able to play as a team, if teams want to run forward or run him around we can help cover for him as well.
Thats something weve been doing for four or five years.
Saturdays clash will be the first time Naitanui and OBrien have squared off at AFL level, with the latter admitting its time to walk the walk following the online mishap.
Coming up this week against who I think is probably the best ruckman in the competition at the moment, Nic Nat, I was just trying to get some confidence and get going, OBrien said.
I’ve really put the pressure on myself now so really have to walk the walk this week and try and get a kick against the superstar that is Nic Nat so we’ll see how we go.

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