Levio: 'I just want to prove that I am capable of doing it'
It was the unfortunate injury of Slade Griffin that has seen Danny Levi become an 80-minute man once again.
The 22-year-old Kiwi international has played out the last two matches, bar three minutes, in the no. 9 jersey.
And the young hooker hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
Against the Eels and the Titans, he recorded the most tackles for the Knights in both matches.
He has added a couple of try assists to his stats tally and a handful of tackle breaks.
"It's good, it's challenging but I feel like I'm getting through it well. It wasn't quite 80 minutes on the weekend, it was 77, but I guess there's not too much difference," he laughed.
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"When Slade did go down, I asked Browny (Nathan Brown) if I could challenge the 80 minutes and he said it was good that I was up for the challenge, I just wanted to prove that I am capable of doing it and still bring some sort of impact to the game.
"I felt better than I thought I would (Eels games) and I thought I was going to feel it in the lungs a bit, but I think all that extra training I was doing paid off.
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"The last ten minutes I was pretty gassed but pulled up better than I thought I would."
Levi, who had a standout season in 2017, is determined to provide that spark in the ruck.
Known for his quick play the ball movement, Levi is confident his combinations with key players will be a winning formula for the rest of the season.
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"I feel that is one of my attributes and I think if I can just keep doing that for the team, in some way it will help," Levi said.
"With (Mitchell) Pearce, Connor (Watson) and KP (Kalyn Ponga) we try to play a really fast paced game in and around the ruck and especially with KP and Connor, they have speed to burn.
"Pearce also puts us in the holes as well, it's just a good little combination we've got there so we've got a few more games left and hopefully we can show it."
Levi admitted with Pearce back from a long stint on the sidelines, it has increasingly boosted the confidence of the side and their direction on the field.
"He just brings so much organisation and just him being out there motivates the boys a lot and everyone feels a lot more confident," Levi maintained.
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"Sometimes he doesn't have to do much, but he just brings so much confidence to the boys and brings the best out of everyone.
"We all knew he was a good player, just like Browny said, but we didn't know just how good he really was, and you see how much of a difference he makes when he is out there.
"He helps everyone and makes everyone look so much better and as long as he keeps doing that I think we're going to be just fine."
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