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Message: [QUOTE="GCBRONCO, post: 2707498, member: 1808"] Former Wests Tigers coach Mick Potter has opened up about Adam Blair’s defection to Brisbane, claiming the work ethic of the New Zealand forward put him offside with some of his former teammates who claimed he “trained too hard for them’’. Blair, who has found a new lease of life at the Broncos this year after rediscovering the form that made him one of the most damaging forwards in the NRL, was so committed to the Tigers he even paid out of his own pocket for *additional training. “I praised ‘Blairy’ for what he was doing for the club and there seemed to be an agenda there to try and move him out for some reason,’’ Potter, who was dumped by the Tigers at the end of last season, told The Australian yesterday. “I couldn’t understand it because he was one of our best forwards for the two years that I was there. “He copped a hard time and I thought it was unjustified. People thought the value he was giving the club for his wage wasn’t equitable, but I thought by far he was one of our best forwards for most of last year. There were a couple of people within the organisation that didn’t have that opinion and that’s unfortunate.” Blair paid for some of his teammates to join him doing extra training outside the club, including Bodene Thompson, Martin Taupau and Sauaso Sue. Potter said their attitude differed from others who thought the club’s program was enough to “get them through”. “He was exceptional in his training, he wouldn’t compromise on his training, and some of the other players didn’t like the way he trained because he trained too hard for them,’’ Potter said. “He was going very good for the Tigers and one thing I told him was not to change his work ethic, and his attitude to training, and his attitude to playing because of the peer pressure. People talk about culture and they talk about work ethic and he was one player that you’d have in your team. “That’s part of the reason Wayne Bennett grabbed him at his first opportunity because he knew the value he added. That’s why Tim Sheens got him (to the Tigers) and he was there when I arrived but you could see the divide there. “There was some unjustified criticism that was thrown against his desk at Wests Tigers that was unfortunate but you’ve seen some of the stuff that’s gone on there.’’ Blair said he was in a much happier place since joining the Broncos. It was reported this week how his wife, Jess, and Bennett were the driving forces in negotiating his move away from the Tigers at the end of last season. The Brisbane prop said he would “be lying if I said I was 100 per cent happy” during his three years at the Tigers and that he had particularly struggled with the club’s losing record after making the move there from the winning culture of Melbourne. “To actually go from Melbourne — where everything is pretty much given to you and put on a plate for you and you have no excuse at the end of the day — I just felt like I needed more training and more things to make me better (at the Tigers),’’ Blair said. “Those are just the little things I pride myself on. If I don’t feel I’ve done enough and I need to go and find other places to do things then I will. I haven’t found that here. We train hard, everyone’s competitive and we’re pushed to the limits from pre-season to now. Those are just some things that I wanted to be better at so I tried to make *myself better.’’ Blair said the thing that hurt him most about his departure from the Tigers was not being able to finish his contract but luck had smiled on him after making a move to a club that defied their odds at the start of the season to make the grand final. “To be here for my first year and to play in a grand final, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’ve enjoyed my footy since I walked in the club and I still am now,’’ he said. [/QUOTE]

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