NRL: Comedian draws line on the field

Jacob Lillyman will make his 200th NRL appearance when he runs out against the Canberra Raiders tomorrow. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Jacob Lillyman keeps his Warriors mates amused but he's serious come game time.

Front-rower Jacob Lillyman has the respect of all his teammates but it's his comedic value as much as his relentless go-forward that has Warriors players raving.

While the likes of Manu Vatuvei and Konrad Hurrell might laugh louder, longer and more frequently than the rest, Warriors players rate the laconic and dry-witted Queenslander as the biggest joker of the lot.

"If you asked anyone, he's probably the funniest in the team," says propping partner Ben Matulino. "Just his sense of humour is the best. Like every team there's a group of funny guys and he's the funniest and always gets a couple of laughs. You guys [media] don't get to see that side which is unfortunate."

There's nothing funny about Lillyman when he takes the field, however, and the 31-year-old has been in career-best form recently, and will make his 200th NRL appearance against the Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow.

"It is a big milestone and one I'm very proud of and it really does sneak up on you," said Lillyman. "But with how tough this competition is and the toll it takes on your body I'm really, really proud to bring up the 200 games."

After starting his career in the back-row with the North Queensland Cowboys back in 2003, Lillyman arrived at the Warriors in 2009 with 62 first-grade games under his belt. Two seasons later, then coach Ivan Cleary approached him with the idea of shifting into the front row, and after some initial scepticism, Lillyman eventually came around to his way of thinking.

"It probably took me a season to get used to it," Lillyman explained. "I wasn't too keen on the move at first but when Ivan put me there, I played better footy, so I guess the writing was on the wall. I ended up making the switch fulltime and haven't looked back since."

The positional change took his game to another level and after winning Queensland State of Origin selection with several interchange and 18th man cameos since 2006, Lillyman has looked right at home coming off the bench in the last four consecutive interstate matches.

Lillyman insists a desire to do his best for his club is driving him to new heights with the Warriors.

"I used to take more confidence out of playing Origin when I was younger, whereas now coming back to club footy I just want to make sure that I'm not a passenger," he said. "I maybe fell into that trap last year with a couple of the games where I backed-up. But this year I've made a point of coming back to club footy and not using the excuse of being tired, to really make that contribution, and so far so good."

He certainly achieved that in last week's dominant win over the Titans, backing up three days after Origin II to make 20 runs for 204m in a powerful 54-minute stretch.

"We were happy with the platform we laid last week but we've got to back it up and it's going to be a big challenge against a massive Canberra forward pack," he said.

"We're going to have to be ready and willing to roll up the sleeves to get that ground through the middle and give guys like Shaun [Johnson] and Chad [Townsend] field position to work their magic.

"I'm happy with where I'm at but there's still room for improvement and hopefully I can do that over the coming weeks."