Chad Randall admits the willingness to play through the pain barrier has been the decisive factor in his racking up 100 appearances for Harlequins RL.
Randall celebrated his ton in style, darting over for the first try as Quins romped to a 40-10 win at Hull KR last Friday, a result that elevated them to fourth in Super League.
And the Australian hooker revealed his pride at becoming the first player to achieve the feat for the club.
Randall said: “100 games is not that big a deal in the modern game, but the fact that it is 98 games straight is.
“If anything, that fact pleases me even more.
“A lot of blokes if they have half a niggle they are looking to pull out but that never enters my head.
“If I can train then I will, and if I get through training then it gives you the confidence to go into a game.
“For me the proudest thing is to do it for Harlequins - a club will real tradition - and to know that I will always be the first to have achieved it is a nice feeling.”
Randall’s score at Craven Park was backed up by further tries from Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Will Sharp (two), David Howell (two) and Chris Melling as Quins put second-placed Rovers to the sword.
And the 28-year-old brushed off talk that the Londoners were merely capitalising on Hull’s recent wobble.
He added: “Everyone talks about form but if you let a side start well it is pretty easy for them to get their form back quickly.
“So it was important we had a quick start and we certainly did.
“We have been defending really well this season and once we get a good lead we are really confident that we will hold onto it.”
Next up for Quins is a mouthwatering home clash with defending champions Leeds Rhinos on Saturday, where a win could see them climb to second in the table.
And Randall sees no reason why the Stoop side cannot do the double, having earned an impressive 21-4 win at Headingley in April.
He added: “Brian has been putting this side together now for three years and we are really making progress.
“Leeds will be a massive game, but we are being successful because we are not building up some games to be more important than others.
“We just have to concentrate on how we play and if we do that things can go our way.”
Harlequins RL’s next three matches: Jun 20 Leeds (h), 28 Wakefield (a), Jul 3 Wigan (a)
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