Tom Learoyd-Lahrs doesn't think he's felt as flat during a game of league as he did in the first half of the Canberra Raiders' 20-14 loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval yesterday.
Plenty of his teammates looked as though they were feeling the same and that slow start cost the Raiders.
The Raiders scored three second-half tries in a six-minute burst to set up a nail-biting finish.
But the 20-point start they gave the Sea Eagles was too much to overcome.
For Learoyd-Lahrs it was a disappointing end to a week that started with him being drafted into the NSW State of Origin camp as 18th man.
Learoyd-Lahrs returned to the NSW camp late last night and remains a chance of making his Origin debut at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday, if any of the Blues' first-choice players are ruled out through injury.
But while being named as 18th man for NSW last week was one of the highlights of his career, it also had a negative impact on the 23-year-old's performance yesterday.
Learoyd-Lahrs said the combination of playing 80 minutes for the first time last week, as well as travelling and training with the NSW side, had taken a heavier toll than he had expected.
He was so tired he simply couldn't have the explosive impact Raiders fans have come to expect from him during the opening exchanges.
He had to go off for a break after just 25 minutes and finished the game with nine tackles and nine hit ups from 50 minutes on the field.
''I was buggered,'' Learoyd-Lahrs said.
''Without making excuses for myself I've had a big week and I've never hit the wall so early in a game."
More Raiders news in today's Canberra Times
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