``I feel so much more comfortable at Penrith I know the coach is behind me 100 per cent,'' said the 25-year-old, who played just 10 games for the Tigers last season.

``Matt Elliott has helped me get my passion back. Hell, yeah, it was nothing but negative at the Tigers. It's been really refreshing to have a coach support me and trust me like Matty has.''

The Northern Rivers product fought tooth'n'nail for a release from the final year of his contract with the Tigers after he thought he had been poorly treated at the club.

He has since proved his popularity in the NRL by being selected in the inaugural Indigenous All-Stars team but has since been ruled out with a toe injury.

He has a new partner, a new address and a new attitude. The latter he credits to his coach.

''He's helped me big-time off the field, too, just with advice and helping me to concentrate on things that matter rather than people trying to bring me down,'' Laurie said.

The two-metre forward has been spending a lot of time in the gym, bulking up a big 8kilograms to tip the scales at 116kilograms.

Elliott believes Laurie is a representative star-in-the-making.

``Geez, where do I start?'' he said.

``The guy has that much potential and he's been nothing but a dream to coach. He needs a little bit of extra attention but some of the best players do. Luke Lewis is an international and he needs it, whereas someone like Matthew Bell, you could go the whole year without talking to him and he'd still turn up to training every day and put in 100per cent.''