After filling in admirably for the injured Glenn Stewart in a match-turning performance, Manly utility Jamie Buhrer says he feels no pressure to try to emulate the playing style of the gifted ball-playing lock.
Buhrer played most of the match before coming off near the end, putting in a huge defensive effort (his 36 tackles was the second highest tally of the match for either side behind Manly hooker Matt Ballin) while his 64th-minute line break sent Daly Cherry-Evans over to level the scores when his side desperately needed a lift.
"I only found out today [I was starting], that Glenn failed a fitness test. I've been playing a while now, I know what I can do," Buhrer said after the 14-12 win..
"I'm not Glenn Stewart, Glenn Stewart's a great player in his own right. I was just looking to play my own game out there. I've played with Daly plenty of times before in juniors coming through, I was confident in my own ability, and we were able to put that forth today."
Buhrer's performance drew praise from both Ballin and coach Geoff Toovey in the post match press conference.
"Jamie Buhrer on our right edge instead of Gifty tonight did an excellent job," Ballin said.
"Jamie's got that quality about him, he's not used to being an 80-minute player, he was out on his feet at the end there and we had to replace him," Toovey said.
"He did accept a job that we asked him [to do] particularly late, he didn't know he was starting until late this afternoon which is always difficult to do at such late notice. He did a wonderful job."
Buhrer said the gutsy win was exactly what the side was looking for after its capitulation from 20-nil up against Melbourne at Brookvale the week before.
"We went over that at the start of the week and then forgot about it, we came here up against a Bunnies team that we love to play against, we love these physical games, and we were able to come away with the win," he said.
"Against one of the biggest packs in the competition, they were able to give it to the Roosters a little bit last week and we were down on a few troops, to be able to match them like we knew we could, that was first and foremost what I was most proud of."
Buhrer said matches against the Rabbitoh are ones Manly marks in its calendar.
"Especially after the last few years, the team that they have, they play very similar to us," he said.
"It's a bunch of good forwards looking to do their job and play a very physical brand of football and their halves are willing to take the line on, their outside backs like to get their hands dirty. Very similar teams, we relish these games, we were really looking forward to it," he said.
