After an unusually slow start to the year from St George Illawarra, coach Paul McGregor has had to come out in defence of his recent mid-game rotation of the all-important spine, telling NRL360 co-hosts Ben Ikin and Paul Kent that the shuffle was out of โnecessity.โ
With the Dragons' spine already having limited time to develop combinations thanks to the late arrival of Corey Norman and Gareth Widdop's return from major shoulder surgery, many fans and pundits alike have called for St George Illawarra to scrap the mid-game positional shifts of Cameron McInnes, Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop.
However, McGregor believes that his persistence could eventually pay off.
โIn the pre-season we floated a few things about having all our players on the field at the same time,โ McGregor told NRL 360.
โWe have got Hunt at No.7 who can play No.9 and plays for his state and country there.
โWe have Cameron McInnes who can play No.13 and we have two halves in Corey Norman and Gareth Widdop and Matt Dufty at the back, when they are all on at the same time.
โThe first couple of weeks it has been out of necessity at times because we are missing three middles.
โWe lost Tyson Frizell in the first game after a period of the game and the second game we didnโt start with Tyson, Jack de Belin or Korbin Sims.
โSo we moved Cameron to No.13 and put Dufty on so we have quality players on the field at the same time.โ
With the Dragons struggling for depth thanks to the suspension of Jack De Belin, and the untimely injury of Tyson Frizell, McGregor has detailed the tactic to be aimed at getting his best players on the park at the same time.
โBut at the moment it is about getting your best players on the field, while we have a few quality players missing.โ
โWe want to sustain pressure through defence for the attack to work and we need our better defenders on the field for longer periods and Cameron is certainly that and Benny defends well in the middle.โ
With the Dragons lacking quality replacements in the back-row and with no set return date for the suspended Jack De Belin, strap yourselves in Dragons fans because you could see this tactic being employed more than you would like.
Why go to all the trouble to hokey pokey when by moving Gareth Widdop to lock would achieve a settled spine.
Good suggestion, although I would keep Widdop at 5/8 & try with Norman to lock.
It couldn’t be any worse than the dogs breakfast there now.
Not a bad idea. Bring Dufty back to fullback. It would only be for (hopefully) a short period till De Belin and Frizzell return. Dufty has to play- he has the speed. Even on the wing. Norman and Hunt will take time. Diehard saints supporters, now is the time to get behind the team. We will get there.
Do you really think we will get there with a clueless coach like McGregor in charge? I very much doubt it. The only way will will get there is if McGregor is shown the door.
I honestly thought I was McGregor’s biggest hater . You my friend are up there , and correct me if I’m wrong you don’t even support the saints do you? . Anyways 2 more weeks and my banners coming back out ..
Put Norman on the bench. End of story.
Absolutely suechi… my sentiments exactly. Then move hunt to hooker when we need a spark. Could dufty play hooker for 10 mins at the back end of each half ?? You canโt tell me that speed wouldnโt be crazy around tired forwards !!
Yes I do support the Saints dra01. I really can’t see a repeat of last years result of 48-18 in favour of the Dragons against the Broncos, the way the Saints are playing at the moment with such a weak defense its more likely to be the Broncos winning by 30 points. I hope I am wrong however with McGregor as coach we are in for a very long season.