Dragons veteran Jason Nightingale will retire at the end of 2018

DRAGONS veteran Jason Nightingale will hang up the boots at the end of the 2018 season after over 260 matches for St George Illawarra.

Jason, Bianka and Chloe Nightingale

PAUL McGregor was originally charged with turning the figure skater into a footballer.

St George-Illawarra winger Jason Nightingale, weighing 78kg under a hose, first met McGregor as a teenager playing in the Dragons lower grades, in 2003.

Back then, McGregor was the Dragons strength and conditioning coach.

“He was just a light, gangling-looking kid,’’ the head coach of Saints recalled.

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“He was lean but he also had a running style, like one of them ice skaters … a figure skater.

“But geez it was all determined. That was the biggest thing with Jase. Everything he does is full of determination.

“He would put himself in vulnerable positions and comes out the other end.

“And the other thing, geez he wore bruises well.’’

Nightingale has become a club legend for the Dragons.

Bruises — like the two bulging discs in his neck which he’ll carry into the finals — and of course, the only NRL jersey he’s ever worn, of St George-Illawarra, for a near-record 265 NRL matches.

The 31-year-old declared that after 110 tries, 33 Tests for New Zealand and 12 wonderful seasons with the Dragons, 2018 would be his last.

Grand final day is where he intends to play his last game — yet few, who saw the spindly-Kiwi pull on a Dragons Harold Matthews jersey for the first time at 15, would’ve believed a career like this, even possible.

Nightingale’s journey began with McGregor 15-years ago in the WIN Stadium weights room.

It’s there, that if the Renown United junior wasn’t thrusting a dumbbell above his small frame, he was shovelling chicken breasts and scoops of dry protein powder down his throat.

“I was around the 70s (Kilograms) and it was all about eating as much as you can and trying to put on as much weight as I can,’’ Nightingale said.

Nightingale scored a double in the Dragons last premiership win.

“Mary (McGregor) got me benching big when I was skinny and I had all these random routines and gadgets to get me bigger.

“I was benching (bench press) 145kg, while now I probably do 120kg.

“Those pre-seasons were where all the work went in and it’s funny that Mary (McGregor) is such a big part of that growth.’’

So too, Nightingale conceded, was the NRL’s decision in 2010, to eliminate corner posts — a call which few wingers in the game have benefited more from.

“I think that has really helped the progression of wingers and made finishing tries in corners a lot more special,’’ he said.

As spectacular as his try highlight reel is, Nightingale’s uncanny knack to bust, squeeze, twist, flip and sneak through tackles will forever be his trademark.

It’s been a long road to the top for Nightingale. Picture: Brett Costello

“Muscular genetics, I suppose,’’ Nightingale said, when asked to explain his durability.

“It looks ugly and I don’t try and do it, the way I do, so I probably have to thank my parents along the way for giving me these weird genetics.

‘’Obviously I’ve worked very hard on my body.

“Being a bit selfish in what you do in recovery, is part of that durability.

“I didn’t learn professionalism until I had good examples set by people like Benny Creagh and Dean Young, who were struggling with all these injuries.

“To see examples of people who work so hard on their bodies, to stay on the field made me realise that you should work hard on your body, anyway.

“Not just because you’re injured.’’

Nightingale will become the Dragons most capped player if they make the grand final. Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images.

The Dragons would need to make the grand final for Nightingale to equal club champion Ben Hornby’s record of most games for the club (273).

Yet in the eyes of many, Nightingale doesn’t need his name in the stats column, for his worth, desire and courage, to be recognised as one of their greatest-ever clubmen.

As Nightingale said, in front of heavily-pregnant wife Bianka and two-year-old daughter Chloe: “I found a lot of motivation in not wanting to let people down. I’m proud of that.

“I’m a guy that might look awkward or make the easy things look hard.

“But having that motivation and enjoyment to play for this club for my entire career, is something I’ll always be proud of.’’

Originally published as Dragons veteran Jason Nightingale will retire at the end of 2018