Tyrell Sloan breaks silence on Koori Knockout drama, fullback battle at Dragons
Dragons star Tyrell Sloan has delivered his most forthright interview to date, declaring why he will be the club’s first-choice fullback and addressing his weaknesses.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Tyrell Sloan says he will fight tooth and nail to keep the Dragons fullback position, speaking with a defiance and belief that he can be the club’s long-term No. 1
In a wide-ranging interview, a forthright Sloan dismissed any suggestion he isn’t physical enough for the influential role.
The 21-year-old also delivered a passionate insight into the importance of participating in the end-of-season Koori Knockout, the tournament where he suffered a foot injury that has derailed his pre-season.
I WANT TO BE FULLBACK
Sloan is just 36 games into his NRL career and 32 of them have been at fullback.
His development in the position is ongoing with his consistency to deliver big moments both in attack and defence an understandable work in-progress.
Despite traditional centre Zac Lomax spending time during the Dragons current pre-season training block at fullback, Sloan said competition for the spot is nothing he hasn’t faced before.
“It’s been like that my whole career. There’s always been competition,” Sloan said.
“The first few years it was Duffo (Matt Dufty) and Cody (Ramsey) and then obviously Cody got sick last year.
“There’s always lots of competition and it’s something that I don’t really stress about because at the end of the day I back my ability.
“But then again, it’s whatever’s best for the team.
“We haven’t been performing where we need to be for the last three years that I’ve been in grade.
“I really want to step up and make that position mine.
“It’s Flanno’s (Shane Flanagan) team, it’s whatever he wants. Everyone’s been training everywhere
“I’m happy to play anywhere
“It’s the same thing every year, you guys come in and ask will I be playing fullback or I’ll be playing this and that.
“I wanna be a fullback and that’s all I know.‘’
TOUGH ENOUGH
One of the first meetings Flanagan held when he was first appointed head coach of the Red-V was with Sloan.
Together they mapped out a plan for the gifted ballrunner to develop his commitment in defence. It would include boxing, wrestling and repetitive tackling sessions. Sloan’s ill-timed foot injury has forced the sessions to be put on the backburner.
However. Sloan said he had the toughness within to develop the defensive side of his game.
“Bra, I played in the (Korri) Knockout. Definitely, I’m tough enough,‘’ Sloan said.
“If anyone can run out in the Knockout and play, that’s tough footy.
“It’s just about doing it now.
“I’ve had three years in grade now and I feel like it’s my time to start playing my footy.
“I’ve experienced it, I’ve had a full year in grade (in 2023).
“I’m not gonna say I got rushed in but I did [get elevated] pretty early.
“Now I feel like I’ve got the confidence to take it on, wherever that might be.
“Whether that’s fullback wing, you know I could be five-eighth.”
DEFENCE MATTERS
Sloan couldn’t have been more frank when assessing his need to improve his defence.
He has shown flashes of his brilliance in attack with a combined 23 try and line break assists and 22 offloads last season.
He also proved to be one of the league’s fittest players after averaging more metres per game (9.16km) than any player other than North Queensland playmaker Tom Dearden.
But his 67.6 effective tackle percentage ranks among the lowest in the competition alongside Brisbane No. 1 Reece Walsh.
“No, it’s something I do lack, I’ll be honest,” Sloan said.
“I do lack there. I do save tries too though. There’s moments there where I’m good and there’s moments there where I’m bad.
“You are your own worst critic and sometimes I come out of a tackle feeling for myself.
“And not just myself, but letting my team down.
“That’s the main focus that, you know, I want to be that person that, if there’s a line break, I can be depended on to make that tackle.‘’
Tyrell Sloan will see a specialist after suffering a suspected syndesmosis injury at the Koori Knockout (via @DaveRic1). Surgery could be required, but thankfully recovery times fairly accelerated with most back to full training in 8-10 weeks. Should be fine for most of preseason
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) October 5, 2023
KOORI KNOCKOUT
The game is divided on clubs allowing their most influential players take part in the end-of-season Koori Knockout.
NRL coaches and clubs are slowly coming around to how important it is for the Indigenous community. Still, it is a delicate decision knowing that players like Sloan, can get injured.
Sloan was forced to undergo surgery for a syndesmosis injury from the knockout. He is hoping to commence running next week.
“People like the media and all that stuff don’t see the sort of things at the knockout that we see,” Sloan said.
“There’s a lot of teams that travel from the country that are 10-12 hours away. A lot of kids that don’t get to see NRL players, they don’t get exposed to that talent.
“Coming up against Latrell Mitchell or Addo-Carr – [they say] ‘I got to tackle Foxx, I got to tackle Latrell.’
“Even I got bumped off by one of the boys, it’s an experience for them in itself.
“Bro we don’t do it for the footy, we do it for our community. That’s what I want everyone to know.
“It’s not about the footy at the end of the day.
“It’s about my mob getting together, that’s the biggest corroboree.
“Everyone comes together from 10-12 hours away. Those little kids, we get to put a smile on their face.
“At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.”
WILL HE PLAY KOORI KNOCKOUT NEXT YEAR?
“I know there’s a risk and reward and I’m first hand [proof], I’m injured from the knockout,” Sloan said.
“How it’s set up right now is amazing. There’s over 64 men’s teams, there’s a lot of kids teams, a lot of women’s teams and there is a lot of care there.
“People just think it’s black fellas, turn up and play footy and getting their head bashed in.
“There’s a lot of doctors there. Like I went and saw the physios there straight after I did my ankle and like it’s set up how an NRL carnival will be set up. It’s nothing different.
“The footy is a lot tougher. I’ll tell you that from experience, you get your head taken off.
“But it’s fun. You get that contact that you don’t usually get. Yeah, the refs are a bit more lenient.
“The game’s changed and I like playing knockout footy because it is tougher. I just keep coming back to those kids, man, it’s just all about them.”
“Yeah, I’m frustrated from it, but I do have a lot of time until round one comes.
“At the end of the day, my focus is putting a smile on those kids’ faces and making sure that I leave a good impression on them.
“As I said, it’s not always about the footy, it’s about the next generation coming through.
“The knockout is massive already, it’s gonna get bigger.
“Hopefully Flanno lets me play next year.
“I’m a bit disappointed in myself too just because my body’s been really good for me and I’ve put in the work for it to be like this.
“He was just a bit pissed because he had a big pre-season set up to help me get me ready for his pre-season.
“My ankle’s probably not up to where I want it to be. I’m just getting reminded from our staff here that we don’t play till February and March.
“They’re giving me all the time in the world to get it right. That’s my main focus at the moment.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Tyrell Sloan breaks silence on Koori Knockout drama, fullback battle at Dragons
Storm ‘grubbery’ finally comes back to bite
The Melbourne Storm are licking their wounds after another tough grand final loss, but they only have themselves to blame for falling short.
Cleary comment that provoked Panthers towards another title
Ivan Cleary revealed he questioned the desire of his ‘complacent’ Panthers during the season, a moment that stung the players and ultimately sparked their run towards a fourth-straight premiership.