Dragons unveil their new weapon — former Cowboys attack coach Jason Demetriou

HE doesn’t feature on any NRL “Best Buys” lists but an astute purchase by the Dragons could prove one of the signings of the off-season.

new coach- jason Demetriou ( in grey). Dragons training.

JASON Demetriou isn’t on our NRL “Best Buys’’ list.

Nor yours. And why would he be?

With a career based entirely in England — a third of which involved clubs such as Keighley Cougars, Rochdale Hornets and Lancashire Lynx — Demetriou is hardly a purchase to rival, say, Souths prop Sam Burgess, Parramatta recruit Kieran Foran or new Warrior Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

“But here at St George Illawarra, his impact has been massive,’’ hooker Mitch Rein said.

Demetriou is the anonymous assistant who, this time last year, was helping create the blueprint for North Queensland’s first NRL premiership.

An assistant to head coach Paul Green, the former Saints junior worked specifically on a Cowboys attack that would eventually average more points (24.8) and tries (4.3) than any rival.

And now, Demetriou, 40, is headed home. Signed on by Dragons coach Paul McGregor, he has been charged with reviving a Red V outfit which, while boasting the competition’s toughest defence, has struggled with ball in hand.

Last year, St George Illawarra scored fewer points than every rival bar Penrith. Opening with just two tries in as many games — their worst start to a season in 15 years — the Dragons would finish as the only side averaging fewer than three tries per game (2.9).

Jason Demetriou runs his eye over Dragons training.

In fact, 16 times the Dragons scored two or fewer tries in a match, prompting The Daily Telegraph to rank them 15th on an ‘‘NRL Entertainers’’ list — ahead of only Gold Coast.

Enter Demetriou. Boasting almost 200 games with Wakefield, and international appearances with Greece and Canada, the coach has spent an entire summer looking to reignite the Dragons’ attack.

Creating a style that his players insist will be on display in Saturday night’s Charity Shield match at ANZ Stadium.

“Jason Demetriou has been great since joining the club,” Dragons star Josh Dugan said.

“It’s not about changing things up dramatically in ­attack. Or throwing all the ­responsibility on to one person.

“But Jase has definitely changed some things up.’’

Mitch Rein says Jason Demetriou’s impact at the Dragons has been “massive”. Picture: Gregg Porteous