Matt Dufty talks about the bond driving Dragons to superb start to NRL season
STAR fullback Matt Dufty says there is a sense of unity at the Dragons that didn’t exist last season as the club continues its superb start to 2018.
NRL
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ST GEORGE Illawarra have that winning feeling.
Not just any kind of feeling, that grand final-winning feeling.
Fullback Matt Dufty can’t find the right words to exactly describe the aura hanging over this team.
He calls it a vibe and it feels like 2010 all over again.
A vibe that every player in this ladder-leading team is not only carrying around off the field but on to the field and into battle.
Dufty said there was a sense of unity that didn’t exist at the club last year, when they led the competition through the opening rounds.
“All the boys, we are more of a team this year,” he said.
“Being in the squad last year were a few groups here and there. This year everyone has coffee with everyone. We are just bonded as a team.
“I think it’s gone a long way (to helping their winning start) because we have everyone’s backs on the field and off the field.
“Everyone has that vibe where we come and we think we are going to win.
“It’s not cockiness, it is just trust and belief in the guy next to you … there’s a vibe around the club. I don’t know how to describe it, it’s a good feeling.”
The Dragons went into round nine facing their biggest test of the season: a blockbuster clash against Melbourne, the side Dufty described as the “competition benchmark”.
After a shaky period in a first half riddled with errors and an inability to complete their sets, Paul McGregor’s men passed the test with flying colours, smoking the Storm 34-14.
The win solidifies the Dragons as title contenders and they look ominous.
Just ask defending champions Melbourne.
They won eight of their nine opening matches last year and went on to be crowned premiers.
The Red V’s dominant victory at Kogarah Oval on Sunday makes it eight wins from nine rounds to open their campaign.
But McGregor won’t let himself or his side get ahead of themselves.
“Definitely not (thinking about the grand final),” he said.
“We’ve done some good things last year and we’ve learned from what we didn’t do so well.
“We’ve bought experienced players around this club. The boys have been working really hard around what we need to improve and holding themselves accountable each week.
“As long as we keep preparing well and playing the way we are for one another, then who knows?”
“We’ve got appreciation for what we are doing at the moment. Like to come to play in front of 19,000 people at home, you have to appreciate that and what we are doing.”