Jack de Belin NRL return: Anthony Griffin reveals how he will use returning star

Two court cases, 30 months and a whole lot of headlines - Jack de Belin is back in first grade, but his return will be a little different to what he’s used to.

Jack de Belin will come off the bench against the Broncos on Thursday night. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty

Jack de Belin needed no convincing but coach Anthony Griffin needed some before giving the green light to de Belin to make his return from rugby league exile on Thursday night.

De Belin will start from the interchange bench for the first time in 30 months when the Dragons host the Broncos. It has been a 992-day absence, two court cases and countless headlines as de Belin became the first player stood down under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy.

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Griffin was originally going to give the former NSW lock at least another week in reserve grade after watching on from the sidelines when de Belin returned to the field last Saturday. However a conversation with de Belin on Sunday and Tariq Sims’ NSW inclusion prompted a rethink for the coach.

“He pulled up really well,” Griffin said. “He wasn’t sore and then he trained really well on Monday morning. He got through a lot of work in NSW Cup.

Jack de Belin played his first game since 2018 last week. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty

“I had a chat to the physio and the high performance staff and they thought the risk wasn’t much different to playing longer minutes in NSW Cup or for him to play a shorter stint in the NRL.

“He needed no convincing. None at all. He has been really good. He has been really composed. He is excited, he is looking forward to the game.

“My main concern was injury wise and if we were rushing him. The staff allayed our fears.

“Where we are at the moment, he can come on and play limited minutes. We can build on that.”

Griffin indicated de Belin will be the ‘third or fourth’ rotation on the Dragons bench. De Belin only joined the full-time squad on Monday to take up a four year deal. It is the first time since Griffin took over that he has been part of the entire squad.

Griffin said he had instantly noticed his resolve.

“He has always been driven and his mindset is his strength,” Griffin said. “He is a very focused and determined guy.”

De Belin isn’t the only change to the Dragons forward pack as they try to get out of a slump which has seen them drop six of their past seven matches. Griffin has shifted Jack Bird from the centres to the back-row ahead of the clash with his former club.

Jack de Belin after his return last week. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“My thoughts in the pre-season was that’s where we were going to start him,” Griffin said. “But circumstances changed. With Tariq going and a few troops down we thought it would be a good time to move him and see what he can do. We put him there at the back end of last week.

“He has gone a bit unnoticed. He has played 12 full games of NRL now. Its’ a fantastic achievement for him and it is wonderful to see him play week in week out. He likes getting the ball in his hands and is a strong defender so we thought we’d move him in a bit closer.”