St George Illawarra look good for NRL premiership charge with mix of brains and brawn
I DIDN’T have the Dragons in my top eight before round one. I wish I did now. Paul McGregor’s side are tough and physical but there’s a science to their football which is blowing defences to pieces, writes MATTHEW JOHNS.
Opinion
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I DIDN’T have the Dragons in my top eight prior to round one, and how I’d love to change that.
Sure, we’re only four rounds in, and in recent seasons St George Illawarra have tended to explode out of the blocks, but this Dragons team is superior to the ones which we’ve seen fade off as July turns into August.
Winning gritty is bloody hard work, and in the last few years that’s how Paul McGregor’s sides had won football games. They dug in, hustled, bustled and defended their way to close victories.
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That takes a lot of energy, winning on effort is tiresome and by the middle of the season you could see the toll it took.
There’s a transformation in the Dragons team which makes them different.
The toughness and physicality is still very much there but there’s a cleverness, a science to their attacking football which is blowing defences to pieces.
In last Sunday’s win over Newcastle I was in ballplayer heaven watching the thought and subtlety which went into some of the Dragons’ attacking shapes.
If you get the chance to watch the game again, watch the brilliant way Gareth Widdop, in particular, disguises his intentions. The cleverness of the Englishman is something to behold.
I watched Widdop closely last Sunday and, yep, there’s no doubt the acquisition of Ben Hunt has been a major factor in the No.6 going from being a very good player to now being considered one of the NRL’s elite.
However, the common belief, myself included, was that Hunt has been calling the shots and controlling the sets of six and allowing Widdop to roam and react.
After Sunday’s victory, I reckon we have it slightly wrong.
Against Newcastle, it appeared as though, for the majority of the match, it was Widdop controlling the Dragons’ attack, with Hunt playing a more supportive role and then occasionally stepping up as the primary shot caller.
But then after going back, watching previous weeks games, I can see Hunt clearly being the more dominant talker.
That’s what is making this halves partnership so good. There’s a clear primary and secondary playmaker, but at different stages throughout the match they allow one another to change roles.
This is perfect for Widdop.
Gareth appears to me, to be a player who wants to control the team, but when he’s forced to do it for the full 80 minutes, it weighs on him and stifles his running game.
Ben Hunt is both a brilliant deputy and a chief shot caller in waiting.
But Widdop is also great for Ben. At Brisbane Hunt looked weighed down by the responsibility of trying to control every set. Now wearing the big red V, he has a halves partner who likes to share responsibility.
This can be problematic, but it’s clear there is an understanding between them, of who’s controlling and who’s reacting at various stages of the game.
The beauty of the Dragons’ two big off-season buys, is it’s not just what they individually bring to the side, but the fact they are making others around them better.
Hunt has elevated Widdop and James Graham is doing exactly the same with his fellow forwards.
I can only imagine what it would be like for a young forward to pack in alongside James Graham, a great leader and a man who is able to get himself up emotionally, week in, week out for the contest.
Look at Jack De Belin, I loved his comments last Sunday about being built for Origin football. I reckon Freddie Fittler would’ve been watching on, nodding in agreement.
Jack has no doubt, been watching on jealously at the impact teammate Tyson Frizell has had on Origin in the last two years and now he wants a crack. If he holds form, he’ll be picked.
This is a very, very well balanced football team.
There’s the energy of youth and plenty of hard-nosed experience.
A brutally tough forward pack and a fast, creative spine in Hunt, Widdop, Dufty and McInnes.
Coach Paul McGregor’s easygoing, knockabout demeanour, is a bit like his No.6, a clever deception to a razor sharp, tactical mind.