Rival ‘smokes’ Jack de Belin in first NRL game since 2018

Jack de Belin had a mixed bag of a performance in his first NRL game since 2018 and one moment left him looking worse for the lay-off.

Jack de Belin’s first NRL appearance since 2018 got off to a suboptimal start on Thursday night.

De Belin, who late last month had his sexual assault charges dropped, re-entered the Dragons’ 17 for their clash with the Broncos.

The 30-year-old came off the bench for the Red V in jersey 17, having played for the club’s NSW Cup side last week.

The Dragons veteran was met with loud cheers when his name flashed on the big screen before kick-off and then received a standing ovation from 5107 fans when he came on after 28 minutes to replace Daniel Alvaro who had suffered a head knock.

It was a vastly different reception to the one Matt Lodge received when he was booed every time he touched the ball in the corresponding clash in 2018 when he made his return to the NRL.

It didn’t take long for de Belin to find himself in the middle of the action, but not in the way he would have liked.

Close to his line, de Belin was swindled by another ageing star on the path to redemption — Broncos playmaker Albert Kelly — who stepped around the Dragon like a traffic cone and passed off to TC Robati.

From there, the youngster took on the line and crashed over for his second four-pointer of the night.

“This is great work from Albert Kelly,” said Fox League’s Braith Anasta in commentary.

“De Belin, (Kelly) beats him, smokes him on his inside shoulder.

“He sees the big space between de Belin and (Dragons hooker Andrew) McCullough and he takes it on with that right foot. Off the right. De Belin — he’s gone.”

De Belin recovered from his early hiccup to put in a solid showing, finishing with 61 metres from his eight carries of the footy.

But it was the things he did away from the ball with his line-speed and ball-playing out the back that highlight his importance to the team.

The Dragons ran out big winners on Thursday night. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Matt Dufty showed what the Red V will be missing in the years to come with a best-on-ground performance in his side’s bruising 52-24 win over Brisbane.

De Belin showed in 26 minutes what the Dragons had missed while he was out, but it was Dufty’s performance that had the Red V faithful on their feet demanding management to re-sign him.

The off-contract fullback is sensationally unwanted by the club beyond this season, but showed on Thursday why he looms as one of the best attacking weapons on the open market as he and Ben Hunt tore Brisbane’s defence to shreds.

In his first game back from a shoulder injury, the gun No. 1 continued his attacking hot-streak with five try-assists and two of his own against a team that could do with his services in 2022.

Dufty used his blistering speed to set up Jack Bird, delivered a perfect pass to send Gerard Beale on his way and then embarrassed Jamayne Isaako in the shadows of halftime when he caught the fullback napping to ground a Corey Norman grubber.

He produced another peach of a pass to set up Cody Ramsey – the man who dropped a simple bomb and is tipped to replace him at the back next season – and then backed up a Hunt break to cap the best game of his career.

Broncos go backwards

They produced the upset of the decade against the Roosters two weeks ago, but the Broncos are trending in the wrong direction after another dismal display on the road.

Albert Kelly was a rare shining light with three try assists in the first half, but he didn’t have many friends as they squandered an 18-12 lead to suffer another hefty defeat.

Robati spent 10 minutes in the sin bin for a high shot, Kobe Hetherington limped off with an ankle injury, while Isaako had a night to forget with errors and a blown challenge before he was eventually hooked.

Originally published as Rival ‘smokes’ Jack de Belin in first NRL game since 2018