St George Illawarra considering playing skipper Gareth Widdop at fullback against Brisbane
HE has done it for England and now Dragons coach Paul McGregor could play skipper Gareth Widdop at fullback in a bid to save their hopes against Brisbane.
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THE Dragons are considering a finals gamble with star pivot Gareth Widdop a possible starter at fullback against Brisbane in a desperate bid to reignite their season.
The Sunday Mail understands Dragons coach Paul McGregor is toying with the prospect of axing Matt Dufty and shifting Widdop to the backfield for the sudden-death finals clash at Suncorp Stadium.
St George Illawarra held a closed session at Langlands Park in Brisbane on Saturday, but it can be revealed Widdop spent periods of the captain’s run training at fullback.
Widdop has played all 21 games this season in the halves, but McGregor is weighing up whether the British Test star can be a matchwinner from fullback in his return after a three-week lay-off with a shoulder injury.
McGregor has demoted Dufty before, relegating the quick-stepping custodian to the bench just a fortnight ago in the Dragons’ woeful 38-0 loss to the Bulldogs at Kogarah.
While Widdop has limited NRL experience in the No. 1 jumper, the classy playmaker has fired for England at fullback.
During last year’s World Cup, Widdop was moved from five-eighth to fullback by England mentor Wayne Bennett, the Broncos super coach plotting the Dragons’ downfall at Suncorp.
The Bennett experiment paid handsome dividends, with Widdop playing four games in the England No. 1 jumper and piloting the Poms to the World Cup final against Australia.
Now McGregor is pondering a similar positional switch for Widdop in a move that would see Kurt Mann promoted from the bench to start alongside Ben Hunt in the halves.
McGregor will finalise his starting side today, but Bennett is wary of the Widdop threat, mindful of the versatile role he played during the World Cup as England pushed Australia to the wire.
“I have a lot of time for Gareth,” Bennett said. “I’ve coached him in the English team.
“I love coaching him, he is easy to coach and he always plays flat out. Gareth will play no differently.”
Meanwhile, Bennett has backed teenager David Fifita to handle a finals baptism after veteran back-rower Alex Glenn was ruled out with a calf injury.
There was also some concern around Corey Oates, who failed to finish training on Saturday with a calf concern, but Bennett insists the Queensland ace will back-up after his four-try heroics against Manly last week.
Fifita was only blooded in first grade three months ago but Bennett insists the 110kg brute will not be spooked by Dragons Origin stars Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims in just his 11th NRL game.
“David has played all the major games we’ve played in the last two or three months so he won’t be out of his depth, he won’t be a liability for the team,” he said.
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Originally published as St George Illawarra considering playing skipper Gareth Widdop at fullback against Brisbane