NRL 2016: Gareth Widdop to captain St George Illawarra Dragons
THE Dragons have unveiled a new leadership group for the 2016 NRL season, with England Test star Gareth Widdop promoted to the captaincy.
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GARETH Widdop’s composure, age and long-term security at the club were just some of the reasons the Englishman beat former New Zealand skipper Benji Marshall to the Red V’s top job.
Widdop was unveiled on Thursday as the joint-venture’s new team captain, with Ben Creagh to continue as club captain.
Coach Paul McGregor said there was a lot to like about the 26-year-old Englishman, who enters his third season at the club, and has settled into the area with his wife and young family.
Widdop’s halves partner Marshall led the Kiwis in 18 Tests, and also spent time in charge of his former club the Wests Tigers.
But McGregor was happy to opt for Widdop, told The Daily Telegraph Marshall had been appointed the third member of the club’s three-man leadership group, and he remained “a huge part of what we’re about in 2016’’.
McGregor enjoys coaching Marshall, but it will come down to how much money the club can offer him at season’s end. Widdop has this year and next still to run.
“The importance of Benji is his experience, he’s a strong character, players look up to him, so he was an easy fit for that third man in the (leadership group),’’ McGregor said.
“Gareth plays an important role in the halves, he’s a current international, I like the way he’s composed in a game, and the way he competes.
“He doesn’t talk for the sake of talking, which I feel is very important for a captain — when you talk too much, nobody listens, but if you talk at the right times, everybody listens.
“He’s settled, he’s got a wife, a young family, he’s professional in everything he does, so he’s the right fit for our club.’’
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Creagh remains just seven games shy of becoming the most-capped St George Illawarra player in the joint-venture’s short history, but with limited game time, it was thought best to go with a different game-day captain.
Widdop becomes the second Englishman behind James Graham to skipper a powerhouse Sydney club. His captaincy CV includes a couple of stints with his junior club, King Cross Park, back home in the north of England, as well as the Melbourne Storm under-20s side.
While it remains to be seen if Marshall plays on, McGregor quickly ruled out pursuing Widdop’s former halves partner and Melbourne and Queensland No. 7 Cooper Cronk.
“Unless somebody knows something I don’t, I haven’t spoken to Cooper, we haven’t had a recruitment manager, so nobody else has spoken to Cooper,’’ McGregor said.
“If you talk about Cooper and think about the money he would require to come to our club, yet we haven’t got the money required to sign Benji, it’s all speculation.’’
Originally published as NRL 2016: Gareth Widdop to captain St George Illawarra Dragons
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