St George Illawarra forward Jack de Belin wants to bring his developing ball playing skills to the fore against South Sydney in the 33rd annual Charity Shield.
The Cootamundra junior, who debuted in 2011, wants to mix his tough running and heavy tackling style that are his trademarks with the more subtle areas of the game.
The Charity Shield is a tradition between the clubs with the Dragons and Rabbitohs holding the first clash at Redfern Oval in 1982.
The Rabbitohs hold the shield after last season’s 12-all draw.
The Dragons have won 16 times with Souths winning 11 of the 32 clashes so far with five draws.
De Belin said he enjoyed blending his game between attack and defence and wanted to continue developing his style this season.
‘‘I am not the biggest forward around, I have to play a bit smarter,’’ de Belin said.
He tips the scales at 103 kilograms and said he was ready to tackle the Rabbitohs.
The Charity Shield is always played with plenty of intensity.
- St George Illawarra forward Jack de Belin
‘‘The Charity Shield is always played with plenty of intensity,’’ de Belin said.
‘‘I always look forward to this game and then the season kick-off.”
De Belin said there was plenty of competition for places in the pack this season.
New additions including props Mose Masoe, who is back from English Super League team St Helens, and Russell Packer add size up front along with Englishman Mike Cooper.
Veteran club captain Ben Creagh will likely play off the bench as a prop, with starting prop Leeson Ah Mau and back-rowers Joel Thompson, Tyson Frizell and de Belin all vying for places.
De Belin comes from a rugby league family, with his late grandfather Fred a former Australian Test forward.
De Belin said his grandfather, who also played with the Balmain Tigers and represented NSW 10 times, had been a mentor to him.
A number of players won’t be available for the Charity Shield match as they will be playing in the NRL All Stars game on the same night at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
New Dragons captain and five-eighth Gareth Widdop will pair with South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds in the halves for the World All Stars team, while Rabbitohs prop Tom Burgess will also line-up for the World team.
Souths will also be without Chris Grevsmuhl, Greg Inglis and Alex Johnston who will play for the Indigenous All Stars alongside Dragons forward Joel Thompson.
Kick-off in the Charity Shield is at 5.30pm.
