They may have bombed out of the Auckland Nines at the pool stage but St George Illawarra fans have every right to feel excited about the new season thanks to the performances of young guns Jai Field and Matt Dufty.
Field, who was the runner-up for the Holden Cup player of the year award last season and Dufty, who scored an incredible 55 tries in 65 appearances in the national youth competition, starred for the Dragons at the Nines last weekend to give St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor a welcome selection headache.
The Dragons were often criticised for their lack of potency in attack last season but with the emergence of Field and Dufty the club could now have two of the NRL’s best kept secrets at their disposal.
McGregor told the Leader at the Charity Shield launch last week that he would not be afraid to pick the pair in round one.
“I don’t believe in age or size, I believe in talent,” he said.
“[Field is] a very resilient kid, handles training quite well. It’s his first pre-season, he’s handled the last three months, he hasn’t missed any contact. He’s our fittest and our quickest player and that’s important when a young man is coming through.
“But he’s untried so [in] the trials we’ll really see how he stands up. But if he gets through that well and he performs better than the other players he’ll get the opportunity.
“Duff’s going to get a really good opportunity through the trials. If Duff comes up with something special, things can change pretty quickly in rugby league because Josh [Dugan] can play right centre.
“But we’ve got to remember that again it’s only Duff’s first year out of NYC. The best thing for Duff now is to keep concentrating, working hard at training and certainly take that opportunity through the trials and you never know. Again if he’s good enough he’ll be getting an opportunity in first grade.”
McGregor confirmed that Josh Dugan was likely to start the season at fullback but Dugan also plays in the centres for Australia and has played there for NSW, giving McGregor the option to shift him for the Dragons to accommodate the emergence of Dufty.
Field is up against Josh McCrone, Shaun Nona and Kurt Mann to play halfback, though Mann was a shining light for the Dragons on the wing last season and impressed again at the Nines.
Dugan won’t play for the Dragons in their trial with the Wests Tigers in Wollongong on Saturday, with the club’s Four Nations representatives to be left out.
It is expected Dugan, Gareth Widdop, Tyson Frizell and Jason Nightingale will all play the Charity Shield against South Sydney ahead of the round one clash with Penrith at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah.
