Page 28 - Matt Dufty News Today

New St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has made a lot of changes since taking charge of the Dragons this season but one thing he hasn’t felt the need to do is overhaul the club’s culture. “Hook jokes about it all the time,” former NSW Origin forward Tariq Sims said. “He says he’s been looking for dickheads and he can’t find any.” Captain Ben Hunt added: “Hook’s always saying how he’s been here for three months and he’s been trying to find a dickhead but he hasn’...

NRL 2021: Dragons put off-contract Matt Dufty, Corey Norman on notice Rugby League by Paul Crawley Premium Content Subscriber only Perform or perish. Thats the straightforward message coming out of St George Illawarra in respect to the futures of off-contract stars Matt Dufty and Corey Norman heading into the new NRL season. Dragons management shocked and upset more than a few earlier this year after failing to make an offer to Cameron McInnes before the m...

With most clubs running near full-strength line-ups for the final weekend of pre-season trail matches on the weekend, NRL Fantasy coaches got some valuable clues for which players are hitting top form ahead of round one.

Since leading the 2018 competition from the opening round until a month before the finals, the Dragons havent had much to celebrate. A gritty finals exit after South Sydney halfback Adam Reynolds kicked three field goals against an injury-depleted team gave hope for the following season but instead, Red V fans have had to endure two years of frustration. There have been legitimate excuses for St George Illawarras demise, like the loss of Gareth Widdop and unavailability of Jack de Belin, but ul...

South Sydney have dominated the Dragons in their Charity Shield match in Mudgee, winning 48-16 on the back of an impressive first-half showing.

Venue: Glen Willow Oval, Mudgee "The boys went forward and if the front rowers dont go forward and set that platform then Cody and me cant do much ... they ran hard and got the rust off the bodies and set it up for us." Content with a slick opening 40, coach Wayne Bennett rang the changes, leaving barely any players who started the game on for the second half. Recruits including Benji Marshall, Jai Arrow and Josh Mansour got valuable game time, with the latter jagging a ...

Even when he played alongside Dragons teammate Adam Clune in the Berkeley under 13 team, Jack Bird was never sure what position he was best suited to. "As a kid I played fullback, five-eighth, lock, centre, second-row," Bird said. "My mindset was just to go out there and play good footy, and try my best." That attitude earned Bird a premiership ring with Cronulla in 2016, five NSW State of Origin jerseys and a big-money contract with Brisbane, before returning home to St George Illawarra this s...

The Warriors were the feelgood story of the 2020 premiership after relocating to Australia to ensure the NRL could resume after the competition was stopped in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With some players opting to return home for family reasons, the depth of the Warriors squad was stretched to the limit and they also had to cope with the shock sacking of coach Stephen Kearney. Yet the team rallied under interim coach Todd Payten and won fans over in both Australia and New Zealand with ...

Ranking the spines of every NRL team ahead of 2021 season Editors Picks 1 Related These players are able to get their hands on the ball more frequently and heavily influence their teams ability to drive downfield and score points. More often than not, the quality of a teams spine will directly correlate to their final position on the ladder. This is where each club stands prior to the 2021 NRL season: South Sydney Rabbitohs 9. Damien Cook On paper, I believe the Rabbitohs have the most polished...

Broncos This unit was on a hiding-to-nothing for almost all of 2020, but can they show some signs of development this year? Getting consistency out of the inconsistent Anthony Milford would be a great start. Just behind that in terms of importance is finding a No.7. When Kotoni Staggs returns mid-season, they will at least have some strikepower out wide in both he and Xavier Coates. Raiders Finding a replacement for Nic Cotric is the only problem. Jack Wighton is as good as there is in the No.6...