De Belin Re-Signs for 3 More Seasons

[getsmarty]

De Belin re-signs for three seasons
Tue 14th March, 11:00AM
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The St George Illawarra Dragons have announced the re-signing of veteran lock Jack de Belin on a three-year deal.

De Belin will remain at the Dragons until the end of the 2020 Telstra Premiership season.

The Cootamundra Bulldogs junior made his NRL debut in Round 16, 2011 with him playing 108 NRL games to date.

The 2016 season saw de Belin awarded with the Dragons' Immortals Trophy following a year which also saw him make his highly-anticipated representative debut for the Country Origin side.

De Belin is pleased to remain at the Red V for a further three seasons.

"I'm stoked to be staying at the club. I've always seen myself staying here," de Belin said.

"It's the only club I've ever been at and I love it here. I love the direction we're going in so it was an easy decision for me.

"I feel I have a lot of potential that I haven't tapped into yet."

Dragons Director of Rugby League Pathways Ian Millward explained why de Belin's retention was important for the future success of the club.

"With Jack, he's come through our junior setup and been at the club for a long period of time, and he's really blossomed as a player," Millward said.

"He's one of the fittest at the club and it's not very often you get players like him to play 80 minutes and be as lethal in defence as he is.

"His better years are ahead of him."

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/03/14/de_belin_re_signs_fo.html

 

[getsmarty]

Re-signing an easy decision for de Belin

Mitch Jennings@@Mitch_Jenno

14 Mar 2017, 1:30 p.m.

STAYING PUT: Jack de Belin. Picture: Getty Images

ST GEORGE Illawarra have locked down one of the key cogs in their forwards arsenal, confirming that ironman Jack de Belin will remain with the club for a further three seasons on Tuesday.

The deal, that will keep the 26-year-old at the club until the end of 2020, is one less headache for club recruitment chief Ian Millward, with off-contract stars Gareth Widdop and Johs Dugan still un-signed beyond this season.

Having debuted for the club as a teenager in 20011, de Belin said he never seriously entertained offers from rival clubs with remaining a one-club man his top priority.

“It feels great, it was a pretty easy decision for me,” de Belin said.

“I’ve been here that long now, it’s going on 10 years pretty soon, so I obviously wanted to stay. At the same time you want to test your value but I didn’t even bother to do that.

“I just wanted to get the contract here out of the way so I can focus on playing some good footy and have a good year for the Dragons.

I love the club, I love living in Wollongong and it’s a great honour to be able to sign for three more years.”

The NSW Origin hopeful debuted under mastercoach Wayne Bennett in what was a golden era for a club that has endured more lows than highs in recent seasons.

Having come out the other side, de Belin is confident the club is well on the upward trajectory.

“Definitely with some of the players we’ve got, I think we’ve got some good days ahead and that obviously made my decision a lot easier,” he said.

“I was here in the golden days I guess you could say and I did debut under Wayne Bennett so I’ve been through a few different sides now.

“A lot of players have come and gone and there’s a really good culture and it’s a great place to be around at the moment.

“Last year wasn’t the best of years and there was a big review and a lot of things were put in place to change that and all the boys have bought in well.

“The culture we’ve got now is unbelievable and I can say the boys are tighter than ever.”

With his future sorted de Belin will turn his attention to Sunday’s clash with Cronulla at Southern Cross Group Stadium with both sides having plenty to prove in the local derby.

The Sharks have been widely tipped to miss the eight, despite being defending premiers, while most have penciled the Dragons into the bottom four.

The Sharks signaled their intentions with a 42-16 hammering of Canberra on the road and de Belin said the Dragons will need to lift considerably on their limp 34-16 defeat at the hands of Parramatta.

“It was pretty disappointing [against Parramatta], I don’t think anyone expected that kind of performance to be tossed up,” de Belin said.

“Cronulla are coming off the victory they had and were pretty good on the weekend and we were petty much the opposite.

“We’ve got to come out with a better mindset and attitude than we did on the weekend and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.

“We’re kind of at different ends of the spectrum but we’ve both got a point to prove.They’re the reigning premiers so they’ve got to back it up while we’ve been touted to be cellar-dwellers so we’ve got prove a few people wrong as well.”

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4528970/de-belin-on-deck-for-the-next-three-years/?cs=3713

 

[SEAT 1A]

So much to like about Jack The Ripper, happy days.

That's got to be up there regarding "quotes" from a player of why they re singed. Hits like a sledge hammer and a very well spoken young man.

Agree with other's regarding the culture of the club.

 

[Coffs dragon]

He speaks like someone that could and should be leading this team ahead.

 

[denis preston]

Great news.Of all the Players I feel Jack has suffered the most by our inept coaching staff.When he got away from them his performance for country last year was his best game of 2016 !

Still think we have a top 4 pack but the trouble is our bottom 4 backline !

 

[getsmarty]

Great news.Of all the Players I feel Jack has suffered the most by our inept coaching staff.When he got away from them his performance for country last year was his best game of 2016 !

Still think we have a top 4 pack but the trouble is our bottom 4 backline !

Our biggest trouble is our coach. Get an experienced coach in and we are top 8 material easy.

 

[Dragsters]

Big heart.

Bigger future.

Love me some JDB!

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Great news!
Don't take your foot off the peddle, son.

 

[grouch]

It's depressing to think how far JDB might have progressed with proper coaching. Hopefully in his next 3 years - his prime - he does get that, finally.

 

[possm]

Dragons management has a lot to answer for and I'm sure will go down in history as the most incompetent of all time. Mary should never have been appointed coach; there was never any justification except for his relationship with people in management.

So many of our players could have been improved by a decent coach.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Great news and just love it when a player says "easiest decision". That shows a real dedication to the team and how much he loves the club. Disappointed that Duges does not have the same attitude considering nobody wanted him and Saints threw him a lifeline. If they didn't he would not be even getting offered 700k a season or whatever it is. He would be in ESL, Rugby or worse no sport at all. I am sure he can set himself up with 2 mil over 3 years.

This signing makes up for losing Merrin. The backrow containing Thommo, Friz, JDB and Sims is awesome and up there as one of the best in the NRL.

Millward is slowly becoming the next Mullholland. He is doing a great job so far and one that would be similar to what Mullholland would have done.

Credit to Saints for keeping their best juniors.

As per Possum's comments regarding Bird, I would let Duges and Widdop go and throw the money they have for them at Bird. Bird and Hunt will form an awesome halves combo. Dufty/Field/Mann.Milne at fullback. Plenty of options.

PS - How good did Hunt plpay against the Cows? His kicking game was pretty damn good.

 

[getsmarty]

Bright days ahead for Dragons: de Belin
Thu 16th March, 12:00PM
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St George Illawarra lock Jack de Belin believes success is just around the corner for the Dragons.

De Belin - who re-signed for a further three seasons on Tuesday - discussed the tight-knit nature of the group and his reasons for staying at the Red V.

"Moving forward I think we have some good times ahead of us, which made my decision to re-sign easier," de Belin said.

"I debuted under Wayne Bennett so I've been through a few different periods of the Dragons now, players have come and gone, but there's a really good culture here at the moment.

"It's a great place to be and the boys are tighter than ever."

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/03/16/bright_days_ahead_fo.html

 

[dragonssamy61]

He speaks like someone that could and should be leading this team ahead.

Coffs had the pleasure of meeting Jack a down to earth funny and articulate man.
Well respected on and off the field.
He was at a charity Avent.
Top bloke and other player like him.
He and thommo absolute champs always willing to help any way they can.