Josh Dugan’s return to fullback puts St George Illawarra Dragons in safe hands

[getsmarty]

Josh Dugan’s return to fullback puts St George Illawarra Dragons in safe hands

• James Hooper
• The Daily Telegraph
• January 25, 2015 12:00AM

ST GEORGE Illawarra star Josh Dugan has confirmed coach Paul McGreggor wants him to return to the Red V no.1, the position where the NSW Origin player ignited the Dragons backline in 2013.

Switched to right centre by McGreggor midway through last season, Dugan’s power running game and combination with Benji Marshall allowed him to develop into one of the most dangerous three-quarters in the NRL.
Despite a preference to persevere playing on the Dragons right-edge, the St George Illawarra star has been training primarily at fullback with Dane Nielsen, Dylan Farrell, Peter Mata’utai, Charly Runciman and rookie Euan Aitken competing to start the season in the centres.
“If it was up to me I’d love to stick it out at centre a bit. I felt like I only really scratched the surface last year and I feel like I could really grow as a player there,” Dugan said.“I’ve been doing a bit of both but the majority of the training has been at fullback, I’m just trying to stay sharp in both positions.
“Probably the best interests for me in terms of Origin would be to go back to fullback knowing that there’s a spot open in the NSW Origin side given Jarryd Hayne is no longer there.
“Mary wants me to play fullback and I’m happy to do that. I still enjoy fullback, I’m growing into it again at training.

“A few weeks ago when I first started chiming in at the back it felt a bit weird but I’ve warmed up to it now and I’m really enjoying it.”
After three years without making the finals, Dugan said the hard edge McGreggor instilled midway through last year was exactly what the club was lacking.
“What you see is what you get with Mary, he’ll always speak his mind and say it how it is. Some people got a shock last year when he came in but I think it was the best thing for the club,” Dugan said.
“We needed to hear some home truths and build on the things we needed to improve on.”

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ns-in-safe-hands/story-fni3g9a3-1227195730944

 

[RedVDragon]

Great another great decision by Mary. It feels like we will have a better year than most think. Next decision Mary is to get rid of or relegate Rein.

 

[BennyV]

Great another great decision by Mary. It feels like we will have a better year than most think. Next decision Mary is to get rid of or relegate Rein.

Another? What was the first one?!
I wouldn't count this as a 'great decision', more correcting a dumb decision he made previously.

 

[West coast dragon]

That'll be the last we see of quinlan I'd say!

 

[love my saints]

Another? What was the first one?!
I wouldn't count this as a 'great decision', more correcting a dumb decision he made previously.

Bit harsh. Dugan at centre wasnt a fail imo, he played well, we just didnt have a fullback that was up to first grade standard.
If we signed an established fullback, Dugan would be a shoe in for a centre spot.
And everyone wanted quinlan to have a run in first grade, and we needed a strike weapon at centre, Dugan WAS a strike weapon, but fullback remained a problem. At least Mary showed he has the balls to chop and change things to better the team.

 

[BennyV]

Bit harsh. Dugan at centre wasnt a fail imo, he played well, we just didnt have a fullback that was up to first grade standard.
If we signed an established fullback, Dugan would be a shoe in for a centre spot.
And everyone wanted quinlan to have a run in first grade, and we needed a strike weapon at centre, Dugan WAS a strike weapon, but fullback remained a problem. At least Mary showed he has the balls to chop and change things to better the team.

Matter of perspective. IMO it was a silly decision to move our strongest attacking weapon to a position where he touches the ball less and spends an insane amount of energy defending. We had more centre options than we did fullback options.

And theres the whole 'Dugan cant pass' argument which is a load of crap, but also shows that Mary doesn't have the ability to create a game plan to suit the strengths of his playing group, so he shuffled around, and resulted in no decent fullback and a huge chunk of salary cap sitting out in the centres. It was weak coaching, reeked of Steve Price and a big reason that i dont have confidence in McGregor.

Anywho, its in the past, at least it has been righted and hopefully we get to FINALLY see Dugan play to his full potential.

 

[Minh]

I had high hopes for Quinlan but he didn't deliver, so naturally Dugan needs to go back to fullback.

 

[kit66]

I had high hopes for Quinlan but he didn't deliver, so naturally Dugan needs to go back to fullback.

He played well in most of the games I saw him in last year, just never got settled because of the desperate re-shuffling that happens with losing / bottom of the table sides. He's a great little player and best backer - upperer in the team by a country mile.

 

[BennyV]

He played well in most of the games I saw him in last year, just never got settled because of the desperate re-shuffling that happens with losing / bottom of the table sides. He's a great little player and best backer - upperer in the team by a country mile.

Look, he's clearly got good awareness and Instincts, but he's not a first grade fullback by any stretch. He doesn't run the ball back for extra metres, he cant break tackles, he is fast but not particularly agile, cant really compete for high kicks and isnt overly confident defending 1 on 1.

Needs to bulk up and he might make a decent utility or hooker.

 

[bottle]

Utility or in the halves is his only hope.
A Churchill sized fullback won't cut it in todays game.

 

[watatank]

I think it's a bit of a myth that Quinlan could be a utility. He is a decent backup fullback but he lacks the skill for the halves (we have bought cover anyway) and is too small to play anywhere else. Really you would have to question his spot in the squad because our backup fullback should be able to play a few more positions (like wing, centre, halves, hooker) at least.

Bit harsh. Dugan at centre wasnt a fail imo, he played well, we just didnt have a fullback that was up to first grade standard.
If we signed an established fullback, Dugan would be a shoe in for a centre spot.
And everyone wanted quinlan to have a run in first grade, and we needed a strike weapon at centre, Dugan WAS a strike weapon, but fullback remained a problem. At least Mary showed he has the balls to chop and change things to better the team.

We don't have the salary cap space to sign an established fullback when it's all tied up to Dugan and others.

 

[getsmarty]

Price tried Quinlan at 5/8. Didn't work.

 

[inside_pass]

Price tried Quinlan at 5/8. Didn't work.

Price tried plenty of things that didn't work!!!!

 

[stgill2001]

If Bmoz is playing f/b for the scumdogs will he be competing for f/b or wing in origin?

 

[watatank]

Who cares?

 

[Slippery Morris]

If Dugan stays at centre Mary is bagged, he puts him to wing, still more negativity. Mary just can't win.

Are you Mary haters going to watch each game and hope the Dragons lose to justufy your bagging or will you actually get excited if they win?

 

[BennyV]

If Dugan stays at centre Mary is bagged, he puts him to wing, still more negativity. Mary just can't win.

Are you Mary haters going to watch each game and hope the Dragons lose to justufy your bagging or will you actually get excited if they win?

I'm assuming you mean fullback?!

I, for one, congratulated Mary, however the mpvement to centre was dumb in the first place, putting Mary back to zero in this department.

 

[Hutty1986]

Dugan was excellent in the centres last year, but looking forward to him evolving as a top-shelf fullback this season (hopefully).

The Blues need a creative fullback, because the halves we'll pick will be fairly ordinary again I imagine (we're no chance of retaining if Pearce gets back in).

And B.Moz won't be competing with Duges, surely he doesn't have the passing game to play fullback at the very top level. I have similar concerns with Duges, but like I said, hoping he can evolve into the position more this year.

 

[Steve_E]

What he said ^