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St George Illawarra skipper Ben Creagh says he will be "very disappointed" if he is the next long-term player to be squeezed out of the club.
Creagh, Jason Nightingale and Trent Merrin are the club's lone survivors from its 2010 premiership success but the trio face uncertain futures. Already Merrin has indicated this year will be his last at the Dragons, and Nightingale and Creagh are off-contract at the end of the season.
Nightingale, 28, is expected to commit to the club beyond this season but following the shock departure of wing partner Brett Morris at the end of last year, the players remain uncertain about their long-term future.
Creagh, who turned 30 earlier this month, wants to extend his stint at the club by at least one season he has watched on as the premiership winning side has been torn apart.
"I would be very disappointed if I wasn't able to get another season at the club," he said.
"In saying that, as long as I'm playing good footy at the start of the year hopefully I'll get another opportunity for next year. If not, that's life. I would love to keep playing for a couple more years.
"I haven't thought about [going elsewhere]. It would be hard for me to do it. Being a Steelers junior and playing all my footy for the Dragons, it would be tough going to another club. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to start and finish my career at this club and hopefully I can do that."
Barring injury, any contract deal would make Creagh go beyond Ben Hornby as the most capped Dragons player. The skipper is 27 games behind his predecessor.
Creagh has delayed his own contract negotiations in the hope of retaining Merrin and Nightingale, and looks to have overcome a long-term knee injury.
"I'm not too worried about the next contract," Creagh said. "I was more worried about Mez [Merrin] and Nighty [Nightingale] and sorting those two guys out because I thought they were a big part of the club's future. Whenever I can sit down with [Dragons recruitment manager] Peter Mulholland and work out mine, I will. I'm in no rush. I'm quite comfortable with where I am.
"My knee is OK. I haven't had the best knee for a long time now. The club has been great. I've managed it fine for a lot of years. I'm not overly concerned about it."
The Dragons have impressed with two strong pre-season performances, including a win against Warrington in the World Club Series.
Creagh pointed to a belief in coach Paul McGregor's philosophies for the improved performances, as the team look to play finals football for the first time since 2011.
"He expects excellence at every training session," Creagh said. "He puts a lot of work away from the training paddock to prepare our sessions and our videos. The guys see that and respect that, and want to give that respect back for the amount of work he puts into us.
"There was lots of belief at the end of last season. Although we didn't get a lot of wins, we competed well in all our games. We played better than we did at the back end than we did at the start."
Creagh picked forwards Mitch Rein, Leeson Ah Mau and Jack De Belin to be among the biggest improvers.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...g-hes-not-shown-the-door-20150228-13rg4v.html
Creagh, Jason Nightingale and Trent Merrin are the club's lone survivors from its 2010 premiership success but the trio face uncertain futures. Already Merrin has indicated this year will be his last at the Dragons, and Nightingale and Creagh are off-contract at the end of the season.
Nightingale, 28, is expected to commit to the club beyond this season but following the shock departure of wing partner Brett Morris at the end of last year, the players remain uncertain about their long-term future.
Creagh, who turned 30 earlier this month, wants to extend his stint at the club by at least one season he has watched on as the premiership winning side has been torn apart.
"I would be very disappointed if I wasn't able to get another season at the club," he said.
"In saying that, as long as I'm playing good footy at the start of the year hopefully I'll get another opportunity for next year. If not, that's life. I would love to keep playing for a couple more years.
"I haven't thought about [going elsewhere]. It would be hard for me to do it. Being a Steelers junior and playing all my footy for the Dragons, it would be tough going to another club. I don't want to go anywhere. I want to start and finish my career at this club and hopefully I can do that."
Barring injury, any contract deal would make Creagh go beyond Ben Hornby as the most capped Dragons player. The skipper is 27 games behind his predecessor.
Creagh has delayed his own contract negotiations in the hope of retaining Merrin and Nightingale, and looks to have overcome a long-term knee injury.
"I'm not too worried about the next contract," Creagh said. "I was more worried about Mez [Merrin] and Nighty [Nightingale] and sorting those two guys out because I thought they were a big part of the club's future. Whenever I can sit down with [Dragons recruitment manager] Peter Mulholland and work out mine, I will. I'm in no rush. I'm quite comfortable with where I am.
"My knee is OK. I haven't had the best knee for a long time now. The club has been great. I've managed it fine for a lot of years. I'm not overly concerned about it."
The Dragons have impressed with two strong pre-season performances, including a win against Warrington in the World Club Series.
Creagh pointed to a belief in coach Paul McGregor's philosophies for the improved performances, as the team look to play finals football for the first time since 2011.
"He expects excellence at every training session," Creagh said. "He puts a lot of work away from the training paddock to prepare our sessions and our videos. The guys see that and respect that, and want to give that respect back for the amount of work he puts into us.
"There was lots of belief at the end of last season. Although we didn't get a lot of wins, we competed well in all our games. We played better than we did at the back end than we did at the start."
Creagh picked forwards Mitch Rein, Leeson Ah Mau and Jack De Belin to be among the biggest improvers.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...g-hes-not-shown-the-door-20150228-13rg4v.html
