Dragons Skipper In 2013

[Hutty1986]

Really happy with this decision. Hopefully Benny has a big season after a relatively quiet 2012

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Play him at lock.

 

[RedVDave]

No shock for mine really, also get the feeling he loves the extra responsibility like in 2007 when he was a complete beast, will be out #13 as well for mine.

 

[st.phil]

Play him at lock.

Why?

 

[Mr Red]

Really happy with this decision. Hopefully Benny has a big season after a relatively quiet 2012

agree 2012 wasnt a good year for him, but i think he was quiet last season due to Price screwing up the attack and swapping Hornby and Soward to opposite sides of the field.. Creagh and Soward didnt gel at all....
i saw an improvement in Creaghs form the last month of the season when Hornby was moved back to the left side..

Price = FAIL

 

[blacksafake]

Creagh for me he does a lot of the talking before games anyway,and i think he would be a do as i do, not say capt.It may also bring some anger out in him which he needs at times.For those that question his toughness i'd like to see you get hit as hard as often as he does & still play plenty of minutes.

 

[MattYg1]

There will be something a little more inspiring knowing its your Captain leading the song in the sheds after a good win too...

 

[bottle]

Creagh for me he does a lot of the talking before games anyway,and i think he would be a do as i do, not say capt.It may also bring some anger out in him which he needs at times.For those that question his toughness i'd like to see you get hit as hard as often as he does & still play plenty of minutes.

Mate only a complete dumbf**k would question the toughness of any NRL player, seriously (and I even include Timmy Loltzen in that as well). It's a tough ask to go out and get belted time and again when you're a big bloke, tougher again when you're a small bloke. Kudos to the lot of 'em for fronting up week after week and providing us with the game we love.

On Benny, I don't question his deservedness, he is a Rugby League player to his marrow. Keeps taking it up to them and works himself ragged defensively. He hasn't blossomed into the player I thought he'd become, but that's more my issue than his.

Never let's himself get sidetracked by the niggle and shit that distracts some players from time to time, always has his mind and focus on the job. Always there for his mates, even the whole overblown saga with Hodges was initiated in the first place because Benny was the first one in to stop his captain getting monstered. What followed was as much a matter of circumstance as cognitive action.

The points above are leadership skills in action no doubt. He also interviews well, and I expect he will get on well with the refs. However I wonder about him as an 'inspirational' leader. I don't see him pulling out the big plays to get his team up. I hope I'm a squillion percent wrong and he is a revelation with the (C) next to his name.

 

[hermidale1]

As a captain, it's not the pulling out the big plays to win the game that counts to most players. It is a bonus if you have a captain who can do that, but sometimes that can become a reason to be complacent. But if you have a captain who gets in and does the hit ups, and pulls off countless tackles, that is the sort of captain that leads the team, especially in the hard fought games when there isn't much in it. As the saying goes, forwards win games and backs score tries. I think Ben Creagh is a great choice and will be a good leader. It will make him more determined to go harder.

 

[_Johnsy]

Creagh then daylight

 

[RedVDave]

So I pose this question to all of you in abscence of Creagh, when unavailable for selection who would you all like to see handed the captaincy?

I vote Soward personally.

 

[watatank]

Nightingale or Cooper.

 

[Ace-STi]

I think cooper will retire soon, surely would have made a short term solution but that's it

 

[counterpuncher]

Slightly sideways from topic...


Can anything be read into the 5 players fronting the "March with Us" Red V campaign (Creagh, Hunt, Moz, Horse and Nighty)? Is this also a pseudo leadership group or just the usual high-profile player grouping for advertising purposes?


Just seemed unusual to me that Hunt got a run ahead of Merrin, Soward or Cooper. Definitely a less photogenic option!

 

[bottle]

Slightly sideways from topic...


Can anything be read into the 5 players fronting the "March with Us" Red V campaign (Creagh, Hunt, Moz, Horse and Nighty)? Is this also a pseudo leadership group or just the usual high-profile player grouping for advertising purposes?


Just seemed unusual to me that Hunt got a run ahead of Merrin, Soward or Cooper. Definitely a less photogenic option!

The conspiracy theorists will tell you it's because they're leaving the club soon.

Maybe they were on hols when the pics were snapped. Hunt does have a melon only a mother could love though.

 

[nrlnrl]

I've been told by a friend with contacts at the club that there's a press conference tomorrow morning at 11 to announce a club sponsorship & also the leadership for 2013. ( their words, not mine )

 

[Elias1983]

Ben Creagh it is...well deserved IMO
Creagh Named Club Captain For 2013









The St George Illawarra Dragons have officially announced on Wednesday local junior Ben Creagh as Club Captain for the upcoming 2013 season.
The University of Wollongong junior made his debut for the Red-and-Whites against the New Zealand Warriors in round 23 of the 2003 campaign and has 10 years of first-grade experience under his belt.
The Australia and NSW Blues representative made his 200th first-grade appearance for the Dragons against the Parramatta Eels during the final competition round of last season.
Creagh, 27, was joined for the announcement by teammates Matt Cooper, Nathan Fien, Dan Hunt, Brett Morris, Jason Nightingale, Jamie Soward and Michael Weyman as well as former Club Captains Graeme Langlands, Steve Edge, Craig Young, Brian Johnston, John Dorahy, Michael Bolt, Paul McGregor and Ben Hornby.
“It is an honour and a privilege to be handed the responsibility of leading the Dragons next season,” said Creagh.
“This Club has a proud history with traditions that I am very respectful of and will continue to follow.
“I am thankful to Steve Price for this opportunity and to be here today with my senior team mates and former Club Captains is very special and I am very thankful to them for coming here in support of me today.
“It is humbling to know that my childhood dream of leading the Club has come true being a local junior from the Illawarra and it is something I will cherish forever.
Creagh has won several pieces of silverware during his service to the Club including a Premiership (2010) as well as a World Club Challenge (2011).
Furthermore, he has been named the Dragons ‘Player of the Year’ thrice in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
“It is important that the new Club captain leads by example not only on the football field but off it as well and Ben definitely fits this criteria,” said Price.
“I have known him for several years and he is a person who goes above and beyond what is required of him and is an inspiration for other players.
“I look forward to working alongside both him and the Leadership Group as we all prepare for the new season.”
Creagh made 22-appearances for the Dragons last season and tallied seven tries as well as 519 tackles in the process.
He was rewarded for his fine form last season with selection to all three of New South Wales’ State of Origin fixtures.
The second-rower has represented NSW seven times in total between 2009-12 as well as representing Australia twice.
“We are all delighted by the appointment of Ben as our new Club captain and all know he will lead this Club by example,” said Dragons CEO Peter Doust.
“Ben is a quality individual who always represents the Club with distinction and is a very popular choice amongst his peers and the entire Dragons staff.”

http://www.dragons.com.au/news-display/Creagh-Named-Reach-Named-Club-Captain-For-2013/66088

 

[Godz Illa]

Well deserved, he was the logical choice. All the way with Benny Creagh

 

[Slippery Morris]

Good long term choice as he will be with the club for a few years. Cooper would have been ideal but with 1 year left not a logical choice.

Good luck Benny, hope you can finish your first season as Capt with a Grand Final victory.

 

[hardbaby]

Good choice. Creagh cops a bit. People still haven't forgiven him for backing away from Hodges in Origin. But the fact is he is super tough. He just doesn't express his anger in that manner. Probably a good thing in a captain. He is an inspiration to his side. I expect the captaincy to bring out his best footy. He represents the core values of the Dragons on and off the field. And he is a red head. If it's good enough for Australia, it's good enough for the Dragons. Now all he needs to do is smash Hodges and dispel the myth. That would be a statement of intent that is well worth making.