KICKOFF: Dragons contemplate Origin drain
Dragons Den News
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: Ben Hornby, Trent Barrett, Matt Cooper, Luke Bailey, Mark Gasnier, Ben Creagh and Jason Ryles were part of a club record contingent of Blues during the the 2005 Origin series. Picture: Ken Robertson
And so it begins. The State of Origin period set to derail the Dragons season.
At least that’s what the red v faithful fear, and rival fans hope. It’s founded on some evidence after witnessing the Dragons fade out of the top eight last season, with only a fraction of rep commitment they’ll no doubt encounter this season.
Heading into Saturday’s one versus two clash with Penrith, the Dragons have seven players in legitimate contention for selection.
Should they all earn Origin call-ups it would equal the club record seven players who took part in the 2005 series. The Dragons also contributed six players in 2004 and five in 2006.
They reached the prelim final in two of those three seasons but Mark Gasnier, who played in five series during his career, recalls his final campaign in 2011 being the toughest.
A year after claiming the 2010 crown, Wayne Bennett's side had six players involved, including debutants Jamie Soward and Trent Merrin, while Beau Scott was yet to play a full series.
The Dragons won 10 of 11 games to start that year before hitting the Origin period. The ultimately won three of their last 11 before being bundled out of the finals in straight sets.
A heavy representative toll played no small part in the limp to the finish line according to Gasnier.
“When you go back to 2004-2005 and even 06, a lot of our guys who played Origin had played eight or nine Origins at that stage,” Gasnier told Kickoff this week.
“You look at 2011, we didn’t handle it that well. We got a lot of players in, debutants to, and that’s the big difference.
“There’s a difference between getting a lot of players in Origin that have played it a lot, and a lot of players that are playing their first series. You’re first series drains you physically and mentally like you’ve never been drained before.
“That’s main thing Mary [Paul McGregor] will want to handle because the only guy you could classify as having a lot of experience is Tyson Frizell.
“For a lot of the other guys it’ll be relatively new to them, if they are to get as many picked as people think.”
What also plays in the club’s favour is a relatively friendly draw. They will be one of eight teams with a bye next week and will have five days to recover ahead of their round 14 clash with the Bulldogs.
Origin II will be played on a standalone weekend for the first time this season, though they’ll play the Eels four days later, presumably with Gareth Widdop and James Graham backing from Denver Test duty with England.
They’ll have to go without their Origin contingent for their round 17 clash with Melbourne ahead of game three – the only time rep stars will be flat-out unavailable for selection – before playing the Tigers in Wollongong in round 18.
It’s a tough stretch no doubt, but manageable. The proof will ultimately be in the pudding, but the Dragons have certainly put themselves in a strong position, particularly if they can knock of Penrith for a 10-2 start to the season.
It would give McGregor the option of resting players, something that wasn’t a common occurrence in Gasnier’s day.
“Back then there wasn’t too much compensation from coaches,” Gasnier said.
“You were more judged on how you backed up rather than getting a rest but I think we’ve come a long way in that regard.
“If you’re up the top of the table you’ve got the luxury of resting players during the Origin period which makes a big difference.
“If they win on Saturday night, they could potentially be four points clear at the top of the ladder so that’s a good buffer to have. They’ve got the standalone weekend and the bye so I think the draw’s been good to them.
“Knowing Mary the way I do, he’ll have a back up plan to a back up plan to a back up plan. It’s a situation he’ll need to handle, but it’ll be well thought out no doubt.”
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5426368/kickoff-dragons-contemplate-origin-drain/?cs=3713
