Joel Thompson not phased by Knights' tactics
By MITCH JENNINGS
April 1, 2015, 8:23 p.m.
RUGBY LEAGUE
They will be foes on Saturday but Knights enforcer Beau Scott has found an unlikely ally in Dragons hard-man Joel Thompson.
The Knights have made no secret of their plan to pressure opposing halves in their 4-0 start to the season, with Scott in particular attracting criticism for some late challenges on Cowboys superstar Jonathan Thurston in round two. He continued the assault against Penrith last week, with Peter Wallace the main target.
The Knights pack will be boosted this week by the inclusion of another firebrand in Tariq Sims, who will play his first game for the club after serving a lengthy suspension.
Sims said this week that he has Dragons half Benji Marshall in his sights as the competition leaders look to continue the tactic of rattling key players.
The tactics have seen the Knights labelled a dirty team but Thompson, who will directly oppose Scott on Saturday in a mouth-watering battle, said the claims are exaggerated.
"It's got to be played fair but I think that's their style of play," Thompson said.
"I think it's been blown out of proportion a little bit by the media who've put that bad light on them.
"Because it was on Jonathan Thurston, I guess, it got a bit more attention but really they're just doing their job."
Asked about his own battle with Scott on Saturday, Thompson said: "Beau Scott's one of the best back-rowers in the game and I always look forward to the challenge of playing against quality players. It'll be no different coming up against him.
"It's a great challenge for us again. For me and for all the players there's going to be great individual match-ups and we're looking forward to it."
Thompson will go into the game playing the most consistent football of his career and has not missed a minute of game time since round 11 last year.
He's run for more than 100 metres in all four of the matches so far this year. It's prompted coach Paul McGregor to suggest representative football is not beyond him, but Thompson said he hasn't let thoughts of a rep call-up enter his mind.
"I'm just focused on what I need to do best for the team," Thompson said.
There's a lot of quality players around and it's up to the selectors who they go with. As long as I'm putting in my best performance, that's all I'm focused on."
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2986102/dragons-hardman-ok-with-beau-scotts-antics/?cs=2382
