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Thompson declares himself a starter
Saturday 2 August 2003, 4:05 PM
St George Illawarra captain Lance Thompson has declared himself a certain starter in the Dragons' must-win National Rugby League showdown with high-flying Penrith.
The Panthers can regain top spot on the competition table if they bounce back from last week's loss to the Sydney Roosters and score a victory over the desperate Dragons at WIN Stadium.
But Thompson will be making his second big sacrifice of the week in his personal quest to help the injury-ravaged Dragons into the playoffs.
The workaholic back rower came through training unscathed and pumped up for a surprise early comeback from a broken foot.
Thompson was expected to be out until the finals after limping off despairingly against South Sydney in round 15.
But with experienced internationals Trent Barrett (ankle, season), Jason Ryles (shoulder, season) and Mark Gasnier (quadriceps) all missing, Thompson saw no alternative than to rush his return.
"I got through(training) allright and I'll definitely be running around out there," Thompson said.
The Dragons' skipper estimates St George Illawarra, currently eighth on four-and-against, needs to win four of its last six games to qualify for the finals.
"That's what the coaching staff have come up with and we'll go along with it," he said.
"Of course we have to go out there tomorrow and put in a good performance, but when it boils down to it we have to win.
"Otherwise the equation is going to get a lot harder and we'd have to win a lot of games against the best teams in the comp."
The Dragons have a horror run home, facing the New Zealand Warriors, Cronulla, Melbourne, Newcastle and Brisbane.
Thompson, 25, earlier this week took a substantial pay cut to allow Gasnier and Test five-eighth Shaun Timmins to remain with the club.
Timmins will be making his 150th first grade appearance against the Panthers.
In tomorrow's other games, the Bulldogs will continue their push for a top-two berth and double chance in the playoffs when they meet struggling Souths at Aussie Stadium and Manly visits Newcastle to take on the Knights.
Saturday 2 August 2003, 4:05 PM
St George Illawarra captain Lance Thompson has declared himself a certain starter in the Dragons' must-win National Rugby League showdown with high-flying Penrith.
The Panthers can regain top spot on the competition table if they bounce back from last week's loss to the Sydney Roosters and score a victory over the desperate Dragons at WIN Stadium.
But Thompson will be making his second big sacrifice of the week in his personal quest to help the injury-ravaged Dragons into the playoffs.
The workaholic back rower came through training unscathed and pumped up for a surprise early comeback from a broken foot.
Thompson was expected to be out until the finals after limping off despairingly against South Sydney in round 15.
But with experienced internationals Trent Barrett (ankle, season), Jason Ryles (shoulder, season) and Mark Gasnier (quadriceps) all missing, Thompson saw no alternative than to rush his return.
"I got through(training) allright and I'll definitely be running around out there," Thompson said.
The Dragons' skipper estimates St George Illawarra, currently eighth on four-and-against, needs to win four of its last six games to qualify for the finals.
"That's what the coaching staff have come up with and we'll go along with it," he said.
"Of course we have to go out there tomorrow and put in a good performance, but when it boils down to it we have to win.
"Otherwise the equation is going to get a lot harder and we'd have to win a lot of games against the best teams in the comp."
The Dragons have a horror run home, facing the New Zealand Warriors, Cronulla, Melbourne, Newcastle and Brisbane.
Thompson, 25, earlier this week took a substantial pay cut to allow Gasnier and Test five-eighth Shaun Timmins to remain with the club.
Timmins will be making his 150th first grade appearance against the Panthers.
In tomorrow's other games, the Bulldogs will continue their push for a top-two berth and double chance in the playoffs when they meet struggling Souths at Aussie Stadium and Manly visits Newcastle to take on the Knights.
