Dugan said from the time McGregor first floated the idea of switching, he had been determined to see out the year at centre ? something that seems even more likely with the recent and desperately unlucky season-ending pectoral injury to Farrell.
?Adam Quinlan's playing some great footy for us at the back and I don't think my form's been too bad or warrants being changed,? Dugan said.
?I was always expecting, as long as my form was OK and the team was going alright, to finish off the year at centre. ?I'm always going to keep trying to improve, I've been working with Coops and Mary just to try to get a few tips and pointers every week for things I can improve on but I'm definitely looking forward to sticking out the year there and coming in to pre-season for next year and seeing what the plan is.?
Like Gasnier and Cooper before him, Dugan has been defending two-in, rather than next to the winger, and he said that has actually been an easier adjustment positionally despite the higher number of tackles. ?I think when you first get in and know a position, especially at centre, it's easier to defend at three-man because you know you've got the lead runner and you can double-d and push out. I think that was the main reason for me starting at three-man but it seems to be working so I don't think it will change.?
Dugan said there were no specific personal goals he could elaborate on other than a continual focus on learning and improvement. ?Mainly week-in week-out I try and get a few touches, get involved and make sure my D [defence] is OK. ?There were a few hiccups [in the 21-12 loss to Manly in Round 19] as a whole on the right edge, but we've fixed that up and again, we've been defending pretty well since I made the shift so I don't think we're going to get too down on ourselves after one bad game but we'll just keep trying to improve every game.? He said the team overall has been playing with plenty of confidence since McGregor took over.
?We've been playing some pretty good footy over the last few weeks. As long as we keep improving, which is what we've been trying to do, I think we could be a good chance of getting a win [against the Roosters]. ?The two points this weekend would put us right up in the mix for the top eight. A lot of the boys are confident we'll be there in September but we've got to win those tight, tough games and this weekend is one of them. ?The boys are real tight at the moment and real confident as well, so as long as we keep putting good performances on the board we'll definitely be a shot of being there in the back end of the year.
?Mary's brought in a lot of confidence, everyone's loving playing under his structures and his philosophy. His game plans seem to be working as well. The last few weeks our combinations have been right on point and we've been putting some tries on and getting away with the wins.? He describes McGregor as a perfectionist, and a straight shooter. ?Since he's taken over he says it how it is and that's what everyone expects from him. If you're playing well and doing the right things he'll let you know, but if you're not doing the right things, or have a stuff up he'll let you know as well. He puts it on you to improve and if you don't you know you're not going to be there week in week out.?
http://www.nrl.com/centre-legacy-not-lost-on-dugan/tabid/10874/newsid/80697/default.aspx
The push for Mary to be appointed head coach is growing stronger each week. To me it looks like key players, Board members and sports reporters are on board Doust's plan to appoint Mary as head coach.
