Wests Tigers have a simple strategy for dealing with Josh Dugan in his debut role as Canberra’s chief playmaker: run him ragged.
The fullback-turned-five-eighth will have a target on his head when he runs out for the NRL clash at Canberra Stadium on Saturday, with Tigers coach Tim Sheens acknowledging Dugan’s star power – while untested in the halves – always deserves attention.
Dugan’s only previous experience at No.6 was in the juniors, but everyone at the Raiders has backed the 22-year-old’s abilities to make it a seamless transition.
The Tigers, on the hunt for their sixth win on the trot, have promised to turn up the heat.
“It might be hard to target him in defence,” captain Robbie Farah said.
“But if we can send some traffic his way to try and burn him up and make him work, he might be less effective with the ball and that would be an advantage for us.
“He has been out (last week) so, fitness-wise, I’m not so sure how he is going to handle it.”
Dugan was stood down along with winger Blake Ferguson ahead of last week’s South Sydney match, which the Raiders lost 36-18.
Reece Robinson did enough in an emphatic return at fullback to convince coach David Furner to risk moving Dugan to No.6, while Ferguson’s shift to the centres follows strong form from wing novices Edrick Lee and Dimitri Pelo.
Assistant Raiders coach Justin Morgan has warned fans not to expect too much from Dugan in his first outing.
“We know that it’s not going to be something that he’s going to master in a number of weeks. It’s going to be a number of months before he masters his position, but he certainly has the attributes to be a good five-eighth,” Morgan said.
“His defensive capabilities are there – it’s the repeat efforts that are going to have to happen.”
The Raiders have proven to be their own worst enemy this season. Most recently against the Rabbitohs, they were severely punished for brief lapses in concentration.
“We’ve been showing in patches how well we can play,” said captain David Shillington.
“It makes it really frustrating to see us play for 20 minutes and pull teams apart but then take the foot off the gas and let teams back in.”
The Raiders took the honours 30-16 when the two sides met at Campbelltown in round four, but that came in the middle of a foreboding five-match losing streak for the Tigers, which they have since turned around.
