Josh Papalii may be the man of the moment in Canberra but South Sydney winger Nathan Merritt is more concerned with the threat of star fullback Josh Dugan in Saturday’s NRL semi-final at ANZ Stadium.
Dugan’s return following an injury-ravaged campaign has coincided with a storming run to the finals for David Furner’s men, who beat Cronulla 36-16 in last Sunday’s elimination final.
Furner was under huge pressure with his side sitting in 13th spot when Dugan made his comeback in round 20, inspiring the team to a 36-4 win over the Sharks.
That kick-started a run of seven wins in eight games to propel the Raiders to a sixth-place finish.
“He is a top, top player – and easily one the best fullbacks in the game,” Merritt told AAP.
“He’s very quick, is a great defender and a real threat to us. He’s missed a lot of games because of injuries, but is a key player for Canberra and a big part of their game plan.”
Merritt will remain on the wing on Saturday after Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire resisted the temptation to move Greg Inglis to the centres to cope with the loss of Matt King to a broken arm.
Winger Andrew Everingham has been named in the centres to replace King, but Furner has made contingency plans in case Maguire opts to go for Chris McQueen’s greater defensive qualities.
“Last time we played them Everingham went into their right centre and Dylan Farrell went into their left, so we’re preparing for that,” Furner said.
“But a simple scenario would be putting McQueen where King was. We’re expecting both.
“For a number of weeks, where teams have speculation about injuries, I say to the players, ‘just wait until the day and we’ll handle it'”.
Souths cruised to an 36-18 win when the sides last met at ANZ Stadium in round 12 and have prevailed in the past three encounters between them – scoring 109 points in the process.
However, Furner denied his side would have any psychological scars ahead of the game.
“We’re a more confident side,” he said.
“We probably didn’t handle their middle too well the last time we played them.
“We handed over some pretty cheap possession. Semi-final football, regardless of which team you play, is about completions and possession.”
While Souths have lost King, the Raiders have suffered a more serious blow with goalkicking centre Jarrod Croker sidelined with a fractured cheekbone.
And the coach is still undecided who’ll take over the kicking duties with Dugan and Reece Robinson auditioning for the job this week.
“It’s between Dugan and Robinson and it’s just converting it from the training park to the game. I’ll settle on that tomorrow (Saturday).
“I think both of them will handle the occasion.”
