Jamie Soward the talking point

By Tim Barrow
Updated November 5 2012 - 8:44pm, first published May 28 2009 - 11:14am
Jamie Soward in action. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
Jamie Soward in action. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Dragons playmaker Jamie Soward is yelling, pointing, even screaming.The urgency in his voice is clear.The words coming from Soward's mouth are probably the best indication of the five-eighth's development this year.

  • For full coverage of tonight's Dragons-Panthers clash, visit illawarramercury.com.au after 9.30pmHe may be the smallest man in the Dragons' squad, but he is emerging as a genuine leader.Soward, criticised for being bulldozed by Queensland and Melbourne colossus Greg Inglis in round one, is now taking matters into his own hands.As the Dragons run through defensive drills at WIN Stadium, he calls for his inside tacklers to cut the ball-runner down."Legs ... legs," he screams, his voice clearly audible over any of his team-mates.Minutes later he's pointing, demanding his big forwards run the right lines as they practise running sets of six downfield.When a ball is spilled during ball work, it's Soward who retrieves it and sprints back to the original mark to do it all again, making sure they get it right this time.This is the new Soward, maturing and confident.After a couple of years of false starts in his career, the 24-year-old is accepting his responsibilities and then some."I've only played 60 games and I've sort of had to step up this year and be dominant and be vocal," he said."Me and Benny Hornby are working well on that, it's sort of 50-50 on that and the skipper, he's been letting me have my input."I think that's really important for my game, so I can get my thoughts out there so everyone knows what I'm thinking."And Benny's good with that, he encourages that."We've found that right balance and blokes are responding."Much has been written about Soward's impressive form this season - his blistering pace, that booming long kicking game, the lethal chip and chase which again set up a try against the Sharks on Saturday.But now Soward is facing his biggest test, without the star State of Origin quartet - NSW representatives Justin Poore, Michael Weyman and Ben Creagh, and Queensland's Darius Boyd - around him.Because much of Soward's success this year has stemmed from the go-forward provided by Weyman and Poore.That job will be left to understudies Dan Hunt, Mickey Paea and Jon Green, as well as Jarrod Saffy, who returns from a sternum injury, against Penrith at WIN Stadium tonight."Dan Hunt, Mickey Paea, Jarrod Saffy, they're getting a start and they're not going to let us down at all," Soward said. "And you've got a couple of big boppers on the bench like Jon Green."We haven't changed (game plan) all year ... the blokes coming in know the system, we shouldn't have a problem."
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