In his first 80 days on the job, Steve Price has kept his side’s plan of attack in-house.
Tonight, St George Illawarra’s rookie coach plans to unveil almost his entire arsenal.
Full coverage of the DragonsFor the first time since Wayne Bennett defected to Newcastle, the Dragons boast a near full-strength line-up for their Perth trial against the Cowboys, with the exception of Jason Nightingale.
And, after giving very little of his strategy away during his opening months as Dragons mentor, Price believes the time is right to unveil sweeping changes to his side’s attack.
‘‘We’ve implemented a few changes, especially offensively, so it’s a great time to be putting those into practice and getting it right for [round one against] the Knights,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re looking at a new combination in the centres and we’ve got a number of new guys we’ve brought into the squad who will get an opportunity through that forward pack.
‘‘There’s a number of positions available from 14 to 17 so those guys will get that opportunity.’’
Throughout the preseason, Price has maintained he would change very little in the team’s international left side, but one man expected to be instrumental in the roll-out of plans is Matt Cooper.
The left centre, who became the cornerstone of the Dragons’ trademark offence under Bennett, believes it will be no-holds barred against the Cowboys.
‘‘It’s been a tough preseason and we’ve done some things that we want to practise out there in the game,’’ Cooper said.
‘‘We want to get a few things right for the season ahead, so I’m pretty excited about getting out there.’’
Similarly, but not surprisingly, North Queensland are using the match as a gauge for many of their unknown quantities.
In the absence of Robert Lui and Johnathan Thurston, coach Neil Henry has opened the door to relative unknowns Michael Morgan and Ray Thompson to partner in the halves.
Henry said there was little time for his side to gel as a playing group and that the Dragons clash would be pivotal heading into the season.
‘‘It’s a good hit-out and we’ve only got a couple of trials leading into the competition,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ll have a look at a few combinations there and hopefully have a good hit-out.
‘‘There’s a fair bit of competition leading into the first [round] game against the Titans.’’
Price has not yet indicated whether Daniel Vidot, who was rushed to Perth on Thursday to quell mounting injury concerns, would even make the park tonight.
Ben Hornby is another expected omission due to injury, despite being named for the match, with Nathan Fien likely to fill the halfback void.
Former Cowboys prop Leeson Ah Mau has also been named to take on his old club for the first time.
‘‘It’s been a positive preseason and the guys are champing at the bit to get out there and implement what we’ve been focusing on,’’ Price said.
‘‘You always want to try and put good systems in place that we’ve focused on this preseason.
‘‘We’ll be going hard; you want to try and get it right for round one.’’
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