RUGBY LEAGUE
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While most of the Dragons squad would happily forget all about the Burgess brothers following their Charity Shield loss, firebrand prop Jack de Belin is already eyeing off a rematch with the vaunted South Sydney forward pack.
While he'll have to wait until round five in April for another shot at the Rabbitohs, de Belin said the pre-season match up was the perfect audition as he seeks to establish himself as the Dragons number one prop.
"They're [Burgess brothers] humungous, they've got 20 kilos on me so I feel like a little boy out there, " de Belin joked.
"But I know how to play the game and so do they.
"I don't necessarily take it as personal challenge, it's just a part of the job, but I definitely try to step it up [against them].
"I wouldn't say we play the same style of game as they do but I think next time we play them we can get over them."
Jokes aside, de Belin admitted the Charity Shield was stark reminder of what's required to compete with the NRL's top sides.
"At the start of the game I don't think we were ready for the onslaught," de Belin said.
"They're a big pack and we definitely didn't meet them halfway, they put it over us early.
"I think towards the back end of the game we've got good conditioning and we came home strong but that's not where you win the game."
De Belin said the Dragons can't afford a similarly slow start in their round clash with the Wests Tigers next Sunday.
"It was a great reality check in hindsight," he said.
"We really needed it and it's a good head-check to see where we're at and I think it brought a few of us back to earth and made us realise a lot needs to be done before round one."
With the ink barely dry on a three-year contract extension the 22-year-old has been one of the Dragons pre-season standouts and, after starting last season with the Illawarra Cutters, has emerged as Steve Price's first choice up front.