RUGBY LEAGUE
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He's seen his fair share of tough footballers in his time, so Dragons coach Paul McGregor's assertion that Wests stalwart Greg Reh is among the toughest holds considerable weight.
McGregor coached Wests to three consecutive Illawarra Coal League premierships from 2009 to 2011 before beginning his climb to the NRL ranks and said the man known as Buster was one of the driving forces.
Reh will go past his father Klaus' mark of 221 first grade games for the Devils on Saturday and McGregor said there was no man more deserving of the honour.
"He's an outstanding man, a better character, and at any level I haven't seen many play tougher," McGregor said.
"Over the period of three years that I was there and we managed to win three premierships, he was the massive influence behind it.
"He's got red and blue running through his veins.
"He was never 100 per cent fit, he was always busted, struggled to get through training but as soon as he crossed that white line he knew what he needed to do to get a result.
"He's a very, very strong individual."
The Devils will be hoping Reh exhibits all those traits at Parrish Park on Saturday as they look to reverse a last-start loss to Thirroul at the same venue last week.
Coach Jason Ryles will be hoping veteran skipper Matt Clarke will return from injury alongside attacking linchpin Daniel Holdsworth to address an injury crisis exacerbated by a the three-week suspension to centre Bronx Goodwin for a high tackle last week.
An injury to Tremaine Jensen leaves Ryles without his first-choice centre pairing though Bart and Zac Hill, who have been named this week, were standouts in the Devils' run to the preliminary final last year.
"DJ will be back for sure and Matty Clarke we'll just monitor," Ryles said.
"We've lost Tremaine and obviously Bronx, so there'll be a bit of a reshuffle there.
"That was Bronx's first week at centre and it was working out to be a really good move.
"It gave us some extra strike on the edge and he was someone we could play to early but unfortunately he copped a guy high and we took the early plea, so we'll get him back before the final."
A loss to Thirroul could see Dapto draw level with Devils in second spot if they can beat Collegians at Dapto on Saturday, making the two points on offer crucial for Ryles' side.
"I can't question the boys' effort, but we're just making far too many errors," Ryles said. "It's something that can be fixed, we're training really well, we just need to start putting it into performances on the field."