HE left Melbourne to take charge of a new club but Dragons captain Gareth Widdop has perhaps got more than he bargained for in 2016.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Dragons have slumped to 11th on the ladder after three straight losses and, with six games remaining, are at risk of missing the finals for the fourth time in five seasons.
The club’s woes deepened on Tuesday with Tim Lafai and Siliva Havili stood down by the club after being charged by police after a drunken night out that ended just 11 hours before their loss to the Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Chief executive Peter Doust and coach Paul McGregor remain under fire while Widdop, along with halves partner Benji Marshall, has also copped the brunt of criticism for the Dragons misfiring attack.
It prompted Canterbury captain and England teammate James Graham to leap to his defence this week ahead of their clash on Friday night but Widdop conceded the criticism “comes with the territory.”
“James is a good friend and he’s probably been in situations as captain where he's been scrutinised before,’ Widdop said.
“If you play in the halves and you’re the captain of a club, especially such a big club, when things aren’t going your way your going to get the front of [criticism]. That’s the territory you have to deal with and I’d rather be in this position, captain of a club, than go through my career as a Joe Blow.
“It’s a learning curve I guess and you’ve just got to keep learning from these experiences and hope it makes you a better person.
“Everyone knows it’s out there, you can’t hide away from it, but at the end of the day everyone’s going to have their own opinions. They’re more than welcome to that.
“Internally, we’re as one and as players and coaches all that matters is our opinions of each other not what people say [from the] outside. As long as we’re honest with each other...that’s all we can do.”
Widdop made his first grade debut in Melbourne in 2010, the year they were stripped of two premierships and forced to play for no points. While the Dragons current predicament is no where near as dire, Widdop said the experience proved a valuable lesson.
“That was my first year in the top grade and that was a big eye-opener to see what those guys went through,” Widdop said.
“I learned a hell of lot down there seeing how the boys went about things. That was a lot worse [situation] than where we are. We’re just outside the top eight, we haven’t been stripped of everything we’ve worked for for 10 years.
“It’s just about sticking together as one, working hard and not shying away from challenges. That’s the only way you can get out of it, not pointing fingers.
“At the end of the day we can still play finals football. You’ve just got to be honest as group with where we’re at and where we want to go.
“You go through things like this and no doubt we’ll come out the other end and be better for it.”