IS Josh Dugan worth a million dollars a season?
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It’s a question that’s still up for debate, but you certainly can’t accuse him of shying away from the clutch moments in a game. The last seven minutes of Tuesday’s Anzac Day clash were classic Dugan.
After returning from an HIA for the final seven minutes, he put a short line drop-out out on the full, gifting the Roosters a six-point lead with four minutes left. It was an attempt at a big play that didn’t come off.
It might have prompted a mentally weaker individual to go into their shell but when Nene MacDonald scored with 90 seconds left on the clock, Dugan couldn’t get his hands on the ball quick enough.
He’s a casual goal-kicker, part-timer at best, but with regular kicker Gareth Widdop off the field, Dugan knew it fell to him. He didn’t need to wait around for instruction, or be jostled toward the waiting tee.
In the press box, a media colleague asked Kickoff: “do you back him in.”
Our answer: “Absolutely. But it doesn’t matter if I do or don’t, I can tell you for a fact that Duges is 100 per cent certain that it’s going through the posts.”
He was right. They were two big moments, two very different outcomes, but the good players are willing to live and die by them.