St George Illawarra captain Ben Creagh has confirmed his status as one of the joint venture’s finest ever players after collecting the Dragons player of the year award a record fourth time on Sunday.
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It leaves Creagh the only four-time winner of the award after previously picking up the same gong in 2007, 2009 and the club’s premiership winning season in 2010.
‘‘It’s a huge honour but also a massive surprise at the same time,’’ Creagh said.
‘‘Guys like Gareth [Widdop], Leeson [Ah Mau] and Gerard Beale were outstanding with the seasons they played, so to be named player of the year is a huge honour and I’m very humbled.’’
In contrast to past seasons as a wide running back-rower, this year’s honour was reward for the skipper’s industrious efforts in the middle of the field after making the switch to the front-row. It was also his first as captain, a role the 29-year-old said he was far more comfortable with after a tough initiation in 2013.
‘‘I think I felt a lot more comfortable being captain compared to last year as a first time skipper.''
‘‘I think I felt a lot more comfortable being captain this year compared to last year as a first time skipper,’’ he said.
‘‘It was a little bit daunting at the start and the season got away from us in 2013, but this year I felt a lot more comfortable in the role and a lot more confident.
‘‘Playing front-row as well, you have to lead the way in the middle which is important.’’
It was another rollercoaster season with the mid-year sacking of former coach Steve Price and the ascension of Paul McGregor to the long-term role. Creagh is confident their rejuvenation under McGregor will continue in 2015.
‘‘We had some dark days there after the losses to the Bulldogs and the Roosters and I think the loss to the Eels was one of the toughest losses of my career at the club,’ Creagh said.
‘‘The club installing Mary [Paul McGregor] as coach for the second half of the season was a bit of a fresh start for the team.
‘‘There were a lot of changes at training and in our game plan and we finished the season off really strong and it give me and the boys a lot of confidence heading into next season.’’
Marquee signing Gareth Widdop certainly proved his value in the eyes of Dragons fans in his debut season for the club, proving the overwhelming choice for Red V Members Player of the Year.
Fullback turned centre Josh Dugan’s stellar season didn’t go unrewarded with the reborn former bad boy selected by the club’s surviving Immortals to receive the Immortals Trophy.
The strong finish to the season from Jack de Belin and Joel Thompson also didn’t go unnoticed with the pair joint recipients of Paul McGregor’s Coach’s Award.
