Sims embracing engine room switch

Sims has spent the bulk of his career with North Queensland and Newcastle as an edge back-rower but was thrown right into the front-row furnace by McGregor in his first game for the club against Melbourne in round 15, a game the Dragons won 20-10.  The 26-year-old has been used primarily as an interchange weapon in his six games since and showed his true value in the role against Cronulla on Saturday with 13 carries for 127 metres, five tackle busts and two key tries in the second half.

With rep duo Tyson Frizell and Joel Thompson McGregor’s preferred edge paring, Sims’ immediate future looks to be in the middle unit.

“Tariq’s been really good for us since he’s been here. He’s played a bit of back-row and middle but I think going forward he’s definitely a middle player,” McGregor said.

“He’s just growing each week and [against Cronulla] as soon as he came on he made and immediate impact. That’s what you want for a player of his capabilities coming off the interchange and he played long minutes there.”

It’s a role Sims is embracing after making a mid-season switch from the Knights to get an early start on a three-year deal that will keep him at the dragons until the end of 2019.

“It’s definitely been a new role for me,” Sims said.

“I’d played my whole career, 99 games, in the back row and then when I came here my first game was in the middle against Melbourne and everyone knows how strong they are. 

“It was a steep learning curve learning the ropes and learning when to inject myself into the game but the physicality in the middle is great. 

“I’d love to go back out on the edge if needed but I’m really enjoying the challenge of plugging up the middle and trying to do a job for the boys. 

“Mary’s great at challenging individuals and he challenged me through the week and I like to think I responded the way that he wanted me to. We definitely looked a ourselves in the mirror during the week and I'm glad we really got up for that game.  

“You look at the Sharks squad they’ve got talent right across the board from the outside backs to their middles and their punch off the bench.

“Man to man we really had to stand up and take onus on our positions and not take a backward step and we did that.”

Sims addressed the media post-match with a moon boot on his left ankle but was confident it won’t keep him out for any long stretch.

“It’s really good, it’s a just a rolled ankle,” he said.