St George Illawarra cautious of New Zealand Warriors threats

The clash is a crucial match for both sides, with the Dragons reeling after last week’s convincing defeat to the Roosters and the Warriors struggling to remain in the eight.

Dufty said the Dragons are under no illusions about what the Warriors captain can do with ball in hand and his side will be on red alert every time he touches the football. 

“Roger, he’s world class, probably the hardest fullback to contain out of everyone,” Dufty said. “He’s got the best feet in the game.

“You don’t know which way he’s going to go, he can step off both feet, he can go left, right or straight. It’ll be a big challenge on the kick returns this week, that’s for sure, because I think he’s every forward’s nightmare returning the ball.”

The assignment comes after the 22-year-old faced off against NSW and Roosters fullback James Tedesco last weekend. 

Just 26 games into his NRL career, Dufty sees each week as an opportunity to learn from the fullbacks he lines up against. 

And after James Tedesco turned in an outstanding performance featuring two tries and a try assist, there was much to glean from last week’s match. 

The primary lesson Dufty learnt? How hard the best fullbacks work.

“One thing Mary said to me before the game was just try and put in as much work, or outwork, Tedesco this week. That’s all he said to me.

“Usually he comes up with a whole sheet of things to do, but all he said was to outwork Tedesco. Obviously that's a pretty big task. He’s one of the best supporters, one of best ball runners, one of the best at everything in the game.”

The clash with the Warriors always stirs up mixed emotions for Dufty, given he came incredibly close to joining the club in 2016. 

With Tuivasa-Sheck injured and the path to the Dragons number one jersey seemingly blocked by Josh Dugan, Dufty entertained an approach from the Warriors. 

Ultimately Ben Hornby and Paul McGregor had a quiet word in his ear and he stayed with St George Illawarra.

Earlier this year the Dragons made sure the situation would not be repeated, extending Dufty’s contract until the end of the 2019 season.   

 The decision to turn down the Warriors offer is one he has no regrets about. 

“A couple of years ago when Roger did his ACL, I was probably immature and frustrated and talked to the Warriors a bit,” Dufty said of the approach.  

“They were going to fly me over to look at the facilities, but I never went because that’s when Mary and Benny Hornby came up to me and said ‘We don’t want you leaving’. I didn’t want to leave either.

“It’s probably the best call of my life so far. Probably the best decision I made was to stay in the ‘Gong, obviously I’m loving life now.”