"He's got the athletic prowess of a god."
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In an up and down season for St George Illawarra, one shining light for the fans has been Zac Lomax's form.
The 20-year-old has found his feet in the centres this year, scoring eight tries and forming a dangerous combination with Dragons fullback Matt Dufty. He also sits third on the NRL's point-scorer list with 104 points.
Those achievements haven't unnoticed by teammate Jordan Pereira.
Pereira has retained his spot for Thursday night's clash with the Roosters following a selection bombshell by coach Paul McGregor on Tuesday. Corey Norman has been dropped, with McGregor opting for Ben Hunt to shift to five-eighth alongside the returning Adam Clune.
However, Pereira believes it's Lomax who shapes as the key against the two-time reigning premier.
"I've got a feeling that he's in for a big one. He's high on confidence and he's playing really good football," the Dragons winger said.
"Coming on the back of what Dufty is creating, he gets to the three-man really well and that makes it hard for the winger to make a decision whether to come in on Zac or stay on his opponent, and that gives Dufty the option to hit Zac or hit the winger and he's icing that decision pretty well."
When asked what had been the secret to Lomax's form, Pereira believes it comes down to confidence.
"I think when he came into the competition he was very young. I wouldn't say he was timid, but it is definitely a daunting experience playing NRL," Pereira said.
"I debuted at 24, I was older, but still having that new feeling is definitely intimidating. But he's grown a lot, he's just grown up and he's confident. He's realised that he's got the athletic prowess of a god. He's just strong, fast and he's a big human. He's doing really well."
The Dragons and Roosters will compete for the Anzac Day Cup this week. Pereira played his first Anzac Day clash last year, which the Roosters won by 20-10.
Things will look a bit different this time around.
Instead of playing in front of packed Sydney Cricket Ground crowd, there will be a couple of thousand supporters at WIN Stadium due to COVID restrictions.
However, Pereira can't wait for the challenge.
"I think I've been part of one Anzac game and it was one of those things that I'll never forget. The environment that it brought was really special," he said.
"I think I'm one of the only Kiwis in the team this year with 'Bully' [Isaac Luke] leaving. It's going to be a little different, but it's good that it will be acknowledged and we get to have a run around it."