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ST GEORGE Illawarra five-eighth Jamie Soward is under pressure to hold his place in the team after missing almost twice as many tackles as he made against Melbourne in Friday night's season opener.
Soward was tormented by Storm superstar Greg Inglis, with statistics showing the Dragons pivot missed eight tackles and made only five in a worrying start to the season.
While the Dragons' effort under new coach Wayne Bennett was outstanding, the one question mark is whether the side can carry an obvious target like Soward.
Outspoken former Test forward Mark Geyer yesterday called for Soward to be dumped.
"Unfortunately for the Dragons they've got an achilles heel in the player who wears the No6 - his name's Jamie Soward,'' Geyer said on on Triple M's Dead Set Legends sports program.
"He's going to be targeted every game ... Greg Inglis walked over him like a speed hump.
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"Even though Inglis has put on a lot of bulk, as a first-grade defender you can't miss tackles on your line like that. You've got to put your body on the line.
"I'd be putting Dean Young at five-eighth with Luke Priddis at hooker.''
There is no questioning Soward's ball-playing ability or astute kicking game, but he is a target on the Dragons' right-edge defence.
Tipping the scales at 88kg and standing 179cm, Soward was brushed aside with disdain by Inglis when Melbourne posted their opening try.
Despite the disappointing defensive statistics, Soward found an ally in league Immortal Graeme Langlands, who said calls for the five-eighth's head after one round were premature.
"I thought the whole side went really well and I must say I'm a fan of Soward,'' Langlands said.
"He should have been in the team during the finals last year instead of the other bloke Brown played.
"I thought on the whole they were all having a big go, and I don't think you can bag Soward or write him off after one game.
"It's a bit early for that.
"Hopefully the whole side is going to get better as the comp goes on. From everything I hear about Bennett, he seems to know what he's doing and having them headed in the right direction.''
In terms of options in the halves, Bennett's cupboard appears relatively bare. Mathew Head trialled strongly and is waiting for his opportunity.
But if you pick Head, you have to move captain Ben Hornby from halfback to five-eighth.
Soward was tormented by Storm superstar Greg Inglis, with statistics showing the Dragons pivot missed eight tackles and made only five in a worrying start to the season.
While the Dragons' effort under new coach Wayne Bennett was outstanding, the one question mark is whether the side can carry an obvious target like Soward.
Outspoken former Test forward Mark Geyer yesterday called for Soward to be dumped.
"Unfortunately for the Dragons they've got an achilles heel in the player who wears the No6 - his name's Jamie Soward,'' Geyer said on on Triple M's Dead Set Legends sports program.
"He's going to be targeted every game ... Greg Inglis walked over him like a speed hump.
Related Links
* Match report: Storm v Dragons
* NRL change: dual refs gets thumbs up
"Even though Inglis has put on a lot of bulk, as a first-grade defender you can't miss tackles on your line like that. You've got to put your body on the line.
"I'd be putting Dean Young at five-eighth with Luke Priddis at hooker.''
There is no questioning Soward's ball-playing ability or astute kicking game, but he is a target on the Dragons' right-edge defence.
Tipping the scales at 88kg and standing 179cm, Soward was brushed aside with disdain by Inglis when Melbourne posted their opening try.
Despite the disappointing defensive statistics, Soward found an ally in league Immortal Graeme Langlands, who said calls for the five-eighth's head after one round were premature.
"I thought the whole side went really well and I must say I'm a fan of Soward,'' Langlands said.
"He should have been in the team during the finals last year instead of the other bloke Brown played.
"I thought on the whole they were all having a big go, and I don't think you can bag Soward or write him off after one game.
"It's a bit early for that.
"Hopefully the whole side is going to get better as the comp goes on. From everything I hear about Bennett, he seems to know what he's doing and having them headed in the right direction.''
In terms of options in the halves, Bennett's cupboard appears relatively bare. Mathew Head trialled strongly and is waiting for his opportunity.
But if you pick Head, you have to move captain Ben Hornby from halfback to five-eighth.
He missed a tackle on Colin Best, no player did that last season
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