Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk says he completely supports the NRL's tough stance in relation to matters which involve violence against women. Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk says he completely supports the NRL's tough stance in relation to matters which involve violence against women.... South Sydney appear to have uncovered a gem in Corey Allan with the young gun scoring a hat-trick in the Rabbitohs’ 36-24 Charity Shield win over a besieged St George Illawarra. All eyes were on the Dragons this week after lock Jack de Belin was stood down indefinitely by the NRL. And Paul McGregor’s men showed plenty of promise against a near full-strength Rabbitohs, with Tariq Sims and Gareth Widdop standing out on Saturday night at Glen Willow Stadium in Mudgee. Tyson Frizell — moved from the back row into de Belin’s No.13 spot — was also busy with 89 metres and 20 tackles. Widdop looked scratchy wearing the No.1 against Newcastle the week prior, however showed great promise in his new role against the Rabbitohs, chiming in when needed but he let Corey Norman and Ben Hunt run the show. However, he did drop a high ball midway through the second half which led to Allan grabbing his third try the next set. After making the move from Brisbane to the Rabbitohs in the off-season, Allan, 20, crossed for a first-half double to all but lock himself in for a round-one wing spot. Having been earmarked as the Rabbitohs’ long-term No.1, he looks set to receive his NRL debut against the Sydney Roosters on the left flank. He was the beneficiary when the Rabbitohs opened up a giant overlap in the sixth minute and showed great strength and presence to tip-toe down the sideline thanks to a deft bat-on from John Sutton in the 23rd minute. Two Tim Lafai tries in three minutes just before halftime gave the Dragons an 18-16 lead at the break. After a breakout 2018, Rabbitohs dummy-half Damien Cook looked poised to take his game to another level this year as he took on a lion’s share of the kicking duties with Adam Reynolds sitting on the sidelines. His 40-20 — which trickled over the sideline two metres out from the Dragons’ line — led to Cameron Murray crashing over under the posts to make it 28-18. Sims capped his outstanding display (124 metres, 21 tackles, one try assist) when he went over off a neat cut-out face ball from Norman.<doc-sep>There’s just one more piece of the puzzle left to fit for St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor ahead of Round 1 in two weeks’ time. Saturday night’s Charity Shield in Mudgee answered some questions for the Dragons but their right centre-wing combination remains up in the air. There’s three players vying for the two spots and McGregor has an idea who he wants to fill them, but admits he needs to make a final decision within the week. He wants to make a decision as early as possible, so as to get a full week of preparation in before taking on North Queensland in Townsville on March 16. “It gave me a little bit of clarity where I’m going to go next week, yes,” McGregor said post-game. “To back that up I’ll watch a lot of footage, talk to my leaders, other coaches and we’ll go from there.” Every game of every round of the NRL LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. Get it all on Foxtel. The three players in question are Euan Aitken, Zac Lomax, and Mikaele Ravalawa. Aitken is the most experienced of the trio, but his regular spot at right centre is under threat from the two up-and-coming Red V talents. READ MORE NRL TALKING POINTS: Selection headaches as big-name bomb, fancies flop and injuries strike NEW FACE: McGuire debuts for Cowboys as pack rolls through Storm INJURIES: Slater’s replacement goes down; Eels enforcer helped from field NAMED & SHAMED: Panther axed from trial over sex tape scandal Aitken and Lomax were the starting centre-wing against South Sydney on Saturday night. Rabbitohs left winger Corey Allan scored a hat-trick. The Dragons’ right edge defence was a concern all night, and Lomax also missed a tackle on Cody Walker who brushed past his inside shoulder in the second half. Aitken was benched in the second half and Lomax moved to centre, with Ravalawa coming onto the right wing. Paul McGregor is getting closer to deciding on his Dragons backline. Source: AAP Ravalawa was impressive in last week’s trial against Newcastle, albeit against a second-string Knights side in the second half of the game. If McGregor desperately wants all three players in the 17, it will come at the expense of young fullback Matt Dufty. Dufty’s best shot at getting in the side is the bench role. But McGregor confirmed Dufty can only play fullback, meaning the entire spine would shuffle if and when he came into play. During the Charity Shield Dufty came on late in the game which pushed Ben Hunt (halfback) to hooker, Gareth Widdop (fullback) to halfback, and Cameron McInnes (hooker) to lock. Aitken or Lomax could well push Dufty off the bench and out of the team. “If we carry an outside back on the bench we can manipulate that because a centre can go to wing, and one of the halves can go to five-eighth as well,” McGregor said. Rookie centre Lomax told foxsports.com.au he’s happy to slot in on the wing if asked to. “That’s up to the coach, if he wants me to play there I’m happy to play there,” Lomax said. “I’m happy to play wherever, whether that’s centre or wing, whatever.” A number of Dragons are shuffling positions in 2019. Source: Getty Images In good news for McGregor, Saturday’s final trial seemed to answer one big headache. The indefinite NRL stand-down of Jack de Belin forced a late switch with Tyson Frizell moving to lock, at least for the foreseeable future. It brought young forward Jacob Host into the right backrow position, which he handled with aplomb. “I thought he played well. I thought he was certainly one of the better players on the field,” McGregor said of Host. “He hit well in D and carried the ball quite strong when he needed to. “He will find his way into the side.” The early-season suspension of Korbin Sims means the Dragons will no doubt need to shuffle their starting 13 again within the month.<doc-sep>Dragons forward Jack de Belin has been ruled out of the Charity Shield trial against the Rabbitohs on Saturday "in the interests of player welfare". De Belin, who has pleaded not guilty to allegations of rape, was not included in St George Illawarra's 23-man squad for the match in Mudgee. He didn't feature in the Dragons' hit-out with the Knights last weekend due to a virus. MORE: Melbourne Storm squash salary cap concern rumours Coach Paul McGregor intended to use de Belin versus South Sydney but the club determined the best option for the NSW lock's mindstate was to keep him off the field. "Jack de Belin will not travel with the squad to Mudgee or participate in the Westfund Charity Shield," the Dragons offered in a statement on Tuesday. De Belin's immediate future in the NRL will be decided this Thursday, with a call on his eligibility to be made at an Australian Rugby League Commission meeting. The ARLC will debate whether the code should be able to stand down players accused of serious offences while the legal process is still ongoing. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the NRL will afford St George Illawarra the opportunity to stand down de Belin before they do. "This will not be swept under the carpet," ARLC chairman Peter Beattie told the Herald. The Dragons have so far stuck firmly by de Belin and say he is entitled to play under the presumption of innocence. "If history and the past decade has taught us anything in rugby league, it is to refrain from making assumptions prior to legal proceedings being concluded," McGregor said last Saturday. Rugby League Players' Association boss Ian Prendergast believes suspending de Belin based on current information would unfairly harm de Belin's legal defence. "... [T]his decision would be based on the same facts that are being considered by the court, increasing the risk that his right to a fair trial would be prejudiced," Prendergast said. However, many prominent rugby league figures, including Australian coach Mal Meninga, argue the NRL needs to protect its brand by taking a no-tolerance stance on domestic and sexual violence and suspending players charged with heinous crimes until their cases are resolved. St George Illawarra will reportedly be offered $600,000 in salary cap compensation if de Belin is stood down. International forwards Tyson Frizell and James Graham will play their first matches of the year for the Dragons against the Rabbitohs.<doc-sep>
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have condemned the St George Illawarra Dragons to seven years running without a Charity Shield victory, taking the honours by 12 points on Saturday night. While both teams will be concerned by elements of the game, the Rabbitohs were the better side by a considerable distance, which may be even more worrying for the Dragons, given there was no Adam Reynolds or Greg Inglis as they race the clock to be fit for Round 1 of the NRL season. Their depth was on full display though, with Corey Allen scoring a hat-trick for the club, while Connor Tracey was excellent in the halves. Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Reddit Email Share The Rabbitohs wasted no time in getting on the board, racking up the first two tries of the game without any real issues from a Dragons defence which seemed unstructured and like it was struggling with new personnel and positions. Explosive winger Campbell Graham was the first on the scoreboard in the third minute of the contest, before Allen helped to make the score 12-0 just six minutes later. From there though, the Dragons began their fightback as the first half continued to deliver plenty of points. The new combination in the spine of Gareth Widdop, Corey Norman and Ben Hunt in the halves, and Cameron McInnes at hooker, got the Dragons into the lead by halftime, with three tries. Zac Lomax had one, while Tim Lafai scored a couple. They were helped by a string of penalties, with only a try to Allen in the middle breaking it all up. The Dragons had the lead 18-16 at halftime, but tries to Allan, Cameron Murray and Cody Walker within ten minutes of halftime allowed South Sydney to kick away with the game, building to a position where they would never be caught by the Red V. The Rabbitohs start their NRL season against the Sydney Roosters at the Cricket Ground, while the Dragons travel to Townsville to play the North Queensland Cowboys. Final score St George Illawarra Dragons 24 South Sydney Rabbitohs 36