Former Raider Josh Dugan. Photo: Colleen Petch
Brisbane Broncos legend Steve Renouf believes the Broncos should take a ''calculated risk'' on Josh Dugan as the club tries desperately to solve its attacking woes.
Renouf pointed to former teammate and renowned bad boy Julian O'Neill as evidence a club with a strong culture can carry a talented player with off-field flaws.
The Roosters kept the Broncos scoreless last week, despite being forced to complete 120 extra tackles.
Minus Justin Hodges, Brisbane was inept in attack and Renouf insists it should take a punt on sacked Raider Dugan to ease the pressure on the strike centre.
''That's the calculated risk they've got to take,'' he said.
''To me it is nearly worth the risk just to get a line-breaker and someone who can cross the line into the team, which he can do.
"It depends on how they handle him and what stipulations they give him. Everyone knows he can play, that's probably the most important thing.''
Dugan's indiscretions pale in comparison to those of the infamous O'Neill, and Renouf believes the Broncos are well equipped to keep Dugan on the straight and narrow.
Brisbane's culture is rated one of the NRL benchmarks, prompting debate whether Dugan's off-field issues could outweigh the benefits of his football talent.
But Renouf believes Brisbane can provide the perfect environment to nurture the volatile 22-year-old.
''To be honest we definitely had one guy [O'Neill] who was a bit reckless and as a group we tried to work with him,'' Renouf said.
''The club ended up having to release him [for drink-driving in 1995], but while he was there we definitely got the best footy out of him.
''He was a handful, he'd admit that himself, but he won two grand finals with us and was a very important member of that team.
''We had a pretty strong leadership group that tried to guide him through it at the time. It's about how best to nurture those guys and get the best out of them on the footy field, because ultimately that's what they're there for.''
The Broncos are firming as favourites to offer the sacked Canberra Raider a lifeline after he flew north to meet Brisbane officials on Monday.
Broncos fullback Corey Norman announced this week he had signed a three-year deal with Parramatta from next season, strengthening Brisbane's hopes of beating the Dragons to Dugan's signature.
Gorden Tallis played for both the Broncos and Dragons, and said whoever winds up as Dugan's suitor should demand he resolve his issues before playing again.
''He has to fit into society's culture first, not just the Broncos','' Tallis said.
''It's getting himself right and football second, we watched the Bulldogs handle it well [with Ben Barba] and hopefully he's doing that now.
''Would I have him? Yeah, without a doubt, but I'd be strong enough to give him a clip.''
Broncos premiership hooker Kerrod Walters said the club would need to walk the tightrope between maintaining club culture and snaring one of the best young players in the game.
''The Broncos are a very strong club with a great culture, obviously he'll need to change his ways,'' Walters said.
No comments:
Post a Comment