Packer ready to fire up Dragons
Controversial New Zealand rugby league player Russell Packer is tipped to slot straight into the St George Illawarra Dragons for an instant return to the NRL.
The 26-year-old has impressed at pre-season training and the Dragons’ English prop Mike Cooper is expecting big things from him in 2016.
‘‘Russell Packer is looking very fit, very sharp and mobile ... I think he will slot straight into the side,’’ Cooper told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
‘‘Competition for spots is great, and we’ve got a nice combination of size and blokes with a big engine as well.’’
Cooper believes Packer will help bring a hard edge to a Dragons pack that has been questioned in the recent past, and help make them contenders given their classy backline.
‘‘I think we will be up there [with the best] packs in the competition. There’s not many clubs with a backline of our quality, so I think we will upset a few people this year,’’ Cooper said.
Packer hasn’t played first grade football since he left the Warriors in 2013.
His plans to join the Newcastle Knights on a lucrative deal fell apart when he was convicted and jailed for assault occasioning actual bodily harm from a Sydney street fight. The Dragons have given him a lifeline, helping him rehab after leaving jail and supporting his pleas to return to the NRL and also stay in Australia despite his conviction.
Packer played for their feeder club last year but will now look to make an impact in first grade again.
He played 110 games for the Warriors from 2008 to 2013 and earned two test caps for the Kiwis.
With the Dragons taking on the Warriors in a trial game in Nelson on February 20, Packer’s first appearance for his new club could come against his old one.