Former AB hopes tobea Stag again
Former All Black Elliot Dixon has reached out about the possibility of playing for Southland again but the Stags’ skinny player budget may hinder it from happening.
Stags coach Dale MacLeod confirmed Dixon and former Maori All Black
Robbie
Robinson have expressed an interest in pulling on the maroon jersey in this year’s NPC.
The pair have been playing for the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan but are expected to return to New Zealand following the Japanese season.
Dixon, a former All Black loose forward, played 57 games for the Stags from 2010 through to 2017, while Robinson, a former Maori All Black, also played 57 games for Southland from 2008 through 2013.
Both would be welcomed additions to the Stags’ 2021 squad, but MacLeod admits to challenges around player contracting at the moment.
The Stags are the lowest spending province in the NPC, in terms of player budgets.
MacLeod expects his budget will sit at about $150,000 below the next lowest spending team in the
championship division.
He is already in the market to find a tighthead prop, as well as a halfback, and he was trying to find ways to secure the likes of Dixon and Robinson.
The second-year Stags head coach hasn’t signed a player for the past six weeks to try to make sure he gets his 2021 squad makeup right.
‘‘I can’t get [the contracting] wrong because there is no room to move if I do,’’ he said.
Each province has to contract at least 26 players on a full-time basis throughout the NPC season.
MacLeod will contract 26 fulltime players and will sign another six to eight players on smaller development contracts.
Ten to 12 contracts remain up for grabs.
MacLeod pointed to how much promising young Southland loose forwards Arese Piloko and Charles Aliamalo could gain from being able to train and play alongside someone like Dixon.
Southland has struggled to attract players prior to last year, but MacLeod said that had changed with various quality players reaching out about the prospect of joining Southland.
Locking some of those names was now the challenging part, MacLeod added.
He concedes he has gone through moments of frustration around the budget constraints but was now focused on getting results for Southland with the squad he can pull together.