The St. George Illawarra Dragons are desperate to continue their winning ways on ANZAC Day but Andrew McCullough says his side can’t allow the emotion of the traditional clash to dxjmtzywerail its preparations.
The Sydney Roosters have had the Dragons’ measure in four of the last five ANZAC Day clashes but the joint venture comes into this year’s fixture with a spring in its step.
The Dragons snapped their four-game losing streak with last week’s win over the Newcastle Knights and are raring for their next assignment at the SCG on Monday.
“It’s a huge occasion,” said Dragons hooker Andrew McCullough.
“What (the ANZACs) did, it’s hard to fathom.
“You can never do it justice. It’s hard to get your head around how much of a sacrifice they made.”
While the gravity of the occasion isn’t lost on the Dragons, McCullough insists the side can’t become overawed on the big stage.
“The whole occasion is pretty special,” McCullough said.
“(But) continuing on our performance is first and foremost what we’re looking to do. A lot of hard work has gone into the last month.
“I think we completed at 88 per cent on the weekend and that gave us a chance to actually win that game. You can’t let the occasion dictate how you’re going to play your football.
“It’s a simple game, you can’t let (the occasion) overawe you. Just tackle hard and run hard.”
Dragons fan favourite Blake Lawrie declared there was no bigger game for the Dragons before September than the ANZAC Day Cup.
“ANZAC Day speaks for itself,” the hard-hitting forward said.
“It’s a massive day, it’s the biggest game of the year, apart from a finals series.
“We’re pretty keen as a whole group.”
Lawrie said the Dragons were looking forward to testing their stocks against one of the competition’s perennial heavyweights.
“The Roosters have been top four ever since I’ve been a part of first grade,” he said.
“We’ll be looking to get there and test ourselves and come away with the two points.”
Starting from the bench, Lawrie ran for more metres than any Dragon in the win over the Knights and predicted his side’s bench would play a big role again on Monday.
“I think it’s going to be massive,” he said.
“They’ve got a world class forward pack: Waerea-Hargreaves, Collins, Taukeiaho off the bench. Victor Radley’s playing some good footy.
“But we’ll be up for the challenge.”
