St George Illawarra Dragons winger Brett Morris is keen for the Red V to start strong and positively against Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium, Olympic Park on Sunday.
The Australia international is also enthusiastic about Head Coach Steve Price’s decision to place Michael Witt in the halves but is aware of Sam Williams being moved to the Illawarra Cutters.
The 27-year-old knows Wests Tigers have the tenacity to be a winning side but is looking forward to proving the strength of the Red V in front of Dragons devotees.
“I’m looking forward to taking to the field after this tough preseason; during training I’m always eager for the day I can run out there for Round 1,” said Morris.
“All the boys are very excited to be going up against the Tigers and hopefully we can get a big crowd out there at ANZ Stadium.
“It’s good to see Michael Witt in the halves; he has a bit of experience playing there and he’s been around for a while and is a quality player.
“He has trained extremely well over the preseason and has fit in to the system well, everyone is looking forward to seeing how good he plays and he is keen to get out there and show us.
“With Witt playing in the halves it means that Sam Williams won’t be playing on Sunday, but I’m sure that Coach has had a chat to him and let him know what he wants from him.
“Sammy is the type of guy who won’t let this decision get him down; he knows that the door is always open.
“He just has to play his best footy for the Cutters on the weekend and if the opportunity to play first-grade in the halves comes around I’m sure he’ll take it.
“Braith Anasta has been around for a while and he’s won Grand Finals and been in representative sides before, so he knows what it’s all about and we’re going to have our hands full with him on the weekend.
“The Tigers knocked us off at the end of last year and young Brooks had a blinder; we know what they’re capable of and we’re going to have to put in a full 80 minute performance on Sunday.
“Unlike the trials, we’re playing for points this weekend and we’re committed and ready to go out there on Sunday and play the full 80.
“It’s always important to get off to a good start and grind out a win in these earlier games as they are very important toward the back end of the year.
“We haven’t looked that far forward but we know that it’s important that we have to start well and get a few wins on the board.
“Since playing against Souths in the Charity Shield we’ve been focusing on our defense; the Rabbitohs pulled our pants down and we weren’t up to scratch, but we’ve worked really hard over the past couple of weeks to fix it and hopefully that shows on Sunday.
“I’m pretty excited about the footy starting and I’ll be watching it, but all the guys are really excited about the footy coming around, it’s been a long preseason and it’ll be great to see everyone back on the field.”
