St George Illawarra Dragons centre Gerard Beale admits that the additional rest will prove beneficial against the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, Melbourne on Monday.
The New Zealand international concedes that the Red-and-Whites exerted a lot of energy, especially during the first stanza, during the loss against the South Sydney Rabbitohs last round.
However, Beale believes that despite the set-back, the team will be recharged in time for the trip south of the stateline.
“We used up a lot of energy in the first half which affected us, especially with having so many penalties go against us, and there’s only so much you can take,” said Beale.
“We all put in the effort but there were some small things that Souths took advantage of and having to defend set after set sure made it tough.
“We need to get it fixed and the extra couple of days rest will be beneficial to help us recover in time for a tough game against the Storm.”
Dragons fullback Josh Dugan was similar in his assessment but confessed he was happy just to make his return to the field.
The NSW Blues representative had been sidelined with a knee injury for the opening four rounds of the season but stood-out for the Red V in the losing effort.
“Our ball control and discipline let us down out there and we couldn’t give so much ball to Souths and expect to have a close game,” said Dugan.
“Personally, it was definitely great for me to play on such an historic venue like the SCG and to leave the field unscathed was great.
“I had been counting down the days before wearing the Red V jersey again but unfortunately the result did not go our way.
“We will now regroup and prepare against the Storm and use the extra days to our advantage.”
