By Nathan Davis
St George Illawarra halfback Kris Keating believes he has settled into his groove having been amongst pre-season training now for just over a month.
The Cabramatta junior arrived at the Red-and-Whites on a one-year contract having been permitted to leave Hull Kingston Rovers at the end of the 2014 Super League.
Keating, 26, knows he has to work hard at training to create a place for himself on the first-grade team list and is aware of the competition for places y several of his teammates.
“I have really found my feet here at the Dragons,” said Keating.
“With the people we got around the club being very approachable and the players have been helpful, so it’s been easy to settle in.
“I love getting up every day, coming down to Wollongong in the warm weather, it’s very different to what I had in England.
“It’s better to have thirty degree days compared to what they have over there now, something like minus two or three.
“With WIN Stadium right on the beach, it’s made the whole transition much easier.
“I’m enjoying myself here, everything is going well at the moment.
“We have a rotation policy with all the halves we have here, all the young boys and myself all swap and change around Benji Marshal, the main man.
“Myself and youngsters like Shannon Crook, Beau Henry and Drew Hutchinson, who have all been very impressive during training, are all working together to help improve each other.
“Everyone has been playing their part when we have to and we’ll go from there.
“Benji is one of those guys that’s pretty easy to get along with.
“Everyone is getting the opportunity to play alongside him and learn how he plays, so it’s great for the players themselves and the team as a whole.
“Right now I’m going to continue to keep playing and training hard and hopefully an opportunity arises for me.
“If it does, I will grab it with both hands.”