By Mary Maidiotis
St George Illawarra Dragons centre Peter Mata’utia is humbled by the chance to re-sign with the Red V for a further two years, after extending his contract until at least the end of 2017.
The Toa Samoa international admits Head Coach Paul McGregor played a major role in his decision to remain with the Club.
Mata’utia, 24, is now looking forward to returning to winning ways after back-to-back losses and admits the side will have to go back to the drawing board before their fixture against the Parramatta Eels at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta on Saturday.
“I’m very humbled by the opportunity that the Dragons have given me and I’m stoked to be staying, my family and I call this place home so it’s good to be here for another two years,” said Mata’utia.
“It was a tough decision but I spoke to a few of the boys here during negotiations and they were very positive about whether I left or stayed, they just reminded me it’s always about putting your family first.
“The last chat I had with Mary got me over the line, I respect Mary a great deal and his opinions mean a lot to me so I’ve decided to stay for two more years and I’m also looking forward to the players we’re getting next year which will boost our squad.
“I’m happy that I’m playing some good footy and giving back to the club and hopefully I can pay the fans back as well with some more consistent footy over the next two years.
“I’m extremely proud of the boys to have made all those tackles but at the end of the day, you can’t win games making such a high number of tackles while at the same time trying to get out of your own half.
“The Roosters are the best attacking team in the NRL and the favourites to win the comp so it’s back to the drawing board for us and that starts at Parramatta this week.
"It’s a day-to-day process but I’ll be fine to play this week, the last time we went up there, they gave us a hiding so we’re looking forward to getting back in that winning circle and getting one back on them.”
