St George Illawarra Dragons hooker Mitch Rein is well aware of the key dangers he will confront squaring-off against the North Queensland Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville on Saturday.
The NSW Country Origin representative, who played the entire game to keep teammate Siliva Havili benched last round, is conscious of the threats the current reigning Premiers can create for both he and his teammates and that he cannot remain idle come kick-off.
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The Red-and-Whites are in the midst of back-to-back fixtures against both the Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos (Round 6) as they train to face both Premiership Grand Finalists within five days.
“The Cowboys are a pretty dangerous side across the park so we can’t just concentrate all our energy on the one bloke,” said Rein.
“Their forward pack boasts a few internationals as well as the key threats from the halves pairing so they are stacked on the field.
“It’s been a pretty relaxed preparation this week coming off the back of two tough games which were tight.
“We know we have a lot of travelling coming up which is why we’ve tried to stay relaxed.
“I tried to stay off my feet a bit while as a team we did a fair bit of recovery including your standard stretching as well as ice baths and movement.
“We have also done our video and have freshened ourselves-up ahead of the match upon our arrival in Townsville.
“It’s ben enjoyable for me playing longer minutes and it’s been great having so much go-forward from the front pack.
“They’re all really putting their hand up this year and getting us on the front-foot which is great for myself and the rest of the team.
“Hopefully as a pack we can continue trying to work on our combinations and ultimately keep improving.
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“Siliva is doing a great job for us and he has that utility role for us at the moment coming off the bench.
“When he has come on he has done a good job but unfortunately he didn’t get the chance to come on the field last round which is a bit unfortunate for him.”
