Wayward star declares his interest in joining NRL’s fastlane.
Disgraced NRL star Josh Dugan believes his best chance of climbing back to the top of the sport is to align himself with a “big club” in a big city.
News.com.au reports sources close to Dugan said the culture that exists within the Broncos could help him turnaround his bad wrap sheet.
Dugan believes playing in a smaller city like Canberra contributed to his off-field indiscretions, which coupled with his mounting injury toll saw him as a passenger for much of the past two Raiders’ title campaigns.
The big stumbling block for Dugan’s possible return to any club is whether the NRL will deregister him for the rest of the year, as they did when Todd Carney was cut from the Sydney Roosters in 2010.
Brisbane is not the only club interested in Dugan’s services, with St-George Illawarra also keen to sign the custodian, but the Dragons have not officially entered negotiations with his agent.
News of Dugan possibly joining the Broncos has received mixed reactions from the club’s past greats, with Ben Ikin voicing his concerns.
Ikin, who played 55 games for the Broncos and 17 for Queensland, said Dugan’s selfish attitude on and off the field would not mesh with the Brisbane club culture.
“I personally am not as big a fan of Josh Dugan as many are. As a fullback I think he’s a very individual player,” he said.
“He’s a great ball-runner and there’s no doubting that he’s got talent. But in the modern game you need a No.1 who can create for other players. Look at Greg Inglis and how he’s changed his game from being a pure ball-runner to a creator of points for other people in his side.
“For Josh Dugan his whole life – personal and on the footy field – seems to be exactly that (selfish). He’s got a very narrow focus as a bloke and as a player.
“I’m not saying he can’t evolve but the Broncos have a good young guy there (in) Corey Norman, who (in the win against the Dragons) on Friday night showed me he could potentially grow into a great fullback.”
Dugan was sacked by the Canberra Raiders after multiple off-field indiscretions which club officials felt left them with no choice but to cut the 22-year-old fullback loose.
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