Creagh denies the club faces an uphill battle to remain competitive in 2015.
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St George Illawarra captain Ben Creagh has denied the club are in a crisis despite salary cap constraints and the departure of star Brett Morris.
The Dragons have been heavily restricted in its recruitment this off-season due to salary cap pressures, with out-of-favour Melbourne Storm prop George Rose the headline signing the 2015 season.
St George have also added veteran rake Heath L’Estrange and fringe player Beau Henry to its ranks, but are at risk of losing Trent Merrin and Jason Nightingale.
Creagh brushed off suggestions the Dragons would struggle to maintain its competitiveness next season.
“There’s no crisis here, things are fine,” Creagh told reporters.
“Basically, a new coach has come in, taken control and made changes to get his own team.
“We’ve seen it happen elsewhere plenty of times.
Even when Wayne Bennett first came here — he let quality players like Jason Ryles and Josh Morris go.
“So it’s not end of the world stuff… a new coach is here, he wants his team and I’m confident we’ll play finals footy.”
Creagh admitted he attempted to convince Morris to stay, but said he felt no ill-will towards him.
“We’re good mates and — without going into what was said — I did try and get him to stay,” he said.
“But along with financial reasons, he also wanted to play out his career with his brother.
“You can’t hold it against him and no one here does.
“So while you can’t replace a guy like Brett Morris, because he’s one of the best wingers in the world, it does give other guys the chance to step up and play NRL.”
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