“Play for Thommo”.
That’s the mantra St George Illawarra will carry into Sunday’s crunch NRL clash with Canterbury less than 72 hours after the death of Lance Thompson.
The Dragons will wear black armbands at Jubilee Oval to honour one of their favourite sons.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor couldn’t hide his emotions when talking about his former teammate, revealing he had spoken to him on Sunday.
And on match-eve he promised Thompson’s beloved Red V would lift in his memory.
“Big T is a good man, one of the most committed footballers I’ve seen take the football field,” McGregor said.
“He’s a strong character, played with passion and purpose. It’s been a tough 36 hours to be honest with you.
“We’ll go out tomorrow and play for Thommo. The Red V meant so much to him and we need to honour that.”
Thompson played 69 games for St George before going on to play 132 games for the joint venture following their merger with Illawarra.
He finished off his career with three years at Cronulla but the red-headed back-rower’s heart always lay with the Dragons.
It ensures the Dragons will have all the motivation as their top four spot goes on the line against bogey side the Bulldogs.
The Dragons rebounded from a post-Origin slump with a win against the Wests Tigers last week.
And McGregor revealed how an honesty session following their round 22 thumping at the hands of Parramatta had lifted their performance.
“It was just an honesty (session) around our accountability within the roles we do for one another once we cross that white stripe,” McGregor said.
“We’ve been pretty honest throughout that whole year. I’ve got a really good group that take ownership around their role and once they saw the pictures, they weren’t happy with them.
“They went out and did something.”
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Bulldogs’ 65.7 per cent strike rate against the Dragons – 23 victories from their last 35 games – is their best win percentage against any current side.
* The Bulldogs have the worst red zone attack in the competition, averaging one try for every 16.3 tackles inside the opposition 20 metre zone.