Josh Schuster has rejected suggestions he will follow recruitment manager Scott Fulton to Wests Tigers, declaring he has no intention of leaving Manly while also declaring his aim to be the NRL’s best player.
Schuster starred in his return for the Sea Eagles against Canberra on Sunday, providing a much-needed spark in attack and helping reignite Tom Trbojevic at fullback.
The 22-year-old insists a decision to sit out three weeks and recondition his body was the best call he had ever made, after feeling fit and 5kg lighter against the Raiders.
“Since day one, I have always believed in myself and that one day I will be the best player in the game,” he said. “In saying that, I still have a long way and lots of learning to do.”
The playmaker said he blocked out claims that Manly should release him for salary-cap reasons, and only listened to feedback from the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, who warned him not to waste his talent.
“At the end of the day I know what I’m capable of, and I know what my potential in this game is,” Schuster said.
“If you don’t listen to ‘Chez’ (Cherry-Evans), you must be kidding yourself. He’s the captain of Queensland, captain of our club, played for Australia.
“I don’t respect anyone else more than him. He has a genuine care for me. He’s always checking up on me to see if I’m all right.”
Schuster’s stint on the sidelines coincided with questions over his commitment, weight and long-term role at the Sea Eagles.
It also came as Fulton, whose late father Bob helped bring Schuster to the Sea Eagles, left the club to take up a job as the Tigers’ recruitment boss.
But Schuster said he would not be exiting Brookvale to follow him.
“There’s no way I’ll be leaving this club,” he said. “I’ve been here since I was 14, a local junior. I love it here.
“Yes, I’m close with the Fulton family. They’ve done a lot for me, but I’m definitely not moving from here.”
Schuster also revealed it had been he who approached Manly’s medical staff about a reconditioning period, after back-to-back calf and quad injuries.
After initially returning against the Tigers in round eight, Schuster said he realised mid-match he had come back too early and twinged his quad again.
“I had no one to replace me, so I had to finish the game off, and I think I made it worse. You could tell from that performance,” Schuster said.
“I went to speak to ‘Seibs’ (coach Anthony Seibold) and said: ‘I think what’s best for the team is for me to step out for a month and get a reconditioning block and get myself right’.
“Otherwise I would’ve been letting my teammates down. It’s the best decision I made.
“The last month was definitely hard and tough, but it definitely feels better when you lose a few kilos. I felt more comfortable out there and fitter.”
He said he had deleted social media in his time out, during a period where former Manly staffer and Fulton family member Kristie publicly attacked his diet.
Interim coach Ryan Carr insists he had no reservations selecting Jack de Belin to captain St George Illawarra in round 13, saying the middle forward’s form made him the obvious choice.
Regular skipper Ben Hunt is missing from Thursday night’s clash with the Dolphins through State of Origin duty so Carr needed to look elsewhere for leadership options in his second game at the helm.
The coach landed on de Belin in a decision that sparked debate; the former NSW forward was stood down from the NRL for two-and-a-half years after being charged over the alleged rape of a woman in a north Wollongong unit in December 2018.
De Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair were subject to two trials and other than the second acquitting the pair on one of six charges, both ended with deadlocked juries. The case was withdrawn in 2021, paving the way for de Belin’s NRL return.
Ex-coach Anthony Griffin had considered de Belin for the captaincy shortly thereafter before the club backtracked. The match against the Dolphins will be his first time leading the Dragons since a trial game in 2017.
Jack de Belin. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
Promoted from assistant to head coach when Griffin was fired last week, Carr said he had no hesitation appointing de Belin his captain but was at pains to confirm the post was temporary.
“This is my first year at the club, so what’s happened previously is not for me to comment on,” Carr said.
“All I can comment on is what we’ve done over the past month and in particular, the last seven days.
“Ben Hunt is our captain, he’s our club captain, through Origin (he is unavailable), we can’t help that.
“We’ve just got to move on for this week, We picked the person we feel can do the best job for the team on the field this week.”
Carr was adamant any backlash to the decision would not distract the Dragons, who upset the Sydney Roosters last week and are aiming for their first back-to-back wins of the season.
“We’re really focused on us as a team and living inside our own four walls and focusing on what we can control,” he said.
At 32, de Belin is the most experienced player the Dragons will field against the Dolphins, with other captaincy options Blake Lawrie and Jaydn Su’A missing the game through injury.
De Belin has averaged 45 tackles and 152 run metres per game over the past four weeks and had been considered a chance for an Origin recall after injuries depleted the Blues’ forward options. Carr believed de Belin’s form made him a natural captaincy choice.
“We’ve got a relatively young squad, as you can see on paper,” Carr said.
“You can tell by his form over the past month in particular, how hard he’s trying for this team, this club.
“He puts his body on the line, wears his heart on his sleeve. The boys follow him through his performance so that was the reason.”
with AAP
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