Blues prop fumes after fiery training session
Brydens Lawyers NSW Blues prop Paul Vaughan was “fuming” after a fiery training session at St George Illawarra Dragons left him requiring stitches for a nasty head gash.
Dragons teammate Blake Lawrie revealed the incident to nrl.com.au ahead of their clash against the Warriors at Central Coast Stadium today.
St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has put his squad on notice after their winless start to the season and warned them reputations count for nothing when it comes to team selections.
Compounding the situation is that players who miss out on selection have nowhere to play after the NSWRL was forced to cancel the Canterbury Cup NSW competition due to the coronavirus crisis.
Lawrie said the directive has led to some fiery training sessions for the Red V as players compete for spots in the top 17 and the niggle had got out of hand with Vaughan.
“We have got a squad of about 30 here and ‘Mary’ (McGregor) has only got 17 spots to fill so it is tough competition but the boys have been training well and ripping in,” Lawrie said.
“Paul was getting filthy because he is competitive, like all of us are, so I was stirring the pot a bit and he didn’t like it. He was fuming.
“There were a few head clashes. I think we were just a little too eager at times because everyone wants to get out there and play footy.”