Floss on SEN this morning.
Listen here: https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=889415---------------------------------------------------------------
WHY VLASTUIN AND TIGERS ARE GRATEFUL FOR DIMMA’S DEFENCEBy Andrew Slevison
SEN
12 August 2021Hardwick’s spikiness may get those in the media talking, but Tigers defender Nick Vlastuin admits the players love it.
“Personally I like it because you know your head coach has your back,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“He always says it internally and when you cop heaps of heat externally it can get you pretty down.
“So when someone kind of does go into bat for you, and Dimma cops his whack for it as well, it does just feel like your coach has your back in the public as well.
“It makes teammates appreciate Dimma a lot more when he does stuff like that because he’s now under the pump for it.
“It takes the pressure off us a little bit because the tension goes onto Dimma.”
Garry Lyon indicated that Hardwick wouldn’t mind a bit of back and forth with the media, to which Vlastuin agreed.
“He did play a bit that way too so he’s probably used it,” Vlastuin added.
The three-time premiership defender, who was one of the side’s best upon his returning the Kangaroos win, has seen Hardwick send Daniel Rioli from the forward line to defence in recent weeks.
Given he has spent his entire career up forward, Vlastuin was asked if it was difficult holding him back from constantly attacking.
He says the 24-year-old is receiving a good mix of advice from the likes of Bachar Houli, Dylan Grimes and himself in a bid to balance him in the back line.
“Daniel Rioli playing half-back, who would have thought,” Vlastuin said.
“To be honest, he’s a little bit the opposite way.
“When he was forward he always played that structured forward role and to his own detriment played a team role.
“Bachar Houli has kind of taken him under his wing and Bachar, as you know, is very offensive so he’s always like, ‘Don’t worry about him there, run forward a bit more’.
“Daniel actually has a lot of defensive bones in his body. He’s very good defensively, but Bachar is trying to get him to run off a bit more.
“Me and Grimesy are always trying to pull him back the other way so it’s a bit of a balancing act.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/08/12/why-vlastuin-and-tigers-are-grateful-for-dimmas-defence/
