Is Tyrell Sloan destined to alter his game as a fullback with St George Illawarra Dragons entering a new era in 2024?
The Dragons rising star has had an up-and-down career so far at fullback and watched the majority of last season from the sidelines after being replaced by Cody Ramsey.
With the incumbent fullback suffering a major health setback, Sloan was thrown back into the number one jersey this and has rejuvenated his form in recent weeks.
A lethal combination with long time teammates Jayden Sullivan and Junior Amone has given the Rd V faithful a glimpse of a future without club stalwart Ben Hunt.
Despite Sloan’s successful season at fullback, SEN’s Joel Caine has remained persistent in his wish to see the young star transition to another spot in the Dragons’ backline.
“Tyrell Sloan is a talent no doubt about it, but I’m so convinced right now, where he’s at in his career he’s a winger,” Caine said on SEN 1170 Crunchtime.
“He’s Nathan Blacklock, unleash him, just send him a whole bunch of tapes from Blacklock and say, ‘That’s who we want you to be’.”
Blacklock is widely regarded as one of the greatest try scorers in Dragons’ history with 120 tries in 137 appearances for the joint venture.
With just a couple centimetres and kilos separating the pair, Caine is confident that Sloan’s concerns of strength in defence could be solved on the wing, similar to Blacklock’s.
“You see it here with (Kalyn) Ponga, you see it (James) Tedesco if you get to him (Sloan), you’re generally scoring,” Caine added.
“He just doesn’t have that power to knock a try back.”
Sloan openly admitted at the start of the year that Blacklock has been a mentor for him on and off the field, helping him re-emerge as one of the Dragons’ best attacking options.