We may as well chalk a line through Dragons if Griffin lets Cameron McInnes leave

Anthony Griffin’s dynasty at the Dragons could be over before it begins; if Hook lets Red V skipper Cameron McInnes walk out the door at the end of his contract over a silly position dispute, you can chalk a line through St George for the foreseeable future.

It’s been a rough 2020 for the Dragons, who finished 12th without a hope for NRL finals, and it’s about to get tougher still; rival clubs are already circling around club captain and renowned tackle-machine Cam McInnes, whos off-contract at the end of the year.

The main contender is McInnes’ old Bunnies coach, Michael Maguire, now at the Tigers. The pair met last week, The Sporting Base understands, and Madge has made the hooker his top target.

It’s a make-or-break moment for the Red V, with only two real options.

The first is simple: let Cam go.

McInnes wants to play his natural position, number 9, and fair enough. He was a lynchpin of the Dragons there, until he was shunted into 13 in 2020 to make room for million-dollar man Ben Hunt.

The Sydney star, 26, covered himself in glory there, of course, and kept up his astounding tackle stats. Only, it wasn’t a perfect fit. His minutes were reduced, and he was battered around in multiple games, leaving him out of pace by the end of the season. All to squeeze in an off-kilter $1m star.

It makes sense he’d want to go. Only, if Hook lets him, he’s made a huge mistake.

Which brings us to the second option, and — at least in The Sporting Base’s eyes, the only real one — fork out the big bucks, and lock down the lockerroom voice that Mary McGregor groomed to lead.

It makes sense to keep McInnes on long-term at the club, for a number of reasons. Firstly, let’s face it, Ben Hunt hasn’t set the world on fire in the famous Red V. He’s on his last chance with Anthony Griffin, and that shouldn’t be at hooker.

Neither has Corey Norman, whos clogging up $700k worth of the Dragons’ salary cap for very little return.

Both will be out the door when their contracts expire (2023 for Hunt, 2021 for Norman) and that means the club will be going through another halves shuffle. Stability in the rest of the spine is key there.

With McInnes and speedster Matt Dufty both off-contract at the end of the year, it’s vital Hook keeps at least some part of his inherited spine. To lose all but Hunt would be a big blow.

Of the potentially departing core, McInnes fits Griffin’s modus operandi to a tee. The former Panthers boss has shown an affinity for hard-hitting forwards, middle momentum, and building sets of “motors” in the center of the park. Equally, a rock-solid core when his team is without the ball is an all-important part of how he grinds out his NRL victories.

If you didn’t think of Cameron McInnes when reading that, you must be skimming the page.

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Last season, the 26-year-old made a whopping 978 tackles — the third highest in the entire league, according to NRL.com stats — even playing out of position for a handful of games. The year before, 1,146, again coming in third. In 2018, 1,147, in second place. You get the picture.

The bottom line is, letting the heart of the St George engine room go would be a mistake.

As of right now, it’s just the Tigers that are sniffing around the Dragons star. The orange and black faithful will have to watch boom hooker Harry Grant head back to Melbourne in 2021; poaching another of the game’s best could be the perk the team needs.

On the record, McInnes has admitted he “doesn’t care” about playing at 9 or 13 for the Red V.

Behind closed doors, however, he’s already eyeing another club if he doesn’t get to play rake in 2021. The Tigers — and relinking with his former Souths coach — would seem appetising for the star that’s still got the prime of his career ahead of him, especially if the Dragons continue to languish outside finals.

For our money, the Dragons must table a healthy contract for the star. Something around the $650k mark could get him to stay at Kogarah, especially considering it would be a pay hike and bring him closer to Norman’s wealthy deal, as well as Hunt’s lucrative million-dollar pay packet.

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It’s not a total loss for the Tigers if Griffin comes to his senses either. They have Jacob Liddle and Jake Simpkin waiting in the wings for the no.9 role, so snagging Cameron McInnes would just be a bonus.

And finally, while we know not every Red V faithful completely trust former coach Mary McGregor after his extended stint, he agrees that McInnes is a “must sign” for the team: “The Dragons are lucky to have him, and my only hope is they do everything to keep him. If he comes off contract there will be plenty of clubs after him,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in September.

It’s a make or break moment for St George and their new helmsman. We’ll see which way he turns.

Here’s how The Sporting Base sees St George Illawarra’s best lineup in 2021:

1. Matt Dufty
2. Mikaele Ravalawa
3. Max Feagai
4. Zac Lomax
5. Jordan Pereira
6. Corey Norman
7. Ben Hunt
8. Josh Kerr
9. Cameron McInnes
10. Paul Vaughn
11. Tariq Sims
12. Jackson Ford
13. Jack Bird
14. Blake Lawrie
15. Poasa Faamausili
16. Kaide Ellis
17. Eddie Blacker