Shute Shield Rugby Union: Wildfires prop Nick Dobson primed to dish out own punishment

The tight head prop grew up in New Zealand and came through the ACT Brumbies system during a decade in the nation's capital before moving to Newcastle in 2020.

He has scrummaged against - and learnt from - the likes of former Wallabies bookends Dan Palmer and Ben Alexander and current Test anchor Allan Alaalatoa.

"I have scrummed against some of the best guys in the country," he said. "I have been bent different ways and discovered different techniques. You have to know your stuff to match it with those guys."

Now at 34 and sporting the best mullet in the competition,, Dodson has the arsenal to dish out some punishment of his own.

"I have been around the moon a few times," he said. "Tighthead is one of those positions where you develop over a long period of time. I am sort of putting it together now. Once you get the one per centers right, you can have a real go at it."

The former Canberra Viking returns to the Wildfires starting side against West Harbour at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday. Dobson takes the place of Ruan Smith, who has been recalled to the NSW Waratahs for their battle against the Crusaders on Saturday night.

"I spent a little bit of time with Ruan down at the Brumbies when he was there," Dobson said. "We were fighting for the same position. He has a pretty good rugby resume. Coming from the outside, I had to work a little bit harder to get my foot in the door there. It never quite happened. It was good to run into him again here at the Wildfires."

Dobson missed a chunk of the pre-season due to COVID restrictions but feels back to his peak.

"Four rounds in now, my body is feeling pretty good," he said. "There is always room for improvement but I feel like I am playing pretty good rugby. My numbers across the board are good. I will still keep pushing for the extra efforts where I can."

Hooker Phil Bradford (head knock) also returns after missing the 33-14 loss to Sydney University in Mudgee. In other changes, Ben Wood comes into the second row, Isaac Ulberg replaces Penikolo Latu (cork) on the wing and Nick Murray switches with Leon Fukofuka at halfback.

"Our scrum has been fairly strong, but there is still room for growth," Dobson said. "That is the same with all areas of our game. We are only one (win) from four, but we probably could have won a couple of those games had we done a few things right.

"If you look at the last couple of weeks, we have been our own worst enemy with little errors and not executing our processes. Hopefully the tools are sharp this weekend."

West Harbour are fresh from a 35-15 triumph over Southern Districts and boast a big and bruising pack.

"We will definitely have our work cut out but we always keen for the challenge," Dobson said.

Dobson initially moved to Newcastle to play with Merewether but joined the Wildfires when the 2020 Hunter Rugby Union season was canned due to COVID.

"I am enjoying playing in the Shute Shield," he said. "It's everything I expected plus more - the competitiveness, the speed of the game and the level of rugby.

"Obviously, I want to go back to Merewether and help out when I can.

"At this point in time, I feel like I am still matching it with the younger guys [in the Shute Shield]."

Wildfires: 1 Faavae Sila, 2 Phil Bradford, 3 Nick Dobson, 4 Ben Wood, 5 Rob Puli'vea, 6 John Martin-Stewart, 7 Donny Freeman, 8 Lona Halohola, 9 Nick Murray, 10 Connor Winchester, 11 Ton Watson, 12 Luke Nadurutalo, 13 Nafi Tuitavake, 14 Isaac Ulberg, 15 Tute Grant

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