Sweeney chasing the inside lane
May 08 2008
While Chiefs centre Dwayne Sweeney is quick to point out he wants to do whatever is best for the team as they push for a rare Super 14 semi-finals spot, he wants to establish himself as a starting player.
Sweeney, 23, admits to frustration with his revolving door positioning in the Chiefs' backline this season.
But he has mostly been limited to starting in one of the midfield positions only when one of the incumbents Callum Bruce and Richard Kahui is injured. And that has meant switching to and fro between inside and outside centre, whether starting or off the bench.
Last year he was regarded as a full-back and made a good fist of adapting to that position, but admits this season he has felt most comfortable in the number twelve jersey.
His consecutive starts there against the Crusaders and Reds producing some fine form in the only time he has got to play two games in a row in the same position in 2008, both times getting a rare chance to combine in midfield with good friend Kahui.
Last week, Bruce returned from injury to take the starting spot and Sweeney came off the bench to play half a game at centre when Kahui left the field with an ankle injury.
"I was loving it there (at inside centre) and it's probably a position that suits me quite a lot and with the skill set that I do have it's probably a good position for me," Sweeney told the Waikato Times.
"But in saying that, it's quite a tricky position as well. You need a lot of time in the jersey to get used to it and I haven't had a lot of time in that jersey in the last couple of years."
His form and confidence had, however, grown with his opportunities at Waikato Stadium and he was happy to get 40 minutes at centre last week against the Force.
Sweeney said it had been no secret that he had had defensive lapses in the past that probably counted against him and he had gone into the Crusaders match determined to make amends.
"I hadn't had a lot of game time up until then so leading up to that game I felt I had a point to prove, I guess," said Sweeney.
"I was really keen to get out there and play and definitely wanted to put my best foot forward to say, 'look I'm here, I'm ready and I'm going to do everything I can to cement a starting spot'.
"I really went out there with a huge defensive attitude that I wanted to get up, get in their faces and take their time away. It ended up going all right," said Sweeney who played a strong role in the 18-5 upset of the previously unbeaten competition leaders.