League: Nightingale goes on the defensive

Kiwis winger Jason Nightingale has been given the task of shutting down Kangaroos dangerman Jarryd Hayne. Photo / Getty Images

MELBOURNE - Jason Nightingale has grown accustomed to playing on the outer, the wing where the ball does not necessarily come his way.

So the St George-Illawarra and Kiwis winger faces a familiar core responsibility in Friday's Anzac league test against the Kangaroos - damage limitation.

The 22-year-old earns his fifth cap when AAMI Park makes its sporting debut - though only because Manu Vatuvei is back in Auckland recovering from a hamstring injury.

Nightingale makes no attempt to compare his attacking prowess with that of the New Zealand Warriors behemoth, and although he scored a respectable five tries in eight games for the Dragons this season, the Sydney-born speedster realises his defensive work will be a priority when marking up against Jarryd Hayne.

While the Parramatta superstar took eight games to score his first try of the season against the Bulldogs last weekend, he looms as yet another offensive threat in a backline studded with try-scoring capabilities.

Billy Slater and Greg Inglis fit that mould, as does Nightingale's Dragons teammate Brett Morris who leads the National Rugby League's try-scoring stats after round eight with 11.

Since the Kiwis assembled on Monday, Nightingale's advice has been sought on how to limit Morris on the left flank.

Unfortunately he has not been too illuminating about a finisher who notched a hat-trick in his last NRL outing against Cronulla.

"A few of the boys have been asking me how to stop him but there isn't really a formula," he said.

"You have to be on your game and stay up on him."

However, it is Hayne that shapes as Nightingale's major concern now the 2009 Dally M player of the year switches from fullback for the Eels to his favoured wing position.

Not that Hayne hugs the sideline, his roving commission is what makes him so dangerously unpredictable.

"When he plays on the wing in (State of) Origin he works on getting involved in the middle, he gets involved more out of the wing position," Nightingale said.

"It's always ominous going up against him, he's one of the best players in the world."

Fortunately Nightingale's tactical awareness has been well practiced at the Dragons under legendary coach Wayne Bennett.

While Morris and Matt Cooper are a regular source of points on the left side, Nightingale and his centre partner Beau Scott are more defensively inclined.

"My role outside Beau is predominately defensive, we're working on shutting down tries more than scoring them. Our left edge is a pretty potent attack so we base our game more on defence.

"That's what we're trying to achieve more than the flashy left sided players."

Keeping Hayne off the score sheet would amount to a minor victory for Nightingale who realises he is only playing by default.

"If Manu wasn't out I wouldn't be here so there's some sort of pressure on me," he admitted.

And considering Vatuvei's presence, Nightingale said replacing him was not a one-man job in the back three.

"If Manu was here he'd take a bit of pressure off the team but it just means me, Sammy (Perrett) and Lance (Hohaia) have to step up and fill his shoes."

- NZPA