Lethal combination: Nathan Merritt and Greg Inglis. Photo: Getty Images
South Sydney winger Nathan Merritt has warned on the eve of Monday night's match against Cronulla that his combination with Greg Inglis will only get better after he spent an off-season training with the Test superstar at fullback.
With Merritt slated to play fullback last year, Inglis spent the 2012 pre-season preparing to play in the centres, and only moved to his new position in round three after the record try-scorer was injured in the All Stars match.
Despite missing eight matches, Merritt still managed to score 14 tries on the wing but he showed the benefit of a summer training with Inglis at fullback when he bagged a hat-trick in Souths' opening round win over Sydney Roosters.
''I got a couple of tries off Greg last weekend, he put himself in great positions, and I just had to finish them off,'' Merritt said. ''He hasn't looked back since the swap-over [in positions] and it has probably been the best move Souths have made.
''We've been working pretty hard in the off-season, trying to get our combinations for attack.
''We have done a lot of work as a team and try to develop combinations by doing skill work together under fatigue. It works out a lot easier in the game then.''
However, Merritt almost didn't get to play against the Roosters after being dropped for the Charity Shield clash with St George Illawarra for being late to a video session.
Instead, he played for North Sydney in a NSW Cup trial against Illawarra, and he feared he would lose his place in the South Sydney side to Bryson Goodwin.
''It was pretty hard, coming from the team and the senior players,'' Merritt said. ''You have just got to be mentally strong. I was a bit down for the first day or two then but you can't just sit there and kick rocks.
''As long as everyone fights hard and stands for the one thing, it doesn't really matter. If you get a spot, you can't take it for granted. Everyone has got to be fighting and challenging for their position.''
With the Sharks in turmoil over doping allegations, Merritt said he was expecting them to play with the same determination as they did against Gold Coast last week.
''They will be looking forward to playing; it frees their mind and they have got no problems out on the field,'' he said.
''We know they are going to be a tough team to beat, especially with all this controversy.
''They are going to be really focused and they will really want to come out and beat us.''
Cronulla coach Peter Sharp said his players can't continue to rely on emotion to help them win games.
''This has all been pretty tough but we are getting through it together,'' Sharp said. ''There's that emotion … but we have spoken about a lot of things this week and we are going to have to be very good on Monday because they are a very good football team South Sydney. So we are certainly going to need more than emotion this week.''
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