Dean Ryan has praised the performance of ‘hungry’ back row Ben Fry in the derby draw with Ospreys admitting.
Fry was named along alongside Taine Basham and Ross Moriarty at the Liberty Stadium, with Wales ace Aaron Wainwright providing the firepower from the bench.
And the 21-year-old, a product of the Dragons Academy, impressed with a combative display against a fully-loaded Ospreys side.
"I though Ben Fry looked the part," said Ryan. "If you are an experienced international on the other side there is nothing worse than having a hungry 21-year-old on the opposite side.
"Ross was physical and if you put those two together then they are a pain in the backside, and that's what you want back row to be.
"Aaron came in and very sharp, he looked like he could impact the game at any moment. That's where we want him, we don't need to rush him and get loads of minutes under his belt.
"We know where he can play and he is very hungry to come in and be an influence."
Ryan will now assess his options for the clash with Scarlets at Rodney Parade on Saturday (kick-off 5.15pm).
"We said before that if we make this about 15 players, we could have picked differently but we know they won't be standing come Christmas," added Ryan.
"We also know there are seven weeks of internationals, and we are notoriously under pressure in those windows.
"Our big challenge is always about the group that sits in behind (the Test players), so these two games are a big opportunity to expand our experience."
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If you are an experienced international on the other side there is nothing worse than having a hungry 21-year-old on the opposite side...
