St George Illawarra wishes to congratulate Intrust Super Premiership Dragons trio Ash Nisbet, Jack Payne and Stuart Mason for graduating from the University of Wollongong (UOW) last week.
Dragons forwards Nisbet and Mason graduated from UOW with a Bachelor of Exercise Science, while playmaker Payne capped off his tertiary studies with a Bachelor of Physical Health and Education.
The Graduates of League (GOL) – a program which Dragons legend Ben Creagh helped put together in 2012 – played a vital a role in the trios' studies.
"Balancing full-time study with footy commitments and part-time jobs on the side was pretty tough, but the GOL program really helped with that extra level of support with organising my life," Payne told UOW Media's Emilie Wells.
"They helped me prioritise what I needed to do and when I needed to do it by – I always made sure I got the work done but the extra help was great."
Payne and Mason will line up for the ISP Dragons on Saturday afternoon against the Penrith Panthers, while Nisbet will continue his rehabilitation on a recent pectoral injury.
