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Jason Nightingale 2017

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
I still believe he is our "smartest" winger by a mile.. I think he's good for one more season along w Mcdonald at least we can say we have a pair of stable wingers.. I'm sure when Hunt arrives next year he will at least be targeting hs kicks to Mcdonalds wing who besides Daniel TUPOU is the best winger to kick to in the comp.. (Someone tell Widdop this)
Widdop predominantly play LHS.
Mc Donald is a LHS winger.
Somebody tell Mary that if he wants Widdop to kick to him best he play in his correct position.
 

RufusRex

Post Whore
Messages
62,231
If not time it is very close. Depending on where Mann plays Nightingale could very well be 3rd choice for winger. Nene is already our first choice wing and should be on the left.

This by no means takes away from the career that Nightingale has had - realities need to be observed. Two tries in the shield were a result of Nightingale being caught out of position and not being fast enough any more to cover/catch a young winger. That will have been noticed by 14 other coaches and game plans will be adjusted to suit.

He did his usual dummy half runs however there was nothing in those runs that couldn't have been accomplished by any other member of the team.

Age is not a crime however sentimental selections are (metaphorically not literally).

If Mann plays in the centres or halves then Nightingale is our 2nd winger picked at season start and should play on the right. However, he will be in the way of blooding players like Dufty over the course of the season.

The decision will have to be made sooner rather than later.


And to those who say give him better ball etc .. Think about this ... Nightingale played the entire season last year for 6 tries ... Kurt Mann played 11 games on the wing in the same team as nightingale with the same players passing him the ball in the same structures etc and crossed the stripe 10 times. Nightingale is not the finisher he was.
 
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Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
RR you are 100% correct.
If Mann is not in the halves or the centres nighty night Nighy as Mann has to be a definite starter.
The only other way he survives is if Mann 1, Dugan 3 but the trouble then is Aitken would probably be picked at 4 as he played there last year and Milne misses out yet Milne is technically our best centre.
The worst scenario and probably very capable of Mary to do this
Mann 1, Nighty 2, Dugan 3, Lafai 4, Mc Donald 5 and both Milne and Aitken miss out.
 

Rocket Rod

Juniors
Messages
562
I do respect Nighty for his career, but imo he should hang up his boots now. He is reliable I will admit, but is that what we want, a reliable ,short ,slow winger?
He is going to keep the likes of Milne or even Aitken or even Dufty out of the side.
Please someone tap him on the shoulder!
 
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possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
Nightingale is playing to the coaches game plan. He is an international winger and has been one of the top wingers for many years. Mary has an obsession with a compressed defensive structure. He still doesn't realize that opposition coaches are a wake up to this and devise plans to counter this structure.

Flow is much slower and there are a couple of young wingers busting to be selected in first grade. I think Nightingale should fade away in his final year with the Dragons for the good of the team- same as Creagh did.
 

Lethal25

Juniors
Messages
1,489
At least other slow wingers like Halligan could kick goals at 85%. Maybe he should start practising because Widdop is shit at goal kicking
 
Messages
62
The best team should always be selected. Certainly imo that includes Nighty at the present. Sentimentality is irrelevant.

I wouldn't be giving him a contract for 2018 if I were in charge though. Money better spent elsewhere.

Last thing we want to start doing is selecting players who don't deserve it on the basis of their young age or 40m sprint times. Sends the message that performance doesn't matter.
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
The best team should always be selected. Certainly imo that includes Nighty at the present. Sentimentality is irrelevant.

I wouldn't be giving him a contract for 2018 if I were in charge though. Money better spent elsewhere.

Last thing we want to start doing is selecting players who don't deserve it on the basis of their young age or 40m sprint times. Sends the message that performance doesn't matter.
Bird was young and self opinionated. He believed in himself but those in charge at our Club did not believe in him. He moved to the Sharks, was selected in first grade and the rest is history.

I say give these young Turks a go - especially when there is a question mark over those currently in the target position. If the young guy fails, send him back to the lower grade to improve.

What are we looking for in our first grade halves? We want our halves to run direct and create opportunities for the outside backs and forwards backing up. Mann and Field should have been given a full game together in one of the finals. What would we have lost?
 

RufusRex

Post Whore
Messages
62,231
The best team should always be selected. Certainly imo that includes Nighty at the present. Sentimentality is irrelevant.

I wouldn't be giving him a contract for 2018 if I were in charge though. Money better spent elsewhere.

Last thing we want to start doing is selecting players who don't deserve it on the basis of their young age or 40m sprint times. Sends the message that performance doesn't matter.


If Mann is not playing fullback/centre or in the halves then Nightingale is not in our best two wingers. They would be Mann and Macdonald. If Mann is playing elsewhere in the team then Nightingale is the 2nd winger picked and comes into the side on the RIGHT wing (not left). Dufty etc need to put pressure on him staking their claim via the cutters but their path into first grade should be via the wing. That is all.
 

Glenn01

Juniors
Messages
232
The best team should always be selected. Certainly imo that includes Nighty at the present. Sentimentality is irrelevant.

I wouldn't be giving him a contract for 2018 if I were in charge though. Money better spent elsewhere.

Last thing we want to start doing is selecting players who don't deserve it on the basis of their young age or 40m sprint times. Sends the message that performance doesn't matter.

Remember the first year of Bennett when Nightingale was an interchange utility? That is where I would have him. He may not set the world afire any position anymore but I believe he wouldn't let the team down in any position.
 

RufusRex

Post Whore
Messages
62,231
Why is McDonald all of a sudden #1?

Personally I thought he was very underwhelming in the CS.

Nightingale still the #1 winger in the club IMO.


well you are right .. Nene dropped a disgusting spiral torpedo that was up in the sun ...

Apart from that he was bigger, faster, stronger than nightingale .. made more metres on his dummy half runs and kick returns, was able to get back in cover defence quicker, was stronger in tackling and more importantly didn't let the bunnies score 2 tries by being out of position and gifting the opposition the outside channel. But apart from that Nightingale was better.

Stupid thing is, we didn't even use Nene's strongest asset. He is easily the best winger in the club, second is a tussle between Nightingale and Mann and based on how Mann out pointed him head to head in the back half of last season it is obvious to all but the most emotionally sentimental that Nightingale comes in third.
 
Messages
62
Obviously Nightingale was not going to get a game over Brett Morris or Boyd. And I don't really believe big Dell was selected over him due to pure playing ability. Do you?

I think fans forums in general have a poor appreciation of what makes a good player and what makes a winning team. A few flashy moments on a YouTube video you saw from the nines does not mean that guy will automatically be good in NRL first grade. A 21 year old player is not automatically better than a 31 year player even though he might be faster or stronger.

Fronting up for 24 games a season and getting the job done, regardless of the poor halves inside you, and terrible coaching and recruitment, is the sign of a good player who you want in your team. Dropping Nightingale at this stage would be poor thinking imo.

As soon as we start selecting teams on potential and disregarding performance or attitude we stop even trying to win, really reinforcing those bad attitudes instilled by McGregor and fall even further into the abyss imo.
 

Vinnie

Juniors
Messages
236
Solid as a rock, safe as houses under the high ball, can score a try !!! Why drop him !!! McDonald hasn't impressed me at all yet and extremely shaky under high ball, that try was Dugan's try not his ! So replace McDonald. If all our players had the smarts of Nighty we wouldn't have a problem and we have a hell of lot more problems to fix than worrying about fixing one of the only things that aint broken !!!
First one picked in my team !!
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
I think Nighty is playing one year too long this year. He would have been better spending two years in the ESL where he would have been as sensation and earned much better coin.
 

Red V for life

Juniors
Messages
886
I just can't bring myself to say it's time to go Flo. Love the guy and all he has brought to the Dragons.

I can and will say it's an absolute shame that a club legend looks like going out in a whimper (if the team can even muster that).
 

TruSaint

Referee
Messages
20,095
+1 Nene is our #1 winger - nighty is just too slow now

Based on 1 game ?

Flo was never fast BTW... But he knew his role, scored plenty and was solid in defence.
Add to that the amount of hit ups he took from d/half...

Flo may have 1 maybe 2 years left, but he will chosen to start in each game if fit.
Like i said before, let him leave on his own terms. One club players dont come around very often, and its not
as if he letting us down.

Champion in my eyes. He is the least of our problems right now.
 

possm

Coach
Messages
15,587
Based on 1 game ?

Flo was never fast BTW... But he knew his role, scored plenty and was solid in defence.
Add to that the amount of hit ups he took from d/half...

Flo may have 1 maybe 2 years left, but he will chosen to start in each game if fit.
Like i said before, let him leave on his own terms. One club players dont come around very often, and its not
as if he letting us down.

Champion in my eyes. He is the least of our problems right now.
Of course as long as his selection in first grade does not compromise our teams chances of winning the game.
 

RufusRex

Post Whore
Messages
62,231
Nightingales speed and defensive positioning in the shield showed every other team in the comp how to score against us. We don't have a coach that can exploit a teams weaknesses but every other team does.

Nightingale 2017 is not Nightingale 2010 .. He is a champion in my eyes too no doubt but if I were to list the top three problems in the team right now they would be

1. Widdop
2. Left Centre
3. Right Wing (Given Nene should be playing left wing).


This is not based on one game .. it is based on one game plus season 2016.
 
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