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Round 11 vs Canberra

Life's Good

Coach
Messages
13,971
I’m glad Lawrie is on the bench, we really struggled for size, off the bench, against the Bunnies & the Raiders have a big pack. I found it laughable that Mann was used as a FR because we were short on size.
I think the time has come for Mary to stop f*cking around with the bench. He’s not innovative enough in his game plan to be cute with the bench rotation. We’ve got to get back to what we do best - belting teams through the middle, opening them up and having our way with them.
There is no logical reason(injuries aside) for the Raiders to be in with a chance.
 

Saint_JimmyG

First Grade
Messages
5,067
For whatever reason, Canberra has been a real pain in the arse to deal with, even as far back to 1982 (pre joint venture days).

This game will not be an easy one.

I feel that the next fortnight will define the season (especially against Penrith away from home).
 

Crush

Coach
Messages
10,410
I’m glad Lawrie is on the bench, we really struggled for size, off the bench, against the Bunnies & the Raiders have a big pack. I found it laughable that Mann was used as a FR because we were short on size.
I think the time has come for Mary to stop f*cking around with the bench. He’s not innovative enough in his game plan to be cute with the bench rotation. We’ve got to get back to what we do best - belting teams through the middle, opening them up and having our way with them.
There is no logical reason(injuries aside) for the Raiders to be in with a chance.
Word
 

Crush

Coach
Messages
10,410
For whatever reason, Canberra has been a real pain in the arse to deal with, even as far back to 1982 (pre joint venture days).

This game will not be an easy one.

I feel that the next fortnight will define the season (especially against Penrith away from home).
You said Roosters and Storm would define our season
 

Crush

Coach
Messages
10,410
Just had a look on the raiders forum, funny stuff. I don't think I read one person say they think they can beat the dragons. The general consensus is that we win by 40+. BTW, Seizer is a massive whipping boy over there.
 

Dragonslayer

First Grade
Messages
7,678
I think there's 2 things to consider here.

1. As some have mentioned already, I also don't think JDB will play and given the make up of the extended bench, I think Sele will come in. Given Lawrie had a cracker game at lock in ISP last week, probably gives him the first crack at that position, with Sele the bench prop, although they could interchange during the game or even before.
2. There would be also some doubt as to Hunt's recovery from his cork. This would necessitate Mann to half and either Lomax or Robson filling the utility role.

Mudgee will be cold, and muscle injuries are more susceptible to further damage even if "warmed" up.

At least the bench looks more balanced this week
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
preview-pic_r11_dragons-v-raiders.jpg


MATCH PREVIEW


Dragons v Raiders: De Belin to start; Austin named
Author
NRL.com
Timestamp
Tue 15 May 2018, 04:03 PM

Whether it's good management, good fortune or a bit of both, the Dragons have enjoyed a charmed run with injuries in 2018, allowing coach Paul McGregor to continually name the same team every week.

That kind of sustained luck is almost unheard of in a heavy contact sport like rugby league and the Dragons made the most of it, winning eight of their first 10 games to be all alone in top spot.

Last week they were out-played for just the second time this season and they need to get straight back on the horse like they did when they recovered from the round seven road loss to the Warriors by thrashing the Roosters and Storm.

The Raiders have had a good record against the Dragons over the years and will be hoping that plays on their opponents' minds. Canberra had won four of five before stumbling at home last week against a hungrier Sharks outfit.

It's a home game for the Dragons, but it is being played at Mudgee and might draw a few Raiders fans out of the woodwork. Not sure if we'll see a Viking clap though.

Match: Dragons vs Raiders

2:00pm

Home Team

Dragons

1st Position


Away Team

Raiders

11th Position

Venue: Glen Willow Oval

Match broadcasters:

  • Fox League
  • LIVE PASS
Buy Tickets
Key match-up: The Dragons have been so impressive this season that almost every player is apparently in line for Origin selection, and that includes Euan Aitken. The reality is that he is probably still a year away from the Origin arena, but there are plenty of pundits who reckon the 22-year-old is ready. Aitken loves being assigned defensive challenges by coach Paul McGregor and he has one on his hands on Sunday against Joey Leilua. NSW coach Brad Fittler will be watching to see how Aitken handles the robust Leilua, who is 12kg heavier than the Dragons centre.

For the Dragons to win: Put off their game by an enthusiastic Rabbitohs outfit last week, they have to be the aggressor against a big Canberra pack. The Raiders have been a bit of a bogey side for the Dragons and will probably look to make a statement in the first 20 minutes. The Dragons need to nullify Canberra's power game, while Ben Hunt has to take charge after an ordinary performance against the Bunnies.

For the Raiders to win: They were on track for their fifth win in six games last week before being overrun in the second half by a more committed Sharks side. The 11th-placed Raiders have a 4-6 record and need to approach Sunday's clash with a finals-like intensity and hope the competition leaders are suddenly feeling a little vulnerable after being humbled by Souths.

Dragons stat attack: Long-serving Dragons winger Jason Nightingale has scored five tries in his last five games against the Raiders. Last week the Dragons had less errors and less missed tackles than Souths. They also had more time in possession and only a slightly inferior completion rate, but still lost by 14.

Raiders stat attack: Classy captain Jarrod Croker needs four points to reach 100 for the ninth consecutive season. He is second among the leading point-scorers, with Gareth Widdop in top spot with 110.

And another thing: Here's hoping the great historical town of Mudgee is treated to a cracker of a game on Sunday. Glen Willow Oval has a ground record of almost 9500, which is just under the 10,000 capacity. Not a bad effort in a town where the population is about 11,000. Bush people love their footy and you can bet this clash has been the talk of the town all week.

St George Illawarra Dragons v Canberra Raiders, Sunday 2pm at Glen Willow Oval, Mudgee

Dragons: 1 Matthew Dufty, 2 Nene Macdonald, 3 Euan Aitken, 4 Tim Lafai, 5 Jason Nightingale, 6 Gareth Widdop (c), 7 Ben Hunt, 8 James Graham, 9 Cameron McInnes, 10 Paul Vaughan, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Tariq Sims, 13 Jack De Belin

Interchange: 14 Jeremy Latimore, 15 Kurt Mann, 16 Leeson Ah Mau, 17 Blake Lawrie

Reserves: 18 Reece Robson, 19 Zachary Lomax, 20 Mitchell Allgood, 21 Hame Sele

Jack De Belin (hip) and Ben Hunt (quad) have been named despite niggles. Blake Lawrie replaces last week's debutant Zac Lomax in jersey 17.

Raiders: 1 Jack Wighton, 2 Nick Cotric, 3 Jarrod Croker (c), 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Jordan Rapana, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Aidan Sezer, 8 Iosia Soliola, 9 Siliva Havili, 10 Shannon Boyd, 11 Joseph Tapine, 12 Elliott Whitehead, 13 Josh Papalii

Interchange: 14 Ata Hingano, 15 Luke Bateman, 16 Charlie Gubb, 17 Dunamis Lui

Reserves: 18 Liam Knight, 19 Michael Oldfield, 20 Sam Williams, 21 Craig Garvey

Five-eighth Blake Austin (ankle) has been named in an unchanged Raiders line-up, with Sam Williams on standby in the reserves.

Head-to-head: Played 28; Raiders 17 wins, Dragons 10 wins, 1 draw
Matches at venue: No matches at this venue
2017 result: Raiders won 18-14 at GIO Stadium in round 19
Points per game: Dragons 27.4; Raiders 22.3
Points conceded per game: Dragons 14.6; Raiders 21.6
Televised: Live on Fox League

Steve Turner's prediction: It was a flat performance from the Dragons following their second loss of the season last weekend to the Rabbitohs. Their halves were put under pressure and they failed to build any pressure, an area that has been a strong point in 2018. I expect the Saints to bounce back against a Canberra side that forgot how to close out a match. The Raiders were up 16-8 into the second half against the Sharks and because of poor game management, Canberra were unable to get the win.
Tip: Dragons by 6


https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/05/15/st-george-illawarra-dragons-v-canberra-raiders-round-11-preview/
 

Crush

Coach
Messages
10,410
Did they have a sack Ricky thread?
They all know Ricky is the king of deflection. Blaming everyone, everything other than himself. Ricky blames the NRL for his seasons poor form this year. Too many players off contract is causing too many distractions for the team. The NRL are to blame for allowing player contracts to be negotiated during the regular season. Poor Ricky. Next year he'll have a better season.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
St George Illawarra Dragons head west to Mudgee for clash with Canberra Raiders
  • Dragon's Den
    r264_207_4052_2110_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

    Right at home: Dragons players Jason Nightingale, Kurt Mann, Reece Robson and Blake Lawrie meet Mudgee Public School students during a community visit in February.

  • St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor says he welcomes the challenge of teams lifting their game to face his high-flying Dragons.

    The Dragons will take the first of two NRL regular season matches to Mudgee on Sunday when they host Canberra at the Glenn Willow Stadium.

    St George Illawarra signed an agreement with the regional NSW town late last year to take one home competition match as well as the annual Charity Shield clash with South Sydney to Mudgee for two years.

    Souths edged the Dragons 22-18 in the Charity Shield in February and made up for their loss to St George Illawarra at Kogarah in round five with a 24-10 victory at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

    A week after being labelled the benchmark team of the competition by Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy, McGregor said he was aware teams would be more motivated to face his side.

    The Raiders will have even more motivation against the Dragons in Mudgee having blown a lead to go down to Cronulla on Sunday.

    “I hope so. I don’t mind that. You’ve got play good week to week to play finals footy and then you’re ready. So if teams think we are the benchmark we’ve just got to make sure we go out and don’t disappoint,” McGregor said.

    “We’ll definitely have a real good look at [the loss to Souths]. You’ve certainly got to learn from losing and winning. This is one of the times the pictures won’t look as good.

    “But certainly we’ll review the game strongly. We’ve been winning games through forcing errors on the opposition and [Souths] turned that around on us.”

    McGregor indicated halfback Ben Hunt should be right to play the Raiders despite suffering a badly corked leg, while Jack de Belin is in doubt with a mystery sternum injury having failed to train last week and only managing 30 minutes against Souths.

    Dragons’ chairman Brian Johnston said the Dragons’ partnership with Mudgee would be important to the long-term prosperity of country rugby league.

    “The Dragons have a large and avid supporter base across all regional markets, in particular the Central West region of NSW,” he said.
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/...ons-head-west-for-clash-with-raiders/?cs=3833
 

Drag Queen

Bench
Messages
2,981
They’ll be freezing their nuts off in Mudge.
Might be better playing in wetsuits!
They all know Ricky is the king of deflection. Blaming everyone, everything other than himself. Ricky blames the NRL for his seasons poor form this year. Too many players off contract is causing too many distractions for the team. The NRL are to blame for allowing player contracts to be negotiated during the regular season. Poor Ricky. Next year he'll have a better season.
Please don't put the mocker on us Crush. The game hasn't been played yet.. Just saying.
 

st.phil

Bench
Messages
4,032
Just had a look on the raiders forum, funny stuff. I don't think I read one person say they think they can beat the dragons. The general consensus is that we win by 40+. BTW, Seizer is a massive whipping boy over there.
For good reason Seizer makes Mccrone look like a genius ...
 

Uplifting

Juniors
Messages
457
I think Sele will definitely come in if JDB is out. I think the selection of Lawrie on the bench this week is again about giving game time to youth (he hasn’t seen much of FG this year).

On a side note the Raidrers ext bench includes 3 x-Dragons, Williams, Garvey, Lui. Siliva is in the starting line up and will be keen to play well.
 
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