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Matt Dufty re-signs until end of 2019

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,576
And time will tell where the both finish. I feel sorry for Ponga and the hype people are throwing at him. I’m not being precious I just don’t understand why when they are completely different style players. And saying we’d adjust we didn’t for Dugan I like how your the expert on Ponga becoming the greatest and how the dragons would be coached! From what I’ve read on all of these forums no one knows what Mary’s doing but you do that’s a big call!
Lol we'd adjust because he'd be the guy to build the team around! Much like Newcastle, QLD and Australia will be doing for the next 10 years plus.

And you certainly are being precious, questioning why people are comparing 2 boom young fullbacks in a thread where one of them is referenced in the title. Settle down, no one has knocked Dufty anywhere. In fact, comparisons to Ponga are great for him.
 

saintm

Juniors
Messages
342
Lol we'd adjust because he'd be the guy to build the team around! Much like Newcastle, QLD and Australia will be doing for the next 10 years plus.

And you certainly are being precious, questioning why people are comparing 2 boom young fullbacks in a thread where one of them is referenced in the title. Settle down, no one has knocked Dufty anywhere. In fact, comparisons to Ponga are great for him.
I don’t agree with the way you think a team would be built around one player I’m sorry and yr right this thread is about Dufty Newcastle are no where near the TEAM the dragons are that’s why our dally m points are shared around by so many players each week. Ponga is the best player in a mediocre team and no it would not just be about him at the dragons because we have hunt Widdop de Belin friz Tariq Vaughn McInnes the list goes on that’s why we are doing well because it is not just about one player it’s a team sport and we are playing as a TEAM
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,952
Ponga has gone to a struggling club with limited attacking skills so he can easily be dominant and therefore demand the ball.
Dufty is part of the ladder leading team with many options and has far less chance of "demanding" the ball but he is highly effective in clutch plays.
Both are exciting to watch but have very different skill sets, so let's sit back and enjoy both of them as they are no doubt the future of the game and kids will idolise them.
 

Dragon Revival

Juniors
Messages
1,603
Dufty has scored 11 tries in 23 games at a rate of 1 try every 2 games while Ponga has scored 8 tries in 25 games at a rate of 1 try every 3 games. Enough said!
 

Frank Facer

First Grade
Messages
5,069
Dufty has scored 11 tries in 23 games at a rate of 1 try every 2 games while Ponga has scored 8 tries in 25 games at a rate of 1 try every 3 games. Enough said!
Ponga's try assists would be much, much higher than Dufty's. Ponga would also have provided much more line break assists than Dufty. Ponga would probably have more line breaks than Dufty. Ponga's defence would be better than Dufty's. I think Ponga has a kicking game too. Qld played Ponga in the forward's in origin. Dufty couldn't play in the forwards in first grade, let alone origin. I am not knocking Dufty. He is fast becoming one of my favourite players, but Ponga is a more complete player. On Newcastle's forum, they are even suggesting that he could be better than Andrew Johns. I was very surprised to see them even contemplating that. Ponga could easily play 5/8. I even wonder if that would be his best position. I suggested on the Ponga Appreciation thread on Newcastle's forum that they should buy Ben Barba and play Ponga 5/8. I would love us to have Ponga as our 5/8. Ponga could be the best young talent to have come along since Inglis and Slater. Ponga is also only 20, while Dufty is 22. Dufty can do some things better than Ponga, like the solo tries he scored against Cronulla and the one he scored against Canberra. His speed and evasiveness is superior to Ponga's.

The fact that some are comparing Dufty to Ponga is a massive compliment to Dufty. Hopefully he continues to develop his game and grow in confidence.
 

epDragon62

First Grade
Messages
5,080
Dufty has scored 11 tries in 23 games at a rate of 1 try every 2 games while Ponga has scored 8 tries in 25 games at a rate of 1 try every 3 games. Enough said!
DR, Frank has given you a detailed response that I agree with but you don’t need the detail. It is blatantly obvious that Ponga is a freak of a player who will make any team better because he is so good across the park. Replace Dufty with Ponga in our team and we would be significantly better.

Dufty is fantastic, Ponga is just better
 

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,576
Time will tell
Maybe it will - but at the moment, one of the players made his debut for QLD and was quite comfortable doing so in an unfamiliar position, one of them is playing a significant part in the form of the team running 1st on the ladder, and one of them is struggling to keep up the pace with NSW Cup...
 

BennyV

Referee
Messages
22,576
On Dufty (and not related to Ponga) one of the biggest gains we will get from this kid over his career is marketability. His attitude, style of play and fact that he's a true local junior lend him to being very popular amongst younger fans and that is something quite rare with players coming through. While I not think he has the leadership attributes for being a captain, he would almost certainly be a face of our club for years.
 
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