Dragons 2018 season review: The biggest upside to St George Illawarra after ‘pass mark’ season
Dragons
NRL 2018: Dragons season review.Source: FOX SPORTS
IT was one hell of a roller coaster season for St George Illawarra.
Tipped to miss finals football for a third-straight season by a host of NRL experts, the Dragons proved many wrong after sitting atop the competition ladder for 16 weeks in a row.
But after the representative period when many of their stars were rewarded with jerseys, a slide began — and so did the fans’ discontent after seeing it all before.
Preliminary Final
It got ugly after their worst-ever loss at Kogarah, a 38-0 defeat to lowly Canterbury, when the team was jeered off the field and fans started burning jerseys on social media.
But before they knew it, the fans were back on board after an incredible Dragons form reversal which saw them knock off the Broncos in week one of the finals before falling to South Sydney in week two in a heartbreaking one-point loss.
So can they improve?
“Without a doubt,” Dragons legend Mark Gasnier told
NRL 360.
“They’ve got Korbin Sims coming, you look at young Zac Lomax who’s going to have another year, Matt Dufty will be into his third year … Blake Lawrie, the young front-rower.
“There’s a lot of youth coming through and I think Ben Hunt will be better for the year, James Graham as well.
“There’s a lot of upside to the Dragons.”
Despite the departure of Leeson Ah Mau which is offset by the addition of Korbin Sims, the Red V’s roster remains virtually the same next year.
It’s one that Gasnier rated in the pre-season and one that he believes will only get better after the experiences of 2018.
“I had them in my top six, and I really liked their roster,” Gasnier said.
“The addition of Graham, and I heard in pre-season how good he’d been for the younger forwards … Hunt partnering with Gareth Widdop, and I expected a lot from Dufty.
“It’s a pass mark. But if you flipped their season around and if they went from three from nine at the start of the year and then finished the way they started, we’d all be saying what an amazing season.
“I loved their last two games. I admit the back end of the season, the last six games in particular, was pretty ordinary.
“But typified by Graham, in those two semi-final matches, their attitude was spot on.”
BEST STATS
— Their 15 regular season wins was their most since winning 17 in 2010.
— St George Illawarra busted 32.5 tackles this season, more than any other team.
— 2018 saw the Dragons get their biggest away win in their history (54-8 v Titans in Toowoomba) but also saw them suffer their biggest ever loss at Kogarah (0-38 in Rd 24 v Bulldogs).
— Almost 45 per cent of their conceded tries this season (37 of 84) came through their right side defence.
— Had five players play all 26 matches this season (Matt Dufty, James Graham, Tim Lafai, Kurt Mann and Cameron McInnes).
— Matt Dufty was their leading try scorer with 13 tries.
— Gareth Widdop (205 points) became just the second player for St George Illawarra to score 200+ points in a season behind Jamie Soward (234 in 2009).
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tyson Frizell
The representative back-rower was inspirational throughout the season and led from the front in more ways than one.
When the side needed a powerful run to get over the advantage line, it was often Frizell taking a run from almost off the back fence.
This season the 26-year-old averaged 70 minutes and 104 run metres per game — the latter being the most of his career.
He was also a machine in defence, averaging 27.2 tackles per game.
Tyson Frizell had a big season.Source: AAP
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Elimination final: 48-18 v Brisbane
It will go down as one of the all-time finals ambushes, because it was a stunning performance that no one saw coming.
After limping into the finals, winning just three of their final nine regular-season games, the Dragons shocked the NRL with a demolition job on the Broncos — their first victory at Suncorp Stadium since 2009.
The Dragons were down on confidence, while the Broncos had stormed into September, but a stirring captain’s run speech from Graham inspired the Red V to the unlikely win.
The Dragons ambushed the Broncos in their elimination final.Source: AAP
WHAT WENT RIGHT
As has been in the case in recent seasons, the Dragons’ start to the year was a blistering one.
The Red V won 12 of their first 15 matches of the season to lead the competition up until Round 16 and that put them in good stead for their first finals berth since 2015.
First-grade debuts to the likes of Lomax, Reece Robson, Jordan Pereira and Darren Nicholls, as well as more game time for Blake Lawrie and Luciano Leilua will only boost the team’s depth going forward.
Gareth Widdop’s shoulder injury was a huge blow to the team.Source: AAP
WHAT WENT WRONG
With a large number of stars involved in State of Origin including Paul Vaughan, Jack de Belin, Frizell, Hunt and Tariq Sims, the Dragons emerged from the representative period visibly a flatter side.
And they weren’t the only players who took part in rep duties with Gareth Widdop and Graham also involved in the Denver Test between England and New Zealand.
Whether or not player management played a part in their late-season slump, a Dragons internal review will determine, but perhaps the coaching staff may do things differently next season.
Injuries also played their part with Widdop (dislocated shoulder) and Vaughan’s (broken foot) absences cruel blows late in the year.
GRADE: B-
https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...n/news-story/f381537e768b868b1959447b63f4971d
