Dragons close in on Nene MacDonald

[2010]

Unless Mann moves into the halves, where does he go?

Surely we can't be getting rid of Nighty or Mann.

It's saddens me but I think this is flo's replacement

 

[TheRev]

As above, MacDonald played well today, not the fastest or most agile, but had the pace to run the length today, and a big strong boy.. apparently a developing maroon also & has shed a few kilo's.

Wing spot for sure, our Centres are solid...

With Mann.. the more I watch him.. the more I compare him to Valentine Holmes, he is starting to rly excel in his role, but I think hes capable of a lot more (if we can prise it out of him).. id be very interested to see how he handles a role in the halves.

 

[nrlnrl]

No No No ..Have to keep Milne and Aitken in the centres. Dugan at fullback (It's his best position). Maybe Mann to halves and Nighty and Macdonald wings.

Absolutely, Milne could be anything - he has so many skills & will only get better. Some of the offloads he's thrown have been amazing, can't wait for another 360 flick like the one for the Cutters.

 

[Dragsters]

Absolutely, Milne could be anything - he has so many skills & will only get better. Some of the offloads he's thrown have been amazing, can't wait for another 360 flick like the one for the Cutters.

How good was that 360 flick?!!

Silky skills.

Who was the commentator at the time that said it was the best thing he had seen on a footy field? (or words to that effect)

 

[hewi]

Always said that Milne was a gun. He single handily won Newington the school boys rugby GPS title when he was on a scholarship there. Get him on a 5 year contract . I just googled Nene, he's 194 cm and 111kg. What a winger if he's got speed?

 

[Country Dragon]

McDonald scored a length of the field try against the Tigers yesterday that Nightingale could only dream of!

 

[Mr Red]

Unless Mann moves into the halves, where does he go?

Surely we can't be getting rid of Nighty or Mann.

Yeah this is what I have thought...good player but what's the strategic plan ?
I have heard rumours though that Mann is being shopped around, so he could be the odd man out?

 

[Red V for life]

Yeah this is what I have thought...good player but what's the strategic plan ?
I have heard rumours though that Mann is being shopped around, so he could be the odd man out?

Only at the Dragons would the thought process include shopping Mann about.

I could imagine it was highly likely early in the season given his on field performances and even then i think it would've been a poor decision but if it's true now (given his form) then someone has lost their marbles.

I could only assume if it is still the case that his off field behaviour doesn't mix with the culture of the joint, but i've heard nothing other than the lizard tossing incident.

 

[getsmarty]

Sims: Building For That Win
Sun 14th August, 07:00AM
A A



St George Illawarra Dragons prop Tariq Sims admits the team is full of confidence following the 32-18 win over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah on Saturday.

The Red-and-Whites ended a five-game losing streak with the local derby victory which saw Sims notch two tries before departing the field with a suspected rolled ankle near the end of fulltime.

The local Gerringong Lions junior will undergo scans to assess the ailment but believes the win is a turning point for the squad.

St George Illawarra Dragons prop Tariq Sims admits the team is full of confidence following the 32-18 win over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah on Saturday.

The Red-and-Whites ended a five-game losing streak with the local derby victory which saw Sims notch two tries before departing the field with a suspected rolled ankle near the end of fulltime.

The local Gerringong Lions junior will undergo scans to assess the ailment but believes the win is a turning point for the squad.

“It was a definitely a great team effort after we looked at ourselves in the mirror asking questions and I’m really glad we were up for that game,” said Sims.

“We never really lost focus and knew if we focused on our defence then our attack would come and I’m pretty proud of the boys despite leaking a couple of points which we will learn from.

“We’ve played some really good sides over the past four or five weeks and our past two games we only lost by seven points so we were definitely building for a win and lucky enough to get over a quality side that are pushing for the title this year.

“Paul McGregor is very good at challenging individuals and he challenged me during the week and I like to think I responded the way he wanted me to.”

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2016/08/14/sims_.html

 

[mobels]

Yeah this is what I have thought...good player but what's the strategic plan ?
I have heard rumours though that Mann is being shopped around, so he could be the odd man out?

I'm going to assume that either Mann is moving to the halves, or he'll be playing a role similar to Nightingale in 2009 where he's a utility for the team. After that, I think Nightingale will be finishing up at the end of next year and Mann will move back to the wing.

So if we do get McDonald its going to be a similar situation in 2009 with Dell/Nightingale/Morris.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Nighty has 1 more year so I can see why they will go for McDonald but they do have FFL and Dufty may start their when he eventually makes 1st grade.

Nene has plenty of speed. He scored a long distance try with Tedesco chasing yesterday which is what we need. Funny that because I was thinking if that was a Saints player who grabbed that ball he would have been caught at half way line. Now we have 1 that will make the distance if they can land Nene.

 

[Twenty10]

I know the priority is halfback and hooker, however we do also need a potent weapon out wide. Nene is exactly that. FFL will make way + possibly Mann. Not sure Kiti Glymin will be kept either.

 

[The Doc]

Iv got a sneaky feeling Mann will be spending the off season training as a 6.
If we land Nene he will be wing. Dufty will get his shot during origin and / or when Duges is injured.
Then when nighty retires Dufty could be our wing replacement.
Thats a pretty damaging and quick backline...
Duges - Nene - Milne - Aitkens - Dufty.
And i think Mann will shine in the halves, has the speed, can ball play, he may just be the answer.
All we really need is a solid 9, quick, can pass, can kick, can run....
With a creative 9, and 2 halves that can ball play, will take pressure off dugan to change his game and let him play the game he played against the sharks.
Might even be able to switch him with Dufty on tackles 4 and 5 as Dufty can ball play.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

Dufty may turn into our cut price Milford and play 6 one day. But I agree, manns got too much talent to let go.

 

[coast_dragons]

Glymin may be on the way out becoming to injury prone.
Carr looks like he has no future at the club.
Lafai may end up getting the sack.
KFFL may get moved on.
Mann may get shifted to the halves.

So if any of these things happen then adding some more depth isn't the worst thing they could do.

 

[TomRedVRiver]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the possible bench we might have next year.

14. JDB
15. Leilua
14. Masoe/Kerr/Host
15. Sims

 

[Mr Red]

I'm going to assume that either Mann is moving to the halves, or he'll be playing a role similar to Nightingale in 2009 where he's a utility for the team. After that, I think Nightingale will be finishing up at the end of next year and Mann will move back to the wing.

So if we do get McDonald its going to be a similar situation in 2009 with Dell/Nightingale/Morris.

I'm not convinced there has been any thought to it at all to be honest.
Nene is still under contract to the Titans for 2017, however has been told he can look around as the Titans want to offload him and possibly 1 other back to accomodate Haynes arrival.
So to me it looks like he was shopped to the dragons, we want to sign him as quick as possible, and we'll worry about "the where's and who's " later.....

I just hope the club doesn't try to apply pressure on nighty to retire early to slot Nene in somehow.

 

[The Doc]

I'm not convinced there has been any thought to it at all to be honest.
Nene is still under contract to the Titans for 2017, however has been told he can look around as the Titans want to offload him and possibly 1 other back to accomodate Haynes arrival.
So to me it looks like he was shopped to the dragons, we want to sign him as quick as possible, and we'll worry about "the where's and who's " later.....

I just hope the club doesn't try to apply pressure on nighty to retire early to slot Nene in somehow.

I love nighty... safe as a double brick house, but has lost ALOT of speed, a key requirement for a winger.
Iv got no problem with nighty playing on next year, and iv got no problem if he is tapped on the shoulder for a younger speedster.
Will always be a dragons legend to me.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

I'm not convinced there has been any thought to it at all to be honest.
Nene is still under contract to the Titans for 2017, however has been told he can look around as the Titans want to offload him and possibly 1 other back to accomodate Haynes arrival.
So to me it looks like he was shopped to the dragons, we want to sign him as quick as possible, and we'll worry about "the where's and who's " later.....

I just hope the club doesn't try to apply pressure on nighty to retire early to slot Nene in somehow.

If this nene kid turns out to be exceptional, I see no issue with tapping nighty on the shoulder. Look at Parker at the broncs or Perret at the dogs. We really need to smarten up about how we run our footy team. Not having a go at you Red,mI actually agree with a lot of what you say, but not in this instance.

 

[coast_dragons]

Nighty maybe asked to move on to say the UK.