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Finals Week 2 vs Souths

Old Kogarah Boy 1

First Grade
Messages
5,415
Don’t know if anyone else has mentioned it but ....... l’m really peeved that the game is on so late.

I’ll be half cut by then or asleep!

Seriously, whatever happened 3pm or alike?

People with kids etc, have to get home and often by public transport.

You invite a few friends over for a bbq, burn the snags, guzzle a few quite ones, talk some BS and then..... sorry folks, the game doesn’t start for another couple of hours!

Then my friends p!ss off home cause their bored sh!tless and l’m a lousy host, the wife goes to bed, the dog farts under the table and l have to stay awake to watch the team play!

I tell you, it’s just not cricket!
 
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TruSaint

Referee
Messages
20,095
This makes me very happy. I don’t dislike Aitken but it’s Lomax time. I’m not expecting Lomax to win us the game but he has shown enough to help us not lose it(if that makes sense).

Agree, and I have said on numerous threads, what a kick in the guts it would be for young Lomax, to be dropped after being part of a massive win. KId's needs confidence now. Win or lose, he deserves his
chance.
 
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Messages
2,910
Agree, and I have said on numerous threads, what a kick in the guts it would be for young Lomax, to be dropped after being mart of a massive win. KId's needs confidence now. Win or lose, he deserves his
chance.
Mary has said he will play, Aitken only 80% thank god.
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,406
I’d’ve added Host to a 4 forward bench & ideally put Field on Pereira’s wing and chip behind the rushing defence all day.

Lomax has the height & ball skills to take any bombs directed at Field.

The guy’s now 85kg - the same weight as half a dozen immortals, so don’t peddle the ragdolled shit?

Give him a crack or he’s a Cowboy?

PS Yeah Yeah OK - it ain’t gonna happen, but we can dream combinations eh Frank et al?

And Mary had him on the bench 2 week’s ago, so he’s not far off even conservative McGregor’s radar?

What the f**k !
You have completely lost me with the “ don’t peddle the ragdolled shit “ plus “ or is he a Cowboy ? “ I have not ever mentioned anything discriminatory about either one of them - ever ? ? I believe that you are referring to someone else’s post my friend .

PS eh Frank et al ???
 
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rednwhites

Juniors
Messages
1,303
What giboz said, Sele can hold he's own in the middle.
IMO Sele is the more aggressive and skillful of the two. Not shitting on Host, just think Sele is the better bench pick against this big souffs pack.

It's really a question of who sits on the bench better.
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
mcinness-c180909701-sd.jpg



FEATURE


The most important phone call of McInnes' career
Author
Brad Walter Senior Reporter
Timestamp
Fri 14 Sep 2018, 04:49 PM

A phone call from Cameron McInnes to Paul McGregor to say he no longer wanted to join St George Illawarra has indirectly led to the proud South Sydney junior captaining the Dragons against the club where he was touted as a future skipper.

McInnes, who will share the captaincy duties with Tyson Frizell in Saturday night's sudden-death semi-final against the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium, had been poised to sign with St George Illawarra for the 2016 season but Souths persuaded him to stay after Issac Luke's shock departure for the Warriors.

It was then that McInnes made what may be the most important phone call of his career, and one that ensured the door was still open at the Dragons when he decided to leave the Rabbitohs the following year.

"I just phoned Mary out of respect because I had only met him once or twice but he is one of the most genuine people I had ever met and he would do anything for anybody," McInnes said.

"I just wanted to call him out of respect and he understood my decision fully and he was really good about it. Then 12 months later I had the opportunity to speak to him again and he was as supportive of me as he was the year before."

McGregor: Souths drama won't change Dragons' focus

After deciding to stay at Souths, he shared the hooking role with Damien Cook in 2016 but the club's decision to sign Robbie Farah at the end of that season prompted the former Junior Kangaroos and Rabbitohs under 20s captain to question his future at Redfern.

He again picked up the phone to McGregor and asked if there was an opportunity in 2017.

The Dragons had been in a contractual stand-off with hooker Mitch Rein and Heath L'Estrange was retiring so McGregor approached the club's director of pathways Ian Millward.

"When we were first looking at signing Cam, we had Mitch and we looked at bringing another hooker in," McGregor said.

"He had done some really good things in under 20s and as a junior, and I just thought he was a special player.

"Then Issac went to the Warriors and he rang me, and said 'I want to stay. It's my junior club'. I appreciated that and I understood. If someone comes through as a junior and there is opportunity at that club you should stay there so I was happy for him to stay there. It is the same with our juniors.

"At the end of 2016, Cam rang me again and said, 'is there a chance I could come now?' The club and Mitch had decided to go different ways and Robbie had turned up at Souths.

"He had been happy to take on Cookie but Souths had decided to bring in a third hooker, who was an experienced one, so Cam said obviously the pathway there was blocked and he wanted to know if there was a pathway for him at our club."

mcinnesc-16032009.jpg

Cameron McInnes playing for South Sydney in 2016. :copyright:Robb Cox/NRL Photos
Coincidentally, Cook - an Illawarra junior - had been in the Dragons' system and he played for the club in 2012 and 2013 before moving to Canterbury and then joining South Sydney in 2016 after Luke left.

Cook started six matches at hooker in 2016 and 10 last year but he has emerged as arguably the most improved player in the game this season and edged McInnes for the NSW No.9 jersey.

"Cam's a really good player, I rate him very highly, especially training alongside him as well, I know how hard he works," Cook said of his friendly rivalry with McInnes.

"We got along really well when he was here [at Souths] and we still do.

"I managed to get the Origin jersey this year but it's sudden-death footy now and being an ex-Bunny, he'll be looking to get the job done over his old team as well. It's always exciting playing against your old team."

McInnes insists he has now moved on and points out Saturday night's semi-final will be his 50th Telstra Premiership appearance for St George Illawarra, whereas he played 39 for the Rabbitohs.

"I am very thankful to Souths for giving me my start and also for allowing me to move on but I will always be in debt to Mary and the Dragons for taking a punt on me," McInnes said.

"I love the club, I am grateful for the opportunity they have given me and the belief that Mary showed in me from the first time I spoke to him made me feel really good. I have so much respect for Mary and I always want to play as hard as I can and do the job for the Dragons each week."

With Gareth Widdop out for the season after disclocating his shoulder in last Sunday's 48-18 elimination final defeat of Brisbane, McInnes and Frizell will share the captaincy role as they did when the English playmaker was absent for the previous three matches.

McInnes, who topped Marist College Pagewood in the 2011 HSC for biology, business studies and advanced English, while attaining Band 6 results for business studies and personal development, health and physical education, had been considered by many at Souths as a future captain.

Rabbitohs v Dragons - Semi-Final

"I remember there was some talk about that, but I was never focused on that," he said. "I was only a young kid trying to play some first-grade footy and it is no different now.

"The leadership role is something I embrace regardless of whether I am captain or not because I want to do the right thing by my team-mates. Having the 'C' next to my name, especially for such a great club, is a huge honour and I am very proud of that."

Despite only being in his second season at the Dragons, McInnes is a member of their four-man leadership group along with Widdop, Frizell and James Graham – and McGregor said he was an obvious choice for the captaincy role.

"With Cam, what you see on the field is pretty much what you see every day. He is hard working and will do anything that is needed for the team so he is easy to coach," McGregor said.

"James just does what he does anyway so he doesn’t need the C next to his name, Tyson is a leader by his inspirational stuff and Cam is a good talker who plays 80 minutes. Cam and Tyson will share the role but when Tyson is off the field Cam is the captain."


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/201...portant-phone-call-of-cameron-mcinnes-career/
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
simst-1851323rc.jpg



STATS


Stat Attack: Where Souths hold slight advantage over Dragons
Author
Chris Kennedy
Timestamp
Fri 14 Sep 2018, 01:13 PM

There is little to separate the Dragons and Rabbitohs after two meetings this year - each team claimed one win apiece with both matches coming in the first half of the season.

There has been a lot of water under the bridge since the most-recent meeting in round 10.

The Dragons plunged down the Telstra Premiership ladder, from first to seventh, before roaring back to form with a huge 48-18 elimination final win over Brisbane (though it was a costly loss with skipper Gareth Widdop re-injuring his shoulder).

Souths kept consistent form through the season, edging up from fifth place in round 10 to finish third. A narrow 29-28 loss to the Storm in a high-scoring qualifying final in Melbourne carried plenty of positives.

Form-line narrow from two previous meetings

The combined stats from there two meetings reveal little to separate the sides, though it is worth mentioning both matches came before St George Illawarra's late-season form slide.

The Dragons won 16-12 in round five before Souths got revenge with a 24-10 win in round 10.

Across both games, Souths made seven line breaks to three, though that only translated to a six-tries-to-five advantage, according to NRL.com Stats.

stat-attack_20180914_rabbitohs-v-dragons.jpg

Souths edged the tackle busts 63-61 and St George Illawarra the offloads by 23-21. Souths defended a little better (effective tackle rate 87.6% to 86.9%) although the Dragons had a significant advantage in metres gained per match by 1703 to 1567.

In both matches the team with the better completion rate emerged victorious so it's likely whichever team does a better job of controlling possession and maintaining momentum will have an advantage here.

In round five, the Dragons completed at 81% versus 76% with a 42.1 to 40.9-metre average set advantage, and won narrowly.

In round 10, Souths completed at 73% to 66% and although the Dragons ran for 45.2 metres per set against 43.1 for Souths and also held 53% of the ball, the Bunnies still won handily.

With one win apiece and little separating them in terms of overall stats, neither side will carry a psychological advantage heading into Saturday's semi-final.

History and home ground favours the Rabbitohs

While the previous meetings this year are close, records over a longer history certainly weight in the Bunnies' favour.

Souths have won seven of the past nine meetings overall. Aside from the fact they will be at home, they also have a much better recent record at ANZ than the Red V.

The Bunnies record there this year reads nine win and three losses. For the Dragons it is one win and two losses. Going back further they have won just three of their past 13 games there. Their last final there was an 11-10 elimination final loss to Canterbury in 2015.

We won't go so far as to call it a hoodoo, but recent history at ANZ does not count in the Dragons' favour.

nrl2018_finals-bracket-week-2_1650x1080.jpg

First finals meeting since 1984

St George Illawarra have never played the Rabbitohs in a finals match and for the last finals meeting between Souths and either St George or Illawarra you have to go back to 1984, when the Saints beat the Rabbitohs 24-6 at the SCG in a grand final qualifier before going on to lose the grand final to the Eels.

St George won the previous finals meeting too, ending South Sydney's 1980 season. You have to go back to the previous post-season clash – a 16-10 win to Souths in the 1971 grand final – for any victory by St George or Illawarra over Souths in a finals match (the Steelers never met the Rabbitohs in a finals game).



Experience the excitement of Finals footy this weekend. Get your tickets to week 2 of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/201...re-souths-hold-slight-advantage-over-dragons/
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
grahanj-180406-gp-60.jpg



TEAM LISTS


24-hour warning: Semi final v Rabbitohs
Author
Dragons.com.au dragons.com.au
Timestamp
Fri 14 Sep 2018, 07:58 PM

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has trimmed his squad to 19 ahead of the Dragons' semi-final clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs clash at ANZ Stadium on Saturday, September 15.

Euan Aitken and Jacob Host are the two names to drop out of the squad to face the Rabbitohs.

NRL squad for semi-final v South Sydney Rabbitohs

1. Matt Dufty – sponsored by Illawarra Mercury/St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
2. Nene Macdonald – sponsored by Relativity in the Loop
3. Zac Lomax – sponsored by University of Wollongong
4. Tim Lafai – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Centre
5. Jordan Pereira – sponsored by SMAI
6. Kurt Mann – sponsored by Dynamic Projects
7. Ben Hunt– sponsored by Paul's Customs and Forwarding Solutions
8. James Graham – sponsored by EFEX
9. Cameron McInnes (c) – sponsored by Floormania
10. Leeson Ah Mau – sponsored by My Muscle Chef
11. Tyson Frizell (c) – sponsored by Val Morgan
12. Tariq Sims – sponsored by Stonemasons & Landscapers (since 1970)
13. Jack de Belin – sponsored by Wollongong Jetski

Interchange:
14. Jeremy Latimore – sponsored by Addbuild Additions
15. Hame Sele – sponsored by Wollongong Diagnostics
16. Blake Lawrie – sponsored by Westfund
17. Luciano Leilua – sponsored by Domus Lighting
18. Jason Nightingale
19. Jai Field



https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/09/14/24-hour-warning-semi-final-v-rabbitohs/
 
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