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Round 14 vs Eels

Blood Shot Eyes

First Grade
Messages
5,967
People are saying the effort tonight was for McGregor...well hes been under the pump for months, so if that was the case why wasnt the effort there before now to save his job......imo the effort was there because of the relief that hes gone and theres light at the end of the tunnel ....
Ive never been a McGregor fan simply because I didnt think he was ever up to it and he very rarely if at all admitted he was wrong at times......unlike some ive never hated the bloke but simply didnt want him in charge of my footy team.....anyhow Mary I wish you well for the future
 

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,207
The two overturned tries were interesting ones. I think it was quite nice that they cancelled each other out otherwise it'd mean more controversy in the media.

Ellis had complete control of the ball but in a very technical way it did brush the eels player's hand, though it wasn't really a bobble. Given that it was given try I think it should have remained a try but can give the ref benefit of the doubt on a technicality.

Marney's try probably deserved to be given for the same reason. It definitely hit the dead ball line though could well have hit a blade of grass in goal half a millisecond before it hit the white paint. I saw what the video ref saw but there was still an argument for not overturning it.

Glad this isn't the talking point this morning but thought them interesting calls but not necessarily blunders.
 

jeffdragon

Bench
Messages
3,440
The two overturned tries were interesting ones. I think it was quite nice that they cancelled each other out otherwise it'd mean more controversy in the media.

Ellis had complete control of the ball but in a very technical way it did brush the eels player's hand, though it wasn't really a bobble. Given that it was given try I think it should have remained a try but can give the ref benefit of the doubt on a technicality.

Marney's try probably deserved to be given for the same reason. It definitely hit the dead ball line though could well have hit a blade of grass in goal half a millisecond before it hit the white paint. I saw what the video ref saw but there was still an argument for not overturning it.

Glad this isn't the talking point this morning but thought them interesting calls but not necessarily blunders.
If Mahoney was given that would of been typical of what happens to us.
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
The two overturned tries were interesting ones. I think it was quite nice that they cancelled each other out otherwise it'd mean more controversy in the media.

Ellis had complete control of the ball but in a very technical way it did brush the eels player's hand, though it wasn't really a bobble. Given that it was given try I think it should have remained a try but can give the ref benefit of the doubt on a technicality.

Marney's try probably deserved to be given for the same reason. It definitely hit the dead ball line though could well have hit a blade of grass in goal half a millisecond before it hit the white paint. I saw what the video ref saw but there was still an argument for not overturning it.

Glad this isn't the talking point this morning but thought them interesting calls but not necessarily blunders.
In a way you gave highlighted the issue with bunker re decisions on tries.

If he is going to send it to the bunker then don’t make a declaration as to what you think just send it to them and everyone accepts their scrutiny and decision.

If there is any doubt from them then no try.

If a ref makes a call and you think it’s wrong use your captains challenge.
 
Messages
3,582
The Ellis no try was a joke, at no time did he lose control of the ball.

As for the Mahoney no try it looked like part of the ball touched the dead ball line.

Watching the game again, it really was a tremendous defensive effort from 1-17.

Host added some starch in defence and he knows how to run good lines.

Let’s see who is selected next week.
 

matPORTS

Juniors
Messages
546
Must say that I am absolutely stoked at our effort last night. Regardless of what the 'why' may have been for our performance, we were short in pack and they defended like busteds during the key moments and ran like their lives depended on it.

Now that the coaching hierarchy has changed - basically they are all now on notice. Host had one of his best games for us. Ellis clearly wants to show his worth and wants a contract for the next couple of years. Fuimaono has been in the good system at Penrith as well, and needs more minutes. Korbin showed that there is still some footballing aggression in the Sims Brothers yet. Get Tariq and Vaughan back in there to see where we are really at (we may even get JDB back in September as well).

On our defensive effort again - saw glimpses last night of the Bennett years, and that is what we will get out of Dean Young in this short term. It's not pretty, but you can tell that Parramatta were getting frustrated... started throwing the ball around, didn't go where it needed to go and the errors came.

One thing the game last night showed... the comp has remained fairly stagnant to this point. No team has really improved or got worse (Roosters and Raiders only 'below par' in terms of their position due to massive injury tolls). The final six weeks in the lead up to the finals are going to be massively crucial. There will be surprises right across the comp (and no this isn't to say that we are going on a streak - but we along with others are capable of impacting those teams in the race).

... to this point, Parramatta are not doing enough to a point where they will beat a full strength Storm, Roosters or Raiders in the heat of a finals game (and even Penrith have shown some chinks in the armour of late as well). Unfortunately they are just a team of 'stat monkeys'. Workhorses (Gutherson with his runs and their middle forwards), but those stats go out the window come finals time. Big game for them next week. They haven't been playing that well for about the past month, and seems their luck finally ran out last night.

Did everyone see Blake Ferguson blow up when the ball went to Gutherson for their first try? I know he's been unlucky having not scored a meat pie this year, but seems like he's more interested in avoiding the nudie run. Dylan Brown is also being stifled by Moses wanting to be the dominant play maker.

Enjoy the weekend !

#makestgeorgegreatagain
 

Blood Shot Eyes

First Grade
Messages
5,967
Re the Ellis no try been saying for years if theres any doubt in the refs mine or he wants a bit more clarification before he adjudicates then dont indicate at all....if then on the rare occassion the bunker cant confirm one way or the other then make a decision....its not a perfect solution but at least the bunker boys or girls arnt influenced
 

Inisai Toga

Juniors
Messages
1,427
In a way you gave highlighted the issue with bunker re decisions on tries.

If he is going to send it to the bunker then don’t make a declaration as to what you think just send it to them and everyone accepts their scrutiny and decision.

If there is any doubt from them then no try.

If a ref makes a call and you think it’s wrong use your captains challenge.
Agree or just brush it entirely. Dufty vs Cronulla, Fritzell’s vs Souths and the two last night.... is it worth it...?
 

R&WTILLIDIE

First Grade
Messages
5,158
Re the Ellis no try been saying for years if theres any doubt in the refs mine or he wants a bit more clarification before he adjudicates then dont indicate at all....if then on the rare occassion the bunker cant confirm one way or the other then make a decision....its not a perfect solution but at least the bunker boys or girls arnt influenced
The ref was right there for both tries. He indicated they were tries and called on the bunker. There was no conclusive evidence to show they weren’t tries, but these dumb merkins decided to change the rules and said no try. If it had been Melbourne or Easts, they would have been 8 point tries
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
mcinnes-and-mary-200814_gt_11.jpg


MATCH REPORT


Dragons farewell Mary with determined victory
Author
Dan Walsh NRL.com Reporter
Timestamp
Fri 14 Aug 2020, 10:12 PM
walshdan-head.png

Paul McGregor cleaned out his office in the morning, sat on the sidelines in the evening, and savoured one last win to finish seven seasons of trials and tribulations in charge of his beloved Dragons.

With guts and grit that has been missing for most all of 2020, St George Illawarra boiled over on high-flying Parramatta, knocking the Eels off on their own turf with a 14-12 upset.

Fumbles, thrills and spills in the wet made sure the result was in the balance until the final moments.

And with immediate and interim successor Dean Young watching from up on high in the coach's box, McGregor rode the entire ride in the Dragons dug-out alongside his bench and coaching staff.

Given the Eels' penchant for pinching tight games this season, an 80-minute microcosm of McGregor's 151-game tenure loomed.


Match: Eels v Dragons

Round 14 - Friday 14th August

Full Time

Home Team

Eels

Scored 12 points

Away Team

Dragons

Scored 14 points

Venue: Bankwest Stadium, Sydney

St George Illawarra promised plenty early as they stuck with the premiership fancies, so much so they held a 10-6 half-time lead.

But when Kane Evans wrestled back the lead with the simplest of barge over tries straight after the break, an all-too familiar Dragons fade-out – typically seen post-Origin most years – loomed.

Instead, the Dragons hung tough. Zac Lomax nudged over one penalty goal to level the scores, and then another to take the lead.



They deserved it. And somehow hung onto it despite Josh Kerr being denied a critical 65th minute try under the posts as he chased through a grubber.

Eels hooker Reed Mahoney was pinged for being offside in the same play, allowing Lomax to knock over two points at least when six had been on offer.

A single blade of grass, perhaps two, was then sighted by the NRL Bunker to call back Mahoney's own spectacular put-down soon after.

Flying Fijians Mikaela Ravalawa and Maika Sivo provided a particularly attractive pre-game match-up, and right throughout they produced pyrotechnics to warrant it.


A Corey Norman grubber drilled straight into touch for no apparent reason had perplexed plenty, and summed up the struggling half's plight after Parramatta helped themselves to an early lead through Waqa Blake.

Lomax made sure Norman's next nudge had jaws on the floor for all the right reasons.

As is increasingly the budding star's wont, Lomax took flight and took the pill right out of Clint Gutherson's grasp, before shovelling it over his shoulder for Ravalawa to peg the Eels’ advantage back to 6-4.

Minutes later on the opposite flank Jordan Pereira almost army crawled the Dragons to the front, only to army crawl a few inches too much in his attempt to ground the ball just inside the cornerpost.

Ravalawa didn't muck about when the next chance came.



A second try, and that half-time lead, was his and the Dragons reward when he barged through two defenders from another Norman long ball.

From there only Evans' try and Lomax's penalties troubled the scorers.

But Ravalawa still had hearts aflutter, and no doubt McGregor out of his seat, right to the end.

With Parramatta still pressing in the final minute, Ravalawa fielded a kick in his in-goal, fumbled and regathered, then took flight.

Beating one defender, then two, then three, he threw a speculator off to Pereira for St George Illawarra to find their way out of danger, only just.

Just like McGregor's seven years in charge, this was Dragons drama right to the end


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2020/08/14/dragons-farewell-mary-with-determined-victory/
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Mary's last address: Red V to reign again as 25-year tenure ends
Author
Dan Walsh NRL.com Reporter
Timestamp
Sat 15 Aug 2020, 12:04 AM
walshdan-head.png

An emotional Paul McGregor predicts a swift turnaround for the Dragons, defending the club's culture after ending a 25-year association with the red and white.

McGregor was farewelled with a stirring 14-12 upset of premiership frontrunners Parramatta on Friday night, before similarly moving scenes in the St George Illawarra sheds.

Captain Cameron McInnes presented McGregor with the jersey he wore, a gesture the outgoing coach described as "one of the best presents I've ever got in my life from a person that I admire the way he plays the game and leads the club."

McGregor described his final day as Dragons coach, following his rise as a Steelers great and inaugural co-captain of the joint-venture over 20 years ago, as an "emotional" and "special" occasion.


Since a 2018 finals run McGregor's side has struggled without key players in Jack de Belin (no fault stand-down policy) and Gareth Widdop (injury before departing for England), while several representative stars have also underperformed in that period.

But given the quality roster interim coach Dean Young takes charge of, McGregor believes results will take care of themselves soon enough for the Dragons, pointing to the Eels upset as proof of a tightknit club.

"There was a lot of talk they weren't a tight group and they weren't playing for me, but that was too far from the truth, and they showed that tonight," McGregor said.

"The last 18 months; in 2018 we were pretty much unbeatable for most of the year and building really well; but in the last 18 months we just haven't been able to put those players on the park all together for different reasons.


"You only need to miss a couple of important players to lose close games. When you lose close games everything's spoken about.

"And that's what's happened at the place, everyone's speaking about all the negative things. There's a lot of good things in the organisation.

"For me, I think they've got a good leader in Dean. He's a good coach, a good person, he bleeds red and white. They've got a playing group that wants to play hard.

"And once we get healthy and get a full roster back they're going to be a very good footy team. Is there things to do there? Of course there is. But they've got the right people around to get it done."

McGregor will spend his first day out of the Dragons COVID visiting his ill father in hospital, who he hasn't been able to see for three months due to the NRL's biosecurity restrictions.

The now 52-year-old had to be coaxed into playing top grade footy for the Steelers in the early 90s, a similar path saw McGregor begin his coaching career as he juggled successful business interests in Wollongong.

Having started out in strength and conditioning before progressing through the ranks to take charge in 2014, McGregor is keen to continue in an NRL role in the future, be it in charge or as an assistant elsewhere.

For now though, he offered perspective on a 25-year journey for first his own junior club, then one of the most famous in rugby league land.

"You start off as a player and that journey is a great one," McGregor said.

"Then you become a captain, a club captain and a staff member and then a coach.

"It has been a series of privileges the whole way through, I've never felt like it's an obligation.

"The close-out speech was something I will remember and some of the words said by some of the players were very special."


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/202...-red-v-to-reign-again-as-25-year-tenure-ends/
 

Adolf_Spritzer

Juniors
Messages
494
In a way you gave highlighted the issue with bunker re decisions on tries.

If he is going to send it to the bunker then don’t make a declaration as to what you think just send it to them and everyone accepts their scrutiny and decision.

If there is any doubt from them then no try.

If a ref makes a call and you think it’s wrong use your captains challenge.

I’d like to see a captains challenge for in goal situations as well as on field decisions. Both sides get one of each and they’re both retainable. Remove the decision for the ref to send it to the bunker entirely. Have him make an on field call with the vision and information he and the touchies have and if there is dispute from the either side they’re able to challenge it
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,406
The bunker has the exact same fault as it was to supposedly created to eradicate - that being human error .

It is still present , in some instances there have been decisions made by the men in the cement box that have appeared to be ‘ even -up ‘ scores . By that I mean that one team was incorrectly robbed of a try and then lo and behold the opposing team has scored a perfectly legitimate try which is then denied to them .

There are more correct decisions made however then not , but at the end of the year too many teams have had their seasons decided upon misjudgments made by the bunker. Of course the executive of referee apologizes for the calamity it has created , but no amount of apologizing will give the losing side those 2 ever so valuable competition points back .

Get rid of the bunker and call it for what it really is - a spinning coin that may or may not land on the correct side .

Give the referees full control once again ( preferably only the 1 referee - revert back to the one man in the middle - we may need to revisit the past to get this problem fully sorted ) and allow them to carry the responsibility of ensuring the correct decisions are made .

I can live with a referees error , but not with one made by the bunker with all of its sophisticated technical equipment and countless cameras , as that to me is downright infuriating , there is no excuse for them getting it wrong .
 
Last edited:
Messages
2,866
People are saying the effort tonight was for McGregor...well hes been under the pump for months, so if that was the case why wasnt the effort there before now to save his job......imo the effort was there because of the relief that hes gone and theres light at the end of the tunnel ....
Ive never been a McGregor fan simply because I didnt think he was ever up to it and he very rarely if at all admitted he was wrong at times......unlike some ive never hated the bloke but simply didnt want him in charge of my footy team.....anyhow Mary I wish you well for the future
It's an interesting thought.
The cynic in me suggests that they played out of their skin to impress the incoming coach.
Either way, it was the best they've played all year and they deserve a lot of credit for last night's performance.
As for McGregor, I'm with you. Never "hated" the guy personally. That would be irrational.
However I did hate his many second half fades, the way the Team played aimlessly and without conviction week after week AND I particularly hated his press conferences where he consistently dredged up excuse after excuse after excuse.
Last night was great for the club because it has been an awful 18 months but let's never forget the totality of McGregor's tenure.
Bog average coach that was unable to bring any joy to the fan base even during years when we were competitive.
 
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Como Connection

First Grade
Messages
5,909
The Ellis no try was a joke, at no time did he lose control of the ball.

As for the Mahoney no try it looked like part of the ball touched the dead ball line.

Watching the game again, it really was a tremendous defensive effort from 1-17.

Host added some starch in defence and he knows how to run good lines.

Let’s see who is selected next week.
Must take Tyrell's spot.
CC
 

Blood Shot Eyes

First Grade
Messages
5,967
You cannot drop the wingers after last nights effort.
CC
Ive probably been in the minority before last nights effort but tbh Ive always been happy with both our wingers....when you have a lightweight in Dufty trying to run the ball back you need some strong types to help out and attract opposition numbers....admittedly they are not the quickest and not the tallest but they make up for these deficiencies with their guts and determination
 

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