Round 12 v Tigers

[Slippery Morris]

These are the games that will cost Saints a top 8 unless they can knock off a few of the top sides to make up for it. In saying that Canberra, Chooks and Souths have all fizzed a bit and the top sides are only Panthers and Storm. All other sides are beatable so with full strength Saints can possible jag a few on the trot to get back to where they were. Their only issue is getting troops on the park without the NRL making them the bad guys and banning them. Kafusi is on report again after sering 4-5 weeks and is only getting a week? WTF? Why is that different to Maguire? Kafusi surely has a bad record and heaps of loading. Plus he got away with the Norman hit only to strike again a week or 2 later. How is that consistent?

What I saw last night was a depleted Saints line up that was filled more with back up players than starters. Some were even back up to back up players. No team has had as much impact to the new approach to high tackles than Saints with all these suspensions. Dufty and Lomax are the only 2 injured, the rest are suspended.

The Parra game was the best we can get which was impressive and last nights by far the worst. So on the day Saints can be a top 6 side.

With the Dufty scenario, Hook made the call to get rid of Moylan whilst at the Panthers at the time which was seen as a strange call and not popular with the fans but it ended up being the right call as he saw more in Edwards and he has provided more stability so it ended up the correct call. Hook must have a better solution to Dufty and with Ramsey I can see some of the Moylan / Edwards type scenario as although Dufty will provide better attack, Ramsey will be provide a better all round performances and is not afraid to take the bombs which is a big part of being fullback.

What I don't get about the Dufty thing though is if Hook thinks Dufty is not the man for the future and does not like his attitude as some have stated, why is not that not the same for Norman? I hear that there is a chance they may re-sign Norman but not Dufty? How is Norman showing to be more important to the side than Dufty? They are not very consistent in their logic. But then again Norman has not re-signed so maybe they are not looking at Norman and it is just paper talk.

With the JDB all over, I am sure they can now start looking at recruitment. Saints are now on level pegging with the other NRL teams in terms of Salary Cap spend and not playing 700k less. Only took 2.5 years.

 

[Dragon David]

These are the games that will cost Saints a top 8 unless they can knock off a few of the top sides to make up for it. In saying that Canberra, Chooks and Souths have all fizzed a bit and the top sides are only Panthers and Storm. All other sides are beatable so with full strength Saints can possible jag a few on the trot to get back to where they were. Their only issue is getting troops on the park without the NRL making them the bad guys and banning them. Kafusi is on report again after sering 4-5 weeks and is only getting a week? WTF? Why is that different to Maguire? Kafusi surely has a bad record and heaps of loading. Plus he got away with the Norman hit only to strike again a week or 2 later. How is that consistent?

What I saw last night was a depleted Saints line up that was filled more with back up players than starters. Some were even back up to back up players. No team has had as much impact to the new approach to high tackles than Saints with all these suspensions. Dufty and Lomax are the only 2 injured, the rest are suspended.

The Parra game was the best we can get which was impressive and last nights by far the worst. So on the day Saints can be a top 6 side.

With the Dufty scenario, Hook made the call to get rid of Moylan whilst at the Panthers at the time which was seen as a strange call and not popular with the fans but it ended up being the right call as he saw more in Edwards and he has provided more stability so it ended up the correct call. Hook must have a better solution to Dufty and with Ramsey I can see some of the Moylan / Edwards type scenario as although Dufty will provide better attack, Ramsey will be provide a better all round performances and is not afraid to take the bombs which is a big part of being fullback.

What I don't get about the Dufty thing though is if Hook thinks Dufty is not the man for the future and does not like his attitude as some have stated, why is not that not the same for Norman? I hear that there is a chance they may re-sign Norman but not Dufty? How is Norman showing to be more important to the side than Dufty? They are not very consistent in their logic. But then again Norman has not re-signed so maybe they are not looking at Norman and it is just paper talk.

With the JDB all over, I am sure they can now start looking at recruitment. Saints are now on level pegging with the other NRL teams in terms of Salary Cap spend and not playing 700k less. Only took 2.5 years.

I am so glad that the JDB matter has finalised and now any uncertainty has been eliminated and the players can get on with concentrating on playing 100%. Several of our players are returning and in time we will be at full strength once more and I hope all eager to forge ahead.

You just never know, all these suspensions and injuries might be a blessing in disguise as it should harden us up (so to speak) and the players we currently have put in more, particularly those who could be on the way out so that they can get a contract elsewhere or remain at the club. As getsmarty has alluded to, there is a forward being looked at who we might end up with us and by the sounds of things might be a beauty. Let's hope that is the case and we also get some speedy ones as well.

 

[jeffdragon]

Griffin is aware that a massive rebuild is needed....he is no fool....it will take a number of years to fix the damage done by others....winning our 1st 4 or so games ( Excluding Sharks Round 1 ) was a false dawn...add to that the Fact that with so many players out we have not fielded a consistent side for weeks ..apart from those opening games.

We are in the market....It is tough to watch @ the moment , but I would rather have guys like Griffin/Gentle/Elliot/nighty/soward involved in the rebuild....

Hopefully when we start to get a few bodies back...we will start to be competitive again....This year is basically a right off.

Let's all hang in there....

The last 10 years are a right off

 

[Willow]

Very disappointing loss. Goal line defence issues - just too slow at times, players out of position, lack of energy at crucial moments, inability to exploit, lack of possession.

Over to you coach.

 

[getsmarty]

Very disappointing loss. Goal line defence issues - just too slow at times, players out of position, lack of energy at crucial moments, inability to exploit, lack of possession.

Over to you ciach.

Agree...also depleted in troops....players playing in unfamiliar positions...We just don't have the Squad depth @ the moment...hence the signings of guys like Burns for Blacker...Tick....Beale for experience on low coin...If you cannot field a consistent lineup week after week then flaws inevitably appear.

I think there is more pain on the way before we start to see some improvement.

 

[Gareth67]

Unfortunately I believe that some of us got our hopes a little too high after a relatively good start to the season , culminating with our only major scalp that being Parramatta , but since then it has been mostly downhill .

With the culmination of injuries plus so many suspensions the Dragons top squad has been decimated and Griffo therefore had no other option than to bring in players who were not up to NRL standard .

With the exception of last nights game , they have tried and came close on a few occasions , but nothing can make up for true 1st grade experience . With the return of JDB , McGuire and Fuimiano our pack will have more punch ( no pun intended ) and we should see the Big Red V playing far better footy .

I do however hope that we will not need to revisit this horror again next season and to ensure that is the case then Griffin will need to retain the players that give their all for the team and cull a number of those whom are simply not delivering - especially those with David Jones price tags and play as if they have been bought at the Bargain shop .

 

[redVbull]

I don't get Burns, he wouldn't bust a grape & you need 2 hands to count his missed tackles. I can't think of the player who I saw in the Reggies ( I think) who reminded me like Brown from Parra

Agree with that. Not an imposing presence in defence or attack. Pretty much my only thought watching him is which promising junior is he keeping out of a 1st grade spot.

 

[getsmarty]

Agree with that. Not an imposing presence in defence or attack. Pretty much my only thought watching him is which promising junior is he keeping out of a 1st grade spot.

He cost us nothing...direct swap with blacker....So already that has upside....burns hasn't been a regular in the top grade....he will be better for the run...useful from the bench next year....

 

[SEAT 1A]

Unfortunately I believe that some of us got our hopes a little too high after a relatively good start to the season , culminating with our only major scalp that being Parramatta , but since then it has been mostly downhill .

With the culmination of injuries plus so many suspensions the Dragons top squad has been decimated and Griffo therefore had no other option than to bring in players who were not up to NRL standard .

With the exception of last nights game , they have tried and came close on a few occasions , but nothing can make up for true 1st grade experience . With the return of JDB , McGuire and Fuimiano our pack will have more punch ( no pun intended ) and we should see the Big Red V playing far better footy .

I do however hope that we will not need to suffer through this horror again next season and to ensure that is the case Griffin will need to retain the players that give their all for the team and cull a number of those whom are not going to make the grade .

Agree Gareth67,well said.

Mary and the BOD killed the club, it was a corpse.

Changes were made from top to bottom, the club lost Luc,Friz, and Host. I forgot about McInnes, what a different he would have made with what has gone on with injuries and suspensions.

Griffin said no one was safe. Dufty is the first and it seems Norman is next.

With the early results we may make the finals, which I didn't think we would come close to this year and we are in the mix with half the on the sideline.

 

[Rob Dragon 1]

Agree Gareth67,well said.

Mary and the BOD killed the club, it was a corpse.

Changes were made from top to bottom, the club lost Luc,Friz, and Host. I forgot about McInnes, what a different he would have made with what has gone on with injuries and suspensions.

Griffin said no one was safe. Dufty is the first and it seems Norman is next.

With the early results we may make the finals, which I didn't think we would come close to this year and we are in the mix with half the on the sideline.

Agreed BUT...the BOD are all still there. All sitting at the same table. Millward is still there. Craig Young is still lurking. His son is off for a few years at the Cowboys and no doubt will be eyeing a return. The blokes on the BOD are not suddenly getting a "Competency Vaccine". Out trouble starts right at the top of the pile. It stars with Gordon; the BOD structure under the JV structure will always have tension under the surface. We missed a trick a few years back knocking back the alternative offer to the Gordon's. No easy fix fella's.

 

[Gareth67]

Agreed BUT...the BOD are all still there. All sitting at the same table. Millward is still there. Craig Young is still lurking. His son is off for a few years at the Cowboys and no doubt will be eyeing a return. The blokes on the BOD are not suddenly getting a "Competency Vaccine". Out trouble starts right at the top of the pile. It stars with Gordon; the BOD structure under the JV structure will always have tension under the surface. We missed a trick a few years back knocking back the alternative offer to the Gordon's. No easy fix fella's.

Agree Rob , that board and the other fellow has been a huge weight on the Dragons back
for far too many a year now .

 

[SEAT 1A]

Agreed BUT...the BOD are all still there. All sitting at the same table. Millward is still there. Craig Young is still lurking. His son is off for a few years at the Cowboys and no doubt will be eyeing a return. The blokes on the BOD are not suddenly getting a "Competency Vaccine". Out trouble starts right at the top of the pile. It stars with Gordon; the BOD structure under the JV structure will always have tension under the surface. We missed a trick a few years back knocking back the alternative offer to the Gordon's. No easy fix fella's.

Thanks Rob.

It boggles the mind how ego's and politics gets involved in the business of rugby league.

We had a blue print a long time ago, success and money rolling through the door and it got stuffed for some reason.

In our case, it seems we have a few big fish in a little pond and most are happy.

 

[RedVDave]

So next week will be tricky with SOO teams announced I can only assume Haas & Coates will be the Bronx only outs.

We potentially could be missing Hunt but can't see anyone else getting picked I don't think Hunt is a certainly unless Munster is out.

We will have Rava & Kerr back I think JDB is to soon probably against the Dogs is more likely.

 

[thebigredv]

So next week will be tricky with SOO teams announced I can only assume Haas & Coates will be the Bronx only outs.

We potentially could be missing Hunt but can't see anyone else getting picked I don't think Hunt is a certainly unless Munster is out.

We will have Rava & Kerr back I think JDB is to soon probably against the Dogs is more likely.

If we can afford it I'd like to see JDB start off the bench and play a short stint. Just his sheer adrenaline will be more powerful than anything our forwards are offering right now. Want to see Sullivan badly.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Agree Gareth67,well said.

Mary and the BOD killed the club, it was a corpse.

Changes were made from top to bottom, the club lost Luc,Friz, and Host. I forgot about McInnes, what a different he would have made with what has gone on with injuries and suspensions.

Griffin said no one was safe. Dufty is the first and it seems Norman is next.

With the early results we may make the finals, which I didn't think we would come close to this year and we are in the mix with half the on the sideline.

Well- I hope you're right and Norman is the next-Hook has stated there are salary cap pressures around next year which, for me, could be code that Norman could still be retained on lower money. I would have called time on Norman before Dufty and in fact kept Dufty in other roles in recognition of his match winning speed and passing game-Hook seems to have an unshakeable faith in his ex-Broncos besties- but I'm a broken record on that subject.

There are some worrying signs for the Dragons immediate future and particularly around full-back for next season. Firstly, Cobbo whom admittedly I have not seen play but has been compared to Latrell, has re-signed with the Broncos after we were reported to be going in with a huge offer. Secondly, Hook has stated that Hynes will not be pursued. Thirdly, Kennedy, another possible signing, has re-signed with the Sharks. That leaves us with Cody Ramsey and promising , but untried juniors unless we are the mystery club linked with Watene-Zeledniak!!

A top notch modern full-back needs a raft of skills (some of which Dufty lacked) but chief among them (which Dufty didn't lack) was a halves level left/right passing game.
I've seen no evidence of this skill in Ramsey to date- hope I'm wrong.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Agree...also depleted in troops....players playing in unfamiliar positions...We just don't have the Squad depth @ the moment...hence the signings of guys like Burns for Blacker...Tick....Beale for experience on low coin...If you cannot field a consistent lineup week after week then flaws inevitably appear.

I think there is more pain on the way before we start to see some improvement.

Agree with all that- but also-yet again- we were caned in the "six agains"- I can't recall an occasion this season when we've actually won what used to be called the "penalty count". Whether it's the perception of the referees that this is a club tactic or reality and our players are in fact consistently holding down, Hook has to turn that around-and quickly- because players are getting gassed and conceding soft tries as a result.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

These are the games that will cost Saints a top 8 unless they can knock off a few of the top sides to make up for it. In saying that Canberra, Chooks and Souths have all fizzed a bit and the top sides are only Panthers and Storm. All other sides are beatable so with full strength Saints can possible jag a few on the trot to get back to where they were. Their only issue is getting troops on the park without the NRL making them the bad guys and banning them. Kafusi is on report again after sering 4-5 weeks and is only getting a week? WTF? Why is that different to Maguire? Kafusi surely has a bad record and heaps of loading. Plus he got away with the Norman hit only to strike again a week or 2 later. How is that consistent?

What I saw last night was a depleted Saints line up that was filled more with back up players than starters. Some were even back up to back up players. No team has had as much impact to the new approach to high tackles than Saints with all these suspensions. Dufty and Lomax are the only 2 injured, the rest are suspended.

The Parra game was the best we can get which was impressive and last nights by far the worst. So on the day Saints can be a top 6 side.

With the Dufty scenario, Hook made the call to get rid of Moylan whilst at the Panthers at the time which was seen as a strange call and not popular with the fans but it ended up being the right call as he saw more in Edwards and he has provided more stability so it ended up the correct call. Hook must have a better solution to Dufty and with Ramsey I can see some of the Moylan / Edwards type scenario as although Dufty will provide better attack, Ramsey will be provide a better all round performances and is not afraid to take the bombs which is a big part of being fullback.

What I don't get about the Dufty thing though is if Hook thinks Dufty is not the man for the future and does not like his attitude as some have stated, why is not that not the same for Norman? I hear that there is a chance they may re-sign Norman but not Dufty? How is Norman showing to be more important to the side than Dufty? They are not very consistent in their logic. But then again Norman has not re-signed so maybe they are not looking at Norman and it is just paper talk.

With the JDB all over, I am sure they can now start looking at recruitment. Saints are now on level pegging with the other NRL teams in terms of Salary Cap spend and not playing 700k less. Only took 2.5 years.

I"m not so sure that we are "level pegging". Hook's recent public statements refer to salary cap pressure for next year-thus no play for Nicho Hynes- does this mean that Norman is going to be retained on lower money? I for one am nervous, and dirty, that Hook hasn't called time on Norman already.

 

[Ghostrider22]

Griffin is aware that a massive rebuild is needed....he is no fool....it will take a number of years to fix the damage done by others....winning our 1st 4 or so games ( Excluding Sharks Round 1 ) was a false dawn...add to that the Fact that with so many players out we have not fielded a consistent side for weeks ..apart from those opening games.

We are in the market....It is tough to watch @ the moment , but I would rather have guys like Griffin/Gentle/Elliot/nighty/soward involved in the rebuild....

Hopefully when we start to get a few bodies back...we will start to be competitive again....This year is basically a right off.

Let's all hang in there....

I agree with you Getsmarty, boy it is hard to sit and watch, just does my head hahahahaha

 

[BLM01]

I"m not so sure that we are "level pegging". Hook's recent public statements refer to salary cap pressure for next year-thus no play for Nicho Hynes- does this mean that Norman is going to be retained on lower money? I for one am nervous, and dirty, that Hook hasn't called time on Norman already.

Hook also said re the cap, that changes daily!. Read between the lines.
He never gives the answers to the media they think they are going to get when baited. Gives them double meanings all the time!.good stuff