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Round 14 v Chi wow waaz

Messages
98
It’s time for Hook to get real now.
We’ve lost to Tigers twice, Sharks twice, now dogs. The only games we have won have been against weakened opponents missing their star players (Turbo,Ponga etc)
Time to mix it up.
If he is going down the path of Ramsey at fullback, Amone at 6 then do it now.
Our season is cooked anyway, it can’t be any worse?
And if it is worse, then they have time to recruit before next season.
No more Norman, Dufty. It’s over. See what we have in Amone, Ramsey before next year.
I'd bring Lomax back at fullback and Amone to 5/8. Bird back to the centres with Feagui the return of some forwards.
 

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,207
We were never going to be on top forever.
We were on top because in the 50's/60's/70's we had a successful business model that was ahead of it's time - as well as being innovative in respect to player recruitment and development, training and playing the game. Unfortunately, the successors of the likes Frank Facer didn't have the same acumen. Since the 90's we have been a chook raffle club compared to the likes of Easts, Brisbane, Melbourne and Souffs. I don't see that changing in the near future and, until we transform this, any success we have will be both relative and fleeting.

I only became conscious of the Dragons in the early 90s and I trust what you say. But there's a big difference to 25 years ago and now.

Watched Nathan Brown interview on fox and he made a good point about his time at St George. He believes we always over-achieved in the 90s and put together a competitive team and performance without having the cream of the crop players. And who does he singly credit for it? The coach i.e. Smith and Waite. When and why did the modern day Dragons finally win the thing? when we had a real coach.

We never won the thing but goodness do I miss being thereabouts more than I could have imagined. I'd take the September heartbreak any time over being resigned to defeat in June. It all comes down to pride. It hurts my pride so badly to be an also-ran. I am still in denial that I support a mess of a club.
 

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,406
I think that this is the last team that any player would wish to sign a contract with . For 10 years now , with the exception of the 2018 semi we have been no where and it seems that we will continue on in circles biting our own arses until we do have a completely new , board and recruitment in place . Puss off all the dead wood and mortgage the place to purchase quality players who have the will to win in them .
 

Illusion

Bench
Messages
2,729
If that’s the plan for next year then implement it now.
I think Cody deserves a decent crack at fullback for mine.
Who ever he doesn't want for next year bench them or drop them , and who ever he wants for next year should be playing this year in the positions he wants them in .....
 

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,207
I think that this is the last team that any player would wish to sign a contract with . For 10 years now , with the exception of the 2018 semi we have been no where and it seems that we will continue on in circles biting our own arses until we do have a completely new , board and recruitment in place . Puss off all the dead wood and mortgage the place to purchase quality players who have the will to win in them .

It's that simple. Good clubs never allow things to get this bad. The truth is the mess will eventually become too great for any mortal coach to completely fix. There's definitely been a start to this to give Hook credit, but I am just hoping upon hope it is extending to the likes of Ellis, Kerr, Ford et al. who haven't grabbed their many chances in first grade.

We have a coach that was defending Norman today and basically blamed the forwards. If what the papers say are true Griffin wanted to retain him. That instills little confidence as far as I am aware. So will Griffin persist with these same forwards? Molo alone won't turn it around.
 

jeffdragon

Bench
Messages
3,440
I only became conscious of the Dragons in the early 90s and I trust what you say. But there's a big difference to 25 years ago and now.

Watched Nathan Brown interview on fox and he made a good point about his time at St George. He believes we always over-achieved in the 90s and put together a competitive team and performance without having the cream of the crop players. And who does he singly credit for it? The coach i.e. Smith and Waite. When and why did the modern day Dragons finally win the thing? when we had a real coach.

We never won the thing but goodness do I miss being thereabouts more than I could have imagined. I'd take the September heartbreak any time over being resigned to defeat in June. It all comes down to pride. It hurts my pride so badly to be an also-ran. I am still in denial that I support a mess of a club.
Mate you couldn't have said it better in your post.
Sick of the great starts.
Mid season fades and waiting for the end of the season.and then looking forward to next year in hope only for the same shit to happen.
In the ni tees early like 92 93.
I would turn up to a game thinking we can win
Apart from 09-10-11.
That feeling has gone down the drain.
 

Mickthedragon

Juniors
Messages
1,673
There are a lot of parallels between ourselves and Wests - the only joint ventures in the comp. Both struggle for consistency, bring in promising youngsters who never kick on, pay overs for old nags etc etc.

It's Joint Venture syndrome - when 2 heads are definitely not better than one.
Everything about your post is spot on.
Both clubs can't get it right in backroom, are poorly managed and make terrible decisions in recruitment.
Too many cooks spoil the broth and both clubs have the same issues.
We need to focus on bringing our juniors through now and should be starting by giving blokes a go in positions that will be vacant for next season. The whole team looks so bloody lost at the moment with regards to who is going to be playing Fullback and 5/8, two major positions.
Now it's got into Hunt again as well who's had one of his days where he has a shocker and nothing goes right.
Zero confidence within the whole team at present and was so hard to watch today.
 

Blood Shot Eyes

First Grade
Messages
5,967
Lets face it we haven't been good for years ..... Need a new spine 1 6 7 9 for starters ......
I agree 100% our spine is very very weak and on most occassions ineffective.....whilst Dufty can score some outstanding individual tries his positional play and defence is way below par......AM whilst he does a mountain of defence he is very ineffective from dummy half and unfortunately is vey pedestrian these days....Norman well he is far to casual for mine, his better days are behind him, his kicks in general play on most occassions are just reefing punts with very little thought as to what it will achieve...occasionally he comes up with a good grubber or a set play but they are few and far between, we never know from 1 week to the next which Corey has shown up...and he still has that bloody annoying habit of running sideways and just handing the ball to one of the forwards ....now that leaves Hunt, Im not sure the captaincy sits to well with him tbh....when he plays these days he look as though he has the weight of the world on his shoulders....he seems to try and get things moving but rarely takes the game by the scruff of the neck.....his kicks in general play are ok and he can be a very effective defensive unit fir his size but for mine hasnt produced the marquee role that we were hoping for......
 

Illusion

Bench
Messages
2,729
I agree 100% our spine is very very weak and on most occassions ineffective.....whilst Dufty can score some outstanding individual tries his positional play and defence is way below par......AM whilst he does a mountain of defence he is very ineffective from dummy half and unfortunately is vey pedestrian these days....Norman well he is far to casual for mine, his better days are behind him, his kicks in general play on most occassions are just reefing punts with very little thought as to what it will achieve...occasionally he comes up with a good grubber or a set play but they are few and far between, we never know from 1 week to the next which Corey has shown up...and he still has that bloody annoying habit of running sideways and just handing the ball to one of the forwards ....now that leaves Hunt, Im not sure the captaincy sits to well with him tbh....when he plays these days he look as though he has the weight of the world on his shoulders....he seems to try and get things moving but rarely takes the game by the scruff of the neck.....his kicks in general play are ok and he can be a very effective defensive unit fir his size but for mine hasnt produced the marquee role that we were hoping for......
Id be playing Hunt at 9 and look out for a number 7 that can control a game .....
 

Reflector

Juniors
Messages
2,263
There are a lot of parallels between ourselves and Wests - the only joint ventures in the comp. Both struggle for consistency, bring in promising youngsters who never kick on, pay overs for old nags etc etc.

It's Joint Venture syndrome - when 2 heads are definitely not better than one.
Wests
Dragons
Qld

Been a rubbish week for the two-heads...
 

LINESPEED

Juniors
Messages
1,551
I only became conscious of the Dragons in the early 90s and I trust what you say. But there's a big difference to 25 years ago and now.

Watched Nathan Brown interview on fox and he made a good point about his time at St George. He believes we always over-achieved in the 90s and put together a competitive team and performance without having the cream of the crop players. And who does he singly credit for it? The coach i.e. Smith and Waite. When and why did the modern day Dragons finally win the thing? when we had a real coach.

We never won the thing but goodness do I miss being thereabouts more than I could have imagined. I'd take the September heartbreak any time over being resigned to defeat in June. It all comes down to pride. It hurts my pride so badly to be an also-ran. I am still in denial that I support a mess of a club.
Craig Young needs to go

...and the Boardroom rats who’ve given us a decade of shame

& multiple humiliations

will abandon the ship

Alas, and that said
...At least they’ve stopped Hook running us further aground in extending Norman & signing Milford FFS

Where’s Peter Pan when you need him?
 
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