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Ando's New Signings

The Word

The Word

Juniors
Messages
558
I reckon Talau has done a good job as NSW Cup coach and is bringing the juniors on very well, and connecting well with Falanagan. This is an important role and he should continue doing good things in this area for the time being. Hopefully after next year many of these juniors will be more embedded as first team regulars, and at that point bring Talau up to the first team to continue their development at the higher level.
 
SAP58

SAP58

Juniors
Messages
2,218
The Word said:
I reckon Talau has done a good job as NSW Cup coach and is bringing the juniors on very well, and connecting well with Falanagan. This is an important role and he should continue doing good things in this area for the time being. Hopefully after next year many of these juniors will be more embedded as first team regulars, and at that point bring Talau up to the first team to continue their development at the higher level.
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I agree dont undersell the job a NSW Cup coach does in a club. He works very closely with the FG coach bringing players along capable of playing FG in the future. He would be very involved in all discussions regarding identifying talent for the future. He is doing a great job.
 
possm

possm

Coach
Messages
17,008
The Word said:
I reckon Talau has done a good job as NSW Cup coach and is bringing the juniors on very well, and connecting well with Falanagan. This is an important role and he should continue doing good things in this area for the time being. Hopefully after next year many of these juniors will be more embedded as first team regulars, and at that point bring Talau up to the first team to continue their development at the higher level.
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Yes, I'm sure the club will find it too hard to recruit another NSW Cup coach for the Dragons.
 
Auntie.Gerald

Auntie.Gerald

First Grade
Messages
7,890
Isaiah Fagalilo and Hutch both from Qld

after seeing them play last two seasons - what’s ur best guess re NRL trajectory in 2027?
 
hook hook

hook hook

Juniors
Messages
656
Auntie.Gerald said:
Isaiah Fagalilo and Hutch both from Qld

after seeing them play last two seasons - what’s ur best guess re NRL trajectory in 2027?
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Fagalilo surptrised me this year, he has been good coming up the grades and I wasn’t ready for how well he handled the jump to both flegg and NSW cup. He could easily fill the 14 void after cook retires

It’s hard to see a path for hutch though. He is a sort of more slender hard worker, which we already have in couchman x 2 and Stewart. He is also very skilful and could become that distributing forward, but so is Jett and Jett has a much bigger body to provide more impact. That’s not doubting Hutch at all, he’s good enough to play NRL in the future but with all the others still at a young age it’s hard to see him getting a crack
 
T

twinkletoes

Juniors
Messages
1,184
Warriors negotiating with Alofiana Khan-Pereira from Titans for next season... Dragons mentioned nowhere on any potential transfers...keeping our powder dry until Nov 1 when all the secret deals will have been done prior..
 
Slippery Morris

Slippery Morris

First Grade
Messages
8,208
Khan-Pereira is from NZ and I heard would love to go back there. Saints probably not wasting their energy on someone who has no interest in coming and will use them as a bargaining chip to get more value. He would be a great signing, but Saints have been burnt way too many times.
 
Victoire

Victoire

Juniors
Messages
1,356
Slippery Morris said:
Khan-Pereira is from NZ and I heard would love to go back there. Saints probably not wasting their energy on someone who has no interest in coming and will use them as a bargaining chip to get more value. He would be a great signing, but Saints have been burnt way too many times.
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He's not from NZ mate, he's from Lismore and represented the Indigenous All Stars. But as much as I desperately wanted Saints to go after him I think you're kind of right - I reckon they didn't pursue him because they've chosen Tommy Talau
 
jay mac

jay mac

Juniors
Messages
213
T

twinkletoes

Juniors
Messages
1,184
Victoire said:
He's not from NZ mate, he's from Lismore and represented the Indigenous All Stars. But as much as I desperately wanted Saints to go after him I think you're kind of right - I reckon they didn't pursue him because they've chosen Tommy Talau
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Tommy Talau was a plodder at Wests Tigers and in my opinion still is...if that's the best we can do we're in trouble.
 
Victoire

Victoire

Juniors
Messages
1,356
twinkletoes said:
Tommy Talau was a plodder at Wests Tigers and in my opinion still is...if that's the best we can do we're in trouble.
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Fair enough if you think that... but he wasn't a plodder at Manly, 18 tries in 2024. He's a big tall dude who can also play centre, is probably a more cost effective option and still only 25. I don't mind it (if it indeed is happening)
 
Slippery Morris

Slippery Morris

First Grade
Messages
8,208
Victoire said:
He's not from NZ mate, he's from Lismore and represented the Indigenous All Stars. But as much as I desperately wanted Saints to go after him I think you're kind of right - I reckon they didn't pursue him because they've chosen Tommy Talau
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Thanks Victorie, I should stop reading rubbish rumours.

Wikipedia. -
Khan-Pereira was born in Lismore, New South Wales. He is of Indigenous Australian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Samoan descent.[2][3] His mother Sylvia has roots from the Bundjalung people.[4].

This guy can play from Aust and Samoa by the looks of things. This is where I got my info... Of all places FoxSports...

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...s/news-story/bf18177729ac48e3e89a575b1562d728


TITANS FLYER SHOPPED

Titans flyer Alofiana Khan-Pereira has reportedly been given permission to speak with rivals, with one club kicking off negotiations with the gun winger.

According to Code Sports, Gold Coast powerbrokers informed New Zealand bosses they were free to begin speaking with Khan-Pereira’s management regarding a switch.

The 23-year-old is contracted until the end of 2026 and is the perfect addition for the Warriors who are reportedly looking to add pace to their backline.

Khan-Pereira, meanwhile, has a preference to move to New Zealand, with his family being of Maori and Samoan descent.
 
sammymills

sammymills

Juniors
Messages
543
R

redandwhite4evr

Juniors
Messages
2,128
since77 said:
Hmmm still not getting it huh? No they're not ready for first grade.
No one who actually knows what they're talking about is saying to throw Ramsey and Reed into first grade. Just you and one or two random clueless internet dudes who think they know better than NRL coaches, physios, doctors and sports scientists......
Reed got some minutes in a trial game in the preseason so he actually did "get a go". There's obviously potential there - I love his attitude and work ethic on the field. Doesn't mean you throw him into first grade - he just got his first taste of NSW cup a week or two ago.
He'll likely get another "go" in a trial or two in '26. And then the staff - coaching and medical - the people who actually DO know what they're talking about can decide what his next steps are - likely some time in NSW Cup playing against men for the first time in his career - sounds like a smart idea doesn't it??
You're either deliberately ignoring where he is in his development or you're.........to use you own words........misguided.......
You're also conveniently ignoring how many debutants the coaching staff did "give a go" to this year - more than any in recent memory. Flanno might have got some decisions wrong this year - but one area he excelled in was bringing the next crop of first graders through. You know, the ones who were actually ready.
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R

redandwhite4evr

Juniors
Messages
2,128
Interesting- still posting me- leading me to wonder whether these defensive posts are to do with you being on the Dragons staff and feeling nervous?- or at the very least you see me as some sort of dangerous recalcitrant who needs to be brought back in line. All right- I'll play- for now- after this post, I'd like you to bother someone else.

Obviously, I don't share your naive and blind faith in the strength/conditioning/high performance/medical staff. What do we know about them? They come- and they go- and very often their going is due to non-performance. Some coaches bring their own staff with them such as Bennett with Jeremy Hickman. You sound like a knowledgeable guy so you would be aware that in the last 5 years we've finished; 15th, 11th, 16th, 10th and 11th. During this time there has been constant criticism of our fitness levels including line speed, body shape and leaking soft tries near our goal line- case in point us leaking 40+ points in the last three games of the season. It's ironic in a way that a major talking point in our club is that Ramsey is underweight and can't play NRL when Leilua, Suli, Lawrie and BMM have been identified as being too bulky for NRL ???.

My tip is that come our end of season review, CEO Watsford won't be mucking around and some of those omniscient, infallible high-performance staff you wax lyrical about will be out on their collective ears.

As for Ramsey, no surprises he got the Coaches award- a standout all year-played 22 games- more than some of the outside backs such as Allen, Feagai and Lawson - the latter two who've got top 30 spots ahead of him next year. Remarkably resilient for someone so frail you'd have to say. And I know you don't rate KOE so you probably would never acknowledge his brilliant solo try and try assist against the Warriors and what that might mean for his future in the NRL. But timing is everything.

I thought he chose his words very carefully when he received the Coach's award probably knowing about the club's plan for a train and trial offer to him and maybe about the offers from other clubs as well. But if Cody had said something like -I'm glad I played KOE- but this season has taken so much out of me that I've given up all ideas of playing NRL", I would not be writing this post and instead would be trying to contact him and thank him for the memories. Because with the condition that he has, ultimately, he's the only one who knows what he's capable of. On the contrary, he said he was looking forward to the GF and gave me the strong impression that he wanted to keep going- and probably somewhere else after the insulting train and trial offer that he's received. If I wanted someone playing for my life, it wouldn't be any of the three backs I mentioned or Sloan-another one with a wing spot for next year- Cody every time.

Ramsey aside and on the general question of whether a players is ready for first grade or not- I would simply draw your attention to the ongoing Bulldogs saga in relation to Lachie Galvin. You would concede that the Bulldogs have, in Ciraldo, probably the best young coach in the business. And in Gus, the Football Manager genius who has transformed two clubs into powerhouse performers. You would also think they would have high performance staff at least on a par with the Dragons.

Well we know now that in relation to Galvin , all those highly credentialled staff got it wrong. There are two types of errors that can generally be made. In the NRL context it would be choosing someone for a position that they're not suited to or ready for or not choosing someone who is ready. The Bulldogs, with all their collective wisdom thought that Galvin was a game managing No 7. They dumped Sexton and their winning form dropped off a cliff. They've now been forced into an embarrassing backflip, had to rescue Sexton from the scrapheap and are scrambling to save face and not admit their mistake.

Having said that, I agree with you that the coaching staff here deliberately introduced many young Dragons in 2025 who've shown their ready. Kudos to them for that. However, there were a couple (Buchanan and Halangalu) who got a chance when our injury toll was such that we'd run out of troops and probably the original plan was to allow them a full KOE season before NRL-ie it was good luck rather than good management that they were successfully blooded.

In relation to Reed, all I've said is to give him another trial early in 2026 and contrast what he can do against the unproven Atkinson. Hardly controversial and simply aimed at avoiding the error of not choosing someone when they are ready.

I will finish on a conciliatory note. You and I agree that Cody is an exceptional human being who we both hope stay around the club. This unfortunately is now looking highly unlikely to happen.
 
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