RED V DRAGON IN LAS VEGAS 2026

[Rob-Dragon]

I'm loving watching the media clowns "have grave concerns" about our attack but creaming their pants over the Bulldogs every play of the game whilst ignoring that the game ended up 2 tries each.

Again, this is where our thinking has landed. We are OK, because the Bulldogs only scored two tries. So what? Who cares about the Bulldogs? Our attack is diabolical. Horrendous. Has been for years. If the coach decides his son is the best player to play in the halves and be responsible for the attack (with the other half) then we are doomed. I desperately want to be wrong; and if we are anything like 6-3 or 7-2 after 9 rounds, I will be the first poster to acknowledge I was wrong. And I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong. Does anyone seriously think the attack structures we have are going to get us remotely close to the better sides? We had a kid, LKT, play 20 games in 1st grade last season. He has flaws. He needs to work on his defensive side of the game. OK. Sure. But that kid does go deep into the line with ball in both hands and "asks questions". What questions is Kyle asking? I know..."why am I playing 1st grade". That is only question Kyle is asking. Good and decent young man? Certainly appears to be, and every time he is interviewed I think that he's a thoughtful young man. So what, in the context of the NRL. Is Shane decides that playing his son in the halves ahead of Reed and LKT is the hill he is going to die on, he's shot already!

 

[since77]

Again, this is where our thinking has landed. We are OK, because the Bulldogs only scored two tries. So what? Who cares about the Bulldogs? Our attack is diabolical. Horrendous. Has been for years. If the coach decides his son is the best player to play in the halves and be responsible for the attack (with the other half) then we are doomed. I desperately want to be wrong; and if we are anything like 6-3 or 7-2 after 9 rounds, I will be the first poster to acknowledge I was wrong. And I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong. Does anyone seriously think the attack structures we have are going to get us remotely close to the better sides? We had a kid, LKT, play 20 games in 1st grade last season. He has flaws. He needs to work on his defensive side of the game. OK. Sure. But that kid does go deep into the line with ball in both hands and "asks questions". What questions is Kyle asking? I know..."why am I playing 1st grade". That is only question Kyle is asking. Good and decent young man? Certainly appears to be, and every time he is interviewed I think that he's a thoughtful young man. So what, in the context of the NRL. Is Shane decides that playing his son in the halves ahead of Reed and LKT is the hill he is going to die on, he's shot already!

Oh dear.
Let me help you with your maths because it seems you're struggling a bit.
Bulldogs, a potential GF contender with a roster full of "stars", media darlings and protected species and the team that owned ALL the field position stats in the game- 2 tries.
Dragons - the team with no field position all game - 2 tries. In fact the two tries we scored were scored whilst having only 9 tackles in the oppostion's 20. That stat alone suggests that on the ONLY TWO CHANCES in the game we got an opportunity to score, our playmakers took that chance and scored. Impressive.
Now I know that it is hard for the clowns like you that cynically joined the forum immediately after the Vegas game (7.49 pm Sunday) with the sole purpose of mindlessly bashing the club to look at the game and see it through an objective lens. But give it a try. You might look less foolish.

 

[2218]

Again, this is where our thinking has landed. We are OK, because the Bulldogs only scored two tries. So what? Who cares about the Bulldogs? Our attack is diabolical. Horrendous. Has been for years. If the coach decides his son is the best player to play in the halves and be responsible for the attack (with the other half) then we are doomed. I desperately want to be wrong; and if we are anything like 6-3 or 7-2 after 9 rounds, I will be the first poster to acknowledge I was wrong. And I want to be wrong. I really want to be wrong. Does anyone seriously think the attack structures we have are going to get us remotely close to the better sides? We had a kid, LKT, play 20 games in 1st grade last season. He has flaws. He needs to work on his defensive side of the game. OK. Sure. But that kid does go deep into the line with ball in both hands and "asks questions". What questions is Kyle asking? I know..."why am I playing 1st grade". That is only question Kyle is asking. Good and decent young man? Certainly appears to be, and every time he is interviewed I think that he's a thoughtful young man. So what, in the context of the NRL. Is Shane decides that playing his son in the halves ahead of Reed and LKT is the hill he is going to die on, he's shot already!

You put LKT and Reed into the side you will be complaining about our defensive structures.

 

[UDGE]

Looking forward to the NRL's reaction to the club's complaints.
We'll problably be told to "eat shit and get over it or you'll get fined" in a polite way of course while the game becomes a "classic match" on Fox which will be a source of porn for Dogs fans and ragebait for us to tide us over until the next time we get f**ked over again.

Maybe I need a break from rugby league for a while.

I was there . I wonder if those two little grubs refereeing that game thought for one second about all the americans that might have put a bet on the dragons . The FBI have a special division that just deals with match fixing in sports that are gambled on , just saying .

 

[Rob-Dragon]

Oh dear.
Let me help you with your maths because it seems you're struggling a bit.
Bulldogs, a potential GF contender with a roster full of "stars", media darlings and protected species and the team that owned ALL the field position stats in the game- 2 tries.
Dragons - the team with no field position all game - 2 tries. In fact the two tries we scored were scored whilst having only 9 tackles in the oppostion's 20. That stat alone suggests that on the ONLY TWO CHANCES in the game we got an opportunity to score, our playmakers took that chance and scored. Impressive.
Now I know that it is hard for the clowns like you that cynically joined the forum immediately after the Vegas game (7.49 pm Sunday) with the sole purpose of mindlessly bashing the club to look at the game and see it through an objective lens. But give it a try. You might look less foolish.

My maths is fine. In the 2025 season, we finished 15th, with a points differential of -130. The average points differential of the Top 8 last season was +128. We somehow have to make up that differential; and I don't think that shortfall will be made up by defending better. We somehow have to score more points; and for what I saw on the weekend, the attack structures don't look any better/different to last season. Our two tries had nothing to do with our playmakers (if we consider them to be our #6 and #7). Flanno is trying to win games by grinding away and we will get some success in some games like that, but not many. There was a lot of talk about us getting beaten by 6 points or less on a number of occasions last season but a number of those games were relatively low scoring. Again, and I know this is arbitrary, but a try or two more in those games would have put us out of reach. It is staring us all in the face, our attack is cumbersome and we are failing to manufacture scoring opportunities with the current set up. You can call me a clown, cynical etc (and I will not respond similarly to you) but I don't care if the Dogs are media darlings, GF contenders etc, that thinking and obfuscation will not improve our attack and help us win games.

 

[Rob-Dragon]

You put LKT and Reed into the side you will be complaining about our defensive structures.

And I get it 2218 Juniors, and your comment has merits. It's risk/reward isn't it? The young play makers might get overly exposed by big back-rowers coming at them. That's the risk. The way the game has evolved with 6 agains etc, means it has sped up dramatically and I think we might get run over with our lack of speed. It is why I want Sloan in the team, and he continually makes me shudder, but he's got fantastic speed. It is interesting to look at Newcastle this season. They were abysmal last season on both sides of the ball. They've got Brown (still don't know if he's a #7), Sharp at #6 and Ponga at #1. There is some acceleration there. Interestingly in the 1st trial game against the Knights a few weeks back, Fletcher Sharp was a problem every-time he go the ball. I know it was only a trial, but we won this game and the halves were Reed and LKT. I'll finish with this, Bob Fulton used to note that coaching attack was much harder than coaching defense. Different game, but having been a cricket coach, and specifically a professional batting coach for many years, it is easier to coach batting defence than batting attack. I will ask a young batsman who attends our Academy "what's the aim of batting". A lot will say "to not get out". I know I have an issue with that response because the aim of batting is to score runs. I reply that the team who scores the most runs generally wins! Take some risks, and attack!

 

[John moz]

Dragons missed Liddle our x factor for this season. He would have changed the outcome in golden point .

 

[Rob-Dragon]

Dragons missed Liddle our x factor for this season. He would have changed the outcome in golden point .

Good point John moz, I missed that and you're right!

 

[Willow]

>The Bulldogs v Dragons game was the most-watched match of all time (including finals) between the two sides
>It was the fourth most-watched Round 1 fixture of all time
>It was the most-watched regular season fixture featuring the Bulldogs and the second-most watched Dragons regular season fixture of all time

Vegas interest surges to record heights as global expansion gathers pace

The NRL's global expansion continues to gather pace after another record-breaking season opener took the game to new heights in Las Vegas.

www.nrl.com

 

[redandwhite4evr]

And I get it 2218 Juniors, and your comment has merits. It's risk/reward isn't it? The young play makers might get overly exposed by big back-rowers coming at them. That's the risk. The way the game has evolved with 6 agains etc, means it has sped up dramatically and I think we might get run over with our lack of speed. It is why I want Sloan in the team, and he continually makes me shudder, but he's got fantastic speed. It is interesting to look at Newcastle this season. They were abysmal last season on both sides of the ball. They've got Brown (still don't know if he's a #7), Sharp at #6 and Ponga at #1. There is some acceleration there. Interestingly in the 1st trial game against the Knights a few weeks back, Fletcher Sharp was a problem every-time he go the ball. I know it was only a trial, but we won this game and the halves were Reed and LKT. I'll finish with this, Bob Fulton used to note that coaching attack was much harder than coaching defense. Different game, but having been a cricket coach, and specifically a professional batting coach for many years, it is easier to coach batting defence than batting attack. I will ask a young batsman who attends our Academy "what's the aim of batting". A lot will say "to not get out". I know I have an issue with that response because the aim of batting is to score runs. I reply that the team who scores the most runs generally wins! Take some risks, and attack!

Welcome aboard Rob-Dragon. Like you're analysis but- as I've discovered- there's a strong Flanagan Praetorian Guard patrolling this forum and ready to pounce if you suggest- shock, horror- that there may be someone- yes young- but extremely talented like Reed to replace the invisible (in attack) Kyle and ignite our barren attack.

Good luck with surviving the criticism that will come your way.

 

[Rob-Dragon]

Welcome aboard Rob-Dragon. Like you're analysis but- as I've discovered- there's a strong Flanagan Praetorian Guard patrolling this forum and ready to pounce if you suggest- shock, horror- that there may be someone- yes young- but extremely talented like Reed to replace the invisible (in attack) Kyle and ignite our barren attack.

Good luck with surviving the criticism that will come your way.

Cheers mate; and look I don't mind folks disagreeing with me, even strongly disagreeing. I'm just a bit to old for insults and I'm not sure why they are necessary. I like both the Flanagan's, and I wish them all the best, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried about Shane's methods, and Kyle's ability. I think the club is taking the rebuilt seriously. It does seem different, but Shane is going to get squeezed pretty quickly if he thinks Kyle is going to re-invent himself. Cutting someone like Kyle would be very difficult for his father. I know when I cut a player from the Academy or tell them they don't have the game to play 1st grade and win a contract; it weighs on me. The hardest part is cutting a player like Kyle, who apparently has a wonderful work ethic. I see that same player in the nets, hour after hour, often with Dad feeding him balls. First to practice, last to leave, and I have to wander over and tell them we have to chat. Never easy. I do it super quickly now, "Sorry XXX, you're out mate, you're just not up to it". I always go home from that chat feeling empty.

 

[RedVee]

Cheers mate; and look I don't mind folks disagreeing with me, even strongly disagreeing. I'm just a bit to old for insults and I'm not sure why they are necessary. I like both the Flanagan's, and I wish them all the best, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried about Shane's methods, and Kyle's ability. I think the club is taking the rebuilt seriously. It does seem different, but Shane is going to get squeezed pretty quickly if he thinks Kyle is going to re-invent himself. Cutting someone like Kyle would be very difficult for his father. I know when I cut a player from the Academy or tell them they don't have the game to play 1st grade and win a contract; it weighs on me. The hardest part is cutting a player like Kyle, who apparently has a wonderful work ethic. I see that same player in the nets, hour after hour, often with Dad feeding him balls. First to practice, last to leave, and I have to wander over and tell them we have to chat. Never easy. I do it super quickly now, "Sorry XXX, you're out mate, you're just not up to it". I always go home from that chat feeling empty.

At least cricket goes down to 4th and 5th grade for guys they won’t ever get up to firsts or even 2nds.

(I should ask, do the cricket clubs still have that many grades?)

 

[maestro1]

My maths is fine. In the 2025 season, we finished 15th, with a points differential of -130. The average points differential of the Top 8 last season was +128. We somehow have to make up that differential; and I don't think that shortfall will be made up by defending better. We somehow have to score more points; and for what I saw on the weekend, the attack structures don't look any better/different to last season. Our two tries had nothing to do with our playmakers (if we consider them to be our #6 and #7). Flanno is trying to win games by grinding away and we will get some success in some games like that, but not many. There was a lot of talk about us getting beaten by 6 points or less on a number of occasions last season but a number of those games were relatively low scoring. Again, and I know this is arbitrary, but a try or two more in those games would have put us out of reach. It is staring us all in the face, our attack is cumbersome and we are failing to manufacture scoring opportunities with the current set up. You can call me a clown, cynical etc (and I will not respond similarly to you) but I don't care if the Dogs are media darlings, GF contenders etc, that thinking and obfuscation will not improve our attack and help us win games.

It just wasn't that sort of game for our playmakers to shine (6 play the balls in the dog's red zone and scored twice. Atkinson played a big part in Tu's try). We had no ball in the playmaking part of the field. We had 98% of our possession between our tryline and their 30 metre zone. This is the part of the field where the wingers, centres, fullback bring it out and then the forwards take over late in the set and then the halves kick it long (loved Atkinson'slong kicking game - massive improvement on 2025).

Where was the opportunity for the halves to play make???

 

[Rob-Dragon]

At least cricket goes down to 4th and 5th grade for guys they won’t ever get up to firsts or even 2nds.

(I should ask, do the cricket clubs still have that many grades?)

RedVee, the Premier League Clubs still have grades down to 5th; and in Sydney, the Shires Clubs all go down to 5ths. Junior participation is strong, and the girls game is going great guns. There are two challenges I face as a batting coach. The first is Steve Smith. How on earth do you try to teach his batting style? You can't; he's a freakish talent. The second is the rise of T20 and the effect on batting. The best T20 players still have good structure, but try talking structure to a 14 year old who wants to clear the front leg and hit it to the next postcode!

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Cheers mate; and look I don't mind folks disagreeing with me, even strongly disagreeing. I'm just a bit to old for insults and I'm not sure why they are necessary. I like both the Flanagan's, and I wish them all the best, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried about Shane's methods, and Kyle's ability. I think the club is taking the rebuilt seriously. It does seem different, but Shane is going to get squeezed pretty quickly if he thinks Kyle is going to re-invent himself. Cutting someone like Kyle would be very difficult for his father. I know when I cut a player from the Academy or tell them they don't have the game to play 1st grade and win a contract; it weighs on me. The hardest part is cutting a player like Kyle, who apparently has a wonderful work ethic. I see that same player in the nets, hour after hour, often with Dad feeding him balls. First to practice, last to leave, and I have to wander over and tell them we have to chat. Never easy. I do it super quickly now, "Sorry XXX, you're out mate, you're just not up to it". I always go home from that chat feeling empty.

Yes-that's the issue isn't it- no one is questioning Kyle's work ethic-nor is it based on just one game-the train wreck interview his father gave to Matty Johns was embarrassing for him as well with his father acknowledging he didn't perform well at the Dogs but he tries his backside off- or words to that effect- and therefore should be picked. He is a good defender but it is the not the key requirement of a 6 or 7. Someone posted after the Newcastle trial e when Reed was playing against two of the top three Newcastle halves that if he hadn't played, we would have lost- in other words, he was the match winner. I agree with that assessment. That is why I believe he can make a difference. All this rubbish about him being too small is just that. Big players have been running at small players of all ages since Adam was a lad- a good coach makes sensible adjustments-eg Robbo has Angus Crichton riding shotgun next to Sam Walker in the defensive line. Nothing new there.

 

[DragonsTop8in26]

Some of you should go follow something else. Flanno isn't going anywhere so what's the point watching any more games? People just love to whinge, grow up and get a life you Muppets. Kyle this Kyle that. Deano this Deano that Flanno the list goes on. Enjoy the negative bullshit, this forum is absolutely cooked and I guarantee half of you don't even truly support the team. Cricket coach can go and shove a bat up your ass and have a toss you grumpy bastard.

 

[DragonsTop8in26]

Cheers mate; and look I don't mind folks disagreeing with me, even strongly disagreeing. I'm just a bit to old for insults and I'm not sure why they are necessary. I like both the Flanagan's, and I wish them all the best, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried about Shane's methods, and Kyle's ability. I think the club is taking the rebuilt seriously. It does seem different, but Shane is going to get squeezed pretty quickly if he thinks Kyle is going to re-invent himself. Cutting someone like Kyle would be very difficult for his father. I know when I cut a player from the Academy or tell them they don't have the game to play 1st grade and win a contract; it weighs on me. The hardest part is cutting a player like Kyle, who apparently has a wonderful work ethic. I see that same player in the nets, hour after hour, often with Dad feeding him balls. First to practice, last to leave, and I have to wander over and tell them we have to chat. Never easy. I do it super quickly now, "Sorry XXX, you're out mate, you're just not up to it". I always go home from that chat feeling empty.

Cricket coach my ass. No one gives a f**k about your bullshit coaching credentials you know shit all about rugby league. Your not a Dragons fan at all. Red and white forever and rob knob head

 

[since77]

My maths is fine. In the 2025 season, we finished 15th, with a points differential of -130. The average points differential of the Top 8 last season was +128. We somehow have to make up that differential; and I don't think that shortfall will be made up by defending better. We somehow have to score more points; and for what I saw on the weekend, the attack structures don't look any better/different to last season. Our two tries had nothing to do with our playmakers (if we consider them to be our #6 and #7). Flanno is trying to win games by grinding away and we will get some success in some games like that, but not many. There was a lot of talk about us getting beaten by 6 points or less on a number of occasions last season but a number of those games were relatively low scoring. Again, and I know this is arbitrary, but a try or two more in those games would have put us out of reach. It is staring us all in the face, our attack is cumbersome and we are failing to manufacture scoring opportunities with the current set up. You can call me a clown, cynical etc (and I will not respond similarly to you) but I don't care if the Dogs are media darlings, GF contenders etc, that thinking and obfuscation will not improve our attack and help us win games.

I'll humour you for just a moment even though I suspect reasoning with you is about as effective and pleasant as reasoning with Caroline Leavitt at a Trump White House press conference.
The problem with your simplistic kind of thinking based on a grand total of one game's worth of data is that it completely, and in my opinion, deliberately ignores the type of game that was played in Vegas by BOTH sides. The game was a grind. We had no field position. We endured some unbelievably tough refereeing decisions which kept us on the back foot virtually the entire game. We had a total of 9 tackles in the oppostion 20 metre zone and came away with two tries - that's actually insanely impressive. Two opportunites to score - two tries - that's a 100% strike rate when in the opponents red zone. I don't know how anyone with an objective mindset could expect more from those limited opportunites.
You're also completely ignoring that we were attacking against 2025's best defensive team - but hey don't let that get in the way of your agenda.
You also seem to miss the most important concept in the for and against points differentials you're yapping about - the weakest component in "poor" teams for and against is nearly always defense. If in 2025 we ended up with a differential of -130, then that suggests that the team would improve most quickly not by scoring more points but by getting better at STOPPING points being scored. Duh. Some of the games we lost last season we scored more than enough points to win the game - including one game where we scored more tries than the opposition but missed conversions. Leaving aside a few games which were decided by field goals, the problem was nearly always how many points we leaked. Would it be nice to score more points in 2026? Sure, but you'll find we'll go better faster if we defend better than we did in 2025.
For the record, I'm not claiming our attack is awesome. And I'm the first person who wants to watch us play thrilling attacking football. But how about we wait a bit longer than round 1 to decide whether our attack is as you have boldy proclaimed as "cumbersome and failing to manufacture scoring opportunities". ??

 

[DragonsTop8in26]

I'm out of here. To all the fans who love the club and will always be on the bus I hope you enjoy the year and coming seasons. To all the negative dipshits who don't love the club enjoy the forum amongst yourselves your fake fans, bandwagon supporters who live sheltered sad lives. Enjoy

 

[Gareth67]

And what is demanding RESULTS going to do for us lol. Except make you a bit miserable and kind of a buzzkill.

Being a "fan" of any sports team is an inherently stupid and illogical thing - why make it more stressful and painful than it needs to be by being RUTHLESS? No team can win every game every year, not the Panthers, and not even the Saints of the glory days that so many within this forum seem to hark back to. The world in 2026 is, to put it succinctly, rather f*cked in innumerable ways right now. So how about just: let people enjoy things. Perfectly fine to extract some joy and pride from that Vegas game regardless of the RESULT. Joy comes from within.

There was a man in a little fishing boat out on the harbour, having a nice time fishing in his old red v. He looked up and noticed a much bigger yacht, that was heading straight towards him. WTF is this shit, he thought to himself. Surely they're going to see me and move. The yacht kept coming. To hell with this guy, he said, I aint moving. I'm ruthless. I was here first and demand he moves. The yacht kept coming. Now the man got angry. He stood up, yelling obscenities and waving his arms. The yacht didn't deviate. At the last moment, the man flicked on the outboard and gave it just enough juice to get out of the way safely. As the yacht went by, he looked in and noticed: it was completely empty.

Thoroughly enjoyed your post Victorie , especially the brave fisherman which has me wondering- have you been looking at my book I would bring out for the grandkids named ‘ Fire side story’s ‘ ?