Dragons want S Williams this season...

[hardbaby]

Canberra willl lose him. Not sure where he will end up. But he won't be there unless Campese has a major recurrence of his injury. There will be a lot of money thrown at him and I doubt Canberra would match it.

 

[64 Dragon]

Campese is odds on to be injured again. It happens every year to the poor guy. I always think that without him we can beat them, but obviously we never do.

 

[Steelman]

What does this say about the Dragons' faith in Josh Drinkwater's future?

Have watched drinkwater play very closely he is no where near nrl standard. To slow he will not be offered an other contract was a mistake to sign him. There r better halfs around

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Have watched drinkwater play very closely he is no where near nrl standard. To slow he will not be offered an other contract was a mistake to sign him. There r better halfs around

Cheers for the heads up Steelman.

 

[big pat]

Have watched drinkwater play very closely he is no where near nrl standard. To slow he will not be offered an other contract was a mistake to sign him. There r better halfs around

wow, what a genius, you can tell this after 3 games, drinkwater needs a lot more time in the cutters, his body needs time to adjust, i wouldn't quite write him off just yet.

 

[BrissyRedV]

Doust should be looking hard at 3 Halves IMO for next season. They are Keary, Townsend and Williams. Townsend and Keary have both been playing well in NSW cup and have progressed a little further on from where DW is at the moment and Williams has great potential. DW is still a good prospect I think but he definately needs more time in NSW cup to develop. Its not exactly his fault the Cutters are doing poorly and it is hard for him to control the game if the forwards are not going forward and controlling the ruck. If we can pick up any of those 3 it would be great and you can never have too much depth.

 

[Drain the Dragon]

So where are all the 'experts' now who wanted Drinkwater in at halfback for Round 1 against Melbourne?

It's now being shown up as another attempt by all the Price haters to undermine his call to play Fien at half, which was clearly his ONLY option available.

 

[nrlnrl]

wow, what a genius, you can tell this after 3 games, drinkwater needs a lot more time in the cutters, his body needs time to adjust, i wouldn't quite write him off just yet.

I agree. Please remember Ben Barba took 2-3 years of gradual playing time in the NRL, so I think Drinkwater should be given some time. Barba played a lot of NSW Cup in 2009 & with Drinkwater he might surprise when given a chance at NRL level.

There've been a few players who don't stand out in Under 20's or NSW Cup, but then succeed in the NRL. It might be good timing with the right players around them and / or the right coach to utilise their skills.

 

[BennyV]

Doust should be looking hard at 3 Halves IMO for next season. They are Keary, Townsend and Williams. Townsend and Keary have both been playing well in NSW cup and have progressed a little further on from where DW is at the moment and Williams has great potential. DW is still a good prospect I think but he definately needs more time in NSW cup to develop. Its not exactly his fault the Cutters are doing poorly and it is hard for him to control the game if the forwards are not going forward and controlling the ruck. If we can pick up any of those 3 it would be great and you can never have too much depth.

This...SO MUCH THIS!!!
Seriously, DW can't really do much behind the Cutter's pack. I thought he looked good in the Charity Shield, and I reckon with first grade experience behind the Dragon's forwards, he will be a good investment. Give him a few games off the bench while King is out, and then worry about whether or not he's up for it. He has a good understanding with Price and knows what he has to work on.

That said, I'd like to get Keary too!

 

[blacksafake]

This...SO MUCH THIS!!!
Seriously, DW can't really do much behind the Cutter's pack. I thought he looked good in the Charity Shield, and I reckon with first grade experience behind the Dragon's forwards, he will be a good investment. Give him a few games off the bench while King is out, and then worry about whether or not he's up for it. He has a good understanding with Price and knows what he has to work on.

That said, I'd like to get Keary too!

So would i, he is a prospect

 

[Mr Red]

So where are all the 'experts' now who wanted Drinkwater in at halfback for Round 1 against Melbourne?

It's now being shown up as another attempt by all the Price haters to undermine his call to play Fien at half, which was clearly his ONLY option available.

what kind of coach would put themselves into a position where there only option for halfback (THE most important position in the team) is an aging, slow player who spent his better years at hooker?
we have needed a halfback since 2011, Hornby was already showing signs of not being up to it back then, and now 2 seasons later Price has still not resolved the issue with his only signing being a halfback that is still a good year or two away from first grade, if at all??

this is why we hate Price... total lack of vision and planning. Sure we missed out on recruiting a few halves before season 2013 started, but too little too late IMO, Price had 2 seasons to sort this out.. he should have already started the search for a half when he was still assistant coach but knew he had the coaching job lined up.

 

[Drain the Dragon]

I notice, Mr Red, that the Kyle Stanley injury doesn't rate a mention in your summation.

 

[Mr Red]

Stanley was always bound to get injured at some stage during the season... so once again any coach putting all their hopes on him is just as crazy.
i also saw Stanley as not the type of player we need at half, stanley is NOT a talker and is more a ball runner, rather than a player to steer a team around the field.
having both Stanley and Soward in the halves was also an accident waiting to happen - i saw Stanley as an alternative to Soward, not both on the field together.
thus still needing a true general on the field to steer the ship.

 

[BennyV]

Stanley was always bound to get injured at some stage during the season... so once again any coach putting all their hopes on him is just as crazy.
i also saw Stanley as not the type of player we need at half, stanley is NOT a talker and is more a ball runner, rather than a player to steer a team around the field.
having both Stanley and Soward in the halves was also an accident waiting to happen - i saw Stanley as an alternative to Soward, not both on the field together.
thus still needing a true general on the field to steer the ship.

Can I get next weeks Lotto numbers too please?

 

[TheRev]

Short-term: Soward/Fein is the safest combination, low error rate, plenty of experience, if you had to get some early wins on the board then its the right way to go.

Long-term: Neither Soward or Fein will be there next year, and neither Soward or Fein is going to develop into a genuine creative running 1st grade half. If Drinkwater comes in, he will make heaps of errors, he will also run at the line and create opportunities... he will get experience and maybe he will make it.. in the meantime he has 1 of the experienced halves alongside for the journey.

Drinkwater might not be our man.. picking kids is damn hard, any kid who is so good their form cant be ignored isnt going to be let go... but we bought Josh, and hes worth a punt.. if they genuinely think he is years off being ready then well ok.. lets go recruit someone else, but chances are we will need Josh in 1st grade in the next 12mths, so lets get on with the learning process.

 

[Godz Illa]

Can I get next weeks Lotto numbers too please?

:lol:

 

[TheRev]

Can I get next weeks Lotto numbers too please?

Oh I think his post was quite justified, Stanley, King, Drinkwater, all young and fragile, you would be very silly not to have backup plans for shortterm or longterm injuries.

 

[Godz Illa]

We did have a backup plan - we're seeing it now.

 

[LOYAL DRAGON]

what kind of coach would put themselves into a position where there only option for halfback (THE most important position in the team) is an aging, slow player who spent his better years at hooker?
we have needed a halfback since 2011, Hornby was already showing signs of not being up to it back then, and now 2 seasons later Price has still not resolved the issue with his only signing being a halfback that is still a good year or two away from first grade, if at all??

this is why we hate Price... total lack of vision and planning. Sure we missed out on recruiting a few halves before season 2013 started, but too little too late IMO, Price had 2 seasons to sort this out.. he should have already started the search for a half when he was still assistant coach but knew he had the coaching job lined up.

Umm wasn't it Mr Bennett who re signed Hornby and only made up his mind to piss off to Newcastle mid season leaving us without any signings , dragging players with him leaving us up in shit creek and players thinking twice about joining us.

 

[redvforlife]

I think it's possible the plan was (before injury) to have Stanley at half learning off Soward's experience with Fien on the bench to play back up hooker/half as needed and to help guide the boys. Then, in 2014 move Stanley to 5/8th and put Drinkwater in after developing him at the Cutters.

None of this helps anymore.

Could have been excellent. Could have been a dud. Could have been not the plan at all.

But our combination of Soward/Fien has won as many games as 7 other combinations in the league this season