I cant see why, If he improves his defence the damn kid could be our LONG term fullback for years as soon as Widdop leaves.....man if he doesnt stick around hes far better than Field and Lomax is a centre
Lomax’s preferred position is fullback.
I cant see why, If he improves his defence the damn kid could be our LONG term fullback for years as soon as Widdop leaves.....man if he doesnt stick around hes far better than Field and Lomax is a centre
Lomax’s preferred position is fullback.
Firstly, we all have no idea what McGregor is thinking re our backline and we can speculate 'till the cows come home.
Secondly, Nth Qld will go all out to secure Alex Johnson as their preferred fullback option unless one of the youngsters shines through in 2019.
Dufty on the outer at Dragons?
In a period of speculation before the Dragons signed Corey Norman and Gareth Widdop announced his 2020 departure to England, Matt Dufty is reported to have said in November that the Dragons’ staff had assured him he had the fullback spot locked down for the 2019 season.
Those assurances now appear to have been premature at best and Dufty’s current position at the Dragons remains unclear.
In 2018 Dufty’s speed in attack from fullback earned him a permanent position in the starting team in the season apart from one bench start in Round 24. With 26 appearances in all, injuries appeared to elude him and his attacking statistics were good, scoring 13 tries with nine line breaks and 16 tackle breaks.
Defence, however, is perceived by many as not being his forte and statistics this regard do not lie with only 109 tackles and vitally 39 missed tackles with a tackle efficiency of only 70.3%.
Dufty is signed with the Dragons until the end of 2019, but it is believed to not be a big-money contract and already the Cowboys and Sharks are rumoured to be interested in his services in 2019. The Dragons have been trying to get him to sign an extension of his contract until the end of 2021 as they see him as a long-term player, but Dufty has yet to commit and other clubs are still circling.
At this stage with 5/8 Widdop likely to move to fullback and Corey Norman the likely new 5/8, Dufty is left with no assurances that he will be playing NRL on a regular basis in 2019. Barring injury the only starting position likely to be available is on the wing, and if not that then Dufty may be considered as a bench back or he is back in ISP.
Dufty is believed to be unhappy with the options available to him and given past assurances which have proven false is believed unlikely to commit to a long-term contract with the Dragons at this stage.
With the trial matches fast approaching, and no announcement from coach Paul McGregor as to Dufty’s position there is a possibility that Dufty may sign a post-2019 deal with another club and then hope for an early release from his Dragons contract.
Personally, I cannot see Dufty simply spending the year in ISP in the hope or even on any assurances that the Dragons’ fullback position is his after Widdop’s departure in 2020.
This leaves Dragons coach Paul McGregor with either having to find Dufty an acceptable NRL position or it may be a case of the old saying that you cannot make a cake without breaking a few eggs, with Dufty being one of those eggs.
https://www.theroar.com.au/2019/02/10/dufty-on-the-outer-at-dragons/
The answer to your 1st question. No.Does anyone on here believe that Mary would be looking to replace Dufty at fullback if Dufty has improved on his defence and positional play during the off-season. For goodness sakes, Mary is a conservative coach without a brain. He just sticks with players no matter what - take Aitken and Lafai as examples.
I'd say no official at the Dragons have said that the fullback position is Dufty's. It is more likely that they have said that Dufty's place in the top 30 squad is secure for 2019.
If Dufty moves on it will be Field who fills the void and if he performs well, and there are no better options available, Field will be our first grade fullback for 2020.
This reminds me very much of the Dugan mess. Dragon official's communications and their ability to speak frankly and honestly with players seems to be in need of improvement. Dufty should have been told he has time in ISP to improve during the 2019 season. That he would be first choice replacement for the fullback position and that if he addresses and improves on his skill shortages, he will get a long term contract from the Dragons. He deserves no more and no less.
mat dufty will be very much a part of the team this year.. he may or may not play evry game, but he will have a role to play and dont worry about what he cant do, look at what he can do..My last comment on this Matt Dufty thread.
Just think through that it appears the club and some posters on the forum want Matt D out of 1st grade. Then after another season in 2nd grade he will somehow be a much better player with all his perceived deficiencies vastly eradicated, now motivated in 2020 a new and better player. Boys and Gals that simply doesn’t make sense.
OT made a very sensible comment above. Playing 2nd grade after a 13 try breakout 2018 season of 1st grade will simply prove nothing. I don’t know if he is ‘a big head’ or arrogant or lazy know it all and therefore on the outer?
What I do know is that last season I saw that some of the 13 trys ( more than any other fullback I understand in the comp) are only capable of being scored by a handful of very talented players who not only see the opportunities but good luck to them; have been gifted blistering speed to achieve them.Matt Dufty’s long range trys also are not flukes. His intuition for opportunity and that blistering speed allows him to catch up and support when other players simply are not quick enough.BTW watching YouTube highlights he also sets up opportunities for others.
I do not think Matt is a ‘superstar’. That description belongs to Thurston/ Inglis/ Cam Smith. He is however an addition we have not seen at the Dragons for a long time and yet it seems quite a few Of the posters don’t think that much of him. Now it’s increasingly apparent that the club believes the team does need his type of contribution and a steadier stronger etc fullback is better overall. Good luck with that.
matt is a superstar in the makeingMy last comment on this Matt Dufty thread.
Just think through that it appears the club and some posters on the forum want Matt D out of 1st grade. Then after another season in 2nd grade he will somehow be a much better player with all his perceived deficiencies vastly eradicated, now motivated in 2020 a new and better player. Boys and Gals that simply doesn’t make sense.
OT made a very sensible comment above. Playing 2nd grade after a 13 try breakout 2018 season of 1st grade will simply prove nothing. I don’t know if he is ‘a big head’ or arrogant or lazy know it all and therefore on the outer?
What I do know is that last season I saw that some of the 13 trys ( more than any other fullback I understand in the comp) are only capable of being scored by a handful of very talented players who not only see the opportunities but good luck to them; have been gifted blistering speed to achieve them.Matt Dufty’s long range trys also are not flukes. His intuition for opportunity and that blistering speed allows him to catch up and support when other players simply are not quick enough.BTW watching YouTube highlights he also sets up opportunities for others.
I do not think Matt is a ‘superstar’. That description belongs to Thurston/ Inglis/ Cam Smith. He is however an addition we have not seen at the Dragons for a long time and yet it seems quite a few Of the posters don’t think that much of him. Now it’s increasingly apparent that the club believes the team does need his type of contribution and a steadier stronger etc fullback is better overall. Good luck with that.
My last comment on this Matt Dufty thread.
Just think through that it appears the club and some posters on the forum want Matt D out of 1st grade. Then after another season in 2nd grade he will somehow be a much better player with all his perceived deficiencies vastly eradicated, now motivated in 2020 a new and better player. Boys and Gals that simply doesn’t make sense.
OT made a very sensible comment above. Playing 2nd grade after a 13 try breakout 2018 season of 1st grade will simply prove nothing. I don’t know if he is ‘a big head’ or arrogant or lazy know it all and therefore on the outer?
What I do know is that last season I saw that some of the 13 trys ( more than any other fullback I understand in the comp) are only capable of being scored by a handful of very talented players who not only see the opportunities but good luck to them; have been gifted blistering speed to achieve them.Matt Dufty’s long range trys also are not flukes. His intuition for opportunity and that blistering speed allows him to catch up and support when other players simply are not quick enough.BTW watching YouTube highlights he also sets up opportunities for others.
I do not think Matt is a ‘superstar’. That description belongs to Thurston/ Inglis/ Cam Smith. He is however an addition we have not seen at the Dragons for a long time and yet it seems quite a few Of the posters don’t think that much of him. Now it’s increasingly apparent that the club believes the team does need his type of contribution and a steadier stronger etc fullback is better overall. Good luck with that.
dont worry about what he cant do, look at what he can do..
matt is a superstar in the makeing
Yep I think after last years dismal attack the coaching staff realise to win games you can't just focus on the 'D'. Attacking speedsters like Dufty, Field and Mann and to a lesser degree Aitken are IMO examples of the type skill we should be structuring our attack around. I think the reason is the game has evolved over the years where once you could make Grand Finals if you had a good defence now you need to both defend well and also score points. I think Dufty is going well and will only get better.
Sorry to say that I still see the halves as being Norman and Hunt. Widdop at fullback will see the season out providing his shoulder is OK.Field needs more time in lower grades regardless of what position he ends up in, but it depends where the opportunities will be. We have already shown our intent of pairing Widdop and Hunt in the halves so that's probably going to stay barring injury. I think Field will probably end up competing with Dufty for fullback but if Dufty continues to develop his game he will make it harder for Field to break into the team.
The problem is to be competitive you need Defence and Attack. Out of the players you mentioned there was only one notable defender and he has left the Dragons to play for Newcastle.
We have Widdop for 2019 only. He has a turn of speed and is OK in defence.
We have two new big fast wingers who's defence is unknown to us at this stage however, I'm sure the coaching staff have a good idea about their defensive capabilities.
And then we have Lomax, possibly our best centre at the Club right now who's skill may not be displayed because of coaching staff incompetence.
OT made a very sensible comment above. Playing 2nd grade after a 13 try breakout 2018 season of 1st grade will simply prove nothing. I don’t know if he is ‘a big head’ or arrogant or lazy know it all and therefore on the outer?
This is the point that most forget. ISP is a game that only represents a percentage of the defensive rigours of NRL. When watching the games, defense is often second string and rarely at the same standard. At this stage, putting Dufty back in ISP achieves nothing to improve his deficiencies. Skills wise he is more likely to improve in the NRL.
Your second point is probably more pertinent and would likely be more along the lines of why you may drop him back. Players need to have the right attitude and be in the right head space before they can perform adequately on the field within a team. Prime example is Lomax. I am lead to believe that for the first half of last season, he wasn't in the right head space to be able to make the transition to NRL. Skill set was good but just not quite there mentally. This could also be the case with Dufty - thrust into the position but just not quite prepared for a full season mentally or physically. He even stated that towards the end of the season he was feeling fatigued and didn't have it in his legs to see out the season on the same high he started with.
By the way, a $700k asking price is only speculation. I've heard that it was nowhere near that figure.