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Round 4 vs Knights

W

Wittenberg

Juniors
Messages
1,140
Crush said:
I just heard Browny say the Ponga at 5/8 experiment is finished. Damn, I was hoping we would get to play them with Mann at fullback!
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Ponga is an exciting player but god he is the media's love child. The pressure on him must be immense. This year he has thrown at least 4 poor passes for every good one he gets away. I was hoping he would start the game at 5/8 because Tariq would target him all day. At fullback he is more unpredictable and he will shift into the halves at different times.
 
possm

possm

Coach
Messages
15,591
Wittenberg said:
Ponga is an exciting player but god he is the media's love child. The pressure on him must be immense. This year he has thrown at least 4 poor passes for every good one he gets away. I was hoping he would start the game at 5/8 because Tariq would target him all day. At fullback he is more unpredictable and he will shift into the halves at different times.
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I really hope he does not scoot down our right edge and make a mess of Aitken's good defensive record.
 
to_ddeath

to_ddeath

Coach
Messages
11,756
Need a smashing here to make the board look dumb, but we'll probably jag a 4 point win & Merhy will get 3 more years....
 
D

denis preston

First Grade
Messages
8,210
Datramp said:
Latimore is a solid not brilliant bench player. But to say Kerr deserves a run over him is laughable. Kerr needs to go work on his defence. Am I the only person who remembers his turnstile defence earlier in the season???
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You must be.His defence in the Indigenous game was first class. Needs NRL game time to improve.Latimore will only get worse.
 
Dennis Papaioannou

Dennis Papaioannou

Bench
Messages
2,866
Wittenberg said:
Ponga is an exciting player but god he is the media's love child. The pressure on him must be immense. This year he has thrown at least 4 poor passes for every good one he gets away. I was hoping he would start the game at 5/8 because Tariq would target him all day. At fullback he is more unpredictable and he will shift into the halves at different times.
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McGregor comes a close second...treated with kid gloves by the media and I suspect writes his own articles in the Mercury to boot.
 
ALSGI

ALSGI

Bench
Messages
3,101
Wittenberg said:
Ponga is an exciting player but god he is the media's love child. The pressure on him must be immense. This year he has thrown at least 4 poor passes for every good one he gets away. I was hoping he would start the game at 5/8 because Tariq would target him all day. At fullback he is more unpredictable and he will shift into the halves at different times.
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Agree, Ponga at FB will be far more dangerous to us than Mann.
 
G

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
teamlist_webbanner.jpg


TEAM LISTS


TripADeal NRL team announcement: Round 4 v Knights
Author
Dragons.com.au dragons.com.au
Timestamp
Tue 2 Apr 2019, 04:00 PM

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has named his mandatory 21-man squad ahead of the Dragons' Round 4 Alex McKinnon Cup clash against the Newcastle Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday, April 7.

The Dragons will kick-off at 6:10pm against the Knights, with their Canterbury Cup NSW counterparts playing beforehand at 3:55pm.

Tyson Frizell has been named in the reserves, and could potentially make his comeback from the lacerated testicle he suffered in Round 1.

Skipper Gareth Widdop's dislocated shoulder has allowed for Matt Dufty's return to the NRL at fullback. James Graham and Cameron McInnes have been named co-captains in Widdop's absence.

The Dragons and Knights will play for the Alex McKinnon Cup for the fifth-consecutive season, after the now 27-year-old's career was tragically cut short in 2014.

The Dragons have won all four matches for the Alex McKinnon Cup so far, including their 30-12 win at WIN Stadium, Wollongong in Round 4 last year.

NRL squad for Round 4 v Newcastle Knights -

1. Matt Dufty – sponsored by Dynamic Projects
2. Jordan Pereira – sponsored by SMAI
3. Euan Aitken – sponsored by University of Wollongong
4. Tim Lafai – sponsored by Kingsgrove Sports Centre
5. Mikaele Ravalawa – sponsored by Professionals Padstow
6. Corey Norman – sponsored by Illawarra Mercury/St George & Sutherland Shire Leader
7. Ben Hunt – sponsored by Paul's Customs and Forwarding Solutions
8. James Graham (c) – sponsored by EFEX
9. Cameron McInnes (c) – sponsored by Floormania
10. Paul Vaughan – sponsored by My Muscle Chef
11. Jacob Host – sponsored by Val Morgan
12. Tariq Sims – sponsored by Stonemasons & Landscapers (since 1970)
13. Blake Lawrie – sponsored by Wollongong Jetski

Interchange:
14. Jeremy Latimore – sponsored by Dincel Construction System15. Zac Lomax – sponsored by Tosich Group
16. Korbin Sims – sponsored by Stonemasons & Landscapers (since 1970)17. Luciano Leilua – sponsored by Domus Lighting
18. Tyson Frizell
19. Mitch Allgood
20. Jai Field
21. Jonus Pearson


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/04/02/tripadeal-nrl-team-announcement-round-4-v-knights/
 
G

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
r04_preview8_knights-v-dragons.jpg



MATCH PREVIEW


Knights v Dragons: Round 4 preview
Author
NRL.com
Timestamp
Tue 2 Apr 2019, 04:01 PM

With one win each from three games, this is a huge clash for these old steel-city rivals.

The Knights could've easily been 3-0 after losing two games by a combined nine points, but the truth is they weren't quite good enough in either loss.

Kalyn Ponga is back at fullback where plenty of Knights fans reckon he belongs, but regardless of where he bobs up on the field, a good start is crucial for Newcastle on Sunday, especially given the way the Dragons jumped out of the blocks in last week's gutsy 25-24 road win over Brisbane.

The Dragons surprised virtually everyone with their defeat of the Broncos and coach Paul McGregor will call for a similar effort on Sunday, particularly with no Gareth Widdop on deck.


Match: Knights v Dragons

Round 4 - Sunday 7th April

6:10pm

Home Team

Knights

10th Position


Away Team

Dragons

11th Position

Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium

Match broadcasters:

  • Fox League
  • LIVE PASS
Buy Tickets
The Rundown
Team news
Knights: The Kalyn Ponga at No.6 experiment is over for the time being with the gifted Queenslander shifted back to fullback for the Dragons clash. Mason Lino is the new five-eighth and last week's fullback Kurt Mann has been shifted to the bench. Tim Glasby has been moved from lock to prop in a straight swap with Mitch Barnett. Daniel Saifiti (knee and foot) returns from injury on the bench and James Gavet is out.

Dragons: Just one change to the team that upset Brisbane 25-24 last week but it’s a significant re-jig, with Gareth Widdop (shoulder dislocation) replaced at fullback by Matt Dufty. Tyson Frizell (testicle) has been named among the reserves in a positive sign for Dragons fans.


Match: Knights v Dragons

Round 4 - Sunday 7th April

6:10pm

Home Team

Knights


Away Team

Dragons

Venue:McDonald Jones Stadium

Team Lists
Backs
  • Fullback for Knights is number 1 Kalyn Ponga
    1

    Fullback for Dragons is number 1 Matthew Dufty
  • Winger for Knights is number 2 Edrick Lee
    2

    Winger for Dragons is number 2 Jordan Pereira
  • Centre for Knights is number 3 Hymel Hunt
    3

    Centre for Dragons is number 3 Euan Aitken
  • Centre for Knights is number 4 Jesse Ramien
    4

    Centre for Dragons is number 4 Timoteo Lafai
  • Winger for Knights is number 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall
    5

    Winger for Dragons is number 5 Mikaele Ravalawa
  • Five-Eighth for Knights is number 6 Mason Lino
    6

    Five-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Corey Norman
  • Halfback for Knights is number 7 Mitchell Pearce
    7

    Halfback for Dragons is number 7 Ben Hunt
Forwards
  • Prop for Knights is number 8 David Klemmer
    8

    Prop for Dragons is number 8 James Graham
  • Hooker for Knights is number 9 Danny Levi
    9

    Hooker for Dragons is number 9 Cameron McInnes
  • Prop for Knights is number 10 Tim Glasby
    10

    Prop for Dragons is number 10 Paul Vaughan
  • 2nd Row for Knights is number 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon
    11

    2nd Row for Dragons is number 11 Jacob Host
  • 2nd Row for Knights is number 12 Sione Mata'utia
    12

    2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Tariq Sims
  • Lock for Knights is number 13 Mitchell Barnett
    13

    Lock for Dragons is number 13 Blake Lawrie
Interchange
  • Interchange for Knights is number 14 Kurt Mann
    14

    Interchange for Dragons is number 14 Jeremy Latimore
  • Interchange for Knights is number 15 Aidan Guerra
    15

    Interchange for Dragons is number 15 Zac Lomax
  • Interchange for Knights is number 16 Daniel Saifiti
    16

    Interchange for Dragons is number 16 Korbin Sims
  • Interchange for Knights is number 17 Josh King
    17

    Interchange for Dragons is number 17 Luciano Leilua
Reserves
  • Reserve for Knights is number 18 Herman Ese'ese
    18

    Reserve for Dragons is number 18 Tyson Frizell
  • Reserve for Knights is number 19 Brodie Jones
    19

    Reserve for Dragons is number 19 Mitchell Allgood
  • Reserve for Knights is number 20 Jamie Buhrer
    20

    Reserve for Dragons is number 20 Jai Field
  • Reserve for Knights is number 21 Tautau Moga
    21

    Reserve for Dragons is number 21 Jonus Pearson
Knights Ins
  • Brodie Jones
  • Daniel Saifiti
  • Herman Ese'ese
  • Mason Lino
  • Tautau Moga
Ins
Dragons Ins
  • Jai Field
  • Jonus Pearson
  • Matthew Dufty
  • Mitchell Allgood
  • Tyson Frizell
Knights Outs
  • James Gavet
Outs
Dragons Ins
  • Gareth Widdop
Key match-up
Mitchell Pearce and Ben Hunt have opposed each numerous times and know each other's games pretty well. Pearce might actually prefer Ponga to return to fullback on the basis it would give Pearce more control and chances to create. Hunt is coming off a great game against his former team Brisbane and his battle with Pearce could be decisive.

For the Knights to win
As mentioned above the Knights need to come out firing and stop playing from behind. Easier said than done, but it all starts with attitude and belief. The home team needs to keep errors down and prevent Hunt from getting comfortable.

For the Dragons to win
Overcoming the loss of Widdop won't be easy, but the Dragons showed last week that they appear to have finally moved on from all the pre-season distractions. Hunt needs to be consistent, Corey Norman has to be an 80-minute leader, while the Sims brothers must play with controlled aggression.

Brett Kimmorley says
The excitement of Kalyn Ponga playing fullback again is going to be great for the Knights. The game management and pressure of defending in the front line have been take off him. Hopefully we see a return of the excitement machine we saw last year. The Dragons ground out an enormous win last week. Gareth Widdop will be missing for a long time, but Corey Norman gets the opportunity to play that five-eighth role and Matt Dufty will add some pace from fullback. Dragons by 1

Knights Stat Attack
Newcastle had just 44% of possession against Canberra and completed 70%. Tellingly, they missed a whopping 51 tackles - more than double that of the Raiders (23).

Dragons Stat Attack
The engine-room of James Graham, Cameron McInnes and Paul Vaughan worked tirelessly in defence against Brisbane. McInnes made a team-high 45 tackles, while Graham and Vaughan had 38 apiece. Vaughan was equally effective offensively with 19 runs for a team-high 189m.

And another thing ...
Knights coach Nathan Brown and Dragons coach Paul McGregor played two years together at St George Illawarra in 1999 and '00, but it was effectively just one season after a shoulder reconstruction sidelined 'Mary' for the entire 2000 campaign. Brown coached the Dragons for 151 games from 2003-08, while McGregor has 123 games under his coaching belt since taking over from Steve Price in May, 2014.


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/04/02/knights-v-dragons-round-4-preview/
 
Dragsters

Dragsters

First Grade
Messages
5,363
Mason Lino carved us up, on debut last year in Auckland, for our first loss of 2018.

He must be marked closely and not underestimated again.

Once bitten, twice smash him!
 
Last edited:
Gareth67

Gareth67

First Grade
Messages
8,407
possm said:
Yes when I played football many years ago now, it was very common for players to wear a box. My two sons now 26 and 11 also wear a box when playing football.

Got to protect those family jewels!
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Sounds like they are a chip of the ole block possum !
 
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