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Round 6 vs Manly

Life's Good

Coach
Messages
13,971
Wonder if the non use of Lomax indicates he is there as a HIA/ injury cover and not to be injected in the game when we need a lift or speed. Puzzling to me
It’s nothing other sheer bloody mindedness of a coach who has a limited imagination in when to make the change. Ravalawa’s confidence was shot, Lafai couldn’t kick to save himself & Lomax at least would have breathed some life into a tired backline.
Won’t be long before Lomax tires of it & asks for a release.
 

ST Tangles 01

Juniors
Messages
557
Yep, if that was us this whole forum would've felt dudded too.

In truth, youre right...the game is 80mins long, not the last 4 seconds. Being denied a fair penalty to take it to extra time is tough. Those bad ones have happened to us before, and it will again.

Rugby League is a DRAMA sport. Bad ref calls are all part of the drama, just as dropped balls 10 metres out from our own line.
Summed it up well
I thought the guys did well not to drop their bundle
It's not a game we would of won in the last few years
 

SnowDragon

Juniors
Messages
785
I feel dirty but Manly did deserve the penalty there to be honest.

Whatever, that's rugby league, shit happens. We deserved the win

If it was around the other way I would be dirty, even though it was maybe a 50:50...

However, prior to the last few minutes, that 2nd half was the most 1-sided reffing effort I can recall for many years! So I’ll happily accept it. Refs should be demoted with that effort overall.

Anyway, proud of the huge effort from the boys... some mistakes, but it was a game where the rub of the green was against us, and somehow we won! :)
 

hazzbeen

Bench
Messages
4,617
Great game of footy, our forwards are awesome ! Anyone doubting Cam McInness' abilities is blind.
Our attack wasn't perfect and it wasn't Normans' best game but we showed a lot of character and resilience right across the park and how good was that last try - Semi Ravalawa on the spot.

Beating Manly is my favourite thing and we even got a cherry on top getting a call go against them at the death and DCE having a big sook, haha, beautiful.
I miss most of it what was the bad call at the end ....?
 

Crush

Coach
Messages
10,411
Dragons v Sea Eagles preview
Robert Crosby | April 18 2019 10:44PM

https://leagueunlimited.com/news/33157-dragons-v-sea-eagles-preview/

In-form rivals eye off fourth straight win

Putting aside intense scrutiny surrounding players on and off the field to record three consecutive wins against Brisbane, Newcastle and Canterbury, the St George Illawarra Dragons will be hoping to add the Manly Sea Eagles to their growing list of scalps on Saturday evening.

Posting an emphatic 40-4 demolition of the Bulldogs at Kogarah last Sunday, the Dragons will head to Wollongong for the first time this season eager to maintain a strong record at the venue that has seen the joint venture record 12 wins from 17 appearances since 2015.

Winning their past three clashes against Manly by margins of at least 24 points, coach Paul McGregor will be banking on his side maintaining possession to come away with two competition points - as seen by last week's 85 per cent completion rate - while ensuring the Sea Eagles aren't allowed to keep up with the clock during the opening exchanges.

Unchanged from the side that downed Canterbury, former Parramatta prop Mitchell Allgood is on stand-by for Paul Vaughan should the New South Wales representative fail to recover from an ankle issue sustained in the second half last Sunday.

Blowing the Knights off the park during the opening quarter last Saturday to run out 26-18 winners in Newcastle, the Manly Sea Eagles will be looking to continue an unexpected start to the year by winning their first match in Wollongong since 2003.

Enduring a wretched run at WIN Stadium losing their past six matches by an average of 23 points, coach Des Hasler will be aiming to record only his second win at the venue across 15 seasons as a first grade coach.

Keeping the faith with the same squad that defeated Newcastle last week, Addin Fonua-Blake will miss the next fortnight after being found guilty of a careless high tackle charge at the judiciary despite being named on Tuesday. With the Tongan and New Zealand international sidelined, Kelepi Tanginoa looms as his likely replacement, however former Titan Morgan Boyle could make his club debut after being included on the extended bench.

Endearing himself to the Manly faithful as the heart and soul of the club alongside younger brother Tom, representative forward Jake Trbojevic will play his 100th NRL game on Saturday having progressed through the lower grades before debuting as a teenager in the final round of 2013.

Last meeting: Round 15 2018 - Dragons 32 Sea Eagles 8

Who to watch: Returning to the scene of the foot injury that saw him miss the run to the finals last year, Dragons prop Paul Vaughan has proven to be a quiet achiever over the opening rounds. Averaging over 150 metres and 30 tackles per game, the 27-year-old New South Wales representative has been among the joint venture's best performers, earning eight Dally M votes to stand as the highest-ranked forward and third overall in the entire league. Suffering a minor ankle concern in the win over Canterbury last Sunday, look for Vaughan to show no signs of discomfort and continue his strong start to 2019 with a powerhouse performance at home.

As one of only two current Manly first graders to play under Des Hasler at the start of the decade, Daly Cherry-Evans has thrived under the guidance of the returning premiership winning coach. Playing his 200th NRL game against Newcastle last Saturday, the 30-year-old halfback has played an instrumental role in defying pre-season expectations to place the Sea Eagles in the top eight for the first time in twelve months. Showing plenty of poise as the side's preferred goal kicker - missing just four shots all season - along with nailing a match-winning field goal in extra time a fortnight ago, Cherry-Evans will be out to prove his class on Saturday evening in a fierce duel opposite fellow Queensland playmaker Ben Hunt.

The favourite: Coming off a dominant win and boasting strong recent form in Wollongong, the Dragons are expected to prove too much for the Sea Eagles to handle.

My tip: Widely expected to run last in 2019, the Sea Eagles have thrived over the early rounds and look set to record four straight wins for the first time since mid-2017. Sea Eagles by 12.
Hey Robert Crosby. You know how you predicted Manly by 12?
Get stuffed! Dreaming you peanut.
 

utility dragon

Juniors
Messages
122
It’s nothing other sheer bloody mindedness of a coach who has a limited imagination in when to make the change. Ravalawa’s confidence was shot, Lafai couldn’t kick to save himself & Lomax at least would have breathed some life into a tired backline.
Won’t be long before Lomax tires of it & asks for a release.
I agree, he looked really disappointed tonight. We can’t compete every week with 16, so if he won’t use lomax then send him back to reserves and atleast let him play. Plenty of top clubs would love to have him now.
 

jeffdragon

Bench
Messages
3,440
If it was around the other way I would be dirty, even though it was maybe a 50:50...

However, prior to the last few minutes, that 2nd half was the most 1-sided reffing effort I can recall for many years! So I’ll happily accept it. Refs should be demoted with that effort overall.

Anyway, proud of the huge effort from the boys... some mistakes, but it was a game where the rub of the green was against us, and somehow we won! :)

When I looked at the paper I knew Munro but not the other guy.
We got nuffies today.
 

kit66

Bench
Messages
3,577
Fox honing in on the Lafai incident at the end but you can’t take one thing in isolation. Should have been done to 12 men any way with the trip or any number of missed forward passes.

Lafai is allowed to run back toward the ball and he's allowed to stop. It could have gone either way because he leant back a little but you could argue he braced himself for contact - didn't move his feet though.
The guy who tripped Aitken should have been sent to the bin ( would have been sent off in the past ) no question, professional foul in a possible try scoring situation. I was sure they'd send him but they just added that to their list of dodgy calls against us tonight.
 

j0nesy

Bench
Messages
3,747
Just looking at some of the stats tonight:
* 44% possession
* 6-0 penalty count against us for a period there
* 12 missed tackles
* three players 40+ tackles
* 347 tackles

That is an awesome win given the circumstances

Also a 14,600 crowd, not bad against Manly.
 
Last edited:

ozbuck

Juniors
Messages
464
Summed it up well
I thought the guys did well not to drop their bundle
It's not a game we would of won in the last few years

Yep exactly mate!

Our defence was strong...that is what won us the game. The hunger is our defence late in the 2nd half to keep them on their line was impressive.

Our attack was messy and didnt feel threatening most of the time...especially compared to when widdop is playing. But the dewy conditions were tricky too....dropped ball with both teams highlighted this.

Curious to see how our attack goes on a dry ground on Thursday.
 

kit66

Bench
Messages
3,577
I miss most of it what was the bad call at the end ....?

DCE kicked to the corner in the last few seconds, Lafai ran back and gave Periera some protection so he could get a good catch - which he did. An attacking player couldn't get a shot at catching the ball because he ran into Lafai- could have been a penalty, 50/50 I guess but we finally got a call go our way. DCE was inconsolable, had a whinge to the refs that would have embarrassed JT.
 

Blood Shot Eyes

First Grade
Messages
5,969
I agree but they got alot of other calls in the match

The news will read dudded but that's because it was at the end of the match
Yes it will but its happened to us plenty of times......we were at one stage 6 to nil against in the penalties and the possession ended up Eagles 56% and us 44%...that being the case we turned over possession far to regularly and had 5 drop outs at one stage as well...we missed 3 shots at goal almost in front to top it off...buggered if I know why Lomax didnt get a run...for mine Aitken should be replaced by him...at least he can kick
 

Willow

Assistant Moderator
Messages
108,131
Who's he
Never heard of him.
He is actually a hard working independent writer who loves rugby league, has no agenda - a rare thing in these cynical times. Also provides thousands of people with updates every week and asks for nothing in return.
 
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