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when you compare MCJETSKI with a first class coach like wayne bennett or craig bellamy well the leyland p76 just ran out of petrol and the ferrari and the rolls royce are in cruise mode time for a trade in .only problem is you wont get a good trade in for the p76......................... 1960 i think it was a movie by the name of THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON HAS A FAMILIAR RING TO IT ..........
Yes true Ewan McGrady, Kevin Walters and Preston Campbell are 3 that come straight to mind I have to add to the above that swapping positions for Hunt and McInness is not the worst thing mary could do Paul Green once decided to play Asiata at 5/8
Seriously Mills injuries and suspensions aside we were complete rubbish..it was bloody embarrassing ...I know Pongia is a wonderfully gifted player but seriously our defence was that shit we made him look like Jonathon Thurston
Another was Brett Hodgson very light and smallish but was very effective....even played Origin for NSW
UNDERPERFORMING DRAGONS COACH FACES THE CHOP AFTER A LIFETIME OF OPPORTUNITIES ,AND NO SIGN OF ANY COACHING ABILITYNRL 2019: Underperforming Dragons face selection chop after Knights thumping
Dragons Den
NOT HAPPY: Paul McGregor looks set to wield the selection axe this week. Picture: NRL Photos
ST GEORGE Illawarra coach Paul McGregor is set to wield the selection axe after his side was hammered 45-12 by Newcastle in Mudgee on Sunday..
The Dragons trailed 14-0 after as many minutes, and 28-0 at the break on the back of a double from Kayln Ponga. Tim Glasby and Kurt Mann also grabbed four-pointers in the best half of football the Knights have produced this season.
Young-gun Zac Lomax put the restart after Ponga's first try kickoff dead on the full in a forgettable opening stanza for the Dragons.
The loss is their fourth on the trot and bucked a recent trend of strong starts and late-game fades, with the Knights on top from start to finish.
It takes the Dragons season tally to 4-6 and a clearly frustrated McGregor said a selection shake-up will likely be on the cards ahead of next Sunday's clash with Cronulla in Wollongong.
"I think in the first 40 we didn't show any resilience in defending errors or penalties, which is highly disappointing," McGregor said.
"We went into the half 28-0 down. We came out in the second half and it was 15-12 but it's nowhere near good enough. We've got to have a real good look at why.
"Up until today our first 40 minutes is [that of a] top four side and our last 40 minutes is a bottom four side. That's just way too inconsistent from this team.
"I think a couple of our leads in the last month have covered up our 80-minute performances. We had some comfortable leads the last two weeks and we had a good second half against the Roosters [in round seven] but today put a full stop to that.
"We can use experience missing on the sideline [as an excuse], we can use the learning that we're getting at the moment, but the same people are making the same errors or poor reads on a weekly basis so it might be time for change.
"When there's a lot of people missing with experience you can get comfortable, I'm not saying that's the case at the minute.
"It's disappointing if it is, but we're halfway through the year and if we're still making the same errors and giving away the same penalties and the same people are doing it, they're obviously not listening."
It also came in the wake of star lock Jack de Belin's failed federal court bid to return from a no-fault stand-down imposed by the NRL, leaving them without the NSW Origin star for the remainder of the season.
McGregor didn't attribute the performance to that decision but conceded it may have been a distraction on some level.
"I hope that didn't have an effect on the performance today, some will say it may have because Jack's a very well-liked and important person in our football team," McGregor said.
"To be totally honest we all expected him to be available today but he wasn't and we had to move on pretty quick from that.
"There's feeling there, there's emotion there for sure. Whether that played a role in today's performance or in my build-up subconsciously I'm not sure.
"I spoke to Jack, his next move we're not sure of so I can't comment much more than that until we get back home and have a sit down and a chat.
"He's a big part of our lives but he wasn't there today, there were 17 players and coaching staff who didn't do what they needed to do."
The club has indicated it will seek to shift de Belin's contract money off its salary cap while he remains stood down. Trent Merrin has been linked to a return to his former club but McGregor said he's yet to consider any options.
"I haven't but Ian Millward who looks after our recruitment and cap has been working hard over it for quite some time over different alternatives," McGregor said.
"I didn't want to talk about anything until next week because I wanted to focus on today and obviously get over the disappointment of the Jack de Belin decision.
"It's extremely disappointing. He's a part of our club and a part of our team. He's got the presumption of innocence until he gets his opportunity in court, which he's not getting anywhere else at the moment."
Korbin Sims will return from a broken arm for next week's clash with the Sharks while Corey Norman is also a chance of making an early return from a fractured cheekbone, though a return after the round 11 bye appears more likely.
If the first 40 minutes was disappointing, the Dragons showed little resistance in the second, with Shaun Kenny-Dowall crossing three minutes after the resumption and Mitchell Pearce following up nine minutes later.
Ponga's teammates seemed the only ones capable of stopping their star No. 1, with Lachlan Fitzgibbon denying him his hat-trick with a tug on Tyson Frizell's jersey in the lead-up to what looked like his third four-pointer.
Tariq Sims finally opened his side's account against a 12-man defensive line after Kurt Mann was sent to the sin-bin after seven straight penalties midway through the second half.
Lomax made it back to back tries for his side four minutes later but Connor Watson's 71st minute try retook momentum for the Knights, with Pearce putting a one-point exclamation point on the win a minute from time.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au...election-chop-after-knights-thumping/?cs=3713
) way .
There is no inspiration or on-field leadership. It seems there is no game manager or anyone calling the shots.
I say ask Gould to come in and sort things out over the rest of this season. Let him deal with Mary, Millward and the NRL squad. I am sure he will sort things out nicely.DONT GIVE FALSE HOPE TO THE CONDEMNED - we the fans are facing extinction under the maestro , whereas he shall continue on his mary ( no pun intended
Right on its been like this for ever , they have a few wins then everything is forgotten . I am going back again to last year that had we lost to the Broncos , the year would have been a disaster , but they won that game to the shock of all of us Plus the coach , that had no idea why .... This Club has continued to spiral out of control since we won in 2010 ..... Nothing will change until the place is flushed out and outsiders come in .... Sad sad situation ....
NRL 2019: Underperforming Dragons face selection chop after Knights thumping
Dragons Den
NOT HAPPY: Paul McGregor looks set to wield the selection axe this week. Picture: NRL Photos
ST GEORGE Illawarra coach Paul McGregor is set to wield the selection axe after his side was hammered 45-12 by Newcastle in Mudgee on Sunday..
The Dragons trailed 14-0 after as many minutes, and 28-0 at the break on the back of a double from Kayln Ponga. Tim Glasby and Kurt Mann also grabbed four-pointers in the best half of football the Knights have produced this season.
Young-gun Zac Lomax put the restart after Ponga's first try kickoff dead on the full in a forgettable opening stanza for the Dragons.
The loss is their fourth on the trot and bucked a recent trend of strong starts and late-game fades, with the Knights on top from start to finish.
It takes the Dragons season tally to 4-6 and a clearly frustrated McGregor said a selection shake-up will likely be on the cards ahead of next Sunday's clash with Cronulla in Wollongong.
"I think in the first 40 we didn't show any resilience in defending errors or penalties, which is highly disappointing," McGregor said.
"We went into the half 28-0 down. We came out in the second half and it was 15-12 but it's nowhere near good enough. We've got to have a real good look at why.
"Up until today our first 40 minutes is [that of a] top four side and our last 40 minutes is a bottom four side. That's just way too inconsistent from this team.
"I think a couple of our leads in the last month have covered up our 80-minute performances. We had some comfortable leads the last two weeks and we had a good second half against the Roosters [in round seven] but today put a full stop to that.
"We can use experience missing on the sideline [as an excuse], we can use the learning that we're getting at the moment, but the same people are making the same errors or poor reads on a weekly basis so it might be time for change.
"When there's a lot of people missing with experience you can get comfortable, I'm not saying that's the case at the minute.
"It's disappointing if it is, but we're halfway through the year and if we're still making the same errors and giving away the same penalties and the same people are doing it, they're obviously not listening."
It also came in the wake of star lock Jack de Belin's failed federal court bid to return from a no-fault stand-down imposed by the NRL, leaving them without the NSW Origin star for the remainder of the season.
McGregor didn't attribute the performance to that decision but conceded it may have been a distraction on some level.
"I hope that didn't have an effect on the performance today, some will say it may have because Jack's a very well-liked and important person in our football team," McGregor said.
"To be totally honest we all expected him to be available today but he wasn't and we had to move on pretty quick from that.
"There's feeling there, there's emotion there for sure. Whether that played a role in today's performance or in my build-up subconsciously I'm not sure.
"I spoke to Jack, his next move we're not sure of so I can't comment much more than that until we get back home and have a sit down and a chat.
"He's a big part of our lives but he wasn't there today, there were 17 players and coaching staff who didn't do what they needed to do."
The club has indicated it will seek to shift de Belin's contract money off its salary cap while he remains stood down. Trent Merrin has been linked to a return to his former club but McGregor said he's yet to consider any options.
"I haven't but Ian Millward who looks after our recruitment and cap has been working hard over it for quite some time over different alternatives," McGregor said.
"I didn't want to talk about anything until next week because I wanted to focus on today and obviously get over the disappointment of the Jack de Belin decision.
"It's extremely disappointing. He's a part of our club and a part of our team. He's got the presumption of innocence until he gets his opportunity in court, which he's not getting anywhere else at the moment."
Korbin Sims will return from a broken arm for next week's clash with the Sharks while Corey Norman is also a chance of making an early return from a fractured cheekbone, though a return after the round 11 bye appears more likely.
If the first 40 minutes was disappointing, the Dragons showed little resistance in the second, with Shaun Kenny-Dowall crossing three minutes after the resumption and Mitchell Pearce following up nine minutes later.
Ponga's teammates seemed the only ones capable of stopping their star No. 1, with Lachlan Fitzgibbon denying him his hat-trick with a tug on Tyson Frizell's jersey in the lead-up to what looked like his third four-pointer.
Tariq Sims finally opened his side's account against a 12-man defensive line after Kurt Mann was sent to the sin-bin after seven straight penalties midway through the second half.
Lomax made it back to back tries for his side four minutes later but Connor Watson's 71st minute try retook momentum for the Knights, with Pearce putting a one-point exclamation point on the win a minute from time.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au...election-chop-after-knights-thumping/?cs=3713
