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Round 25 vs Titans

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Gareth Widdop brings up 1000th NRL point as St George Illawarra Dragons defeat Gold Coast Titans
NRL Premiership
d87277c0db59be00ab98165affe702d0

Gareth Widdop of the DragonsSource: AAP
St George Illawarra have momentarily taken some heat off coach Paul McGregor with a 24-16 victory over Gold Coast to finish a disappointing 2019 NRL campaign on a high.

McGregor’s future has been a hot topic, particularly since former Penrith supremo Phil Gould’s appointment to lead a review into the club’s football department.

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Leilua magic cuts up Titans


Jai Arrow and Jonus Pearson exchanged fist-half tries, before the game sparked into life in the second half.

But the Dragons did just enough on Saturday night to fend off an improved Titans outfit, who struck first in front of a home crowd of 11,274 fans at Cbus Super Stadium when Jai Arrow burrowed over between the posts in the 14th minute. In a scrappy contest, befitting of its bottom-of-the-table status, the Dragons picked up the pace either side of halftime with a pair of impressive tries, starting with a Jonus Pearson long-range effort from a seemingly routine scrum movement.


Soon after the break, Gold Coast rookie Tanah Boyd was punished for a dropped ball over the tryline with Corey Norman scoring off the next set, capitalising on a Luciano Leilua offload just as he was being bundled out of play by six Titans.

From there, the game opened up dramatically with a series of end-to-end phases, as momentum shifted back and forth, but two Ben Hunt tries in the final 15 minutes sealed the deal for the visitors.

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Ben Hunt of the Dragons scores a trySource: Getty Images

The first of those paved the way for Gareth Widdop to bring up the 1000th point of his NRL career in his final game before returning to England to play for Super League club Warrington.

Widdop was joined as a last-game winner by retiring Dragons forward Jeremy Latimore.

Michael Gordon was not so fortunate, his Titans side slumping to an 11th- straight loss despite the veteran fullback pulling off successive try-saving tackles on opposite sides of the field.

The defeat leaves departing Gold Coast interim coach Craig Hodges winless from 10 games at the helm across two stints and means the wooden spooners will finish the year with just four wins in their worst season.

ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 24 (B Hunt 2 C Norman J Pearson tries G Widdop 4 goals) bt GOLD COAST 16 (J Arrow M Rein P Sami tries M Gordon 2 goals) at Cbus Super Stadium. Referee: Gavin Badger, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski. Crowd: 11,274.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...o/news-story/86dd9f0f5b427101812ff87ba565dd3b
 

nontime111

Juniors
Messages
1,623
I think IF....we get rid of Mary we can have success sooner rather than later
Pearson is a cracker I think he has a lot of ceiling and I think hes a lot better than all the others weve tried so theres a winger for you to go with Saab who has rockets of ceiling also

backline for 2020? I think theyll go ok with the right coaching:

Sailor
Saab
Lomax
Lafai ( or a better signed centre)
Pearson
Norman
Hunt

ps..Ford AND Kerr are both going to be goodiea along with Lawrie
Luch is going to be a damn SUPERSTAR
and Korbin is going to be possibly better than his brother

so if we can keep Frizz with the right coach next year we could climb and climb FAST!
 

Coffs dragon

Bench
Messages
4,247
They played the worst team in the comp and went out there with the attitude to enjoy it & play some footy. I just wish, pray & hope that the players are completely honest with Gus Gould in their assessment of McAnchors coaching and that there is genuine change.
Also, no surprise to see our 2 centres have a much improved game as an audition to new prospective clubs.
I am just relieved the year is over a season, as it was the very worst year in all my 50 years supporting & following the RedV.
If Mary stays in 2020, I will have very little interest in watching the Team knowing the management treat the fans with contempt.
 
Last edited:

hermidale1

Juniors
Messages
353
They played the worst team in the comp and went out there with the attitude to enjoy it & play some footy. I just wish, pray & hope that the players are completely honest with Gus Gould in their assessment of McAnchors coaching and that there is genuine change.
Also, no surprise to see our 2 centres have a much improved game as an audition to new prospective clubs.
I am just relieved the year is over a season it was the very worst year in my 50 years supporting and following the RedV.
If Mary stays in 2020, I will have very little interest in watching the Team knowing the management treat the fans with contempt.
There should be two factions in the review of Mary.
One should be the players he put in week in week out who played poorly yet survived selection constantly. They will say he’s a good coach who needs another shot for 2 more years.
The second should be the ones who either never got a shot or who were thrown under the bus by the coach after all lost games.This includes players and coaching staff. They will hopefully be honest and say the coach should be shown the door and find someone else who can take the players and club forward.
 

Dragon David

First Grade
Messages
7,375
They played the worst team in the comp and went out there with the attitude to enjoy it & play some footy. I just wish, pray & hope that the players are completely honest with Gus Gould in their assessment of McAnchors coaching and that there is genuine change.
Also, no surprise to see our 2 centres have a much improved game as an audition to new prospective clubs.
I am just relieved the year is over a season, as it was the very worst year in all my 50 years supporting & following the RedV.
If Mary stays in 2020, I will have very little interest in watching the Team knowing the management treat the fans with contempt.
I am glad that our season is over. What a joke of a year. We were certainly dealt a blow before the first game this year and as a result, the coaching staff could not readily make workable adjustments to managing the team going forward - so much down and little up games in the season. Next year just might be a little better but i do not think by very much.
 

JohnnoMcJohnno

Juniors
Messages
2,359
Widdop got to his 1000 NRL points (well done) and also put in his 1000 shit short kick into the oppositions legs (Hunt is also very good at it) to swing momentum against us yet again...I will NOT miss his inept tactical kicking one iota.

Fortunately Titans halfback was an equally poor short kicker. Shudder to think what would of happened if Ash Taylor was playing.
 

BLM01

First Grade
Messages
8,938
Oh well the curtain is down once more. Mary's final performance and he should be happy we kept a team to his beloved No 16 again. Only this time we finally scored more....oh I forgot...it was only the Titans.
It may go down as i won my last game as a NRL coach...I was wrongfully sacked.
I like dreamin! :p;)
 

getsmarty

Immortal
Messages
33,485
Gareth gave us confidence and belief: McGregor
Author
Tony Webeck NRL.com reporter
Timestamp
Sun 8 Sep 2019, 12:14 AM

He creates tryscoring opportunities, kicks goals and leads his team yet it is a sense of confidence that St George Illawarra will need to find in the wake of Gareth Widdop’s departure to the UK Super League.

In his 195th NRL appearance and 125th for the Dragons, Widdop guided his team to their eighth win of the season on Saturday night, a 24-16 defeat of 2019 wooden spooners, the Titans.

With the Dragons clinging to a 12-10 lead midway through the second half, it was the skills of Widdop, halves partner Ben Hunt and fullback Corey Norman that separated the two teams at the end of 80 minutes.

A dislocated shoulder suffered in round three against the Broncos meant that Widdop played just 10 games in his final NRL season, one of a number of factors that conspired to bring the Dragons’ 2019 campaign undone.

Labelling the Englishman the most talented player he has ever coached, coach Paul McGregor said that for 16 weeks what his side missed most was the sense of confidence a player of Widdop’s stature has on the entire group.

"Confidence. He gives the team confidence,” McGregor said.

“He gives the team belief. He makes other people around him better. He makes people feel comfortable and that's pretty important in rugby league.



Match Highlights: Titans v Dragons

"He's a guy that come to us in 2014, Steve Price was the coach, and from the day he arrived you could see the natural talent that he had.

"He was that gifted and he could see things that others couldn't, even on the training field. And as soon as he took the park he just become the best player.

"He's been our most consistent player without a doubt the last six years.

"He's the most gifted player I've coached in my journey. He's got a left and right-foot kick, he kicks goals, he plays an important position, he leads the team around, he's the captain.

"The legacy he's going to leave behind will be a good one for people to follow. I feel that he goes about training very well, he's one of those guys that doesn't talk too much but becomes competitive as soon as he crosses the stripe.”

In converting the first of Ben Hunt’s two tries in the 66th minute Widdop became the first Englishman to score 1000 points in the NRL, eventually finishing with 1003 points made up of 43 tries, 412 goals and seven field goals.



McGregor explains thought process behind review

“Obviously you don’t set out to achieve those sort of goals but when they come around I'm certainly very proud to have that achievement." Widdop said.

“That’s another little thing that I can hold when I finish my career and look back on what I’ve achieved.

“It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster. Being able to skipper this club has been a huge honour. It is a famous jersey and to be able to do that for the last couple of years has helped me as a person on and off the field."

Admitting that he and the group got distracted by the players they didn’t have available in Widdop and Jack de Belin rather than focusing on who was, McGregor believes a thorough review is required in the wake of the joint venture’s lowest ever finish.

"I just feel that we need a full review and we need an external review. That wasn't only my thought, that was the club's thought,” McGregor explained.

"Whether it's Phil Gould or anyone, it needs to be someone. When you look at someone like 'Gus', he's a very educated person that's got a bigger knowledge than most in the game.



Pearson weaves through the Titans

"When teams don't finish in the top eight and they finish in the bottom eight, your review's a lot deeper.

"Last year we obviously still had a review but it was done internally.

“We all thought that this one needs to be done externally and looked at thoroughly and that's what will happen.”


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/09/08/gareth-gave-us-confidence-and-belief-mcgregor/


P.S So is this next Year's excuse ?....LOL
 

kit66

Bench
Messages
3,576
Congrats to Widdop on breaking the 1000 point mark and good luck in England. Thanks to him and Lats for their efforts.
I watched the press conference earlier today, Mary as usual blaming the poor season on everything but himself but he did manage to give himself a pat on the back.. My dislike of the man grows weekly. I hope we do the smart thing and give him the boot he so richly deserves.
 
Messages
4,002
MATCH REPORT


Dragons win Widdop, Latimore's last hurrah
Author
Tony Webeck NRL.com reporter
Timestamp
Sat 7 Sep 2019, 09:26 PM

Gareth Widdop’s lasting impression on the NRL now comes with an historical exclamation mark after the classy five-eighth guided the Dragons to a 24-16 win over the Titans on the Gold Coast on Saturday night.

Like two fat seagulls scrapping for the last chip on Burleigh Hill, it was always going to come down to who wanted it just that little bit more as 15th played 16th in front of 11,274 fans at Cbus Super Stadium.

The Dragons – the lowest finish in joint fixture history unavoidable – and the Titans – consigned to the fewest wins for their club in a single season – battling for a shred of credibility to take with them into the off-season.

If the opening 40 minutes was a nervous grind from two teams who left any semblance of confidence back in June, the opening flurry to the second term gave an indication of how their 2019 seasons would ultimately end.

Titans half Tanah Boyd lost the ball as he dived across next to the posts five minutes in, Dragons fullback Corey Norman scored one of the more bizarre tries of the season from the very next set, and at every possible opportunity passes were swung from one side of the field and back again.



Pearson weaves through the Titans

Retiring Titans fullback Michael Gordon came up with try-savers in consecutive tackles on Jonus Pearson and Josh Kerr on opposite sides of the field. Yet a ricochet of a Widdop kick sent the Titans on a surge downfield, ending one tackle later with Mitch Rein running 35 metres to score untouched and bring the score back to 12-10 to the Dragons 25 minutes from full-time.

But with so much space and so little care for defence it was the class of Widdop that shone through, becoming the first Englishman to score 1,000 points in the NRL with his conversion of Ben Hunt’s try in the 66th minute and then sealing the win by providing the final pass for Hunt’s second six minutes later.

He is off to the Super League next season.

Prior to the game most interest centred on departing veterans and emerging rookies, Titans fans getting their first good look at young half Boyd.

Displaying a crisp passing game that created space on the right edge for Kevin Proctor and Tyrone Peachey, his kicking game was found wanting early, a grubber into the Dragons defence and another kick sailing out on the full.

Widdop threatened the Titans right edge numerous times early, but it was the home side to strike the first blow - a Jarrod Wallace offload providing the opportunity for Jai Arrow to score his first try of the year in the 14th minute.

Searching for a response, Dragons prop Paul Vaughan was held up over the line and Widdop denied due to a challenge in the air by Pearson on opposite Jesse Arthars, St George Illawarra finally breaching the Titans line five minutes from half-time.

A Jai Whitbread error gave the Dragons a scrum on their own 30-metre line and with a shift to the left Tim Lafai attracted two defenders before sending Pearson on a 60-metre run to the try-line and a 6-6 scoreline at the break.



Hunt finishes the season with a double

Less than five minutes into the second half – on the back of an AJ Brimson and Phil Sami back-field surge – Boyd seemed certain to score until a late effort from Korbin Sims jolted the ball free as he dived over right of the posts.

Two tackles later, Norman had the Dragons second of the night.

Seven Titans players were left sprawled across the ground as Luciano Leilua offloaded just before going into touch. Euan Aitken then made use of the acres of space to push through two more Gold Coast tacklers and send Norman on a clear path towards the try-line.

The Titans turned defence into a long-range attack to draw within two 15 minutes into the second half through Rein. Then Dragons winger Tristan Sailor was denied a 90-metre intercept try a short time later due to Aitken’s protruding thumb touching the previous pass.

Hunt dived over 13 minutes from full-time which was most notable for providing Widdop the chance to surpass the 1,000 career point-mark in his final NRL appearance.

Titans winger Phil Sami added one to the highlight reel with a spectacular swan dive to score six minutes from full-time.


Match: Titans v Dragons

Round 25 - Saturday 7th September

Full Time

Home Team

Titans

Scored 16 points

Away Team

Dragons

Scored 24 points

Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast

Match broadcasters:

  • Foxtel
  • Nine Network
  • LIVE PASS
https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2019/09/07/dragons-win-widdop-latimores-last-hurrah/
Like it was some big achievement haha go and enjoy you summer boys and enjoy you last one Gareth lol
 

Slippery Morris

First Grade
Messages
7,395
There should be two factions in the review of Mary.
One should be the players he put in week in week out who played poorly yet survived selection constantly. They will say he’s a good coach who needs another shot for 2 more years.
The second should be the ones who either never got a shot or who were thrown under the bus by the coach after all lost games.This includes players and coaching staff. They will hopefully be honest and say the coach should be shown the door and find someone else who can take the players and club forward.

So Lafai, Plodimore and Aitken in 1 group, the rest of the players in the other.
 
Messages
2,866
Last nights game was a quick look into next year
I have no doubt with a signing or 2 and a new coach the Titans will beat us.
I just hope we only play them once as losing twice to the former wooden spooners would be just a tad too much to take with all the other shit we will have to put up with.
We were actually outplayed decisively in the first half and if the young blond halfback didn't butcher that fall over try we would have lost.
That alone was a 12 point turnaround.
So Widdop's 1000 points, Latimore's farewell on the back of his recent 50th game celebration and Vaughn's 150th were all great distractions from the fact that we were a doormat this year.
 

muzby

Village Idiot
Staff member
Messages
45,708
Last nights game was a quick look into next year
I have no doubt with a signing or 2 and a new coach the Titans will beat us.
I just hope we only play them once as losing twice to the former wooden spooners would be just a tad too much to take with all the other shit we will have to put up with.
*cough* Parramatta *cough*
 

since77

Juniors
Messages
1,762
I shouldn’t of listened to this but I did .....

85 minutes from a grand final in 2018

FMD

Don’t get me started on his frigging press conferences. They do my head in. He’s got more platitudes than Jesus. If I hear the word “journey” come out of his mouth again my eyes will roll right out of their sockets. I wish he would take a journey - a long and permanent one away from St George Illawarra.
 

Old Timer

Coach
Messages
16,914
*cough* Parramatta *cough*
Indeed and as we didn't finish last (Mc Grinner couldn't even get that right) then the chances of the ultimate salvation aren't even on the table for us next year.
Maybe we need to be booted out like Souths were and then we might have a clean out and reform to the team we are supposed to be.
 

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