A serious question on Jamie Soward

[great.scott]

Hey everyone,this is my first ever post although I have been a Dragons supporter since the early 50's and have followed Jubilee Ave and this forum for years.

I was so pinged off with yesterday's game - the non 40-20, the call that Jamie was making a play at the ball when ruled aginst him and Canberra feed, the tackle on the untackled opponent that led initially to the Raiders first try - there were bad decision on both sides but I feel those ones counted hard against us.

I am still also disappointed about our continued uninspiring game plan until its all too late.

My biggest concern however, and although I admire the player, is that Jamie just can't tackle. Why does he always go high. Give him some tackling practice please.

I know this might upset people but dare I suggest we drop him. Fein to half, Hornby at five-eight. I question if we can keep carrying Jamie as a defender as teams just keep attacking him more and more.

I know he contributes with goal-kicking but if he is still there, I'd love to see him run at the defence more - I'm sure there is a gameplan but we are just so boring and manageable at present, same as last year.

I have been a dragon fan all my life always will be and would love to see another premiership but it seems that, like last year, at the business end of the season, other teams have us worked out and we are so predictable. I'd like to see more of the Ben Creagh type of try from the other week against Easts.- some bright enterprising attacking play.

Anyway I'd like some constructive thoughts on what can be done with Jamie?

 

[Ulysseus]

Don't worry.
Wayne has a plan.

 

[DaSuperHero2]

Watch out this guys serious

 

[Godz Illa]

Defensively he's been good all year, great even. My issue with him is his work with the ball, he needs to play more direct. Either way there's no way Wayne will change the halves at his point of the season

 

[Ulysseus]

Hell of a question for his first post.
I aint gonna accuse him of just cranking an account up to stir sh*t though, benefit of the doubt first and foremost.

great.scott, don't be concerned, just enjoy the ride, they've got 2 games left and need to win only one to secure a minor premiership and a guaranteed second bite of the cherry, win the first finals game and anything is possible.

 

[Fingerbang]

His defence without Beau beside him is a worry, and how many times does he have to be palmed off before he starts to tackle low. A leg or hip shot yesterday would have brought Picker down easily.

I would prefer him out there playing as opposed to not playing though. He is capable of pulling out that bit of magic at any time. The difference yesterday compared to last Monday against Manly was Fien not playing halfback. Hornby had one of those nothing games yesterday and it stifled our attack, when we did have some ball. Then again, how does one drop the captain? Does he get moved to dummy half when Fien comes on for Young? Bennett knows best.

 

[vista]

Maybe this should also be your Last post!
​

 

[grandorient]

H'mmm

I believe Soward brings much more to the team, than simply goal kicking.

Sure, most of his tackles aren't of the domineering type and yes more tackles around the legs would be more effective. However, he is there in a lot of the tackles made and does do his bit in defence. You can't expect him to be a defender, of the bruising type.

I think you need to look at the complete package, what he brings to the team as a whole. Goal kicking, passing, kicking in the field of play, and yes, he can sometimes be an X factor. He also seems to be always there to receive a kick from the opposing team.

Great Scott, good question. It's good to get questions, comments etc. from way out of left field. Thinking out of the square if you like, well done.

GO

 

[waynes dragons !]

it's funny how people want to drop soward after a loss,he has been one of our best players over the last 2 seasons yet we lose a game and its his fault,we did play a side yestie that was playing for its season and will do anything to win,we will have another hard game on sat night against newcastle but if we can get smith and scott back in the team we will look a lot better,o thought we played well for about 50 mins yestie,our defence was great,surely our attack is flat at times,but we do still sit in number 1 place,and i of all people would love to see us clinch the minor premiership up here in newcastle on sat night,i think wayne has a planand it will work,have a look at the last 2 weeks he hasrested players cause of their heavy workload,prior hornby (maybe had flu),scott,young in brisbane,smith out yestie,which i know he hasnt played much,but he is freshining them up to get them right for sept,we do have the number 1 coach and i am someone who will never question his decisions he knows what to do.

 

[Ulysseus]

and i of all people would love to see us clinch the minor premiership up here in newcastle on sat night

Same, but I'll be in f**king sydney for work commitments

You can be assured of a few things when you go to EAS.
You'll struggle to get a car park, you'll struggle to get a decent seat and you'll struggle to put up with the stench of the prick next to you.

 

[Willow]

Jamie just can't tackle.

I'm assuming you're basing this on his failed attempt at cover defence in the second half.

If you watch the game (really), you'll see that Soward came over from midfield, and was the only one making a real effort. The question should be: why was he the only one?

His defence this year has been very good and he has saved a number of tries..

I know this might upset people but dare I suggest we drop him

Is that you Brownie? ;-)

Just when I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Who do you suggest we replace him with?

 

[Bring back choc]

Lets hope your first post doesn't affect the credibility of your next post.
Dropping Jamie soward is the most ridiculous suggestion i have heard.
Not to mention unfounded and unwarranted. You are entitled to your opinion, but
i really think you have missed the mark on this one. Short memory obviously... didn't you
watch the manly game?

 

[Cagey Mac]

Godzy and Willow have it covered as ususal
Missing Scott and Smith we miss two remarkable tacklers in that they generally stop opponents in their tracks
Soward’s defence this year has been great he’s no lock mind you as cover defender but he was one of our best players last year and this year we’ve seen only improvement. Canberra were on fire yesterday and we’d have been flat out beating them with Scott and Smith
Prior was disappointing but others held their own pretty well
Should be another cracker against Newcastle

 

[boo_boo]

As an opposition supporter i think that Jamie Soward is an asset to the Dragons rather than a liability & i would love to see him wearing the Red & Green.
If Wayne Bennett has no intention to work on any perceived weaknesses in Sowards game then he is not the coach we give him credit for.
Along with Dean Young & Ben Hornby, Soward is a valuable member of the Dragons side & i think he just needs support rather than criticism.

 

[Willow]

Soward is a better defender than Lockyer, and the Broncos are struggling. I'm not aware of any Broncos supporter calling for Lockyer to be dropped. On the contrary, they are calling for him to named this weekend, injuries and all.

 

[glossydoll]

I love Jamie, I just think that since Gaz has been back Jamie has changed the way he plays as well as the the way the team previously seemed to click together. Im guessing that Wayne is hopefully on top of this!

 

[TheRev]

Cant use yesterday as an example of what is or isnt working in the halves, I thought when we had the ball we were damn good.. left & right side plays, we scored plenty of points.

But we lost because we were not getting enough ball... due to:
- Our own mistakes/penalties
- Canberras dominance up front
- some consecutive crap + 50/50 ref calls against us in the 2nd half, that gave them 10-15 minutes straight attacking us..

 

[Drew-Sta]

His defence wasn't bad at all. Made one mistake going high on a guy he came half the field to cover. Blaming him for it is rediculous; Blame the idiots on the right who didn't mark up and let the side through.

My only criticism of Soward isn't his fault; He's forced to be the spark to the side when we're down and is reliant on Hornby on the inside, who is very dull as a playmaker, so he's forced to make it all for himself instead of work off something Hornby starts. He's only had an outside right centre for 4 or 5 games who is a true gem of the game so that means he has some disjointedness to get rid of also.

Jamie is a very, very good player and people calling for his head have rocks in theirs. I'd sooner drop Hornby for Fien but the reality is we need all 3 of them.

The second half resurgence we had going was very positive and showed that if we start to click we're possible of doing great attacking play.

 

[great.scott]

Well I did stimulate some discussion and for those who didn't like what I said all I say is that I was trying to offer a constructive suggestion. Ihave followed the dragongs for over 50 years since I grew up in Arncliffe just up the road fromTiger Black.

My comments regarding yesterday re tackling were not based on the one glaring instance but on numerous occasions when the Raiders attacked the right hand side where Jamie consistently went grabbing at arms/shoulders etc. instead of going low - so often we were lucky hed had support tacklers.

I love his play - as others have mentioned previously in other threads - probably not as good this year as last year. I just had to question whether there is scope for improvement over some of the recent loss performances - I don't blame one player but if no one ever questions things maybe nothing is learnt.

Anyway -
Go Dragons! I love the club and the team and any comments I make are not intended to be derogatory.

I believe in Wayne Bennett- I hope he and the players can deliver - I guess I just would like to see that some that wonderful attacking flair we did display earlier in the season to go with a strong defense.

 

[Drew-Sta]

I really don't think his defence was as bad as you think. Numerous times I was watching him make tackles on bigger men and wrapping the ball up. The reason he goes high is to prevent the offload.

His defence is never Gillespie like; but it sure is better than Chris Sandow's, Hodgkinsons, Cronks and Kimmorely's.