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Ando's New Signings

possm

Coach
Messages
17,004
And I can attest to the fact that the male brain never actually matures.
For 2026, we have a better and more experienced pack of forwards. Frizell will do a Klemmer with a bit more vigor, and Kerr improved much under coach Wolf.

Having Atkinson in the halves with him, Reed will do his thing without any drama.
 

redandwhite4evr

Juniors
Messages
2,128
If Reed is 20 next year, I would play him in first grade. If he can't handle the physical parf of the game at 20 he may not be the half we want.
Manly played Joey Walsh off the bench at Brookie and he's roughly the same age as Reed. Freddie Fittler at 17 was deemed old enough at Penrith all those years ago and it didn't traumatise him. The future for our half back is now - and I'm still not sure it's Atkinson despite his spiral bomb and neat cut out pass and back up try against the dogs. Let's experiment with Reed and Atkinson in the pre-season before settling on the one who's the more complete game manager.
 

Kur0

Juniors
Messages
27
** Not sure where we post recruitment news across the three different threads we have but anyway.. **

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2025/09/10/dragons-appoint-michael-ennis-as-assistant-coach/

The Dragons are pleased to announce that Michael Ennis will join the club as an Assistant Coach for 2026.

Ennis enjoyed a long and illustrious NRL career making 273 appearances to go along with eight State of Origin caps.

He spent the final two seasons of his NRL career playing under Shane Flanagan at Cronulla where they won a premiership together.


Since his retirement in 2016, Ennis has transitioned into coaching spending time with the Raiders, Eels, Sharks and, most recently, the Sea Eagles.

“It’s exciting to be able to welcome Mick to the Dragons,” Head Coach Shane Flanagan said.

“He brings with him a wealth of experience and a diverse range of knowledge. He’s played under and worked alongside some of the game’s best coaches and will add a lot to our coaching staff here at the Dragons. Mick’s had plenty of success in rugby league and we look forward to him joining our staff.”

Ennis added: “I’m really excited to be joining the Dragons. It’s a proud club with a rich history, and I’m grateful to Shane and the organisation for the opportunity to be part of the coaching staff. I really enjoyed working with Shane during my playing days at Cronulla, and I’m looking forward to linking up with him again. He’s a coach I have enormous respect for, and I can’t wait to contribute alongside him here at the Dragons.”
 

since77

Bench
Messages
2,762
Manly played Joey Walsh off the bench at Brookie and he's roughly the same age as Reed. Freddie Fittler at 17 was deemed old enough at Penrith all those years ago and it didn't traumatise him. The future for our half back is now - and I'm still not sure it's Atkinson despite his spiral bomb and neat cut out pass and back up try against the dogs. Let's experiment with Reed and Atkinson in the pre-season before settling on the one who's the more complete game manager.
It seems every post I see lately from you is questioning why players in our system who obviously aren't physically ready for first grade aren't playing first grade. A week or so ago it was Ramsey. Its seems you lack a basic understanding of physiology when it comes to contact sport. Not to mention NRL is probably the most brutal contact sport in the world apart from the barbaric MMA type of stuff.
It also seems like you know more than the coaches and medical staff. Perhaps you should hand your resume in to Flanno and help us long suffering Dragons up out of our doldrums by throwing our SG Ball squad out into the action to lead us to premiership glory in 2026. Just make sure you thoroughly wet their jerseys before they run on so they weigh a tiny bit more.
Go find a photo of the young Brad Fittler (playing in a different era with vastly different fitness levels and athleticism compared to modern NRL by the way) and put it side by side with a photo of Reed. Notice any difference?
 

UDGE

Juniors
Messages
56
I'm not seeing it. In 2024, we scored 508 points and let in 634. In 2025, we scored 498 and let in 628. We've basically stayed the same while other teams improved. With respect to injuries, there's an injury tracker that gets posted on Reddit. We lost 170 man-games to injuries this year, but that was nothing compared to Souths with 275. Yet they still finished above us.

I respect your opinion but improvement is not how I would describe this year.
As long as the stats are correct which i assume they are , they tell the true story . Good to see someone else actually looks at the stats before they carry on with absolute rubbish ,which some on here do . Imagine if we won half of the games that we just got pipped in . We would be in the finals and not having this conversation , so i "think" we improved a little just couldn't close out the close one's . Goal kicking and field goal attempts or lack thereof absolutely cruelled us as much as the injuries . The ten points difference in attack between this year and last year could have got us a finals birth this year . 120 of the 628 conceded came in the last 3 games when we were shot , so taking that into account we definitely improved our defense . But we lacked that finishing factor in attack so no improvement there i agree . Hopefully Atkinson can turn things around for us and be that finishing factor we need . He has scored 8 tries and kicked 2 field goals in 37 games and has a tackling efficiency of 91.6% so his stats in that respect are better than anyone's that has played half for us since Widdop left . I know it's hard JMJ but i'm trying to stay positive . Have a great off season and go the cup boys !! .
 

Slippery Morris

First Grade
Messages
8,208
I love my stats and although they seemed similar or slightly worse than last year, Saints were better in defence. The last few weeks with a horrible injury toll inflated that stat significantly. Their attack suffered due to the obvious which I hope is addressed next season and the injury toll was quite significant. Saints had Hunt last year in attack, a rep halfback, so it reflects poorly on him as much as it does on this years halves as they managed to score 10 points more which is not good enough. Considering a lot of points came from a Hunt Bomb to Lomax who are no longer at the club. Saints did not have that luxury of just bombing it to a winger and having a good chance of scoring.

I am happy for Saints to spend big on an experienced half to partner Atko as that may be all they need to get to the next level. Not much available in Aust, they simply need to go to the UK and get the best one available. Kerr could be the big alpha prop we need as he has had a pretty good season so if they can get 1 more big body to partner him and hold onto Klemmer that is hopefully going to keep Lawrie out of contention for a start. Moeki Fotuaika at the Titans is the guy to go for as he may be squeezed out. This guy is 25 and will be at his peak. He is on the cusp of Qld Origin I feel. Davy Moale is another. If not go to the UK, they have big forwards there. Raiders seem to be able to pick a good one each time they go there.
 

redandwhite4evr

Juniors
Messages
2,128
It seems every post I see lately from you is questioning why players in our system who obviously aren't physically ready for first grade aren't playing first grade. A week or so ago it was Ramsey. Its seems you lack a basic understanding of physiology when it comes to contact sport. Not to mention NRL is probably the most brutal contact sport in the world apart from the barbaric MMA type of stuff.
It also seems like you know more than the coaches and medical staff. Perhaps you should hand your resume in to Flanno and help us long suffering Dragons up out of our doldrums by throwing our SG Ball squad out into the action to lead us to premiership glory in 2026. Just make sure you thoroughly wet their jerseys before they run on so they weigh a tiny bit more.
Go find a photo of the young Brad Fittler (playing in a different era with vastly different fitness levels and athleticism compared to modern NRL by the way) and put it side by side with a photo of Reed. Notice any difference?
Obviously aren't ready for first grade??- but in the case of Ramsey able to play in KOE the same number of minutes as first graders, play against NRL quality players returning to first grade, and be a standout in the key areas of the game in the process. In the case of Reed, some players are more mature than others. In case you haven't noticed, this club does not have a great track record in giving players a chance and we have lost too many due to poor talent identification and pathway development. Reed, from all reports, has been exceptional in his game management at No 7. We'll never ever know, if we never ever give him a go in the pre-season.

And by the way, it's not just me on this forum who's saying this- so your obsession with me is flattering- but misguided.
 

since77

Bench
Messages
2,762
Obviously aren't ready for first grade??- but in the case of Ramsey able to play in KOE the same number of minutes as first graders, play against NRL quality players returning to first grade, and be a standout in the key areas of the game in the process. In the case of Reed, some players are more mature than others. In case you haven't noticed, this club does not have a great track record in giving players a chance and we have lost too many due to poor talent identification and pathway development. Reed, from all reports, has been exceptional in his game management at No 7. We'll never ever know, if we never ever give him a go in the pre-season.

And by the way, it's not just me on this forum who's saying this- so your obsession with me is flattering- but misguided.

Hmmm still not getting it huh? No they're not ready for first grade.
No one who actually knows what they're talking about is saying to throw Ramsey and Reed into first grade. Just you and one or two random clueless internet dudes who think they know better than NRL coaches, physios, doctors and sports scientists......
Reed got some minutes in a trial game in the preseason so he actually did "get a go". There's obviously potential there - I love his attitude and work ethic on the field. Doesn't mean you throw him into first grade - he just got his first taste of NSW cup a week or two ago.
He'll likely get another "go" in a trial or two in '26. And then the staff - coaching and medical - the people who actually DO know what they're talking about can decide what his next steps are - likely some time in NSW Cup playing against men for the first time in his career - sounds like a smart idea doesn't it??
You're either deliberately ignoring where he is in his development or you're.........to use you own words........misguided.......
You're also conveniently ignoring how many debutants the coaching staff did "give a go" to this year - more than any in recent memory. Flanno might have got some decisions wrong this year - but one area he excelled in was bringing the next crop of first graders through. You know, the ones who were actually ready.
 

Dragonslayer

First Grade
Messages
7,989
Current other teams unsigned players:
Do we look at any of them?

Manly:
Tommy Talau
Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Aaron Schoupp

Cowboys:
Enarly Bitungone
Nice Lenaz
Jamal Shibasaki

Eels:
Joey Lussick
Wieramu Greig
Dan Keir
Haze Dunster

Panthers:
Luke Sommerton
Soni Luke
Daine Laurie
Asu Kepaoa
John Sagaga
Zack Lamont
Austin Dias
Riley Price
Harry Hassett
Preston Riki

Souths:
Jacob Host
Saliva Havili
Shaq Mitchell
Fletcher Myers
Haizyn Mellars
Josh Schuster

Excluded any player already signed elsewhere or are retired (medically).
 
Messages
2,632
Current other teams unsigned players:
Do we look at any of them?

Manly:
Tommy Talau
Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Aaron Schoupp

Cowboys:
Enarly Bitungone
Nice Lenaz
Jamal Shibasaki

Eels:
Joey Lussick
Wieramu Greig
Dan Keir
Haze Dunster

Panthers:
Luke Sommerton
Soni Luke
Daine Laurie
Asu Kepaoa
John Sagaga
Zack Lamont
Austin Dias
Riley Price
Harry Hassett
Preston Riki

Souths:
Jacob Host
Saliva Havili
Shaq Mitchell
Fletcher Myers
Haizyn Mellars
Josh Schuster

Excluded any player already signed elsewhere or are retired (medically).

Flanno and Watsford have stated they are looking for a gun half, some outside backs and some big forwards. That rules out most of that line up. Maybe Wieramu Grieg as a big forward and Daine Laurie as a back up full back. It's not a very inspiring list.
 

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