Any Unanswered Questions

[RedVDave]

For those of you who are questioning if Saints are the real deal or not in 2017, will be answered in the next 3 rounds as we are playing 3 quality sides in the Roosters, Storm & Sharks.

I must say seeing my beloved Saints winning and winning well so far this year has been an absolute joy to watch, they are playing with passion, heart, enthusiasm, brains, brawn and flair. McCrone (excluding the first 3 rounds) has really stepped up. McInnes has been exceeded any expectations any of us had and is absolutely killing it. Widdop has been the polar opposite of last year and seems to be relishing the captaincy role, we have amazing depths in the forwards.

My only concern has been have we really played a great team so far this year? Let's take a look shall we.

Rnd 1 Penrith: They were touted as premiership heavyweights but what does they really mean in the grand scheme of things? This year they have been a shell of their former selves. NO.

Rnd 3: Beating the reigning premiers (cold shiver) at home no less was a damn good win, take nothing away YES!

Rnd 4: Warriors not only do we have the wood on this team and we played them at home no less, let's be brutally honest here they've been the sh!ts for the last 6 years. NO

Rnd 5: Tigers have had 3 coaches in 6 rounds and have been a clusterf--k for a while now. NO

Rnd 6: Brooky hasn't been the fortress it once was and Manly are a very inconsistent team.NO.

Rnd 7: A severely depleted Cowboys team they only positive is we played 40 minutes of footy compared to their 80 and we still won but alas NO.

I'm excited as the next 3 rounds is going to be a MASSIVE challenge let's hope the boys keep proving everybody wrong and can aim up big time GO YOU MIGHTY DRAGONS!!!!

Would love to here everyone's thoughts on this.

 

[Life's Good]

For those of you who are questioning if Saints are the real deal or not in 2017, will be answered in the next 3 rounds as we are playing 3 quality sides in the Roosters, Storm & Sharks.

I must say seeing my beloved Saints winning and winning well so far this year has been an absolute joy to watch, they are playing with passion, heart, enthusiasm, brains, brawn and flair. McCrone (excluding the first 3 rounds) has really stepped up. McInnes has been exceeded any expectations any of us had and is absolutely killing it. Widdop has been the polar opposite of last year and seems to be relishing the captaincy role, we have amazing depths in the forwards.

My only concern has been have we really played a great team so far this year? Let's take a look shall we.

Rnd 1 Penrith: They were touted as premiership heavyweights but what does they really mean in the grand scheme of things? This year they have been a shell of their former selves. NO.

Rnd 3: Beating the reigning premiers (cold shiver) at home no less was a damn good win, take nothing away YES!

Rnd 4: Warriors not only do we have the wood on this team and we played them at home no less, let's be brutally honest here they've been the sh!ts for the last 6 years. NO

Rnd 5: Tigers have had 3 coaches in 6 rounds and have been a clusterf--k for a while now. NO

Rnd 6: Brooky hasn't been the fortress it once was and Manly are a very inconsistent team.NO.

Rnd 7: A severely depleted Cowboys team they only positive is we played 40 minutes of footy compared to their 80 and we still won but alas NO.

I'm excited as the next 3 rounds is going to be a MASSIVE challenge let's hope the boys keep proving everybody wrong and can aim up big time GO YOU MIGHTY DRAGONS!!!!

Would love to here everyone's thoughts on this.

You can only play what is in front of you. It's not our fault that teams are down on form(Penrith continue to be out of sorts, Manly were ordinary then became world beaters)or missing players(Cowboys). A poor game against the Eels(who haven't won since)and a poor 2nd half against the Cows is the worst it has been otherwise we have been well on top. For me the only question is can we win from behind which we have yet to face. Other than that it about getting these wins now to put us on a semi final bound path. From there anything can happen.

 

[BrissyRedV]

You can only play what is in front of you. It's not our fault that teams are down on form(Penrith continue to be out of sorts, Manly were ordinary then became world beaters)or missing players(Cowboys). A poor game against the Eels(who haven't won since)and a poor 2nd half against the Cows is the worst it has been otherwise we have been well on top. For me the only question is can we win from behind which we have yet to face. Other than that it about getting these wins now to put us on a semi final bound path. From there anything can happen.

Exactly. What highlights our performance this year thus far, is the way the team has been playing. We are making metres through the middle and scoring points off the back of it which has led to commentators like Brandy of people, to suggest we are the entertainers of the comp! We have the best for and against of the comp, 3rd best defence and are currently number one for points scored. If we were just scrapping past these sides then there would be big question marks, but that is not the case. The team is playing well as a unit and full of confidence.

What I want to see in the next 3 games is competitiveness, never give up attitude and that the team gets into the grind. It doesn't matter at this stage of the season win or lose, but if the team can show those 3 attributes, it will put us in good stead for the end of the season.

 

[cussy]

I reckon you have to take into account how we have won as well. If we had just beat Penrith or manly I would be agreeing but we have put them to the sword. I think with cowboys it was more a case we had clocked off. In the past the game v cows we would have bumbled to a win or a close loss.

 

[dragonssamy61]

For those of you who are questioning if Saints are the real deal or not in 2017, will be answered in the next 3 rounds as we are playing 3 quality sides in the Roosters, Storm & Sharks.

I must say seeing my beloved Saints winning and winning well so far this year has been an absolute joy to watch, they are playing with passion, heart, enthusiasm, brains, brawn and flair. McCrone (excluding the first 3 rounds) has really stepped up. McInnes has been exceeded any expectations any of us had and is absolutely killing it. Widdop has been the polar opposite of last year and seems to be relishing the captaincy role, we have amazing depths in the forwards.

My only concern has been have we really played a great team so far this year? Let's take a look shall we.

Rnd 1 Penrith: They were touted as premiership heavyweights but what does they really mean in the grand scheme of things? This year they have been a shell of their former selves. NO.

Rnd 3: Beating the reigning premiers (cold shiver) at home no less was a damn good win, take nothing away YES!

Rnd 4: Warriors not only do we have the wood on this team and we played them at home no less, let's be brutally honest here they've been the sh!ts for the last 6 years. NO

Rnd 5: Tigers have had 3 coaches in 6 rounds and have been a clusterf--k for a while now. NO

Rnd 6: Brooky hasn't been the fortress it once was and Manly are a very inconsistent team.NO.

Rnd 7: A severely depleted Cowboys team they only positive is we played 40 minutes of footy compared to their 80 and we still won but alas NO.

I'm excited as the next 3 rounds is going to be a MASSIVE challenge let's hope the boys keep proving everybody wrong and can aim up big time GO YOU MIGHTY DRAGONS!!!!

Would love to here everyone's thoughts on this.

Agree RedVDave.
Except when we played Manly they were one of the form teams they had won 3 in a row.
Yes the next three game are huge.
But not be end.
The Roosters are a premiership force there forwards are strong and they have a good back line.
The storm are the storm and the team to beat at the moment.
The sharks at home will be huge.
If we win all 3 game we are the real deal and a chance of going all the way.
But if we can win 2 we are top 4 chance.
We need to step up.
It will be tough but we will learn a lot in the next 3 games.

 

[ALSGI]

For those of you who are questioning if Saints are the real deal or not in 2017, will be answered in the next 3 rounds as we are playing 3 quality sides in the Roosters, Storm & Sharks.

I must say seeing my beloved Saints winning and winning well so far this year has been an absolute joy to watch, they are playing with passion, heart, enthusiasm, brains, brawn and flair. McCrone (excluding the first 3 rounds) has really stepped up. McInnes has been exceeded any expectations any of us had and is absolutely killing it. Widdop has been the polar opposite of last year and seems to be relishing the captaincy role, we have amazing depths in the forwards.

My only concern has been have we really played a great team so far this year? Let's take a look shall we.

Rnd 1 Penrith: They were touted as premiership heavyweights but what does they really mean in the grand scheme of things? This year they have been a shell of their former selves. NO.

Rnd 3: Beating the reigning premiers (cold shiver) at home no less was a damn good win, take nothing away YES!

Rnd 4: Warriors not only do we have the wood on this team and we played them at home no less, let's be brutally honest here they've been the sh!ts for the last 6 years. NO

Rnd 5: Tigers have had 3 coaches in 6 rounds and have been a clusterf--k for a while now. NO

Rnd 6: Brooky hasn't been the fortress it once was and Manly are a very inconsistent team.NO.

Rnd 7: A severely depleted Cowboys team they only positive is we played 40 minutes of footy compared to their 80 and we still won but alas NO.

I'm excited as the next 3 rounds is going to be a MASSIVE challenge let's hope the boys keep proving everybody wrong and can aim up big time GO YOU MIGHTY DRAGONS!!!!

Would love to here everyone's thoughts on this.

Agree with your assessment of our opposition so far REDVDave.

We've only beaten 2 teams in the current top 8, Cronulla away and Cowboys at home. In both of these games our second halves have only yielded a miserly 2 points from a kick and the opposition have had the better of us. As most have said Thurston probably wouldn't have made much difference in the first half last week but I'm sure he would have in the second half.

Like most have said last weeks game should be a positive if we address the negatives.

Roosters are sitting pretty in 3rd but have only played 2 teams in the current top 8. Just beat the Bullgrubs, and got flogged by Donkeys. I think we should account for them despite the occassion.

Storm on the other hand have played 3 of the current top 8, just beating Donkeys, and the Bullgrubs in low scoring matches while Cronulla beat them 11-2. I think we should account for them at WIN after we both play tough ANZAC day games with a short turn around.

Cronulla have played 4 of the current top 8, losing to us and Donkeys, they flogged Raiders In Canberra before losing to us and beat the Storm in Melbourne. They were lucky to beat the Knights at home with a FG. They play Titans and Wests in the next 2 weeks and I think we'll account for them at Kogarah after a tough 2 weeks for us.

Again, playing the top teams our second halves have been the problem so far and this needs to be addressed.

I think we're up for the next 3 games if we continue with current form, attitude and address the problem areas. Opposition will be taking a close look at us in their preps and showing more respect that I believe has been hard earned this year.

I'm looking forward to the next three games and am confident. I doubt Roosters, Storm and Cronulla fans would or should be as confident of facing us right now.

 

[JDHD]

The Roosters are overrated. A lot of people want to believe that last year was an aberration, and not the cause of an hilariously misguided recruitment drive that saw them lose Maloney and RTS. Latrell Mitchell is a defensive liability on their right edge. His tackle efficiency is laughable, he's lazy on the inside shoulder and he's prone to brain snaps that only a 19 year old can make. Lafai should have an absolute field day against him on ANZAC Day, and Aitken should terrorise Ferguson.

The Storm are looking a bit worse for wear. They started strong but got clouted by Cronulla and Manly almost got them after they led 18-0. Bellamy will have been showing them pictures of their families and a complete list of their schedules and fears to motivate them. They're still a quality team.

Sharks......I don't know about the Sharks. They rise for big games and switch off in small ones. They may still take us lightly, or they might not. Either way, they're playing us at Kogarah and that's basically become a fortress in recent years. We should win that one.

 

[mickeylane]

The Roosters are overrated. A lot of people want to believe that last year was an aberration, and not the cause of an hilariously misguided recruitment drive that saw them lose Maloney and RTS. Latrell Mitchell is a defensive liability on their right edge. His tackle efficiency is laughable, he's lazy on the inside shoulder and he's prone to brain snaps that only a 19 year old can make. Lafai should have an absolute field day against him on ANZAC Day, and Aitken should terrorise Ferguson.

The Storm are looking a bit worse for wear. They started strong but got clouted by Cronulla and Manly almost got them after they led 18-0. Bellamy will have been showing them pictures of their families and a complete list of their schedules and fears to motivate them. They're still a quality team.

• Sharks......I don't know about the Sharks. They rise for big games and switch off in small ones. They may still take us lightly, or they might not. Either way, they're playing us at Kogarah and that's basically become a fortress in recent years. We should win that one.[/QUOTE

Like I said in a previous post the Dragons have got one foot in the top 8 already as we only need another 7 wins from the remaining 19 rounds to reach the 30 points that will be needed to make the 8. From here on in im certain that Sharks and Raiders will be thereabouts on Grand Final day - we can account for every team on our day it's all bout the intensity out of the blocks - we have beaten some great teams and mostly away from home .
You cannot discount the Penrith win as they had a full line up and coming off a pre season high of being touted premiership favourites - BIG Win
SHARKS away was massive - full stop
MANLY were coming off the back of 3 wins in a row including just smashing a full Nth Qld lineup and Bulldogs at Brooky - that was a massive win
We have to stop doubting our team - we are the front runners in every statistic - this team has no resemblance to the 2015 front runners that were winning games by scoring no more than 16 points a game - this team right now on performance scale is as good as the 2010 version - even better statistically!!

What would we be saying as Penrith fans or Parra fans now who's expectations were top 4 -and in my books both teams are history for the 8 this year already!

Take it for what it is - along w the Storm we are the benchmark for every NRL team - FACT!! So enjoy the ride and stop Looking for the trip wire...

 

[Crush]

Agree with your assessment of our opposition so far REDVDave.

We've only beaten 2 teams in the current top 8, Cronulla away and Cowboys at home. In both of these games our second halves have only yielded a miserly 2 points from a kick and the opposition have had the better of us. As most have said Thurston probably wouldn't have made much difference in the first half last week but I'm sure he would have in the second half.

Like most have said last weeks game should be a positive if we address the negatives.

Roosters are sitting pretty in 3rd but have only played 2 teams in the current top 8. Just beat the Bullgrubs, and got flogged by Donkeys. I think we should account for them despite the occassion.

Storm on the other hand have played 3 of the current top 8, just beating Donkeys, and the Bullgrubs in low scoring matches while Cronulla beat them 11-2. I think we should account for them at WIN after we both play tough ANZAC day games with a short turn around.

Cronulla have played 4 of the current top 8, losing to us and Donkeys, they flogged Raiders In Canberra before losing to us and beat the Storm in Melbourne. They were lucky to beat the Knights at home with a FG. They play Titans and Wests in the next 2 weeks and I think we'll account for them at Kogarah after a tough 2 weeks for us.

Again, playing the top teams our second halves have been the problem so far and this needs to be addressed.

I think we're up for the next 3 games if we continue with current form, attitude and address the problem areas. Opposition will be taking a close look at us in their preps and showing more respect that I believe has been hard earned this year.

I'm looking forward to the next three games and am confident. I doubt Roosters, Storm and Cronulla fans would or should be as confident of facing us right now.

I think all the teams in the nrl are hard to beat on their day, even the knights possibly.
I reckon win or lose the next few rounds, if we continue to play the way we have been playing we will win 70-80 percent of our games this year.
There will be a time when we lose a few on a row this year no doubt, its how we respond to that.
Roosters, Storm, Sharks, tough games yes but we could easily win those games then lose to warriors, tigers, bulldogs following that.
Its hard not to get excited looking at the ladder but it is a long season and all that I hope for the next few weeks is that we continue to play the brand of footy we have been playing thus far.

 

[possm]

I'd say while ever our forwards are dominating the opposition and our backs are taking advantage of this domination, we are in with a real chance of winning each game and finishing high on the ladder. However, if the forwards tire, are busted or just lose form we will struggle.

My whole attitude has been, I love seeing our Club up top of the ladder and really don't like our team to lose any game but I very much worry about the longevity of the ability of our forwards to keep this up. I'm constantly reminded of 2011 and 2015 when we looked the goods but fell away busted, bruised and dejected.

 

[Crush]

I'd say while ever our forwards are dominating the opposition and our backs are taking advantage of this domination, we are in with a real chance of winning each game and finishing high on the ladder. However, if the forwards tire, are busted or just lose form we will struggle.

My whole attitude has been, I love seeing our Club up top of the ladder and really don't like our team to lose any game but I very much worry about the longevity of the ability of our forwards to keep this up. I'm constantly reminded of 2011 and 2015 when we looked the goods but fell away busted, bruised and dejected.

Possm, we have depth in our forwards.
We have more depth in our forwards than most teams.
The workload of our forwards is no more than that of other teams.
Just because our playing style has been labled a "power game" doesn't mean that our forwards will fall over with fatigue come round 16.

2011 we fell apart because origin stopped our momentum and jamie soward lost his confidence.
2015 we fell apart because we were relying on mitch rein and benji marshall.
2017 is a much better team.

The game plan is a simple one, go forward and play direct. It is hard to coach against because there is nothing to disect. The gameplan is clear for all to see, run hard, tackle hard and trust the man next to you.

We could not have had a better start to 2017, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out, I think we are in for a very good year.

 

[Alec's-saints]

Saints will be looking for a big statement on anzac day. we will prove all critics wrong that all our wins ain't flukes and we're pushing for premiership #17. look out saints are marching again.

 

[BennyV]

I do wonder if the fading in our second half is driven by our intensity so far this season. I don't want us to fall away because of that. It's where we need guys like Widdop, Dugan and even McInnes to push the others to maintain that intensity.

 

[Rocket Rod]

The next three games are important as each of these opponents are in the top 4 at the moment, but in my opinion the benchmark will be Canberra.
In keeping with this topic, our previous wins so far all have merit.
Penrith: We were written off by all and sundry and the 'expert' tipsters all had the Panthers as a 'no brainer'
Cronulla: A gutsy well deserved away win
Warriors: Is always a danger game for any team( just ask the Storm) as you never know with them. We won comfortably
Tigers: Same as Warriors, plus they were being hammered in the press and we all know what can happen then. We won comfortably.
Manly: Were rated above us and had the form on the board. We played them at Brookvale where we hadn't won in years and we not only won but smashed them off the park.
Cowboys: Yes they were missing 3 key players and we were missing Duges. In the first half no team could of kept up to us and we scored some very slick tries. The second half I feel we became complacent which I hope we have learned from. You have to respect your opponents at all times irrespective of missing players as the replacements are professional footballers playing for a first grade spot. Case in point Ponga
Overall we have banked 12 points and looking the goods, as I'm sure most teams would love to have our form and position.

 

[possm]

I do wonder if the fading in our second half is driven by our intensity so far this season. I don't want us to fall away because of that. It's where we need guys like Widdop, Dugan and even McInnes to push the others to maintain that intensity.

I agree with you regarding intensity. The problem is we are a few weeks away from our bye and so need a way to rest/refresh our forwards. Last week I too noticed when our big guys tired in the second half, the Cowboys seem to be able to lift. Along with this the bounce of the ball seemed to go against us. I am very glad we got the two points and feel Mary should take this as a warning - we just can't rely on our forwards to perform at the 'power plan' level each week. We need to mix it up when facing certain sides and revert to the 'power plan' when required.

We have the cattle to do this, it is just a matter of implementing the plans.

 

[Crush]

I disagree that the second half against cowboys was fatigue.
They saw that they were winning by 24 points with 25 minutes to go and switched off.
Once you switch off it is very hard to switch back on.
Luckily they did enough to win but they will have to be better next time that they get out to a lead like that.
I don't buy this stuff that pur forwards will burn out due to our playing style.

 

[possm]

I disagree that the second half against cowboys was fatigue.
They saw that they were winning by 24 points with 25 minutes to go and switched off.
Once you switch off it is very hard to switch back on.
Luckily they did enough to win but they will have to be better next time that they get out to a lead like that.
I don't buy this stuff that pur forwards will burn out due to our playing style.

I can see you viewing it that way and don't have a problem with your opinion however, I'm am convinced otherwise.

 

[ALSGI]

I disagree that the second half against cowboys was fatigue.
They saw that they were winning by 24 points with 25 minutes to go and switched off.
Once you switch off it is very hard to switch back on.
Luckily they did enough to win but they will have to be better next time that they get out to a lead like that.
I don't buy this stuff that pur forwards will burn out due to our playing style.

Agree Crush.
Only thing I saw fatigued last 40 mins was our mentality, eg attitude and decision making, similar to the Parra loss.
I think our forwards are doing similar work to any other pack but they're doing it better as a pack.

 

[monsterkev]

This subject is bullshit
Prior to the start of the season we may have expected to win 1 or 2 games in the first six or so rounds based on last years performance were tipped for bottom four,so how can it be said the teams we have beaten are not contenders as they all beat us last year and some of the teams are premiership contenders this year
The teams we have beaten were only allowed to play as good as we let them play
So stop giving excuses for other teams not being able to defeat us
We must give them some credit for the season so far

 

[ALSGI]

This subject is bullshit
Prior to the start of the season we may have expected to win 1 or 2 games in the first six or so rounds based on last years performance were tipped for bottom four,so how can it be said the teams we have beaten are not contenders as they all beat us last year and some of the teams are premiership contenders this year
The teams we have beaten were only allowed to play as good as we let them play
So stop giving excuses for other teams not being able to defeat us
We must give them some credit for the season so far

Kev, what's bullshit about the thread? I know it's early days but I think it's fair to point out we've only played 2 current top 8 teams.
Who's not giving credit for the season so far? Don't understand your post.