Auckland Nines squad

[ALSGI]

Its called Dragons Footy .......

McAnchor has said they'll be playing what's in front of them. Just hope they're facing towards the try line instead of the touch line.

 

[getsmarty]

Matthews: Ready To Rumble
Mon 30th January, 02:00PM
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St George Illawarra back-rower Will Matthews is ready for rugby league to kick-off again for 2017 after being named in the Dragons' 18-man NRL Auckland Nines squad last week.

Matthews was hopeful of stringing a few good performances together – despite the Nines being a different format to the NRL – in hope of securing a first grade opportunity in the coming weeks.

Matthews was also excited to play alongside some of the Dragons' rookie stars at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/01/30/matthews_ready_to_ru.af_news.html

 

[Crush]

Matthews: Ready To Rumble
Mon 30th January, 02:00PM
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St George Illawarra back-rower Will Matthews is ready for rugby league to kick-off again for 2017 after being named in the Dragons' 18-man NRL Auckland Nines squad last week.

Matthews was hopeful of stringing a few good performances together – despite the Nines being a different format to the NRL – in hope of securing a first grade opportunity in the coming weeks.

Matthews was also excited to play alongside some of the Dragons' rookie stars at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/01/30/matthews_ready_to_ru.af_news.html

Great. Will Mathews is ready to rumble. Pffft.

 

[since77]

Great. Will Mathews is ready to rumble. Pffft.

lol - opposition teams must be quaking in their boots.....

 

[possm]

I am very excited at the prospect of seeing our rookies perform. Fingers crossed that Mary notices their influence on the field.

 

[getsmarty]

Faifai Loa Ready For Another Nines
Tue 31st January, 02:00PM
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St George Illawarra Dragons winger Kalifa Faifai Loa is gearing up for his fourth-successive Auckland Nines tournament after being named in the Dragons' 18-man squad to play at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.

Faifai Loa has played in every Nines since the tournament's inception and offered an insight into how the pre-season competition differs from the NRL.

Faifai Loa was also excited to play alongside the host of young outside backs named in coach Paul McGregor's Nines squad.

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/01/31/faifai_loa_ready_for.af_news.html

 

[Simon]

Frizell out. Sims and DeBelin to co-captain.

 

[getsmarty]

High Performance Update: Auckland Nines
Thu 2nd February, 10:00AM
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St George Illawarra Dragons Head of Athletic Performance Nathan Pickworth provides an update on the squad ahead of the NRL Auckland Nines tournament at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.

Here Pickworth explains the rationale behind withdrawing Tyson Frizell from the Dragons' squad for the tournament and the Australian Test representative's reaction to the news.

Pickworth also provides an overview of the Dragons' squad's health leading into the trial games.

 

[Turk]

Pulling Frizell out of the nines is a good move. Its not worth risking him when his back is not 100 percent.

 

[Dragon Revival]

Glymin, Hutchison and Masoe are all out indefinitely in a repeat of last year. I wonder who will be next?

 

[Coffs dragon]

Pulling Frizell out of the nines is a good move. Its not worth risking him when his back is not 100 percent.

I agree as it's only a Mickey Mouse weekend carnival match.

 

[Turk]

I noticed in Tariq Sims interview when he is asked about Jack de belin he says how Jack has served the club well and that he will stay with the club for a long time.

 

[Old Timer]

I noticed in Tariq Sims interview when he is asked about Jack de belin he says how Jack has served the club well and that he will stay with the club for a long time.

Ah the Gasnier speech yep highly creditable.

 

[Old Timer]

McAnchor has said they'll be playing what's in front of them. Just hope they're facing towards the try line instead of the touch line.

Can't wait for there one where JDB takes the ball and turns his back to the defence.

JDB thought bubble
Mary said play whats in front of me
GEEEEE I've only gotta step Duges and we score.

Nathan Pickworth presser after the match
Josh Dugan out for 12 weeks after valiantly stopping an own try 5m short of his goal line.

 

[OzDragon]

Great. Will Mathews is ready to rumble. Pffft.

Unpopular opinion, but I don't mind Matthews. He's great defensively and has got an offload in him. Could develop into something really solid imo.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Unpopular opinion, but I don't mind Matthews. He's great defensively and has got an offload in him. Could develop into something really solid imo.

Oppositions won't be quaking in their boots but I think Matthews will go all right in the nines. Good defender, pretty quick around the paddock and can off load as you say. Hopefully he doesn't dislocate his beard during any of the games.

 

[getsmarty]

Nines too risky for Frizell

Mitch Jennings@@Mitch_Jenno

2 Feb 2017, 4:30 p.m.

Tyson Frizell won't captain the Dragons at the Auckland Nines

Dragons forward Tyson Frizell’s first stint as the club’s skipper is over before it even began with the Test and Origin rep ruled out of this weekend’s Auckland Nines.

Frizell was last week unveiled as captain of the Dragons squad for the tournament but a niggling back complaint saw medical staff put a line through his name on Thursday.

Frizell’s 2016 season got off to a slow start as a result of surgery on his troublesome back but ended with Test selection for Australia’s successful Four Nations campaign.

He’s been on largely limited training duties since returning to Dragons training in January and club head of athletic performance Nathan Pickworth said the Nines was a case of too much too soon for the the 25-year-old.

"It was just a bit too much of a risk and a little bit too much of a steep incline in training load into the Auckland Nines.,” Pickworth said.

"He's tracking really well, after the Four Nations he did have that back spasm and we've been managing him through rehab and getting him back into training over the past four weeks.

"We made the educated decision that it would be too much of a risk to play him on the weekend, but he's on track for the Charity Shield and the trial period.

"He was disappointed, it did take a fair bit of explanation and justifying exactly why we were making that decision to Tyson because he was pretty keen to get over there and captain the team at the Nines.

“Once he understood the risks around increasing workloads at that kind of speed he was fully on board with me and my team's decision."

Jacob Host will replace Frizell in the squad, with Jack de Belin and Tariq Sims named co-captains.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4443395/frizell-ruled-out-of-nines-squad/?cs=302

 

[getsmarty]

Sims, De Belin to Captain at Nines
Thu 2nd February, 04:00PM
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St George Illawarra Dragons forwards Tariq Sims and Jack de Belin have been named co-captains of the Dragons' Auckland Nines squad to play at Eden Park on February 4 and 5.

Sims and de Belin's promotions follow Australian Test representative Tyson Frizell's withdrawal from the Dragons' 18-man squad.

Having captained the Newcastle Knights at the Nines in 2016, Sims backed de Belin to star in his newfound role as Red V skipper.

"Obviously Jack's been a great servant of the club and he's going to be here for a long time," Sims said.

"So to share the role with such a quality player like himself is very special."

Auckland Nines Squad:

1. Patrick Herbert
2. Nene Macdonald
3. Euan Aitken
4. Levi Dodd
5. Kalifa Faifai Loa
7. Kurt Mann
8. Siliva Havili
9. Cameron McInnes
10. Luciano Leilua
11. Jacob Host
12. Joel Thompson
13. Jack de Belin (c)
14. Tariq Sims (c)
15. Taane Milne
16. Shaun Nona
17. Will Matthews
18. Matt Dufty
21. Jai Field

http://www.dragons.com.au/news/2017/02/02/sims_de_belin_to_cap.html

 

[dino2170]

why isnt widdop picked for these games

 

[emu62]

why isnt widdop picked for these games

Dino,apparently his wife is having a baby this week
Looking forward to watching Luc, Dufty & Field, hopefully they can bring along some of the attacking combinations they showed in the 20's last year