Well this is interesting to read the comments above, especially around the young coach Carr.
Firstly, i'm sure he'd really like to make changes to the team, but what has he got to work with?
Out of our top 30 (or 29 whatever way you look at it), 4 are unavailable, those being Ramsay, Fuimaono (both season ending), Bird (who I think his arthritis is causing him more than what's been said) and Suli.
Using 29 as the start point that leaves 25 to choose from. Out of that 25, you have: Turner, Max F, NLT, Musgrove, Burns and Russell. Besides Musgove and Burns, would any of the others warrant a start in 1st grade? and even those 2 have been in and out of 1st grade.
So, leaving Burns and Musgrove as possibles, then that leaves 21. Magically this is the number we have to submit every team list Tuesday.
Of course we could throw in some of the juniors, to give them a 'Blooding', but hey, aren't we trying to avoid the wooden spoon? Most of those juniors WILL be great for us, but defensively they need a lot of work, and isn't our defense the major issue with 1st grade atm? maybe when the spoon is sitting firmly on our wall would be a good time.
Personally, I think Carr is doing a great job with what he has to work with, and let's not forget the Hunt saga and his apparent lack of desire in the 2 games since. No coincidence there. Of course he would ask Hunt is he good to go and of course Hunt would say sure, i'm for the team etc etc etc. As they say when you fall out of love, it's almost impossible to claw it back.
Now, as for Flanno, there's a little thing called a contract, and in his case he would have 2. One with Manly who are in the fight for a top 8 spot, and the 2nd with Fox as a commentator. it is obvious that he is working behind the scenes, with 2 new football department appointments already, and more to come, as he has already stated, some are under contract at present and can't say who. There are what 6 games to go, him coming now would be pointless given the squad we have, in the condition they are (Both physical and mental), whilst at the same time dealing with the so-called captain of the club.
So, as the Beatles once sang, "Let it be", as it is what it is right now, nothing will change much, and the best we can hope for is to avoid the spoon. I will continue to support them 100% as hard as it is, the Dragons are my team, who I have supported for over 60 years. Sometimesthough, through all the darkness, there are some glimmers of light and I can see that in some of our players, from 1st grade through to JF. what is the saying, "The darkest hour is just before the dawn", this I truly believe.
