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Dragons wary of wounded Tigers
Mitch Jennings@@Mitch_Jenno
31 Mar 2017, 4 p.m.
WARY: Jason Nightingale Tariq Sims. PICTURE: Adam McLean
THEY’RE at opposite ends of the table, but St George Illawarra remain wary of a wounded Wests Tigers outfit ahead of their round five clash at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
The Tigers sit 16th on the ladder having lost two their opening three games by a combined margin of 74 points. It was a continuation of their awful finish to the 2016 season and enough to see Jason Taylor shown the door after just three rounds.
They showed glimmers of a resurgence under interim coach Andrew Webster against Mebourne last week, leading 14-0 in the 39th minute before being overrun by the Storm in the second half.
With Ivan Cleary strongly tipped to be at the helm by round six, Sunday’s clash may well be Webster’s last clash in charge but Dragons veteran Jason Nightingale has seen enough in his 11 NRL seasons to be wary of a side licking its wounds.
“I think we saw it last week in that first half with what they did to the Melbourne Storm in that first half,” Nightingale said.
“I’m glad we’re not the first team to play them after [Taylor’s sacking] because they did turn up to play on that day.
“We’re still expecting those changes to still be impacting their playing group and inspiring some aggression and a strong start to the game that we saw last week.
“I think that’ll be evident again on the weekend. In those sort of situations you’ve just got to be worried about what you’re doing as a club and I’m confident that if we apply that effort and play a smart style of footy we’ll be able to combat that.”
There were plenty tipping the fate that has befallen the Tigers this season would occur at the Dragons following their limp finish to 2016 but a 3-1 start in the opening four rounds has them sitting comfortably in third spot.
They’ll have the chance to win three straight games for the first time since round nine 2015 on Sunday with Nightingale saying the vibe at the club has been “flipped on its head.”
“It’s completely different [to 2016],” Nightingale said.
“The playing group, the staff and the club as a whole did a lot of soul-searching and looking for ways to improve and we’ve certainly done that as a whole club.
“Part of that is growing our leadership group and making sure we’re driving those philosophies together with all the staff. It does help when we’re all on the same page and that’s showing on the field at the moment.
“There's obviously going to be challenges throughout the year and it’s about maintaining that effort. That’s the biggest key that we’re looking for, that effort, not so much the results.
“We’re going to lose games throughout the year. That’s just the reality of rugby league, it’s how you react to those moments and how resilient you are through a long season.”
Sunday’s clash will pit the league’s current worst defence against its most potent attack with the Tigers the first team to conceded 100 points this season and the Dragons the first to post a ton.
“We’re just playing what we see a bit more,” Nightingale said of the turnaround.
“We’ve probably been a bit guilty in the past of going into structures and not being as fluid and therefore missing opportunities.
“We’ve really honed in on playing every play as we see it rather than setting up for another play because that style wasn’t really working for our attack.”
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4566538/dragons-wary-of-wounded-tigers/?cs=302
The thing that is most pleasing about that story , is that the players and coach have made peace . I mentioned during the off season that McGregor would need to clear the air with the team and start afresh , apparently that has been done , as has been remarked by the players themselves and also the media .
The Dragons can only benefit from this , both on the field and as a club . Every team requires a coach that has a harmonious relationship with its players , as only good can come of it .
This being the case , the club and fans , can expect wholehearted performances by the team and hopefully sensible coaching in 2017 .
The ability of both our team and coach , will be made abundantly clear to all , when we look at our position on the competition ladder , after playing the Sea Eagles , Cowboys , Rabbits and Rorters in the next four rounds .
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