Dragons vs Hull

[blacksafake]

From my perspective after only watching highlights a few times.
Graham as usual chasing all the way in their 1st try.
Hunts passing game, no hesitation & with purpose.
Dufty’s speed will be a massive bonus.
McDonald is a left winger.
Nighty has always been a right winger.
Mann has to be right centre ahead of Aitken

 

[ouryear]

Not one bit.

There's a few other 'forumsters' who have expressed concerned about Dufty being manhandled in defence. Also, his reluctance to contest 'bombs' was again highlighted yesterday.

I had Adam Quinlan flashbacks.

Well it ain't gonna happen.
Being manhandled, so what.

The kid blitzed them.
Ran 200 Mt's.

Drop some other slow boring player, we have a few you can choose from.

 

[ouryear]

I am happy to lose every trial game if it all about getting our team fit and ready for the NRL season ahead.

Good teams do that.
And still win.

 

[Frank Facer]

Dufty was the best player on the field on Saturday night. He wrapped up the number 1 jersey for game 1. He is going to get better too.

I thought Field look really good in brief period he spent on the field.

Kerr looks like a good young prospect. I think we need a big prop like Kerr to come on and provide impact from the bench.

I can see absolutely no reason to pick Aitken at centre. I would have lafai, Mann, Lomax and McDonald all at centre before Aikten.

 

[BennyV]

Why is that silly - he naturally runs right to left, he naturally passes right to left, his pace would be phenomenal on a one on situation, he has a natural dummy like Brett Kenny and his size is perfect for a centre.

You have to find a spot for this kid even though I think he will Be the 1st grade FB at some stage this year - he’s that good - not saying Dufty is not good just that Field is a class above

It's silly because he's never played the position in his life. He doesnt 'have to' be in first grade this year at all, he can bide his time because he sits behind Dufty, Widdop and Mann for his natural position (the first two are signed long term) and if he doesnt like it and wants to pack his bags, cool. He's not a Jack Bird being held out of first grade by Dylan Farrel and Dane Nielson, we have genuinely better options in the positions he suits.
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make about his size - despite putting on 8-10kgs in an unnatural amount of time, he is still very undersized for a first grader, especially centre. His defence is suspect and this would be exposed even further when he has to make defensive decisions between opposing fullbacks/centres and adjust quickly. His attacking prowess would be very limited as he wont get anywhere near the space he'd be getting at fullback or 5/8, plus it would nullify his best asset (broken field running). And the ability to make snap decisions between running/stepping/passing at the speed of first grade doesnt come naturally to someone who is used to having time on their side to make choices.

So overall, silly suggestion. We have a serviceable centre pairing in Lafai and Mann, with good young backups in Lomax and Herbert (and Aitken, if people still count him there) and he is behind all of them in the centre stocks. Probably McDonald too.

If his form in reserve grade dictates that he is a better option that Dufty or Widdop, or if they get injured, THEN he can play first grade in his positions. Anything else is Steve Price-level idiocy.

 

[saintm]

It's silly because he's never played the position in his life. He doesnt 'have to' be in first grade this year at all, he can bide his time because he sits behind Dufty, Widdop and Mann for his natural position (the first two are signed long term) and if he doesnt like it and wants to pack his bags, cool. He's not a Jack Bird being held out of first grade by Dylan Farrel and Dane Nielson, we have genuinely better options in the positions he suits.
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make about his size - despite putting on 8-10kgs in an unnatural amount of time, he is still very undersized for a first grader, especially centre. His defence is suspect and this would be exposed even further when he has to make defensive decisions between opposing fullbacks/centres and adjust quickly. His attacking prowess would be very limited as he wont get anywhere near the space he'd be getting at fullback or 5/8, plus it would nullify his best asset (broken field running). And the ability to make snap decisions between running/stepping/passing at the speed of first grade doesnt come naturally to someone who is used to having time on their side to make choices.

So overall, silly suggestion. We have a serviceable centre pairing in Lafai and Mann, with good young backups in Lomax and Herbert (and Aitken, if people still count him there) and he is behind all of them in the centre stocks. Probably McDonald too.

If his form in reserve grade dictates that he is a better option that Dufty or Widdop, or if they get injured, THEN he can play first grade in his positions. Anything else is Steve Price-level idiocy.

 

[saintm]

It's silly because he's never played the position in his life. He doesnt 'have to' be in first grade this year at all, he can bide his time because he sits behind Dufty, Widdop and Mann for his natural position (the first two are signed long term) and if he doesnt like it and wants to pack his bags, cool. He's not a Jack Bird being held out of first grade by Dylan Farrel and Dane Nielson, we have genuinely better options in the positions he suits.
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make about his size - despite putting on 8-10kgs in an unnatural amount of time, he is still very undersized for a first grader, especially centre. His defence is suspect and this would be exposed even further when he has to make defensive decisions between opposing fullbacks/centres and adjust quickly. His attacking prowess would be very limited as he wont get anywhere near the space he'd be getting at fullback or 5/8, plus it would nullify his best asset (broken field running). And the ability to make snap decisions between running/stepping/passing at the speed of first grade doesnt come naturally to someone who is used to having time on their side to make choices.

So overall, silly suggestion. We have a serviceable centre pairing in Lafai and Mann, with good young backups in Lomax and Herbert (and Aitken, if people still count him there) and he is behind all of them in the centre stocks. Probably McDonald too.

If his form in reserve grade dictates that he is a better option that Dufty or Widdop, or if they get injured, THEN he can play first grade in his positions. Anything else is Steve Price-level idiocy.

Benny V
I agree 100% with your post. Spot on

 

[dragonssamy61]

From my perspective after only watching highlights a few times.
Graham as usual chasing all the way in their 1st try.
Hunts passing game, no hesitation & with purpose.
Dufty’s speed will be a massive bonus.
McDonald is a left winger.
Nighty has always been a right winger.
Mann has to be right centre ahead of Aitken

Agree blacksafake
With mann facing ingles in the cs .
We will soon see how good he is.

 

[hermidale1]

Anyone suggesting that Field is a centre , let alone Brett Kenny like is kidding themselves. He is a fullback and while Dufty is doing well will be behind him in the pecking order.

 

[possm]

From my perspective after only watching highlights a few times.
Graham as usual chasing all the way in their 1st try.
Hunts passing game, no hesitation & with purpose.
Dufty’s speed will be a massive bonus.
McDonald is a left winger.
Nighty has always been a right winger.
Mann has to be right centre ahead of Aitken

Makes you wonder why Mary did not have them on their preferred side last season.

 

[blacksafake]

Makes you wonder why Mary did not have them on their preferred side last season.

Cause he has no idea

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Well it ain't gonna happen.
Being manhandled, so what.

The kid blitzed them.
Ran 200 Mt's.

Drop some other slow boring player, we have a few you can choose from.

It was a trial, friend.

 

[ouryear]

It was a trial, friend.

Lol, yes.....and?

Did he play poorly, did the poms let him run?

Choose a player who is not performing, or an old slow player.... Why pick on Dufty.

He has done what he has meant to so far.

Thankfully, you are not selecting the team.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Lol, yes.....and?

Did he play poorly, did the poms let him run?

Choose a player who is not performing, or an old slow player.... Why puck on Duty.

He has done what he has meant to so far.

Thankfully, you are not selecting the team.

Yeah well, upon reflection:

1. I wanted the Club to retain Marketo, and before him, Quinlan.

2, McInnes still isn't an upgrade on Rein.

3. Originally thought Vaughan would turn out to be a horrible acquisition.

4. And, wanted Frizell out of the Club within his first year as a Dragon.

I guess you might be onto something.

 

[getsmarty]

Yeah well, upon reflection:



2, McInnes still isn't an upgrade on Rein. NO NO NO NO NO

 

[Overseas dragon]

Spot on BennyV, my comments about Dufty's attack were because so many people were treating it like it was world beating. There were good things about it but his runs were selfish, the sort of thing you see in juniors. Get the ball and then dont worry about your backline just try to run around the defence.

Couldn't agree more about Host, I thought he looked really solid in attack and defence. He seems to have put on a bit of muscle.

Selfish because a guy hits the go button .now I've heard it all im sure Duftys got a big head as well just ask drag queen Ben hunt by the way doesn't agree with you....

 

[Old Timer]

Selfish because a guy hits the go button .now I've heard it all im sure Duftys got a big head as well just ask drag queen

Evidently you are selfish when the slow guys can't keep up with you, maybe you are supposed to stop running and wait for them to catch up or turn around and run back to them.
I hope he is particularly selfish when he sniffs around the forwards or the ruck looking for an offload or when he backs up a dart from Hunt.
That type of selfish might just secure 15 or 20 tries for a hog.
FMD I hope he runs as fast as he can as often as he can and that might encourage Mc Fookknuckle to actually pick someone else with speed to go with him.

 

[Carlton]

Evidently you are selfish when the slow guys can't keep up with you, maybe you are supposed to stop running and wait for them to catch up or turn around and run back to them.
I hope he is particularly selfish when he sniffs around the forwards or the ruck looking for an offload or when he backs up a dart from Hunt.
That type of selfish might just secure 15 or 20 tries for a hog.
FMD I hope he runs as fast as he can as often as he can and that might encourage Mc Fookknuckle to actually pick someone else with speed to go with him.

If he is backing up the forwards or Hunt I hope he just runs too. In that trial he didn't do these things. He played like an U8 tucked the ball under his arm and thought he was going to run around the defence and score. He ran fast but generally gave his backline no space.

Was this instructions? I dont know.
Did he show pace and the potential to cause the defence problems? Yes
Did he have problems with defence? Yes
Did he get rag dolled? Yes
Was his performance as good as some commentators are saying? In my opinion , no.
Did he play poorly? No
Was his performance up with the top fullbacks? No

I understand he is young and hasn't played much first grade but that doesn't mean I should pretend there are no areas of his play that still need to be ironed out or over hype his game. This is a key member of the spine, we have spent a lot of money getting Hunt .

 

[RufusRex]

agree with that ... he did follow the first hit up through the line but not as many after that ... improved definitely but not Slateresque in any way/shape/form

 

[giboz71]

Guys he’s 6 games and a trial into his FG career. He will learn to link with his outside men, he actually had 3 try assists last year (which was par for Duges for a whole season).

I’m not completely sold on him yet but he has all the tools to be a very good fullback.