Dragons vs St Helens

[Slippery Morris]

The team that was the least impressive was St Helens not St George Illawarra. The team was made up mostly of the team to face the Panthers and that won the comp in England whereas the Saints were made up of mostly juniors who held their own against the best team from England. Did people on this forum look at this Dragons line up and think the Dragons would win? Wow. Panthers will flog St Helens that is for sure. I cannot see them getting anyway near the Panthers and will leave our shores with 1 win against a reserve grade bottom 8 side from the NRL.

The boys did better than I expected imo and we all got to see some of these juniors get a good run against the best team in England. I did not expect the game plans to change that much and to be very basic based on the side that was available.

 

[kit66]

The team that was the least impressive was St Helens not St George Illawarra. The team was made up mostly of the team to face the Panthers and that won the comp in England whereas the Saints were made up of mostly juniors who held their own against the best team from England. Did people on this forum look at this Dragons line up and think the Dragons would win? Wow. Panthers will flog St Helens that is for sure. I cannot see them getting anyway near the Panthers and will leave our shores with 1 win against a reserve grade bottom 8 side from the NRL.

The boys did better than I expected imo and we all got to see some of these juniors get a good run against the best team in England. I did not expect the game plans to change that much and to be very basic based on the side that was available.

St Helens played really well in the opening stanza, by about the 20 minute mark the metres gained was so lopsided I thought the dam would burst and they'd put 50 on us but to the boys credit, they held their nerve and worked their way into the game. Saints didn't play at their best - it was a trial 10,000 miles from home but they played ok, we shouldn't understate the Dragons putting up a good fight.

 

[Victoire]

The team that was the least impressive was St Helens not St George Illawarra. The team was made up mostly of the team to face the Panthers and that won the comp in England whereas the Saints were made up of mostly juniors who held their own against the best team from England. Did people on this forum look at this Dragons line up and think the Dragons would win? Wow. Panthers will flog St Helens that is for sure. I cannot see them getting anyway near the Panthers and will leave our shores with 1 win against a reserve grade bottom 8 side from the NRL.

Not exactly a brave prediction - the Superleague salary cap is one third the NRL's. Different stratosphere.

Nevertheless, St Helens were playing their first trial as well, about 17,000km from home on a humid summer night and still blew us off the park with speed and power in the first 20 mins or so. Didn't think they looked bad at all and if they played a full season here an an extra, say million bucks in salary, they'd probably finish above us

 

[BLM01]

A bit worried about Rava....looks like he is struggling. Not sure if not fully fit, or if his best is past him now. Still strong, but not playing as good as he was a year or 2 ago. The younger leaner wingers are surpassing him these days. But, if he does get injured or dropped....please, not Moga

Be fair, has not had a run for a while and had a recurring issue with hammy in pre-season before WC
It was a cobweb blow out that is all
He started later than the others around getting back to full stride so to speak in pre-season

 

[BLM01]

Enjoyed the event well enough. Didn’t see a whole lot of improvement in the team. Some good individual moments (and some shockers), disappointed that we seem to be under ‘safety first, don’t pass the ball in your own 50’ instructions again.

Happy that we have about half a dozen to come back in.

Try 14 out of Top 26 who did not play

 

[BLM01]

In context I think we went pretty well against a full-strength Saints outfit. A couple of their try's were, mmm, let's say piggy-backed from some questionable calls, but hey, it goes both ways right!

More important for me was those who (a) didn't play this weekend, due to injury, rep football or personal issues, most of these players would be in our starting 17.

So, out were: (and leaving out Amone and Ramsey)
Injured list: Hunt, Bird, Sullivan, Woods (ahem), JDB and Sua
Unavailable: Francis and Michael Molo
Rep duty: Sloan, Kerr, Fuimaono and Musgrove

Taking a look at the rep players performance yesterday:

1: Musgrove: 9 runs 84m, 49 pcm, 3 tackle breaks, 19 tackles 0 missed, 0 errors
2: Sloan: 5 runs 54m, 6 pcm, 1 line break, 0 tackle breaks, 5 tackles 0 missed, 0 ineffective, 0 errors
3: Kerr: 15 runs 135m, 51 pcm, 1 tackle break, 18 tackles 2 missed, 3 ineffective, 2 errors

Going to highlight Fuimaono as his stats a not a good read:
4: Fuimaono: 9 runs 80m, 38 pcm, 1 tackle break, 19 tackles 11 missed, 2 ineffective, 2 errors.

I would think Fui plays a lot of KOE Cup this year. Kerr seems to shine in these All-Stars games, but hopefully now can transfer to club level.

Importantly, this game did highlight our, imo, the correct call to focus on signings at the junior level. There were heaps to be impressed with and remember some of those playing yesterday are still eligible for SG Ball. A couple were also pulled into the squad in the last minute when the Molo brothers dropped out.

Our best indicator of how we have or haven't progressed will come in the CS game.

Agree re Fui. He tries, cleans up a bit, sort of broke a tackle or 2.. but just not 1st grade standard
I want to see Musgrove polay with more gusto too!

 

[kit66]

Agree re Fui. He tries, cleans up a bit, sort of broke a tackle or 2.. but just not 1st grade standard
I want to see Musgrove polay with more gusto too!

We should grant Fui an immediate release and give someone useful his spot in the 30. He was terrible in the rep game on Saturday, really really terrible, he simply couldn't keep up at all and looked to have no idea where he was supposed to be. I had high hopes for him a couple of years ago but now he needs to be moved on.

Musgrove played well I thought, 35 minutes, 20 tackles no misses and 9 runs for 91 metres - not too shabby. He's actually quite a solid defender if nothing else.

 

[BLM01]

We should grant Fui an immediate release and give someone useful his spot in the 30. He was terrible in the rep game on Saturday, really really terrible, he simply couldn't keep up at all and looked to have no idea where he was supposed to be. I had high hopes for him a couple of years ago but now he needs to be moved on.

Musgrove played well I thought, 35 minutes, 20 tackles no misses and 9 runs for 91 metres - not too shabby. He's actually quite a solid defender if nothing else.

I am not a stat reader as I dont belive it puts a real life look at teh game through eyes and commonsense
His first half he made runs,, but they low speed and impact compared to his countrymen
I will admit he ran a bit harder in H2 but still not impressed with him in attack

 

[kit66]

I am not a stat reader as I dont belive it puts a real life look at teh game through eyes and commonsense
His first half he made runs,, but they low speed and impact compared to his countrymen
I will admit he ran a bit harder in H2 but still not impressed with him in attack

Yeah 100%. It's a good comparison, shows the glaring difference between our forwards and some of their opposition.
Wouldn't you kill to have a couple of those big Maori boys lining up in the big red V.
We've had years to grab a couple of big, tough high impact props and it never happens. We keep buying bottom of the barrel leftovers instead.
It's funny that when they announced the Musgrove signing I went off in this forum and had a big moan but now I'm so jaded and over it re signings I'm reduced to defending him, because...what are you gonna do. Hope for the best I guess.

 

[itsme]

Last year we saw some really innovative play in the Charity Shield which sadly dried up very quickly once the season proper started.

It is to be hoped that innovative play is the hallmark of what we do on the paddock as from the very next game until season end.

Lot's of young blokes with obvious ability that needs to be tapped into and their creative instincts need to be encouraged but of course fine tuned to ensure > 60% success rate to avoid being forced into minimal risk safety 1st plays.

If Kerr is to be in 1st grade then it is to be hoped that his offloads are encouraged and with the amount of time we have invested in him he has learnt when and where and let's hope that Lomax takes that into account with his flick pass as it is most useful but only at the correct time.

I feel if we start playing some creative footy then those that have been in the system for some time will be less likely to force plays and create blunders.

Hook & Co please take notice that there is a great opportunity and we should grasp it with enthusiasm rather than think that few mistakes is going to be the norm so therefore adopt a conservative is best approach.

Second phase can totally transform our attack.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Second phase can totally transform our attack.

I think that comments tends to be partly true

Ie second phase can transform our attack if we are in the right areas of the field to take the risks

We need to be in the correct areas of the field ie lower risk areas of the field to take it on and get the reward

The downside of getting wrong in our own half just leads to more punishment for our defence

 

[BLM01]

I think that comments tends to be partly true

Ie second phase can transform our attack if we are in the right areas of the field to take the risks

We need to be in the correct areas of the field ie lower risk areas of the field to take it on and get the reward

The downside of getting wrong in our own half just leads to more punishment for our defence

2nd phase can work anywhere. As Bennett and even Robinson indicate does not matter as long as you can defend it.
Just about being smart when to pull the trigger when you either bust a tackle or line or they forget to wrap up the ball and you are still propelling forward. Not rocket science
But the Trent Merrin / sometimes Lomax method of offloading when dominated and going backwards in a tackle just does not quite work.
Or the Dragons method of offloading while you as a player are standing still and the rest are on their heels waiting for the next play has proven that does not work either

 

[Spazer]

well done to the world champs beating penriff, I was wrong about st helens they put in a good show and against some bad calls too.

 

[OneEyedDragon]

well done to the world champs beating penriff, I was wrong about st helens they put in a good show and against some bad calls too.

Yes, well done St Helens. I guess Penrith will now realise that it is time to sack the coach, get rid of the dead wood and buy David Fifita. I see Penrith will have nothing to look forward to in 2023.

 

[rasaint]

Penrith played without a number of top liners from the Grand Final win because of injury or now left for other clubs like Bulldogs and Tigers in 2023.

Good luck to St Helens.

 

[Illusion]

Great to see the big red V flying high , but not our Big Red V ...... those were the days .....

 

[Dragon David]

Great to see the big red V flying high , but not our Big Red V ...... those were the days .....
View attachment 70426

Can someone overlay the photos of our guys heads over the St Helens guys heads and then we can just look at the photo and pretend that it was us who won the game against the Riff. HeHe!

 

[Illusion]

Can someone overlay the photos of our guys heads over the St Helens guys heads and then we can just look at the photo and pretend that it was us who won the game against the Riff. HeHe!

Great idea .....

 

[dragon thomo]

Isnt it great to see the Big Red V.
We keep on turning up wearing half baked crapy jumpers and have gone away from our tradional jumpers and pride of wearing it.
In the past the elite players wanted to wear the Red V.
Now we strugle to even get half descent players because our management have lost the Soul of our once great Club.

 

[Dragon David]

While St Helens have several star players and most of the squad have been together for a few years and have won 4 premierships in a row (I don't think that they will win 11 straight but who knows?), they are playing as a solid team and for each other. Their defence against Penrith was, for the most part of the Challenge Cup, very good and good defence wins games.

I'd love our Red V squad to be just as effective but unfortunately we have coaching and player problems and there doesn't appear to be any team spirit/bonding going on to get them to play for each other.