Euan and Pete feel the love

[mickeylane]

Mcgregor and the board are doing the right thing..recruiting w the view of being a top 4 club.. Fir too long we accepted mediocrity as the norm.. Players like Matuatai and Aitken are average for strafe players.. Roberts and Lafai are game changers.. It's the difference of recruiting for a possible top 8 position or fighting for the premiership..

The dragons supporters are the most expected lot.. I know I wAnt to win premierships at all Or any cost..

 

[mickeylane]

Agree Mary has a clear vision on the type of players he needs to carry out his style of football. There was clear evidence of this last season with his clear intention on our D.. And playing tough for the full 80...

What has really surprised is Marys ability to attract quality players to the club something Price was unable to do... With more size up front and better strike players points will definitely come...
Coach has got the club finally heading ing the right direction.
Hail Mary...

I agree - Mcgregor has managed to spell out to any potential payer the clubs vision but dont underestimate players wanting to players of the calibre of Marshall, Dugan, WIDDOP.. I think that someone like Roberts would be drawn to the first 2 without a doubt!!

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Opportunity At Premiership Vs Hurt Feelings.

Yeah, tough call !

Exactly. What the f**k is wrong with the world today?

Just win boys.

 

[The Nick]

i heard on 2ue something about big M i didnt catch the news. Did anyone know what it was?

Mata'utia? Daily Telegraph speculating today he could be pushed out to accommodate new signings.

IF we are to sign Roberts I would say either Mata'utia or Aitken will be asked to look elsewhere. We simply can't carry them all. Mata'utia offers more versatility and would be handy to hold on to for depth, but I would suggest at this stage of his career he is searching for a permanent spot in first grade so he may be more eager to look elsewhere.

Dugan and Lafai are favourites to start in the 3/4 line at this stage.

 

[GC Dragon]

Heard up here that if we get Roberts the Titans will get Mata . The deal will be better than he is on at the Dragons .

 

[coast_dragons]

How ironic Mata'Utia stays when he could have gone elsewhere to possibly be pushed out.

 

[Rex Terp]

He can stay and fight for his place too though. He has a contract.

It's a weird world where people think players are entitled to positions.

Who knows, maybe he might back himself to be better than Lafai and Aitken and win the spot?

Not sure what the big deal is.

 

[coast_dragons]

Its funny people seem to think Lafai is.

 

[TruSaint]

Apart from Dugan, spots are up for grabs.

We have a backline now with some real venom, and depth to match.

As mentioned, make your mark now. Dont know how much Lafai is on, but Aitken and Mata can still offer alot.

Even my fav Flo will need to be at his best.

Healthy position to be in, and the envy of many clubs.

 

[Puff2010]

He can stay and fight for his place too though. He has a contract.

It's a weird world where people think players are entitled to positions.

Who knows, maybe he might back himself to be better than Lafai and Aitken and win the spot?

Not sure what the big deal is.

Absolutely.
The fact that we all believe there is strong competition for all positions has to healthy and encouraging for us fans.
We will have a very competitive team 2016

 

[TheRev]

The funny thing is you have to wonder what our cap was doing these last few years? I mean there are a couple of obvious places but we have recruited a lot of talent for 2016..

Obviously much easier with Marys success than attracting anyone to the club under Price, and perhaps some astute work by Peter Mulholland.. can only speculate..

 

[giboz71]

The big clubs, Roosters, Broncos, Dogs never seem to miss their man, It's what makes them competitive every year, Players get moved on all the time, Barba and Hoffman at the Broncos, Lafai at the Dogs, Hiku at the Eagles. These guys are all good players but didn't stop their club from chopping them.

I'm glad we're finally trying to play with the big boys, go hard for your man and then have to be ruthless to cut players to make room. I agree we've tried to get by for too long signing average players and hoping for the best.

The fact we're in the mix for Lafai, Hiku, Roberts and Bird with a big hope to sign at least two is a welcome change from recent years. Only way we're going to compete with the big boys.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

If we sign Roberts, then yeah, I guess you have to wonder WTF has been going on with our cap since Bennet left.

If we somehow snag Roberts, I seriously can't think of any other time where we have had so much depth in almost every position since 1999, even then I thought the forwards were a little thin in that first season as a joint venture. It's a big turnaround. Now its up to the coaching staff to manage it.

 

[The Nick]

The fact we're in the mix for Lafai

We're in with a big chance...

 

[The Nick]

If we sign Roberts, then yeah, I guess you have to wonder WTF has been going on with our cap since Bennet left.

I thought it was obvious? We overspent on mediocre players.

 

[Como Connection]

Gee wouldn't you want to be these two, already Mann pushing for a place in the backline, now Lafai and we, apparently, are still after another big name back. If I was either I would be shopping myself around. We appear, as a club, so keen to elbow aside a young local product who made the step up to first grade, succeeded, and represents to other young players in our ranks what they should aspire to.b As for Pete M his ability to cover fullback, wing and centre last year proved invaluable and he turned his back on Newcastle, who are now trying to grab him again. I know people will say that is just how it is these days, fine, but don't expect players to stay loyal to our club. We don't need another outside back, chasing one will cost us.

Also agree, no more backs for 2016 I say.

 

[giboz71]

We're in with a big chance...

I was speaking wholistically that we were actively pursuing 4 players. Lafai signed, maybe 1 or 2 more.

 

[TheRev]

We definitely didnt recruit strategically.. we went after what was on the market in 2015 (i.e. Mann, FFL), not knowing that blokes like Lafai, Roberts and even Bird could be on the market, and there is a little too much overlap but we also had to buy what we could, no way we could foreseen what went down in this off-season.

If we dont get Roberts, we still have a tonne of cap money to use however at some pt.. and although it looks like we have great depth, if Mitch Rein or Benji or Teh_Duges breaks a leg tomorrow, it will be a huge drop in quality.. but atleast we have fringe first graders ready to step in, and they could even exceed our expectations..

 

[dangerousdave]

Also agree, no more backs for 2016 I say.

You DON'T want James Roberts? :crazy:

 

[Ace-STi]

TALENTED St George Illawarra centre Peter Mata’utia could be set for unsuspected $1m windfall as a result of the James Roberts contract fiasco.
Rugby League’s summer of snakes and ladders took an intriguing twist on Tuesday when Mata’utia — who can play any position in the backline — fielded third-party interest from the Gold Coast Titans, who could use him as a direct replacement to Roberts.
Talk of the Titans interest in Mata’utia began last weekend and The Daily Telegraph understands that appeal formalised yesterday with his manager fielding an offer worth close to $1m over three seasons to lure Mata’utia away from the Red V and up to the Gold Coast.
Despite their interest in also securing Roberts, the Dragons are determined to keep Mata’utia, who they hold in high regard.
It’s understood that even if they could pull off the signing of Roberts, Saints would still have enough salary cap space to hold onto Mata’utia
St George-Illawarra, Brisbane and South Sydney are locked in a three-way pursuit for Roberts, who decided to quit the Titans after his contract was found to have been signed with a false signature.
The Broncos are firm favourites to secure Roberts’ signature however the Dragons connection to Roberts’ uncle, former St George-Illawarra star Amos Roberts, is a contributing factor in the Dally M centre of the year’s decision.
But whether Mata’utia wants to stay in Wollongong following the signing of discarded Canterbury left centre Tim Lafai and the possibility of Josh Dugan also playing in the centres, remains to be seen.
Confidence in his ability to play fullback or wing, is why he may consider knocking back the big money play from rival clubs like the Titans and forge ahead with Saints next season.

Joining the Dragons in 2014, the 25-year-old brother of Pat, Chanel and Sione — two of whom have developed into exciting NRL talent at Newcastle — produced his best season to date in 2015.
His eight tries in 20 matches led to his selection in the NSW Residents side and ultimately a new contract with the Dragons, which saw his future seemingly secured until 2017.
But as has been the case over the course of the entire off season, contracts have meant little as clubs attempt to realign their playing rosters for new coaches and a host of star players have suddenly become available on the open market.
The Dragons, Broncos and Rabbitohs are expecting to learn by the end of this week, where Roberts intends to play in 2016.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/dra...bfeab0b788d5f6