How far can we go without Gareth Widdop

[Dragonsamy]

Is there really nobody better than Lafai?
Is there no solution?
I'd rather 1. Norman, 2. Pearson, 3. Lomax, 4. Mr Ravalawa, 5. Pereria
We cannot continue with Aitken or Lafai in our team. Lafai is so inconsistent and has way more bad games than good.

Agree Crush much better with lomax and Rav in the centers but unfortunately it will not happen. He will not drop Euan.

 

[Crush]

Yeah? With what?

With Lafai and Aitken!

 

[possm]

In my opinion, Widdop would be foolish to play this season. He has all to lose and nothing to gain and I think it better he moves on without re-injuring his shoulder because if he did injure it again, he may jeopardise his ESL contract.

 

[Crush]

In my opinion, Widdop would be foolish to play this season. He has all to lose and nothing to gain and I think it better he moves on without re-injuring his shoulder because if he did injure it again, he may jeopardise his ESL contract.

Huh? He's contracted until the end of this season. He is getting paid big dollars, he cannot just choose to not show up for work if he is fit enough to play.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Huh? He's contracted until the end of this season. He is getting paid big dollars, he cannot just choose to not show up for work if he is fit enough to play.

Not to mention Saints will need to be as close to full strength in order to avoid the wooden spoon.

All hands on deck are required.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

With Lafai and Aitken!

Are you trying to depress me?

 

[Gareth67]

I wrote a letter to Mary ( care of St.George Leagues Club ) earlier in the year when my mate Gareth done his shoulder and told him then that the Dragons season was doomed .

But the maestro assured me that there was nothing to worry my self about as he had fine-tuned his 2019 outfit to the same degree as a Grand Prix racing car engine and he had plenty of spare parts available.

All except the carboretta apparently .

 

[41yearsaint]

I wrote a letter to Mary ( care of St.George Leagues Club ) earlier in the year when my mate Gareth done his shoulder and told him then that the Dragons season was doomed .

But the maestro assured me that there was nothing to worry my self about as he had fine-tuned his 2019 outfit to the same degree as a Grand Prix racing car engine and he had plenty of spare parts available.

All except the carberator apparently .

The carby is so 80's. Much like Mary's coaching.

 

[getsmarty]

Widdop set to return for St George Illawarra Dragons' NRL rescue mission

• 
  Tim Barrow

Dragons Den

Shouldering the burden: Gareth Widdop is likely to return against South Sydney on Friday. Picture: Anna Warr

Captain Gareth Widdop is poised to return on Friday, attempting to pull the Dragons' season back from the brink of collapse.

Widdop is likely to partner Ben Hunt, rested in the 40-18 capitulation to Penrith, in the halves, with Corey Norman expected to shift to fullback.

He will still have to make it through testing contact sessions this week, before being cleared to take on Souths at ANZ Stadium.

It's a far cry from the fairytale premiership farewell Widdop hoped for in his last season in the Red V, watching on during his recovery from a shoulder dislocation, as the Dragons have lost nine of their last 11 games.

After starting the season at five-eighth and Widdop at fullback, Corey Norman confirmed he's prepared to make the swap with the English international.

"Hopefully Gaz is back this week, it would be a massive inclusion for us," Norman said. "He's our captain, he's moving on at the end of the year and Gaz wants to finish on a high as well. I'm not too sure what the positional changes will be, but if I have to move for Gareth, then I'm more than happy to do that."

While they're still two wins outside the top eight, the Dragons are languishing in 14th and would likely need to win all seven remaining games to finish on 28 points and a chance to qualify. for finals.

Forward Korbin Sims said experience would be the crucial factor of what Widdop's return would bring to the Dragons.

Hunt was rested for the Panthers game after a demanding State of Origin campaign at dummy-half for Queensland.

"Gareth is the captain of the club for a reason and Benny is an Origin and Australian rep for the same reason," Sims said.

"Their experience has been great (for us)."

Coach Paul McGregor has copped the brunt of calls among the fanbase for him to be sacked, but received the support of chief executive Brian Johnston in an interview with the Mercury.

Both Norman and Sims said the players must take the heat off McGregor by producing a dramatic form reversal.

McGregor will name his team for the Rabbitohs clash on Tuesday, with Matt Dufty, Tristan Sailor and Zac Lomax all bench utility options for the must-win game.

Most concerningly, St George Illawarra have conceded 76 points in the past fortnight, including some noticeable defensive errors to concede tries.

Widdop and other leadership group members James Graham and Tyson Frizell led a video review session at WIN Stadium on Monday, before McGregor weighed in on the way forward. Captain Cameron McInnes also delivered a searing assessment in the dressing sheds after the Panthers loss.

"There were some honest words said, the senior players stood up," Sims said.

"They voiced their opinion and then Paul McGregor voiced his opinion.

"But it wasn't all doom and gloom, it wasn't all a bash-up session. Moving into the Souths game I think we're in a good spot to start fresh."


https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6286200/widdop-set-to-return-on-dragons-rescue-mission/

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

.........

"But it wasn't all doom and gloom, it wasn't all a bash-up session. Moving into the Souths game I think we're in a good spot to start fresh.

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6286200/widdop-set-to-return-on-dragons-rescue-mission/

Frankly, l'm over the players talking crap each week. "Good to start fresh"..My ass.

 

[Walpole]

Just in answer to the original question.

Further backwards than anyone thought possible...

 

[dragonreddy]

So lets get this straight ,Widdop,who hasn't played for 4 months is going to be the catalyst to change our performances from a steaming pile of crap into a premiership contention worthy performance for 7 games straight.
Seriously these blokes are deluded ,they all talk a big game off the field ,then go onto the field and play like reserve graders.
All this shit McGregor is speaking is very reminiscent of past seasons where his delusion was only exceeded by his inability to coach an NRL side to any kind of success.

If I was Widdop I certainly wouldnt be jeapordising the English contract for this fruitless exercise.

 

[Wittenberg]

Huh? He's contracted until the end of this season. He is getting paid big dollars, he cannot just choose to not show up for work if he is fit enough to play.

Widdop foolish to play? Maybe. Certainly his next contract may be in danger if he does his shoulder again. Yes he is under contract till the end of the year but remember he had major reconstructive surgery and all reports said he would be out for the season. If he didn’t want to play for us again he could easily done that. He simply had to slow down the rehab work, claim the shoulder was. still giving pain & discomfort, or say pain when doing contact work. Whatever you think about Gareth as a player he is brave and committed to come back to the field this year. Remember our halfback was given a week’s rest for supposedly feeling tired.

 

[Old Timer]

Nice

Widdop foolish to play? Maybe. Certainly his next contract may be in danger if he does his shoulder again. Yes he is under contract till the end of the year but remember he had major reconstructive surgery and all reports said he would be out for the season. If he didn’t want to play for us again he could easily done that. He simply had to slow down the rehab work, claim the shoulder was. still giving pain & discomfort, or say pain when doing contact work. Whatever you think about Gareth as a player he is brave and committed to come back to the field this year. Remember our halfback was given a week’s rest for supposedly feeling tired.

Nice post young Witt
Widdop is a true professional and a really decent bloke
If he can play he will and will do his best in an effort to get the side going forward.
People who want to cast dispersions upon him are totally misguided and are just narky bastards.
We have been blessed to have had Widdop at the club, shame we didn’t get him a decent half early on as we may have then seen the very best of him.
He is missed already this season and we will be all the worse without him next year.
I hope he gets through without further injury this year and I know he will put in 100% unlike plenty of others in the team.

 

[Saints Forever]

Very good player.

Best left to complete his recovery.

Nothing to be gained by rushing back now.

With or without him we are not going to win 7 straight.

Mary has lost the dressing room.

The team are sick of employing a game plan that simply doesn’t work.

The only person who doesn’t understand this is Mary.

The minute we concede early points, heads drop because the players know we can’t score enough points to win a game.

Best of luck to you in England Gareth.

 

[Crush]

Nice

Nice post young Witt
Widdop is a true professional and a really decent bloke
If he can play he will and will do his best in an effort to get the side going forward.
People who want to cast dispersions upon him are totally misguided and are just narky bastards.
We have been blessed to have had Widdop at the club, shame we didn’t get him a decent half early on as we may have then seen the very best of him.
He is missed already this season and we will be all the worse without him next year.
I hope he gets through without further injury this year and I know he will put in 100% unlike plenty of others in the team.

Its black and white to me.
If he is fit to play this year he plays. If he isn't fit then he doesn't have to play.
NRL is a business and these guys get paid huge money to do a job.
If I needed time off work due to illness my company would be obliged to pay me until I was fit to come back however once cleared by docs I'd be back to work.
There are still 2 months of regular footy to play, its not like Widdop is rushing back for last week or something.
He's fit and he is playing, simple.
Those who said he should take the rest of the season off to prolong his career I cannot agree with unless he does so without pay.

 

[Crush]

Widdop foolish to play? Maybe. Certainly his next contract may be in danger if he does his shoulder again. Yes he is under contract till the end of the year but remember he had major reconstructive surgery and all reports said he would be out for the season. If he didn’t want to play for us again he could easily done that. He simply had to slow down the rehab work, claim the shoulder was. still giving pain & discomfort, or say pain when doing contact work. Whatever you think about Gareth as a player he is brave and committed to come back to the field this year. Remember our halfback was given a week’s rest for supposedly feeling tired.

Hey mate, as stated above, I think these guys get paid big bucks and need to play when cleared to do so by the medical teams.
I'm a big fan of Widdop as a player, never been a fan of him as a captain though.
Great that he is back this week, lets see if he has an impact, as long as he plays 5/8 he will be a massive in for us.

 

[Paddles]

NRL Physio says that the particular surgery that he had has only a 2% failure rate.Those odds suggest he will be ok on return:
Having said that his previous surgery had only a 6% failure rate, and that lasted about an hour. It's a big move but if it's gonna go again, it's only a matter of time. He may as well test it.

And to the original thread question - with or without Widdop, I think we're a good chance to sneak into the top 14 atm.

 

[SaintPauli]

Widdop will be a big loss and was missed for most of this year.

* Our best player previous 2 years
* Dally M 5/8 of the year
* Top 10 Dally M player of the year.

If we have the same players particulary the back 5, and coaching staff next year it will be no different to this year.