If we play like that every week we'll win a lot of games this year

[The Nick]

My observations:

Packer was excellent. Led the kick chase, led the line speed in defence (along with Rein) when he was on. Every time he hit the ball up you could see how hard Melbourne had to work around the ruck to shut him down. His speed at the play the ball ensured that the 2nd runner after him (and a few occasions even the 3rd) had a clear passage through the ruck to gain 10-12m. Packer absolutely dominated Melbourne's ruck while he was on. What a player. What a great signing.

Rein led the line speed in defence. There were a couple of occasions where we contained Melbourne to less than 35m gain in attack. I noticed the intensity in defence pretty much dropped off instantly when Rein came off.

As usual he had some incisive runs around the ruck also, including the one where he passed to Benji who then put Mann through the gap on the inside. Great ruck play.

Obviously his usual detractors will harp on some bad passes but I really saw his value in defence. And if you go back and watch the game without any bias you'll see Cam Smith (who is the benchmark) had at least 2 passes go to ground and at least 2 that went forward but hey, he's Cam Smith so it doesn't count. Oh and with regards to "that kick", well we were literally centimetres from winning the game. Centimetres. But hey, many of you love the low hanging fruit so #blamerein.

Mann was excellent. Great positional play, great pass to set up the first try and some incisive runs. Another great buy.

We showed a lot of mental steel. We were well on the wrong end of the penalty count and some of the refs calls were nothing short of absurd, yet the boys never dropped their heads and kept hanging in there. I'm not usually one to blame the refs but if that games was refereed down the middle we win every day of the week, I'm sure of that.

Lafai didn't do enough to justify holding the centre position over Aitken. I'm not sure how comfortable Aitken feels playing on the left side but I feel he would have offered more penetration in attack down that flank.

Add to that Aitken is not a winger. He may have some improvement in him but I think he was horribly exposed out there and he needs to be in the centres. I'm not bagging the kid but facts are facts.

If we bring that intensity next week against the Sharks (and actually get a 50/50 split of calls from the refs) we win 13+.

 

[saintjeff]

My observations:

Packer was excellent. Led the kick chase, led the line speed in defence (along with Rein) when he was on. Every time he hit the ball up you could see how hard Melbourne had to work around the ruck to shut him down. His speed at the play the ball ensured that the 2nd runner after him (and a few occasions even the 3rd) had a clear passage through the ruck to gain 10-12m. Packer absolutely dominated Melbourne's ruck while he was on. What a player. What a great signing.

Rein led the line speed in defence. There were a couple of occasions where we contained Melbourne to less than 35m gain in attack. I noticed the intensity in defence pretty much dropped off instantly when Rein came off.

As usual he had some incisive runs around the ruck also, including the one where he passed to Benji who then put Mann through the gap on the inside. Great ruck play.

Obviously his usual detractors will harp on some bad passes but I really saw his value in defence. And if you go back and watch the game without any bias you'll see Cam Smith (who is the benchmark) had at least 2 passes go to ground and at least 2 that went forward but hey, he's Cam Smith so it doesn't count. Oh and with regards to "that kick", well we were literally centimetres from winning the game. Centimetres. But hey, many of you love the low hanging fruit so #blamerein.

Mann was excellent. Great positional play, great pass to set up the first try and some incisive runs. Another great buy.

We showed a lot of mental steel. We were well on the wrong end of the penalty count and some of the refs calls were nothing short of absurd, yet the boys never dropped their heads and kept hanging in there. I'm not usually one to blame the refs but if that games was refereed down the middle we win every day of the week, I'm sure of that.

Lafai didn't do enough to justify holding the centre position over Aitken. I'm not sure how comfortable Aitken feels playing on the left side but I feel he would have offered more penetration in attack down that flank.

Add to that Aitken is not a winger. He may have some improvement in him but I think he was horribly exposed out there and he needs to be in the centres. I'm not bagging the kid but facts are facts.

If we bring that intensity next week against the Sharks (and actually get a 50/50 split of calls from the refs) we win 13+.

 

[coast_dragons]

Cam Smith should retire now and become a ref he basically dictates to them what to do anyway.

 

[saintjeff]

Well said , so frustrating to lose like that ., so easily two points on the board
Refs were shit they gave melb penalties but when proctor and others get friz in a headlock , nothing
1/ knock on that wasnt
2/ jack pushed over
3/chambers dropped ball
4/ smith passes forward and they were clear cut
So pissed off with kids referees they had tonight
Hope we can beat the sharks at another ground we struggke at
I know its only one game but the 2points would of been a huge relief

 

[BennyV]

Disagree. We play like that and we'll get rolled by a lot of top sides. Agree with the comments about Packer and Mann. Not sure how you expect Aitken could have done any more than Lafai in that game (considering that Dugan did even less on the other side - neither centre got any room to move) but on the negative:
- Shocking use of interchange. Why were Havilli and Creagh kept off for so long? Both add so much to the energy of the side, yet when we are under the pump late in the first half they are held back.
- Repetitive one-out sets. It's like we aren't allowed to throw more than 2 passes unless we are in the opposition 30m. The forward tip-ons aren't too bad, but a lot of guys are poking their noses through with zero support.
- Clunky plays. Other than the Benji inside pass to Mann, we look like we've barely run a play all pre-season. Get some f**king timing and direction!
- FUNDAMENTALS! For the love of God, take 2 extra steps back and run onto the ball! And when you catch it, run straight for a few metres before shifting your angle. This drifting across field can be effective when there's bodies in motion but when everyone is flat and moving the same direction it looks like under 8s!

A lot of work to be done on our attack.

 

[SET2JT]

Well said.
3 points:
Atack will get better when Thompson comes on the left side.
Right side defense was better when Frizzell came on.
Monday night football sucks!

 

[The Nick]

Disagree. We play like that and we'll get rolled by a lot of top sides. Agree with the comments about Packer and Mann. Not sure how you expect Aitken could have done any more than Lafai in that game (considering that Dugan did even less on the other side - neither centre got any room to move) but on the negative:
- Shocking use of interchange. Why were Havilli and Creagh kept off for so long? Both add so much to the energy of the side, yet when we are under the pump late in the first half they are held back.
- Repetitive one-out sets. It's like we aren't allowed to throw more than 2 passes unless we are in the opposition 30m. The forward tip-ons aren't too bad, but a lot of guys are poking their noses through with zero support.
- Clunky plays. Other than the Benji inside pass to Mann, we look like we've barely run a play all pre-season. Get some f**king timing and direction!
- FUNDAMENTALS! For the love of God, take 2 extra steps back and run onto the ball! And when you catch it, run straight for a few metres before shifting your angle. This drifting across field can be effective when there's bodies in motion but when everyone is flat and moving the same direction it looks like under 8s!

A lot of work to be done on our attack.

Lafai tended to play laterally, Aitken offers much more penetration due to his leg drive and tendency to play very square. Besides, my main point was that Lafai didn't do enough to justify getting the nod ahead of Aitken. However it's only round 1, I haven't written it in stone.

With regards to energy, well yeah that's the point of an impact player. But in defence it was opposite. Line speed in the middle of the field dropped off completely while Havili was on. Line speed in defence was excellent while Rein was on.

All things considered our boys really competed tonight. We lost by 2 points in one of the toughest away games on the calendar. We were centimetres from winning it.

Not many teams could come that close to a win in Melbourne on the end of a lopsided penalty count like that. We're only gonna get better.

 

[coast_dragons]

They did buy some one to fix the attack.

I guess the halves still haven't got the message.

 

[Dragon66]

Disagree. We play like that and we'll get rolled by a lot of top sides. Agree with the comments about Packer and Mann. Not sure how you expect Aitken could have done any more than Lafai in that game (considering that Dugan did even less on the other side - neither centre got any room to move) but on the negative:
- Shocking use of interchange. Why were Havilli and Creagh kept off for so long? Both add so much to the energy of the side, yet when we are under the pump late in the first half they are held back.
- Repetitive one-out sets. It's like we aren't allowed to throw more than 2 passes unless we are in the opposition 30m. The forward tip-ons aren't too bad, but a lot of guys are poking their noses through with zero support.
- Clunky plays. Other than the Benji inside pass to Mann, we look like we've barely run a play all pre-season. Get some f**king timing and direction!
- FUNDAMENTALS! For the love of God, take 2 extra steps back and run onto the ball! And when you catch it, run straight for a few metres before shifting your angle. This drifting across field can be effective when there's bodies in motion but when everyone is flat and moving the same direction it looks like under 8s!

A lot of work to be done on our attack.

Can't argue with any of this. When we went back to the one out running it looked like 2014 revisited. It's crap and if that is our fallback position when we are going nowhere, we are going to keep going nowhere. Let's give them another couple of weeks to get it together. I have confidence in Demetriou.

 

[The Nick]

Once you've all calmed down I beg you all to watch a replay of the match and focus on 2 things:

1) every run after Packer takes a hit-up.
2) the line-speed in defence led by Rein and then the lack of line-speed once he comes off.

The cohesion in attack will come. Melbourne are the best team in the world at stifling attack with their slowing down of the ruck.

We have a lot to be excited about this year.

Go the Dragons!

 

[Spazer]

Obviously his usual detractors will harp on some bad passes but I really saw his value in defence. And if you go back and watch the game without any bias you'll see Cam Smith (who is the benchmark) had at least 2 passes go to ground and at least 2 that went forward but hey, he's Cam Smith so it doesn't count. Oh and with regards to "that kick", well we were literally centimetres from winning the game. Centimetres. But hey, many of you love the low hanging fruit so #blamerein..

Agreed. Widdop didn't cop so much blame when he attempted the high risk 40/20 play last year against the dogs, but when Rein does a high risk play he is instantly blamed for losing us the game.

The second half we were good imo.

 

[Mr Red]

Reminded me a lot like last year to be honest..
Defence was solid
Intensity was evident
Not enough decoy runners and variation from the forwards taking hit ups, making them easy targets for the defence
Attack was clunky

 

[coast_dragons]

They will get a second chance at those wankers when they lose lots of players to S.O.S.

 

[SET2JT]

Watched the Press conference. Merry on the Money. Love his call that he has a very good team and will improve over the weeks.

 

[Minh]

Once you've all calmed down I beg you all to watch a replay of the match and focus on 2 things:

1) every run after Packer takes a hit-up.
2) the line-speed in defence led by Rein and then the lack of line-speed once he comes off.

The cohesion in attack will come. Melbourne are the best team in the world at stifling attack with their slowing down of the ruck.

We have a lot to be excited about this year.

Go the Dragons!

Good post, Melbourne are a hard team to score against and they always turn up to play in round 1. They have arguably the best pack in the comp and we were able to match them in the forwards, Packer is a beast. The refs were simply diabolical, not good enough....

 

[mickeylane]

My observations after feeling very confident we would do Melb this week were as follows:

1. The teams attack in the first 15 min was very dangerous, a lot of loops and decoy runners...the attack is there definitely - just need forwards to dominate to give the space to playmakers

2. Packer is a gun...come round 6 he will be top 3 front rowers in the comp

3. Theres a definite problem w Mann, Dugan and Aitken...they all looked uncomfortable where they were playing - i hate to say it but if Dugan plays fB tonite we win ! in saying that Mann really tried but was very nervous...Aitken looks like fish out of water on the wing...keeps being drawn 1-2 in...didnt get why Dugan would defend on the wing when he's a stronger a bigger defender than Aitken...

4. Widdop kicks the half time goal and we are extra time if not field goal shoot out towards the end...that was a BIG miss

5. I like Havili - he's a powerhouse and more dangerous in attack than Rein plus his service is a lot crisper than Reins...Rein is is a better defensive player so its a matter of when they're injected into the game by Mary to ensure we get the best out of both of them

6. Nightingale is back to his best...he looks injury free

7. Widdop has stepped up w the captaincy - he looks a lot more urgent in his plays..

8. I thought Benji and Cronk were equal..Benji was the spark whenever we did anything positive in attack...

9. The compressed defence has to be dumped immediately unless line speed is seriously improved...the up and in defence only works if ur outside men are in the oppositions face by the time they get the ball - no use being up and in and 5 meters away from ur opponent - as witnessed Dugan looked like a rookie when he was being blown off the park by Koarabiti...very embarrassing!

 

[Red V for life]

I thought we started off well in attack and that pass from Mann to Flo for the try was beautiful so there are some positive signs. But we seem to go through periods in games where we make a lot of errors, compound those errors by giving away penalties, don't get much ball and then when we do, we're too stuffed to do anything other than one out. We've just got to do ourselves a favour and minimise the errors and when we do make one, not compounding it and giving the opposition more momentum.

I agree with other posts re: the refs. Some really pathetic decisions out there tonight that didn't help us.

 

[Cagey Mac]

Reminded me a lot like last year to be honest..
Defence was solid
Intensity was evident
Not enough decoy runners and variation from the forwards taking hit ups, making them easy targets for the defence
Attack was clunky

5 of 7 in the backline are new to their roles
We had 4 poor decisions against us
Packer was great Rein was not horrible and shaded Havili
Dugan had a poor game
Lafai deserves more time based on tonight
Tough draw will make or break us

 

[BennyV]

Once you've all calmed down I beg you all to watch a replay of the match and focus on 2 things:

1) every run after Packer takes a hit-up.
2) the line-speed in defence led by Rein and then the lack of line-speed once he comes off.

The cohesion in attack will come. Melbourne are the best team in the world at stifling attack with their slowing down of the ruck.

We have a lot to be excited about this year.

Go the Dragons!

I guess it's a juggling act with the hookers. Our line speed was pus in the back 15 mins of the second half despite Rein being on. The difference in delivery from hooker when Havili does come on is huge - if you are re-watching the game, check the difference in the way Havili passes from the ground, while Rein tends to stand and throw.

The biggest contributor to our defensive line speed was sitting on the sideline though. With Thompson back in, that left edge will shore up (not that it was the problem tonight) and defence will be a lot tighter.

 

[giboz71]

Saw enough tonight to say we'll be competitive. Are we contenders - not so sure?

To go down by 2 in Melb with the refs dudding us is nothing to be ashamed of. Thought we hung in really well.

We do lack speed and power out wide. This is evident when we are rucking out from our 20 after a kick. Nighty and Aitken try hard but get dominated too easily. Puts us in the back foot early in our sets particularly when Ah Mau and Packer are on the bench. Would be great to have a Corey Oates type player to help here.

Our attack is still clunky and we still suffer from not having a dominant 7. Watching Cronk control the game especially in the first half highlights what we are missing. Lafai and Dugan got no space at all and had no chance to show their strengths. Benji and Widdop, both great players but would be so much better outside a dominant 7. Glad we are exploring options here for 2017.

Happy enough with the first hit out, but something tells me we are no better than a fringe top 8 side at this stage.