Is Widdop injured still? Or just tentative?

[epDragon62]

The man is just a fool.
Took Hunt and Widdop 1 game to gel. They never looked out of place.
Look at Round 1 last year!
We carved up Brisbane at Kogarah.
Norman has just came here and stuffed everything up. Could never work with Moses, look at Moses and Parra today. A far superior team without Norman.
Norman is just a plague to the club. That is that.
Widdop should be 5/8.

No point blaming Norman

 

[Dragonslayer]

Is Widdop injured (still) - No
Is Widdop tentative - No

What I find is that Widdop either just doesn't like playing in that position, or he will need a few games to acclimatize himself to it.
Some may say, and correctly so, that he played there at short notice in the last WC. However, from what I can imagine, they were far better coached and drilled (Bennett).
Scrappy games like yesterday just do not suit his game, and McGregor would have been far better served to move him to 5/8 and move Norman to fullback, but alas we don't have that sort of visionary.

I will give this experiment a few more weeks, to show results, otherwise 1 of Widdop or Norman will be wearing the #14

 

[Dragons4me]

In my opinion he is not completely over his shoulder injury.

If he wasn't before he probably isn't now. Tackling a rampaging Taumaolo head on wouldn't have helped but he did stop him. That was huge. Doubt if Dufty could have. Also Widdop's last ditch attempt to stop Bowen's try (in the wet) was also impressive. For me those two things alone don't make me question Widdop's commitment.

 

[Crush]

If he wasn't before he probably isn't now. Tackling a rampaging Taumaolo head on wouldn't have helped but he did stop him. That was huge. Doubt if Dufty could have. Also Widdop's last ditch attempt to stop Bowen's try (in the wet) was also impressive. For me those two things alone don't make me question Widdop's commitment.

Widdop would do way more tackling at 6 than 1 but fullback seems to be more physical in that there are more high speed collisions and tackles at speed.
I don't think Widdop is suited to fullback, Norman would be a better option but the best option is Dufty.

 

[Old Timer]

If Widdop was injured he wouldn't be playing as simple as that.
Maybe he is a little tentative but he is a professional and wouldn't be taking risks that he could kill his career with 1 more bad shoulder injury.

 

[BLM01]

In my opinion he is not completely over his shoulder injury.

BS..it is mental or just fitness as started pre season later if you are going to say any negative.
They have been doing plenty of contact to prove his shoulder is up to it.
By the way he defended pretty good on Sat night. Just a poor game in catching holding the ball on a wet / greasy night.
Attack did not click but that was not Widdop or any individual players fault.

 

[Rob Dragon]

Gareth Widdop was signed and then extended on significant salary cap dollars as a half. Once he said he wanted out he should have been cut with a transfer fee negotiated with Warrington. Now we are bending over backwards trying to work a solution to incorporate various elements. Now given that the coach probably doesn't even get his pants off to take a dump; don't ask him to sort out the mess. So here's how it should go:

The best fullback in the club plays #1.
The best five-eight in the club plays #6.
The best hooker in the club plays #9.

I think we get the selection pattern from here don't we?

Inevitably that means that Widdop or Norman plays ISP. You do not waste a bench spot on a 80 kg fullback ESPECIALLY against monster packs like the Cowboys and Rabbits. Why do I have point this out?

The mess we are in is of our own making. Once Widdop cried poor; he should have been sent packing and not made captain again! The bloke is not going to fulfil his contractual obligations. For goodness sake, how hard is it?

A silver lining you ask? I know I am a broken record but the only way McGregor is sent packing is via us having a nightmare of a season. The next thing I am about to write should see me smacked around by my fellow Dragons tragics on this forum; and it is a beating I am willing to take. Here goes (helmet on and ducking the incoming grenades). I was happy we lost on Saturday and I want us to keep losing until the BOD moves this idiot on. Simple as that. Unless we catastrophically fail; this goose remains.

 

[blacksafake]

There is no way you can say he's not committed because he's leaving at the end of the season.I have no doubt he'll give 100% whilst still here. He's our best player & best 5/8 & that is where he should be playing, not getting bashed trying to take bombs or when returning kicks.L plate has run our forwards into the ground each season & looks like doing the same to Widdop. I feel sorry for him this week with Reynolds' pinpoint kicking game & the Burgess clan,Murray & GI honing in on him.

 

[Saints Forever]

Widdop is human.

Tough gig against the Cowboys at home on a wet ground.

Don’t accept the argument that Hunt & Norman need 12 months to gel. If they can’t form a combination after a full pre-season together next year, they should both look elsewhere for employment.

Pick your best five eight as a five eight.

Pick your best fullback at fullback.

 

[Forster Dragon]

We are genuinely stuffed based on the fact we have idiots running the club that make the same mistakes year after year

 

[Crush]

Gareth Widdop was signed and then extended on significant salary cap dollars as a half. Once he said he wanted out he should have been cut with a transfer fee negotiated with Warrington. Now we are bending over backwards trying to work a solution to incorporate various elements. Now given that the coach probably doesn't even get his pants off to take a dump; don't ask him to sort out the mess. So here's how it should go:

The best fullback in the club plays #1.
The best five-eight in the club plays #6.
The best hooker in the club plays #9.

I think we get the selection pattern from here don't we?

Inevitably that means that Widdop or Norman plays ISP. You do not waste a bench spot on a 80 kg fullback ESPECIALLY against monster packs like the Cowboys and Rabbits. Why do I have point this out?

The mess we are in is of our own making. Once Widdop cried poor; he should have been sent packing and not made captain again! The bloke is not going to fulfil his contractual obligations. For goodness sake, how hard is it?

A silver lining you ask? I know I am a broken record but the only way McGregor is sent packing is via us having a nightmare of a season. The next thing I am about to write should see me smacked around by my fellow Dragons tragics on this forum; and it is a beating I am willing to take. Here goes (helmet on and ducking the incoming grenades). I was happy we lost on Saturday and I want us to keep losing until the BOD moves this idiot on. Simple as that. Unless we catastrophically fail; this goose remains.

How will you be when the Dragons do finally remove Paul McGregor then they promote Dean Young as the new head coach? Because thats the most likely next appointment by our club. Or Trent Barrett. Careful what you wish for.

 

[grouch]

How will you be when the Dragons do finally remove Paul McGregor then they promote Dean Young as the new head coach? Because thats the most likely next appointment by our club. Or Trent Barrett. Careful what you wish for.

I'm ready to run the risk. The optimist in me believes the club cannot surely be so stupid as to make that mistake again. Either way, the risk is worth it. Sack McGregor

 

[Lovemedragons]

Try and come up with any alternative you want but at the end of the day Hunt and Norman need time together to gel. If you dont do it this year we would be having the same discussion next year. Easing norman into the team at center does nothing for his combination with Hunt as a half.

What I want to see is Hunt and Norman given time to gel this year and for us to buy a good fullback and centre for next year. My suspicion is Lomax will not be the centre we hope and Marsters will be. I think Ravalawa and Pearson will prove to be the wingers we want.

Some big calls here Carlton, I disagree on easing Norman in at centre not being the best approach, our centres are ordinary anyway, if we want to win the premiership this year we go with Hunt and Widdop in the halves, no doubt about it, next year can wait until it comes. As for Lomax, I hope you are wrong, but you maybe right, I hope he is at least given a decent chance to prove you wrong but if Marsters is that good too then all good for us. One thing for sure, Lomax is not an option on the wing, the trials showed this clearly.

 

[denis preston]

Gareth Widdop was signed and then extended on significant salary cap dollars as a half. Once he said he wanted out he should have been cut with a transfer fee negotiated with Warrington. Now we are bending over backwards trying to work a solution to incorporate various elements. Now given that the coach probably doesn't even get his pants off to take a dump; don't ask him to sort out the mess. So here's how it should go:

The best fullback in the club plays #1.
The best five-eight in the club plays #6.
The best hooker in the club plays #9.

I think we get the selection pattern from here don't we?

Inevitably that means that Widdop or Norman plays ISP. You do not waste a bench spot on a 80 kg fullback ESPECIALLY against monster packs like the Cowboys and Rabbits. Why do I have point this out?

The mess we are in is of our own making. Once Widdop cried poor; he should have been sent packing and not made captain again! The bloke is not going to fulfil his contractual obligations. For goodness sake, how hard is it?

A silver lining you ask? I know I am a broken record but the only way McGregor is sent packing is via us having a nightmare of a season. The next thing I am about to write should see me smacked around by my fellow Dragons tragics on this forum; and it is a beating I am willing to take. Here goes (helmet on and ducking the incoming grenades). I was happy we lost on Saturday and I want us to keep losing until the BOD moves this idiot on. Simple as that. Unless we catastrophically fail; this goose remains.

Beating the Broncos & playing well against the Bunnies in the semi's saved Marys arse big time. I would have preferred we continued our shithouse form for the good of the side in the long term.If Mcguire had a choice of the Tigers or us surely he would have chosen us ? If our club has turned the corner with the WIN illawarra buy out then pissing off or not renewing Mary & then getting a outsider to coach us would be a hell of a statement.

 

[blacksafake]

How will you be when the Dragons do finally remove Paul McGregor then they promote Dean Young as the new head coach? Because thats the most likely next appointment by our club. Or Trent Barrett. Careful what you wish for.

I'd would reluctantly be willing to put up with Dean(although it's not my preferred option)if it means getting rid of L plate.
A new voice is needed to start with & I reckon he would prepared to put his hand up & say I'm not cut out for the job if he was struggling because I don't think he has the arrogance of L plate.

 

[Carlton]

Some big calls here Carlton, I disagree on easing Norman in at centre not being the best approach, our centres are ordinary anyway, if we want to win the premiership this year we go with Hunt and Widdop in the halves, no doubt about it, next year can wait until it comes. As for Lomax, I hope you are wrong, but you maybe right, I hope he is at least given a decent chance to prove you wrong but if Marsters is that good too then all good for us. One thing for sure, Lomax is not an option on the wing, the trials showed this clearly.

I hope I'm not right about Lomax, its just a feeling that I'm starting to get. I dont know if Marsters is the answer but from the little I've seen of him he looks like he is worth testing in first grade ( I know this is difficult as he is a development player).

I want to win a premiership every year but sometimes there has to be an acknowledgement that the squad has shortcomings that will need to be addressed first. This can mean a bit of pain before all the bits of the jigsaw can be fitted into the puzzle.

I agree we need some top class centres and i believe a fullback as well. The wingers we have would be fine if we had the rest of the team sorted.

 

[Smurf]

https://apple.news/AZVo2qtyzSdi-GwVDSsN1JA

 

[getsmarty]

Why Gareth Widdop positional switch is doomed to fail for St George Illawarra Dragons
By Ben Glover
2 hours ago

One of the biggest talking points leading into the 2019 NRL season was the gamble Dragons coach Paul McGregor was taking on a complete shake-up of the side's spine and after just one match legendary Eels halfback Peter Sterling thinks it is doomed to fail.

Sterling's take comes after St George Illawarra were soundly beaten by the Cowboys on Saturday night, with the visitors looking clunky in attack following the shift of skipper Gareth Widdop from five-eighth to fullback to accommodate new signing Corey Norman.

The experiment has relegated livewire 23-year-old Matt Dufty to the bench, with McGregor injecting him for just 13 minutes in Round 1.

McGregor has revealed he expects a spine of Dufty-Widdop-Norman and Ben Hunt at hooker late in games to open up opponents and create try-scoring opportunities but Sterling says the Dragons sacrifice too much when Widdop's taken out of the front line to start games.

"The longer this season goes, the more important we will see the short attacking kicking game is in the modern game," Sterling told Wide World of Sports for Sterlo's Wrap.

"Now along with Adam Reynolds I think that he has the best kicking game in the competition. He's only one of maybe one or two players who actually kicks the ball effectively with his left foot as well.

"And I just think at fullback he's not going to be able to impose that on the game."

While Sterling sees the Englishman as the man most capable of driving success for the Dragons, he is also wary of the inconsistency that has plagued the careers of Hunt and Norman.


https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-wh...hy-widdop-experiment-is-doomed-to-fail_180319

 

[Crush]

Is Mary capable of swallowing his pride and moving Widdop back to 6 if things go badly?

 

[muzby]

Is Mary capable of swallowing his pride and moving Widdop back to 6 if things go badly?

No changes except for injuries..

Gaz May have to go all Tonya Harding to get his spot back.