Kyle Flanagan

[Old Timer]

Genuinely interested, OT, who would you have in the 6 & 7 out of this current lot?

LKT @ 6 he is progressing / doing enough to warrant more time.

Ilias @ 7 we purchased him for a reason so let’s see if that reason was correct and him playing beside the coach’s son was never going to work so let him work with a proper 6 and a different game plan than the one we keep trotting out with K F in the resm

If Ilias can’t get the job done over a 3 week period and get the forwards more on the front foot then it’s Glover’s shot at the 7.

In amongst this I do wonder what S F tactics would be to make sure any halves combination without S F have a chance to succeed.

Not saying he would personally sabotage them but I don’t think he has that many strings to his bow when it comes to strategy because what we are achieving now is probably = to or < what we had with Hunt at 7.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

I can't believe all this write-up is about Kyle. The club has done nothing for 14 years; let's not blame one person. The Bulldogs have been in two grand finals and will be in this grand final. Reality check.

And the chooks, which is the team we beat in the last gf we won, have won 3 gf since then. Meanwhile we haven’t even looked like getting back to a gf.

 

[blacksafake]

Ok so drop Kyle. This is still ignoring the elephant in the room.

Lets say Kyle doesn’t play in the last two games. Our forwards still get smashed, bashed, trampled over and embarrassed. Because that’s where we lost those games. The scores stay pretty much the same. Kyle might be a weakness - and we can argue how major or minor that is - but he is not the most fundamental problem this roster has. Replace him with either of the two other reserve grade standard players who we have and nothing changes. Whoever kicks is still kicking from deep inside their own half every single set. Whoever plays half is still playing behind a pack that can’t get field position and gets dominated and humiliated in the ruck.

It does my head in that people seem so fixated on a problem that if “fixed” by replacing him, doesn’t even go close to changing the results of the last 2 games.

If we’re all going to be angry - and we absolutely have a right to be angry - it should be aimed at the fact we can’t attract or assemble a competitive forward pack. Because that’s by far our biggest problem. And until that changes the 6 and about to be 7 years we haven’t played finals will turn into 8, 9, 10…….

Well bloody said

 

[Ghostrider22]

The thing that makes me laugh about this merkin of a team is, they accept mediocrity. They are trying to make excuses why one of the worst halves in this league isn’t that bad. Meanwhile, the bullgrubs go out and buy one of the best up and coming halves when they’re already leading the comp. I hate this team as much as I love them. All they do is bring misery. f**k St George Illawarra. Go and get f**ked you miserable merkins

You’re right in what you say. I hate the board and the way they conduct business of running a footy club. They only think of themselves and it stinks. And we the fans get absolutely SFA.

 

[jay mac]

LKT @ 6 he is progressing / doing enough to warrant more time.

Ilias @ 7 we purchased him for a reason so let’s see if that reason was correct and him playing beside the coach’s son was never going to work so let him work with a proper 6 and a different game plan than the one we keep trotting out with K F in the resm

If Ilias can’t get the job done over a 3 week period and get the forwards more on the front foot then it’s Glover’s shot at the 7.

In amongst this I do wonder what S F tactics would be to make sure any halves combination without S F have a chance to succeed.

Not saying he would personally sabotage them but I don’t think he has that many strings to his bow when it comes to strategy because what we are achieving now is probably = to or < what we had with Hunt at 7.

I agree. I think part of the reason for our lack of go forward is because we are constantly losing the battle of field position through our complete lack of kicking game. It is rare as hen’s teeth to see KF find the ground with a kick and, unfortunately, LKT is more a running half. What this means, as we all know, is opposition teams regularly start their set on their 30 and finish their set in an attacking kick position or better. So we are constantly working out of our own red zone and that just ain’t sustainable. SF’s theory of the issues being our go forward, errors in our own red zone and defending too many sets on our line are, unfortunately, an indirect consequence of the lack of kicking game in our team. I’ve been very supportive of the Flanagans, but something needs to change and Ilias deserves another shot.

 

[maestro1]

It's the chicken or the egg. What comes first? Is it Kyle's poor 5th tackle kicks that usually have the opposition returning the ball to their 30/40 metres line, quick play the ball as our staggered chase allows for a quicker play the ball. Then a second hitup running at a retreating defence....OR .......is it the poor defence in the middle that allows the roll on for the opposition to make 50 to 60 metres per set before the inevitable attacking kick.

 

[Mojo]

It's the chicken or the egg. What comes first? Is it Kyle's poor 5th tackle kicks that usually have the opposition returning the ball to their 30/40 metres line, quick play the ball as our staggered chase allows for a quicker play the ball. Then a second hitup running at a retreating defence....OR .......is it the poor defence in the middle that allows the roll on for the opposition to make 50 to 60 metres per set before the inevitable attacking kick.

Yes. It is a chicken and egg scenario - but the answer is that neither comes first; they’re both parts of the whole. It’s more cause and effect - and both are a cause and an effect of the other. The point is that we can’t fix one aspect in isolation. We need more go forward in defence, quicker tempo in attack, a good kicking game and better game management.
It’s certainly not as simple as Kyle being dropped and replaced.

 

[Get2dachopper!]

I agree, the forwards are probably the main issue. But this again sits squarely with the coach. He played moneyball with RCG, Siafiti, even Matt Lodge there was a squabble over contract length or whether he was in the top 30? Whatever the stupid reason, he has ended up with egg on his face. Either one of those guys would have helped our cause.

 

[maestro1]

Saifiti, RCG and Lodge have hardly painted the town red since NOT signing with us. Yes, they would have been handy, but I doubt they would have changed too much had they signed with us.

 

[I'm Hornby]

Saifiti, RCG and Lodge have hardly painted the town red since NOT signing with us. Yes, they would have been handy, but I doubt they would have changed too much had they signed with us.

Didn't you want us to sign Marty Taupau a few weeks back?

 

[SnowDragon]

Yes. It is a chicken and egg scenario - but the answer is that neither comes first; they’re both parts of the whole. It’s more cause and effect - and both are a cause and an effect of the other. The point is that we can’t fix one aspect in isolation. We need more go forward in defence, quicker tempo in attack, a good kicking game and better game management.
It’s certainly not as simple as Kyle being dropped and replaced.

to Me, if your trapped in Your own half a lot, then a great kicking game can save you . We dont have that.

of course, a poor kicking game is ok if you don’t need it

 

[Miller was a legend]

Kyle tries hard

 

[chewbacca]

Kyle tries hard

Cool we will present him with a nice little ribbon at our end of season bash in September.

 

[JubileeJeffro]

In reality we haven’t had speed and a good kicking game in the halves since Sowie..reminds how good he was for us!!

But ahead of that there is no go forward up front for the halves the work off.
We are lacking 2 big body front rowers and missing SuA and Egan adding some punch on the edge also.
The forwards all young should be good, but it’s 2-3 years away. Couchman x 2, Egan, Stewart and big Loko, add in Nick T and Halangahu and that’s a quality bunch, but they are all around 20-21 and can’t quite match it week in week out in first grade.
LKT I sense is one part of the halves puzzle, but need a young 7 with a kicking and running game. As Kyle or Ilias are not the answer.

 

[JubileeJeffro]

Saifiti, RCG and Lodge have hardly painted the town red since NOT signing with us. Yes, they would have been handy, but I doubt they would have changed too much had they signed with us.

Only AFB was the true miss there… and that’s a big one, as he could have been the go forward leader

 

[rasaint]

There is no doubt that Kyle gives his all, tackles well and a goal kicker. I do think we need more though in such a key position as halfback. I have only seen Jonah Glover in highlights packages and he is genuinely very quick, and fires a beautiful pass ( BTW Ilias also passes superbly). I guess I’d love to see Glover in an NRL game.

Do any posters have an opinion or more detailed game observations of Glover?

 

[Sloan Ranger]

This seems to be the most active thread so I'll put this comment here.

Does anyone else think we dont use reserve grade correctly? Currently our reserve grade is going well. Ilias is killing it, even Lawrie ran for 178 metres, 31 hit ups, 36 tackles, no misses over 64 minutes. And yet players get to first grade and they're average or deficient in some areas. The gap between reserves and firsts is huge.

I reckon the good teams use reserve grade, solely, to prepare players for first grade. Winning a reserve grade game for them isn't a priority. A simple example (not a good one) from above would be getting Lawrie to play 80 minutes and get him fatigued, even if it meant he missed tackles and cost us the game.

Any thoughts?

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Most coaches want competition for spots but equally when not much separating our halves in the squad (right now) you equally want the next move to be real good one ie you already have shifted in a green NRL player going ok at best ie LKT then then the next player coming into the NRL in the halves really has to be ready........maybe that is next weekend or maybe the weekend after.

My hunch is Kyle gets one more shot against Parra.........after that it really doesnt matter who is our halves from our choice of 4 right now cause there are a lot of tough games and the coaches and players know that hence timing

Cook and Gutho would not have asked Flano to make kyle no7 unless they really though he was the best 7 at our club currently.

If Glover is already out the door like he did via Bulldogs to us then that would also come into it given he is not an outlier choice right now

bit of change already in the halves in 14 games and to make another within 15 games you want it to be right ........dead right !!!!

Ilias
Flano
Gutho

LKT
Flano
Gutho

After Parra game ?
?
?
Gutho

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

This seems to be the most active thread so I'll put this comment here.

Does anyone else think we dont use reserve grade correctly? Currently our reserve grade is going well. Ilias is killing it, even Lawrie ran for 178 metres, 31 hit ups, 36 tackles, no misses over 64 minutes. And yet players get to first grade and they're average or deficient in some areas. The gap between reserves and firsts is huge.

I reckon the good teams use reserve grade, solely, to prepare players for first grade. Winning a reserve grade game for them isn't a priority. A simple example (not a good one) from above would be getting Lawrie to play 80 minutes and get him fatigued, even if it meant he missed tackles and cost us the game.

Any thoughts?

Playing forwards like Lawrie for 80minutes will just cause injuries, there is a science to the workload that is given to individual players, its not just as simple play him 80 minutes.

 

[Captain Apollo]

In relation to Kyle Flanagan, I doubt anyone doubts his effort. He tries hard every week.

His problems stem from his game management skills which, sadly, are lacking. He was found wanting in that department at my club, which is why they moved him on after one season. He hasn't shown much improvement in that area since.

The Dragons have an imperfect squad that's true and need some upgrades in the pack to make things easier for whoever plays halfback. That said, in the short term, Flanagan would probably best served going back to NSW Cup for a few weeks to try and work on a few aspects of his game. If Flanagan Sr keeps persisting with him, I suspect it may lead to discontent in the dressing room over perceived double standards.