Leilua to Dogs

[BringTheNoise]

LOL I love how when we face the prospect of losing Luciano he all of a sudden isn't very good and other juniors are better.

Reminds me of the attitude on here when Jack Bird first signed with Sharks.

 

[coast_dragons]

LOL I love how when we face the prospect of losing Luciano he all of a sudden isn't very good and other juniors are better.

Reminds me of the attitude on here when Jack Bird first signed with Sharks.

Who said anyone was better i guess you have trouble reading.

 

[nrlnrl]

I looked for him in that also and didn't read it that way, was clapping away, he's probably just a lil bit more of a chiller

exactly, he's a very quiet & shy 20 year-old

It also shouldn't be discounted that young poly boys are generally very shy

Exactly, listen to him in interviews - very quiet, well mannered & shy. He's only 20, give him time to develop as a person & a player.

 

[BringTheNoise]

Who said anyone was better i guess you have trouble reading.

"I believe that Luciano has not looked as good as Host in First Grade."

I guess you have trouble reading.

 

[Mr Red]

Young prop forwards usually develop into genuine first graders a few years later compared to young backs. This is due to the extra physical maturity needed when playing in the middle as opposed to the backs or edges..
The physical attributes required takes them a few extra years to mature and develop.
So although Luciano may not be a walk up start to first grade yet, he's shown attributes already that are key for a big man to be successful... Good ball skills, passing, mobility...all essentials, and he has these..
All he needs is a bit more focus on his "work rate" and "physical intensity" and these attributes will develop in the next few years as he gets older and physically more mature.

Anyone who thinks its ok if we lose such a talent is kidding themselves...

 

[Dr Fruitbasket Returns]

The only point in having a JV is that we get the juniors playing at St George. There is no other reason for it. In the early nineties when we were a shade short of Brisbane we should have had McGregor, Wishart, Cross and the Spaghetti Brothers in the side. (We should have had first shot at any f****ng junior that Cronulla have ever produced as well, but that's another thread). We should NEVER let anyone with genuine potential who has played any junior football from Tempe down to Shoalhaven go until (a) we've seen them hit an age where they're clearly not going to realise it or (b) one of our opponents has had to mortgage their cap on the gamble of stealing him from us before that point. We don't have a tap and buy strategy like Easts and the Dogs, Whether we should or not is also another thread. But we don't. Without that strategy, our only hope (and our only advantage through the JV) is a massive and fertile junior development machine. If even that isn't working (and it f****ng isn't, eg losing everyone from the Stewart brothers to Bird) then it's actually the main reason why Doust should resign today (and it's far from the only one). Leilua has potential that is worth nurturing. Another club, with a proper recruitment strategy and a proper coach with a history of developing forward prospects wants him. I trust Hasler's instincts better than the clowns working for us. It will be a disgrace, another in a long line of them, if we let Leilua go before we're sure he's going to be rubbish. There is no rationalising it away.

 

[Dragon Revival]

Leilua should have been signed up long ago.
If he goes so be it. He is not our only junior
with potential. If we maintain the majority of our other juniors we will have a very bright future if we engage a well performing coach.
Both the Cutters and Under 20's have been competitive despite some quality players not being available. The coaching and management of the First Grade Squad has been pathetic

 

[Sigurd]

Leilua should have been signed up long ago.
If he goes so be it. He is not our only junior
with potential. If we maintain the majority of our other juniors we will have a very bright future if we engage a well performing coach.
Both the Cutters and Under 20's have been competitive despite some quality players not being available. The coaching and management of the First Grade Squad has been pathetic

I don't understand why the Dragons don't raid other clubs for their juniors as they do us. At least to a much smaller extent. Almost every team is strong in certain positions or strong right across the park. No space for young players coming through to get into first grade for at least a few years.

 

[Lethal25]

I don't understand why the Dragons don't raid other clubs for their juniors as they do us. At least to a much smaller extent. Almost every team is strong in certain positions or strong right across the park. No space for young players coming through to get into first grade for at least a few years.

Josh Kerr this year is an example, generally speaking though we have the Illawarra region which supplies a lot of kids. Not all other clubs have as much to choose from so that will always give the impression we are being raided and not the raider

 

[giboz71]

Leilua should have been signed up long ago.
If he goes so be it. He is not our only junior
with potential. If we maintain the majority of our other juniors we will have a very bright future if we engage a well performing coach.
Both the Cutters and Under 20's have been competitive despite some quality players not being available. The coaching and management of the First Grade Squad has been pathetic

For the record, I agree we should do all we can to re-sign Leilua. He's a great young forward with x-factor we've been lacking.

But to be honest, him staying or going will not make or break our season next year. Our one and only priority should be locking down a 1, 6, 7 and 9 that will be successful. We have enough quality in the other positions to be more than competitive if we nail down our spine. This should be our one and only priority.

If he ends up staying, great. But if we're in a state that this ends up being our main recruitment focus for the entire off-season, then we're pretty much screwed.

 

[BringTheNoise]

For the record, I agree we should do all we can to re-sign Leilua. He's a great young forward with x-factor we've been lacking.

But to be honest, him staying or going will not make or break our season next year. Our one and only priority should be locking down a 1, 6, 7 and 9 that will be successful. We have enough quality in the other positions to be more than competitive if we nail down our spine. This should be our one and only priority.

If he ends up staying, great. But if we're in a state that this ends up being our main recruitment focus for the entire off-season, then we're pretty much screwed.

In the short term I agree our spine needs to be fixed, but in the long term I believe Luciano is a player we definitely need to hold on to.

Trent Merrin and Jack Bird are 2 kids we could have built a dynasty around. We can't keep making the same mistakes or it will certainly be another 31 year drought between premierships.

 

[Sheridan Stand]

All the apologists make me sick - " we can't keep everyone" excuses are such dribble.

If we had talent in management they would be keeping the rising stars and passing over the duds to our opposition.

How do people think we won 11 in a row - by having an "it's okay" attitude.

I agree that the JV was sold to me only because of the juniors - without that success of juniors I would fully support dumping Illawarra and going back to the mighty St George.

Ask yourself - what else does Illawarra bring us?

 

[Sigurd]

I agree that the JV was sold to me only because of the juniors - without that success of juniors I would fully support dumping Illawarra and going back to the mighty St George.

Ask yourself - what else does Illawarra bring us?

I like to think of it as insurance, or least much more certainty, the Dragons won't be kicked out of the competition all together. I know it's been a bad few years for the Dragons and a good year for the Shonkies (by their standards even in the likely event they will go out in straight sets) but we have them surrounded. Normal service will be restored soon and then tighten the vice until the investors can no longer tolerate the Shonkies losing so much of the money they invested. Aim for an unbroken line of domination from the Cooks River along the coast to Nowra. This along with a CEO with some business sense and the dumping of Kogarah as a home ground will turn the club into a superpower.

 

[giboz71]

In the short term I agree our spine needs to be fixed, but in the long term I believe Luciano is a player we definitely need to hold on to.

Trent Merrin and Jack Bird are 2 kids we could have built a dynasty around. We can't keep making the same mistakes or it will certainly be another 31 year drought between premierships.

And why did we end up losing Merrin as well as Bmoz, 2 juniors and loyal servants who won us a premiership?

Because we stumped up over $2m for a spine that ended up being useless. Hence we couldn't pay them what they were worth.

If we get our spine right, and pay the right money on guys that actually deliver bang for buck, then maybe we wouldn't have such a hard time holding on to the players we should be.

 

[BennyV]

And why did we end up losing Merrin as well as Bmoz, 2 juniors and loyal servants who won us a premiership?

Because we stumped up over $2m for a spine that ended up being useless. Hence we couldn't pay them what they were worth.

If we get our spine right, and pay the right money on guys that actually deliver bang for buck, then maybe we wouldn't have such a hard time holding on to the players we should be.

In all fairness, the fact that our spine isn't delivering has nothing to do with Merrin and Morris leaving. I'd suggest you'd be hard pushed to find a Top 8 club not spending that sort of money on their spine, yet they don't have their best juniors (referring to Merrin and Bird) just up and leaving.

Spine dollars are currently allocated to spine players (regardless of whether or not they are delivering results). Competent recruitment/retention would have seen us keep our best juniors, which includes Leilua, regardless of that.

 

[coast_dragons]

"I believe that Luciano has not looked as good as Host in First Grade."

I guess you have trouble reading.

Host has looked better in first grade and is alot fitter also.

 

[denis preston]

And why did we end up losing Merrin as well as Bmoz, 2 juniors and loyal servants who won us a premiership?

Because we stumped up over $2m for a spine that ended up being useless. Hence we couldn't pay them what they were worth.

If we get our spine right, and pay the right money on guys that actually deliver bang for buck, then maybe we wouldn't have such a hard time holding on to the players we should be.

Kent alluded to that the other night by inferring that the club had tpp much money tied up in players that were not performing.Paid too much for the 4 of them. We can't cover these errors with 3rd party deals.

This Lulia wait doesn't look positive to me.Like naming the coach after the season has ended ,hold back announcing that a player has gone until the finals are over.

 

[Sigurd]

Kent alluded to that the other night by inferring that the club had tpp much money tied up in players that were not performing.Paid too much for the 4 of them. We can't cover these errors with 3rd party deals.

This Lulia wait doesn't look positive to me.Like naming the coach after the season has ended ,hold back announcing that a player has gone until the finals are over.

i.e. Gareth Widdop. The way he has performed, he should be paying the club for not sending him back to the Illawarra comp.

I think we can be reasonably sure he is leaving.

 

[Country Dragon]

i.e. Gareth Widdop. The way he has performed, he should be paying the club for not sending him back to the Illawarra comp.

I think we can be reasonably sure he is leaving.

Only if you leave first!

 

[Mick theTrick]

Apart from developing and keeping hold of juniors from the shire down to the gong, the club should be looking to Queensland to identify and bring down talented juniors. The Broncos have a monopoly, signing every talented player in their early teens from Capricornia to the Tweed. It doesn't cost them much because they give them a bag and shirt and get them to come to a training camp a couple of times year. Then because they can't possibly play all of them they cut them loose when they get older, but this stops other clubs making contact. The Dragons need to start an external academy in Queensland and develop the talent going to waste.