Matt Dufty

[Coffs dragon]

Even I had developed a poor attitude & couldn’t stand listening to the spin & crap coming out of the ex Peanut of a coach for 7 years.
Is it any wonder Matt Dufty is tarnished and is loath to accepting criticism. The Poor bloke had his growth & development handicapped by a Kindergarten Coach hell bent on deflection & self survival.

 

[possm]

Shouldn't be judged over past 5 years but the past 2 years where he shown much better consistency and attitude. I would agree with you if we had a ready made replacement. Sloan is not ready yet and don't think Ramsey is the answer. I think we will be in for a tough time in attack next year and possibly next year without Dufty.

Why judge him over the past two years? Why not the last game, much more convenient? Dufty is gone so, let's get over it. He will be replaced with a player that will be an all-rounder with flashes of brilliance in attack and solid defence at the back.

 

[thebigredv]

Dragons won't keep Dufty or Norman. Pereira and Ellis also on their way. I will be keeping my good eye on Steward, our reserve grade fullback this week. He has be going great guns and looks to have the goods.

I feel sure we have the replacement for Dufty within our junior ranks. It could be Sloan, Ramsey or even Stewart. Schiller looks to be an option as a future left centre.

We might be able to replace Dufty but can anyone say his successor will actual be the real deal and improve our team?

A resounding no.

Sometimes you need to go shopping for ready made players.

I'll give Hook time but at this point he is leaving many question marks over our squad and it looks worse than this time last year despite the emergence of juniors and the revival of Bird, a masterstroke by the coach.

 

[Crush]

It’s kind of amusing to me that the Dufty bashers were saying nobody would want him and he’d end up in ESL etc.
Now the Raiders are looking to sign him on a 3 year deal as their first fullback and shift CNK to the centres if reports are accurate. They feel CNK is solid in defence but lacks the speed of the top fullbacks like Papa, Turbo.
I really hope we go with a speedy fullback to replace Duff, I don’t want another Dugan type who was staunch in defence and bringing the ball back but not much else.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Gus's labelling. Gus would know old school, but he did at least win premierships.

I have a lot of time for Gus. I know many don't..

But I remember clear as day last season when the McGregor coaching situation flared up again for about the 137th time.. He said both on his podcast and on 100% Footy..

"Changing the coach won't solve the issues at the Dragons".

So far, he's proven right.

 

[cussy]

Fox and the media would be loving this- another way to try and embarrass the club.
obviously hook is trying to change the culture and get rid of people who don’t buy into it.

 

[cussy]

Hook also said we need to change the culture. A change of culture needs people who buy into it and be part of it. From what I hear Dufty doesn’t/ isn’t- was given a chance to change he hasn’t. Bye bye.
For a strong culture you need everyone to work hard for each other and everyone to do some of the dirty work.

 

[The_Frog]

This has similarities to the Matt Moylan saga at Penrith circa 2017. Moylan was the captain of the club and a matchwinner in those times, especially in 2016. But he had issues, he didn't rehab well and was not one to obey directions, so a falling out with Hook came about. Hook would admit he could have handled the situation better (something I have never heard Matt do) but I wonder how much Dufty has in common with Matt Moylan.

 

[Old Timer]

I have a lot of time for Gus. I know many don't..

But I remember clear as day last season when the McGregor coaching situation flared up again for about the 137th time.. He said both on his podcast and on 100% Footy..

"Changing the coach won't solve the issues at the Dragons".

So far, he's proven right.

I'm not so sure about that.

Our losses are far less offensive to watch.

We have juniors getting a shot.

We are not signing & paying overs for under performers nor are we meeting the unrealistic demands of players / managers from within our playing group.

Neither the coach nor the playing group look like rabbits in the headlights.

We are getting clear and precise messages and don't need a translator to understand what coach is saying.

We don't need Gus Gould doing a review anytime soon.

I would think that all these points would indicate some real changes have taken place and as such it is being reflected in the effort on the field

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

I'm not so sure about that.

Our losses are far less offensive to watch.

We have juniors getting a shot.

We are not signing & paying overs for under performers nor are we meeting the unrealistic demands of players / managers from within our playing group.

Neither the coach nor the playing group look like rabbits in the headlights.

We are getting clear and precise messages and don't need a translator to understand what coach is saying.

We don't need Gus Gould doing a review anytime soon.

I would think that all these points would indicate some real changes have taken place and as such it is being reflected in the effort on the field

I'm not so sure we're progressing. That loss against the West Tigers was as offensive as any I've seen in recent years. OK some juniors are getting a go but some juniors got a go under MacGregor as well, and the recruitment of older ex-Brisbane players suggests Hook doesn't have that much faith in the juniors coming through. Our defence is still poor and our attack is throw it to Dufty.

Sorry, not convinced.

 

[Dragon David]

We might be able to replace Dufty but can anyone say his successor will actual be the real deal and improve our team?

A resounding no.

Sometimes you need to go shopping for ready made players.

I'll give Hook time but at this point he is leaving many question marks over our squad and it looks worse than this time last year despite the emergence of juniors and the revival of Bird, a masterstroke by the coach.

As we all know, we have had a number of guys play fullback for us namely Ben Hornby, Brett Morris, Darius Boyd, Josh Dugan, Gareth Widdop, Jason Nightingale, Zac Lomax, Corey Norman, Cody Ramsey and of course Matt Dufty. Apologies if I have missed anyone.

Out of those guys, the full timers were Boyd, Dugan and Dufty. Boyd and Dugan were very capable as all rounder type fullbacks and at most times safe under the high ball and cover effectively and effeciently in defence overall. They had some speed but were not speedsters and you wouldn't say that you would look forward to them bringing us excited anticipation before a match.

With Matt Dufty, he may not have the all round skills of Boyd and Dugan, but he does bring that excitement which is what I like to see in a game of footy. We get rid of him and there is no anticipated excitement, unless of course we have an already established player having the skills of Boyd or Dugan takeover. The player has to be ready in my opinion.

Most pundits are saying who or where are the players who have some semblance of Dufty's attacking abilities coming from - within the club and outside? Who knows? Does Hook?

 

[Illusion]

Attacking players like Duff don't come around all the time , Can not get my head around that Hook can't us him ..... Raiders are looking at shifting their fullback to another position because he doesn't have the speed ..... I don't buy into the reason that Duff doesn't take criticism well just excuses ..... I'll give Hook some time to see where all this is going but can say he is not doing himself any favours ..... And if it is young Ramsey to fill the fullback position next year , Hook has put him under pressure already ..... Why not play him there now so the kid can get used to it than next year and use Duff off the bench as he won't be here next year .....

 

[Gourley's Socks]

I'm not so sure about that.

Our losses are far less offensive to watch.

We have juniors getting a shot.

We are not signing & paying overs for under performers nor are we meeting the unrealistic demands of players / managers from within our playing group.

Neither the coach nor the playing group look like rabbits in the headlights.

We are getting clear and precise messages and don't need a translator to understand what coach is saying.

We don't need Gus Gould doing a review anytime soon.

I would think that all these points would indicate some real changes have taken place and as such it is being reflected in the effort on the field

I agree there's been some real progress. Even if there have still been some pretty poor losses, at least there are mitigating circumstances. In past years "mitigating circumstances" were too many tries from kicks - this year half the team are in the sidelines for one reason or another. As far as excuses go, that's a decent one.

So I think there has been a definite improvement. Still doesn't mean I agree with the Dufty call but I do acknowledge a significant change in the team. The Dragons aren't going to be premiership contenders any time soon but at this rate it will be sooner than it was going to be.

 

[denis preston]

All this hysteria re Duff would have died down if we were playing top 4 sides these next couple of weeks. Hardly inspiring to meet at a rally in front of St George Leagues Club after he has dropped bombs , let in tries galore and be as good positionally as Burke & Wills !

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

All this hysteria re Duff would have died down if we were playing top 4 sides these next couple of weeks. Hardly inspiring to meet at a rally in front of St George Leagues Club after he has dropped bombs , let in tries galore and be as good positionally as Burke & Wills !

If Hook is dead-set against re-signing Dufty, he should drop him for the Doggies game. He can show the world how well the side goes without him against the cellar-dwellers.

 

[boardlumps62]

It’s kind of amusing to me that the Dufty bashers were saying nobody would want him and he’d end up in ESL etc.
Now the Raiders are looking to sign him on a 3 year deal as their first fullback and shift CNK to the centres if reports are accurate. They feel CNK is solid in defence but lacks the speed of the top fullbacks like Papa, Turbo.
I really hope we go with a speedy fullback to replace Duff, I don’t want another Dugan type who was staunch in defence and bringing the ball back but not much else.

I was unhappy when Duges went played hard but injury prone. Those were the days everyone road him and Aitken because they couldn't pass the ball. Well lookie here we have Duff a St George Junior that has three attributes Speed, passes the ball setting the backline alight and creates tries. Oh sorry 4 attributes can score tries too.

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

This has similarities to the Matt Moylan saga at Penrith circa 2017. Moylan was the captain of the club and a matchwinner in those times, especially in 2016. But he had issues, he didn't rehab well and was not one to obey directions, so a falling out with Hook came about. Hook would admit he could have handled the situation better (something I have never heard Matt do) but I wonder how much Dufty has in common with Matt Moylan.

Yeah not a bad comparison Frog.

My memories of Moylan was that we was very much the next big thing and did prove to have all bases covered - even played SOO - but he fell off a cliff for whatever reason and still trying to re-establish himself. I still think of him a a fairly young player - however he's 29...

Dufty hasn't reached the heights that Moylan did but has had fleeting moments of sheer brilliance. Dufty has an amazing highlights reel. As would Moylan in his early Penrith Days. There will be many other players here too.

I think the commonalities between the two are natural talent, some outstanding feats on the field, but sadly have lacked the fortitude/attitude/whatever in making the most of what they have - truly being the best they can be.

And thinking about it more..

The biggest change in the last 10-20 years in the NRL has been the development of Media (inc 24hr channels etc like Fox) and Social Media... Through these - players are lauded and criticised in the public forum to the extreme. And so players are under an absolute microscope - and need to cope with it best they can.

Criticism in any media platform and that within a closed/professional environment should be treated very differently by a player as opposed to the public forum - but perhaps for some players, they find it too hard no matter where it comes from - and possibly this is from the influence of Socials & development of Media....

For those reading this... Think of yourself in whatever job you do, or have done. How, if you had a bad week at work, the media and public were highlighting what you've done wrong, saying you're a cat, useless, overpaid, calling for your sacking etc etc. How would you then go back in on Monday with your boss and handle it???

Some no doubt will handle it ok enough, but others will not.

And if players find it difficult to cope with criticism... they may be more likely to bury a bad performance and try to forget about it rather than accept it, work on it, to develop themselves. That may work for some players & teams, but not for everyone.

Where I'm going with this is...

If a player like Dufty just tries to forget a bad performance and focuses on next week... how does he truly improve his game longer term?

Dufty has natural gifts in attack that are rare, but this also comes with areas of weakness in defence... And however you look at it - a Fullbacks' job description is now both attack and defence.

And so how is the coach meant to approach this, especially if (as has been suggested) he doesn't deal with criticism well?

Within the professional environment of the club - unless you can accept advice / criticism from people who truly want you to be the best you can possibly be... you're not going to sustainably improve yourself. But I fear (and sadly know) some players struggle with it all. Mental health is a huge concern.

I'm not a Dufty hater, I just don't think he's the best long term fullback solution for our club. It could be best for all if he does have a fresh start elsewhere and I'd wish him all the best if he did go.

 

[boardlumps62]

I love Duff! But there is another point that makes a Fullback great. We may have mentioned it but Organising the Defence in front of him (and sweeping up those attacking kicks). Maybe this is a problem communication is a two way thing?

 

[mickeylane]

I have a lot of time for Gus. I know many don't..

But I remember clear as day last season when the McGregor coaching situation flared up again for about the 137th time.. He said both on his podcast and on 100% Footy..

"Changing the coach won't solve the issues at the Dragons".

So far, he's proven right.

we are in the top8 and have been since round 2...you cant call the last guy a coach - we have a real one now that has balls...

 

[mickeylane]

I agree there's been some real progress. Even if there have still been some pretty poor losses, at least there are mitigating circumstances. In past years "mitigating circumstances" were too many tries from kicks - this year half the team are in the sidelines for one reason or another. As far as excuses go, that's a decent one.

So I think there has been a definite improvement. Still doesn't mean I agree with the Dufty call but I do acknowledge a significant change in the team. The Dragons aren't going to be premiership contenders any time soon but at this rate it will be sooner than it was going to be.

I believe we could get to a prelim final this year if we finish 7 or 8 as long as we get the best team on the field we are a chance..Melb v Penrith w be the GF but we could do the unthinkable and get very close..