Matt Dufty

[Crush]

Dufty is certainly someone who can bring you to your feet and without him our attacking prowess is very limited.

My issue is he can also make you wince when he fails to put his body on the line.

If he can find a way to do that (Tedesco also had to find it) he will be the complete package without it I think his time at the back will be limited.

Agreed. Dufty needs to watch how Panahuyzen brings the ball back and puts his body on the line. That kid is a weapon.

 

[Dragons 09]

Dufty is certainly someone who can bring you to your feet and without him our attacking prowess is very limited.

My issue is he can also make you wince when he fails to put his body on the line.

If he can find a way to do that (Tedesco also had to find it) he will be the complete package without it I think his time at the back will be limited.

Totally agree OT. Ball in hand and some space around him and he's like a Ferrari on the Nürburgring.....can take your breath away. But his submissive carries in hard yards, lack of commitment in contesting bombs, timidness with head on defence and utter laziness in his efforts with goal line defence just nullifies everything good that he does over the course of a game. Papenhuyzen he is not.

 

[blacksafake]

Interesting that he says that his passing game wasn’t part of their structure.
A real dig at L plate.

 

[possm]

I actually don't think Norman would look for another club if he was dropped to reserve grade (not playing at all).
He'd still be getting paid. That seems to be his only motivation, getting paid.
He hasn't played any finals for a very long time so he's obviously not motivated by football success.
I reckon Norman is a just living his life, enjoying hanging with the homies and picking up pay checks.
We'd be paying him 800k to happily sit in the stands if we dropped him.

You may very well be right and if so, it begs the queston, why did Millward sign him when his behavior at Brisbane and Parramatta seem to back up your view.

Of course there could be another view. Norman, a little more than other halves, can only perform behind a dominant forward pack and is not interested at all in being smashed behind a weak set of forwards. Remember Mary's whole game plan, 'power play' was his only plan and once he lost Packer, Thompson, and then De Belin, the pack is dominant no more. A club like Newcastle or the Warriors may suit his wishes. Whether either club would want him is another matter.

I think the ESL is the answer for Norman. A holiday in Europe at a club where the pace is a lot more slower and less demanding would suit him fine.

 

[possm]

Very very impressed with dufty and he's been our main point of attack. Kick returns still need a bit of work (he should have a look at Corey Thompson from the titans) but it's improving. Hope he can continue to develop!

Dufty has always had speed and his attacking skills wer excellent when he played five-eighth in the junior grades and now when he is playing fullback in first-grade. It is his positional play, his defence and his kick returns that fall short at the moment.

I firmly believe that his speed and passing game would also be a match-winner at five-eighth and he could more easily ganner support in defence than he does now; it is a very lonely as fullback when required to defend against a player one on one and at speed.

Right now is the best time to test this theory and at the same time keep Dufty in first-grade. Our season is over and we have a weak five-eighth. In addition we get to test the likes of Ramsey at fullback.

I believe this test should be made now in preparation of our 2021 season. But it won't while ever Young feels he is in contention for the head coaching job. So announce the head coach for 2021 and beyond and nominate that this is the perfect time for Young to prepare for a head coach job elsewhere.

 

[rasaint]

Partly agree with some comments here on Matt Dufty.

I also wish Matt would bring the ball back at top speed. He also returns a bit upright which allows gang tackling to push him significantly at times. This is a flaw he needs to fix to go to the next level.

His head on tackling is quite good and he has shut down many one on one breaks by opposition players. Actually Teddy misses quite a few one on ones himself ( including Matt Dufty try of the year 2019). On Friday night faced with the Staggs powerful break and bronco support players each side to comfortably receive the pass from Stagg to score; Matt attempted a Darius Boyd’ intercept similar from 2010 Bulldogs game. Darius was in the same position as Matt and anticipated the pass successfully and ran back 70 metres under dogs post. A bit like a soccer goalie trying to anticipate where a ball will be kicked during a penalty. However, Staggs was not deceived but had it payed off Matt would have been lauded far and wide.

Further, he is quite good under the high ball and caught some tricky ones on Friday. He drops a few of the really difficult ones in traffic .... again like other fullbacks. On a few occasions even Duges dropped simple ones cold when playing for us. He then sat there embarrassed hitting the ball on his forehead.

I don’t think Matt will ever be a ‘superstar like Slater or Teddy etc. Overall he isn’t as good as Papenhausen imo, but he is genuinely an excitement machine who would be even more exciting at the back of a strong pack. Ie Roosters, Melbourne Raiders. Let’s face it even the greatest need a good go forward.

 

[Mjab]

You may very well be right and if so, it begs the queston, why did Millward sign him when his behavior at Brisbane and Parramatta seem to back up your view.

Of course there could be another view. Norman, a little more than other halves, can only perform behind a dominant forward pack and is not interested at all in being smashed behind a weak set of forwards. Remember Mary's whole game plan, 'power play' was his only plan and once he lost Packer, Thompson, and then De Belin, the pack is dominant no more. A club like Newcastle or the Warriors may suit his wishes. Whether either club would want him is another matter.

I think the ESL is the answer for Norman. A holiday in Europe at a club where the pace is a lot more slower and less demanding would suit him fine.

I’m not a Norman fan but

Norman did deteriorate markedly after his face was smashed in, which is understandable

 

[Inisai Toga]

Dufty has always had speed and his attacking skills wer excellent when he played five-eighth in the junior grades and now when he is playing fullback in first-grade. It is his positional play, his defence and his kick returns that fall short at the moment.

I firmly believe that his speed and passing game would also be a match-winner at five-eighth and he could more easily ganner support in defence than he does now; it is a very lonely as fullback when required to defend against a player one on one and at speed.

Right now is the best time to test this theory and at the same time keep Dufty in first-grade. Our season is over and we have a weak five-eighth. In addition we get to test the likes of Ramsey at fullback.

I believe this test should be made now in preparation of our 2021 season. But it won't while ever Young feels he is in contention for the head coaching job. So announce the head coach for 2021 and beyond and nominate that this is the perfect time for Young to prepare for a head coach job elsewhere.

or maybe Young just doesn’t share your theory...

 

[Dragsters]

I’m not a Norman fan but

Norman did deteriorate markedly after his face was smashed in, which is understandable

I was at that game and I still can't believe Sivo got off scot-free...

 

[Gareth67]

I was at that game and I still can't believe Sivo got off scot-free...

Yes they - the refs , linesmen and the damn judiciary all turned a blind eye to that blatant physical assault that past as a ball and all tackle . Brought back memories of the Greg Ingels tackle on Dean Young a number of years back .

 

[Dragsters]

Yes they - the refs , linesmen and the damn judiciary all turned a blind eye to that blatant physical assault that past as a ball and all tackle . Brought back memories of the Greg Ingels tackle on Dean Young a number of years back .

Tariq has been suspended twice for less dangerous tackles since...

 

[Gareth67]

Tariq has been suspended twice for less dangerous tackles since...

Oh but for referees of the caliber of Keith Page , Col Pearce and Holman from the ‘60s .

 

[True_Believer]

I was at that game and I still can't believe Sivo got off scot-free...

I believe he did something very similar the following week.

 

[Crush]

Did anybody read the article in the daily telegraph about Dufty starting a bidding war?
I haven't read it if anyone is able to post the article it would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

 

[BLM01]

Did anybody read the article in the daily telegraph about Dufty starting a bidding war?
I haven't read it if anyone is able to post the article it would be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

Same happened 2 yrs ago before he got this contract.
Managers in overdrive as obviously his client is unsigned past Nov 1 and he and the manager stops getting paid.
I bet clubs including the Dragons will wait until his season starts off. That will determine the real $$$ worth.
This above article was posted by @Kylez3 yesterday in another thread
Not really a bidding war yet

 

[Dragonslayer]

Dufty is an interesting case.

No doubting his attacking prowess and just with a little bit of coaching last year from Flanno, he added a veey nice passing game. Who knows what the new coaches can add to his repertoire including defensively.

Obviously this year (along with a few other) he's playing for a contract. The fact we have Ramsey already in the top 30 plus Sloane in the DS and Schiller (starting) in JF adds more pressure to perform ie, perform or perish.

The question this raises is, if Dufty stars at f/b, why wouldn't we re-sign him? After all Ramsey can play wing, Sloane can play wing/centre and young James the same.

It's actually a very good position to he in, having so many young stars in waiting. We won't be able to keep them all, just maybe the best ones will do, that includes Dufty.

 

[ALSGI]

Dufty is an interesting case.

No doubting his attacking prowess and just with a little bit of coaching last year from Flanno, he added a veey nice passing game. Who knows what the new coaches can add to his repertoire including defensively.

Obviously this year (along with a few other) he's playing for a contract. The fact we have Ramsey already in the top 30 plus Sloane in the DS and Schiller (starting) in JF adds more pressure to perform ie, perform or perish.

The question this raises is, if Dufty stars at f/b, why wouldn't we re-sign him? After all Ramsey can play wing, Sloane can play wing/centre and young James the same.

It's actually a very good position to he in, having so many young stars in waiting. We won't be able to keep them all, just maybe the best ones will do, that includes Dufty.

Well said and spot on.

 

[Crush]

Same happened 2 yrs ago before he got this contract.
Managers in overdrive as obviously his client is unsigned past Nov 1 and he and the manager stops getting paid.
I bet clubs including the Dragons will wait until his season starts off. That will determine the real $$$ worth.
This above article was posted by @Kylez3 yesterday in another thread
Not really a bidding war yet

Thanks mate

 

[kit66]

Without Dufty last year we were Spoon material easy. Possibly 2019 as well. Who else in our team playing fullback last year could have scored 13 tries and laid on 12 more as well as a heap of line breaks and assists that put us in good position. He's our best player and people ridiculing him and posting nonsense about him having no heart or can't tackle or lazy are in danger of disappearing up their own agenda.
He may not be as good overall as Pap and Tedesco ( although his stats are very similar ) but he's been playing under a coach who we know stifles players natural abilities, didn't back or put faith in anyone and was a sh*t coach anyway. Rewatching some games recently I was amazed at how many times Dufty is there following a team mate ready for the off load or kick and how many times his teammates were incapable of or unwilling to risk the off load ( as I've no doubt they were coached to abstain from ) it must be so frustrating for him.

He's only just turned 25 with his best years in front of him and I want him at the Dragons for those years.

 

[Maddragon99]

Without Dufty last year we were Spoon material easy. Possibly 2019 as well. Who else in our team playing fullback last year could have scored 13 tries and laid on 12 more as well as a heap of line breaks and assists that put us in good position. He's our best player and people ridiculing him and posting nonsense about him having no heart or can't tackle or lazy are in danger of disappearing up their own agenda.
He may not be as good overall as Pap and Tedesco ( although his stats are very similar ) but he's been playing under a coach who we know stifles players natural abilities, didn't back or put faith in anyone and was a sh*t coach anyway. Rewatching some games recently I was amazed at how many times Dufty is there following a team mate ready for the off load or kick and how many times his teammates were incapable of or unwilling to risk the off load ( as I've no doubt they were coached to abstain from ) it must be so frustrating for him.

He's only just turned 25 with his best years in front of him and I want him at the Dragons for those years.

It’s been correctly stated on here many times in many different threads. You can’t keep them all. The advantage both Ramsey & Schiller have is being bigger bodies they can play on the wing so both can fit into the team whereas Dufty can only play fullback. Plus you’ve also got to add in Sloan & Ravalawa to the mix. I think we’ve all written off JP & Williame

The tricky decision Hook has to make is that both Dufty & Ramsey’s contracts are up at the same time.

I have my opinion but it’s Hook’s decision to make, same can be said of McInnes staying or going.