Matt Dufty

[possm]

Matt Dufty is finding dealing with bombs difficult when our forwards are losing the battle in the middle. Oppositions kickers get the time to put up pin point bombs and their chasers are on the front foot ready to chase them down. He then finds himself with opposing players that dwarf him in bulk competing for the high ball. All is not lost, I remember Billy Slater in his earlier part of his career susceptible under the high ball and look how he turned out. Dufty has the talents and the right attitude so he is destined to succeed.

Basic elements of a game plan are missing. Not shutting off the kicker in time, poor line speed, bad communication in defence and seemingly bad combinations in attack are elements that need to be tuened up before we can again see the Dragons fire.

I do believe the JDB situation has influenced the moral of the playing squad however, one of the main reasons our CEO gave for extending Mary's contract was that he could get the team through this situation. It is clear he can't and it is also clear that he has only one game plan and that game plan results in the fatigue of our forward pack. Throw in the poor selections each week and the poor management of our bench and you have a recipe for the disaster we are now experiencing.

Our only plus at the moment is that it as brought about change to our playing squad which is something Mary has resisted during his tenure as our first grade coach. I really don't know if this can/will overcome the situation we are in however, I do believe it is a move in the right direction.

Fans this week will be focused on the performance of:
Lomax at fullback
Pearson on the right wing
Aitken's defence at right centre
Field's progress playing five-eighth
Hunts performance in general
Robson's value to the team in general
Whether the Sims brothers can lift our forward pack performance

If Pearson and Lomax perform well, it will mean we are only looking for a right centre as a matter of urgency however, Lafai and Pereira need to lift their game or they may find themselves in Canterbury Cup in the near future. I do believe these two players can be coached to perform at the desired level however, the only problem is related to the coaching ability of Mary.

We do have one promising young winger and one promising young prop on the horizon in Saab and Timm. Let's hope these two young guns and progress to first grade this year and be ready for our 2020 campaign.

 

[possm]

It was an unfortunate game for Duff.
An unfortunate day to be fullback
The Knights defence did a good job on everybody, not just Duff.
This put more pressure than usual on him under the high ball.
Also, on two or three of those tries, he had a a player with speed and sidestep coming at him. Namely Ponga (spelling?).
And (perhaps), the Knights were in good attacking position when their kicks went up. This made it easier for their defence to swarm over Duff.
Who would be a fullback eh?

Like you I want Duff to succeed.
He does have great talents and attitude.

Some players get years to develop - eg Aitken.
Matt has had 12 months.

I hope he can come back from this.

Yes, and as with most teams, if the forwards are being dominated our halves and backline are under fire. We need fit forwards who can harass the opposition kicker and who can exhibit the necessary line-speed to limit the roll on effect of the opposition forwards. From my observations, T Sims looks to be playing injured, McInnes and Graham looks tired/fatigued and Host looks to be out of form.

So all of the changes except for Aitken at right centre make sense to me. I would have put Masters at right centre this week however, I'm sure Mary would be thinking there are more than enough changes to the line-up this week. All I can say to this is that Mary needs to do more than just select Aitken continuously at right centre. If he is going to persist with him he really needs to at least address Aitken's urge to run up and cut of the attack of the opposition; Aitken has proved to be very poor at this and so should just cut this out of his game. With either of the Sims brothers on the right edge, maybe our right edge backrow forward or our lock should be given this assignment and Aitken just concentrate on marking his opposition centre.

 

[hewi]

I’ll stick my neck out here and say sadly I don’t think Dufty will make it as a first grade player. Yes, he has incredible speed but ultimately costs more try’s than he scores. He lacks height and is increasingly been ragged dolled on kick returns, when you only make 40 meters on a set the loss of 5 from the fullback just isn’t good enough.

St George need a new coach.

 

[rednwhites]

He's the kind of player I'd like to see more brilliance from in the NRL but playing for another club because I feel he will always leak points due to his some things he can control, and some he can't. I hope for him he makes it on a personal level. So exciting at his best.

In the mean time, if we lift as a team, he will play better. However, we are struggling to find anyone to lift the team this year. They are all just as bad as each other. Expecting more from Frizell and Graham at the moment.

 

[denis preston]

He'd be sensational; playing in England and that's maybe where he will end up.

 

[j0nesy]

Matt Dufty is finding dealing with bombs difficult when our forwards are losing the battle in the middle. Oppositions kickers get the time to put up pin point bombs and their chasers are on the front foot ready to chase them down. He then finds himself with opposing players that dwarf him in bulk competing for the high ball. All is not lost, I remember Billy Slater in his earlier part of his career susceptible under the high ball and look how he turned out. Dufty has the talents and the right attitude so he is destined to succeed.

He has the talent for sure. The jury is out on the attitude. Time will tell, I hope he bounces back bigger and better.

 

[Michaeldragonslife25]

I think Dufty would be amazing under a coach who can play to his strengths but at the moment just don’t see the value in having him at fb in fg

 

[KogarahWarrior]

Duff would be better suited for a 5/8 or bench utility role; he played in the halves in juniors until u20s and seemingly went well there. He just doesn't seem comfortable at fullback. Then again, this may be because he feels discouraged and unconfident; Similar to Lomax at centre. Dufty, like Lomax, just doesn't seem happy. I don't blame either of them due to the enormous amounts of pressure being put on them, by us fans, the coach and media. It's hard for them to recover from this as well considering the fact that our coach can't improve players whatsoever. I haven't seen Aitken change for the last 3 bloody years, so what makes you think Dufty will? He could make it at fullback, although I see him as a 5/8, you need a good coach to turn him into a fullback. But we don't have that at the moment. I'd love to see him at the club though. He really adds spark to this team when he's on.

 

[slippery5]

Unfortunately he will never play 1st grade for us again, nor should he, unless there are significant injuries.

 

[Smurf]

Just watching Dufty play in reserve grade
His confidence seems shot

 

[getsmarty]

Just watching Dufty play in reserve grade
His confidence seems shot

Was about to post the same thing....or been told to look elsewhere next year.

 

[Dragon David]

Just watching Dufty play in reserve grade
His confidence seems shot

It must be a Dragons trait to fail in confidence when the chips are down. Whether the players are in firsts or reserve grade, there is a lot of pressure on them to perform week in and week out to ensure the hierarchy of management are kept happy. My brother who is also a Dragons fanatic pointed out to me that when Michael O'Connor left the Dragons to play for Manly in 1987, O'Connor said that he was so glad he left because of the pressure of playing for the Dragons. Once he joined Manly, the pressure was released and he of course went on to win a grand final for Manly in that year when they beat the Raiders.

So much pressure to impress which puts a player under strain which can lead to a poor performance and the ultimate drop in confidence.

The genuine man management is definitely missing at the Dragons this year.

 

[dragon thomo]

It is time to give Dufty, Aitkin, Host, Ravawala,Latimore, Field permission to talk to other clubs as i do not think they are consistant NRL players.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

It must be a Dragons trait to fail in confidence when the chips are down. Whether the players are in firsts or reserve grade, there is a lot of pressure on them to perform week in and week out to ensure the hierarchy of management are kept happy. My brother who is also a Dragons fanatic pointed out to me that when Michael O'Connor left the Dragons to play for Manly in 1987, O'Connor said that he was so glad he left because of the pressure of playing for the Dragons. Once he joined Manly, the pressure was released and he of course went on to win a grand final for Manly in that year when they beat the Raiders.

So much pressure to impress which puts a player under strain which can lead to a poor performance and the ultimate drop in confidence.

The genuine man management is definitely missing at the Dragons this year.

O’Connor also said he joined Manly because he liked its jumper.

He is a twat of Olympic Gold Medal proportions.

 

[jeffdragon]

The team is soft whenever the chips are down we turn it up.
Sooks.
How many times have we been beaten 13+.
Seems a lot .
If only they showed the passion the fans have..
I would have loved to play first grade.
Even in my over 45 soccer games I put in 110
%.
A lot more this team does.

 

[hermidale1]

It is time to give Dufty, Aitkin, Host, Ravawala,Latimore, Field permission to talk to other clubs as i do not think they are consistant NRL players.

Are you deadly serious?
What has Host done wrong? Was playing solid on the edge until he was shifted all over. Then last week thrown in as a centre because there was nobody else to play there.

 

[BLM01]

Are you deadly serious?
What has Host done wrong? Was playing solid on the edge until he was shifted all over. Then last week thrown in as a centre because there was nobody else to play there.

Host has not done anything wrong, but he is and will only become a fringe to average 1st grade player at best.
And we have 3 gun edge forwards who are better in Frizzell, Leilua (has more natural ability but yet to show it enough) & TSims and they should be playing there. Bench spot at best in our club.
He is better off going to another club who may utilise him more..may not be in the NRL.

 

[Mr Spock!]

Just watching Dufty play in reserve grade
His confidence seems shot

Man that's sad.

The NRL needs players like dufty, not 17 second rowers.

A young Phil Blake would be sent to England in this era.

 

[possm]

It is time to give Dufty, Aitkin, Host, Ravawala,Latimore, Field permission to talk to other clubs as i do not think they are consistant NRL players.

We need Gould to come in and sort it all out. He would:
Take charge of the football side and release the pressure by taking it on himself.
Replace the coaching, fitness and recruitment/pathways staff this season.
Let go players who just aren't up to it.
Promote and recrit players who are prepared to roll their sleeves up and work as a team.

Gould is the only person I believe that could do this job.

 

[Forster Dragon]

The reserves should not have lost that game