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Moses Mbye

thebigredv

First Grade
Messages
5,407
Here's my big issue with the Mbye signing.

People said Cam McIness didn't create enough in attack and at the time he signed with Scumulla most were more than okay with it, even with him being hands down the gutsiest and hardest working player we had.

Now we find ourself with McCulloch who is another honest toiler and big tackler. He is however aging with major injury history, and slower and less dynamic than our last hooker. There is no number 9 prospect coming through. Wishart off to Storm.

Now with Mbye and AM at the club for the next two years I am concerned they might be preventing a Starling like player to come in. Yes they both came cheap but that is two spots within our cap and combined a fair chunk of money we might like to throw at a match winning hooker for the 2023 season. It's as if we have the depth without the gun player.
 

SAP58

Juniors
Messages
2,060
Here's my big issue with the Mbye signing.

People said Cam McIness didn't create enough in attack and at the time he signed with Scumulla most were more than okay with it, even with him being hands down the gutsiest and hardest working player we had.

Now we find ourself with McCulloch who is another honest toiler and big tackler. He is however aging with major injury history, and slower and less dynamic than our last hooker. There is no number 9 prospect coming through. Wishart off to Storm.

Now with Mbye and AM at the club for the next two years I am concerned they might be preventing a Starling like player to come in. Yes they both came cheap but that is two spots within our cap and combined a fair chunk of money we might like to throw at a match winning hooker for the 2023 season. It's as if we have the depth without the gun player.
Connor Muhleisen is our hooker in a couple of years.
 
Messages
4,420


Connor Muhleisen:

Tackle Efficiency 93%
That is what we want from a hooker. Could lift his metres gained tho. McInness' best asset was his surprising speed from dummy half. Got us on the front foot time after time. In comparison Mac is a snail.
 
Messages
4,420


Connor Muhleisen:

Tackle Efficiency 93%
That is what we want from a hooker. Could lift his metres gained tho. McInness' best asset was his surprising speed from dummy half. Got us on the front foot time after time. In comparison Mac is a snail.
I find it very frustrating being unable to find vision of lower grade footy players. The level of television coverage is woeful. I recall watching our best next genners in the now defunct U20 comp. Have scouted out footage of Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup. Lucky to find even a two minute grab.
 

OneEyedDragon

Juniors
Messages
1,552
So after five or so seasons Mary's coaching style was suddenly too much for Widds. In what respect OED as I have never followed a coaches style.. only results.
I guess over time some things can just wear you down. Mary seemed to have only one game plan, and it either worked or it didn't. It's just my opinion of maybe what happened. Only Widdop knows for sure what his reasons were.
 

Dragon David

First Grade
Messages
9,322
So after five or so seasons Mary's coaching style was suddenly too much for Widds. In what respect OED as I have never followed a coaches style.. only results.
Yes Widds played 6 years for the Dragons with Mary being the coach. The overall results in that time were not great as we know. Widds most probably got the shits with this and in my view was pissed off with Mary being the coach but could not admit this for obvious reasons. His desire to fulfill his dream of playing in England was played out as the real reason why he wanted out, but I suspect that there were other reasons, one being Mary continuing as the coach.

It took a reasonable time for the club and Widds to negotiate his release seeing that he still had 3 years to run on his contract one year (2019) of which he committed to playing but still had up to the end of 2021 to go. The club agreed to let him go early on compassionate grounds but stipulated that if he was to return to the NRL he had to come back to the Dragons which we now know didn't and won't happen.

Yes, that's my reason for saying - "I think Mary got too much for Widds at the end". Mary got too much for us and eventually the club as well.
 

redandwhite4evr

Juniors
Messages
1,932
Watched Mbye closely for the second time against the Sharks and if the Dragons were worried about the rocks and diamonds value of Dufty, it seems to me we've signed a similar type of player but not as fit- or fast. As a full-back, he spent a lot of his time on the field bent over with his hands on his hips gasping for air. Like Dufty, a poor reader of play in defence and consistently didn't get within a bulls roar of players scoring out wide from second man plays. As in the previous time I watched, commentators were bemused by his reluctance to run and his tendency to pass or pass prematurely. Doesn't appear to have a kicking game.

He did however, show courage and persistence to pull off a front on try saving tackle on a Sharks player having attempted- and failed- an attempt on another player earlier in the same movement.
Moses seems a humble, nice guy but this is a business- I still don't see him as a starter in any of the spine positions and having watched Connor Watson in action against the Bulldogs, was reminded of what we are really missing.
 

Kylez3

Juniors
Messages
337
Mbye has lost whatever ability he had as a younger player. Looks absolutely legless ATM. It's probably a mental thing but sadly once you lose 'it'.... often you're done as a player.


Will fit in perfectly at the Dragons.
 
Messages
4,420
Well if some of our new recruits were purchased to lift our fortunes. I dont see it. . McCulloch slow, good defender, past it, McGuire has played his best footy. Bird over rated. I have already said my piece on Hunt. Mbye.. slow, nice bloke, rocks and diamonds, wont start in any spine spots. Where will he play then. So my question is why did we buy these players. Obviously the club has no confidence in our lower/junior grade forwards. So we either let them stagnate, let them leave or import a bunch of has beens.
 
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possm

Coach
Messages
15,965
Here's my big issue with the Mbye signing.

People said Cam McIness didn't create enough in attack and at the time he signed with Scumulla most were more than okay with it, even with him being hands down the gutsiest and hardest working player we had.

Now we find ourself with McCulloch who is another honest toiler and big tackler. He is however aging with major injury history, and slower and less dynamic than our last hooker. There is no number 9 prospect coming through. Wishart off to Storm.

Now with Mbye and AM at the club for the next two years I am concerned they might be preventing a Starling like player to come in. Yes they both came cheap but that is two spots within our cap and combined a fair chunk of money we might like to throw at a match winning hooker for the 2023 season. It's as if we have the depth without the gun player.
We have a match-winning hooker at the Club already, Ben Hunt. We have a couple of potential match-winning halves in Amone and Sullivan but they are still cutting their teeth, thus Griffins desire to have a couple of backups with experience ready and waiting.

So it would not surprise me to see potential spine combinations and switches in 2022 like:
Mbye / Sloan
Bird / Amone
Hunt / Sullivan
Hunt / McCullough

Bringing through the likes of Sloan, Amone, and Sullivan will be a matter of stints of 3 or 4 games at a time until they acquire the experience they need to perform consistently well at a first-grade level.
 
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Trifili13

Juniors
Messages
1,137
I know Hunt has played very well at hooker in SOO but that is just 3 games with a couple of weeks break in between. Can he do it week in week out with 40 to 50 tackles or even more each game? Is his body up to that sort of grind?
 

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