New recruits for 2023

[Qdf]

After all his injury woes, the man has been determined and driven enough to come back from the brink and that can't be understated. Had all the opportunity to say no more but didn't. He wants to be there, and understands there's more to it than spending too much time in the car.

Saab is a peaheart in comparison.

Saab work out the Dragons were a club going nowhere. He couldn't wait to get out.
To tell you the truth, I would've done the same.
That's the reason we've lost so many good young players. As soon as they work out our management is a toxic blend of ignorance & self serving parasites, they run for the hills.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Saab work out the Dragons were a club going nowhere. He couldn't wait to get out.
To tell you the truth, I would've done the same.
That's the reason we've lost so many good young players. As soon as they work out our management is a toxic blend of ignorance & self serving parasites, they run for the hills.

Saab f**ked off because he thought he had earned the right to play FG (and he probably should have)

our club is so f**ked that we can’t sign anyone of note. Just journeymen or previously injured players. Hell, the dogs and tigers who were bottom feeders have overtaken this club. They do my head in this lot

 

[Old Timer]

How much more time does he need though? Serious question.

for example, Dufty was given plenty of time and never reached the heights that were expected.

Ramsey who had a few errors in him became one of the most consistent players we had last year and a gun young player in my opinion.

so how long do we give Sloan?

If he dogs a tackle or refuses to catch a bomb you hook him straightaway

If he misses a tackle or drops a bomb you give him more time and extra drills at training and he gets dropped if there is no tangible improvement.

Dufty was truly embarrassing at times and Sloan needs to be made aware of that.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

If he dogs a tackle or refuses to catch a bomb you hook him straightaway

If he misses a tackle or drops a bomb you give him more time and extra drills at training and he gets dropped if there is no tangible improvement.

Dufty was truly embarrassing at times and Sloan needs to be made aware of that.

I reckon Sloan needs to bulk up. I reckon the reason he’s scared of catching bombs and making tackles is because he’s too thin

 

[st.phil]

He can't tackle, let's as many in as he scores

tackling can be taught - for me it's the willingness to put his body on the line even if unlikely to stop the inevitable... ya gotta try anything as last line of defence ala Gutho. Surely it has been identified and lets hope it was attitude which is fixable

 

[jak]

tackling can be taught - for me it's the willingness to put his body on the line even if unlikely to stop the inevitable... ya gotta try anything as last line of defence ala Gutho. Surely it has been identified and lets hope it was attitude which is fixable

100%

 

[Adolf_Spritzer]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t your winger need to be able to run fast?
Not just have a lion heart?

It's not his fault he gets chosen out of position, I blame the coach. Personally I think he's a centre but we have 4 players better suited to that position. Did he not play for South's in the back row albeit in a weakened side? A position we're sorely lacking in I might add

 

[Qdf]

Saab f**ked off because he thought he had earned the right to play FG (and he probably should have)

our club is so f**ked that we can’t sign anyone of note. Just journeymen or previously injured players. Hell, the dogs and tigers who were bottom feeders have overtaken this club. They do my head in this lot

Yes agree, its unbearable to watch. It's one botched move after another. I'm afraid this STGI club has had one to many back room deals. Unfortunately STGI has become a club with no integrity. So until we rid ourselves of these
people ruining this STGI club, nothing will change.
Highly rated Coaches and players alike, just won't contemplate the idea of
a move to the Dragons.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Yes agree, its unbearable to watch. It's one botched move after another. I'm afraid this STGI club has had one to many back room deals. Unfortunately STGI has become a club with no integrity. So until we rid ourselves of these
people ruining this STGI club, nothing will change.
Highly rated Coaches and players alike, just won't contemplate the idea of
a move to the Dragons.

Well…they got rid of pedo supporting Young…that’s one rotten egg that is gone.

 

[Old Timer]

Saab f**ked off because he thought he had earned the right to play FG (and he probably should have)

our club is so f**ked that we can’t sign anyone of note. Just journeymen or previously injured players. Hell, the dogs and tigers who were bottom feeders have overtaken this club. They do my head in this lot

Let's not forget that Saab said it was all about the travelling and then he said it was all about playing with his long time mate.

Hes a good church going lad so everyone needs to take his and his managers version of events.

 

[qld redvee]

Saab f**ked off because he thought he had earned the right to play FG (and he probably should have)

our club is so f**ked that we can’t sign anyone of note. Just journeymen or previously injured players. Hell, the dogs and tigers who were bottom feeders have overtaken this club. They do my head in this lot

R &W
so many of our juniors were not given a good enough go by our previous coach garlick robson saab and there are more. this is where we need that pathway team ( come on down browny ) to be in sync with coach / retention and head of football so that we develop a next up mentality . and give these kids a good go .. not just 1 game and say they arent up for it AND head of football must step in if coach continues playing favourites whilst performance doesnt get a look in

 

[baggygreen man]

Sione Finau try's from last year

His position is wing,

I heard his early years were at 5/8. No doubt where he derived his ball skills from. Those skills are wasted on the wing unless he is another JAC.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Let's not forget that Saab said it was all about the travelling and then he said it was all about playing with his long time mate.

Hes a good church going lad so everyone needs to take his and his managers version of events.

He used whatever excuse he could to leave.

 

[blacksafake]

Yeah, 37 tries in 50 games and 32 line breaks, what a plodder. So glad he left.

Yeah plus him & the Hammer are probably the two quickest around, especially over a 100

 

[kit66]

If he dogs a tackle or refuses to catch a bomb you hook him straightaway

If he misses a tackle or drops a bomb you give him more time and extra drills at training and he gets dropped if there is no tangible improvement.

Dufty was truly embarrassing at times and Sloan needs to be made aware of that.

Ben Hunt leads the comp for missed tackles and Amone and Bird weren't far behind. We had 7 players in the top 50 worst tacklers, Sloan wan't one of them (even on averages). Lomax has led the comp for errors for 2 years.
Sloan is 20, 21 in March I think, he's played just 13 games. Look at any young players stats for their first few years and you'll see steady improvement in areas like defence (not all of course but they can't all be Matt Coopers) - it's a learning curve that teams have to endure as players get accustomed to top level footy. Takes time and if a player has obvious potential you stick with them for, hopefully rich rewards. A quality fullback/ 5/8 is priceless.
Sloan knows all this btw, he's seen first hand just how fast you get dropped if you fail.

 

[Old Timer]

Ben Hunt leads the comp for missed tackles and Amone and Bird weren't far behind. We had 7 players in the top 50 worst tacklers, Sloan wan't one of them (even on averages). Lomax has led the comp for errors for 2 years.
Sloan is 20, 21 in March I think, he's played just 13 games. Look at any young players stats for their first few years and you'll see steady improvement in areas like defence (not all of course but they can't all be Matt Coopers) - it's a learning curve that teams have to endure as players get accustomed to top level footy. Takes time and if a player has obvious potential you stick with them for, hopefully rich rewards. A quality fullback/ 5/8 is priceless.
Sloan knows all this btw, he's seen first hand just how fast you get dropped if you fail.

As I said if he dogs it you hook him

If he makes and honest attempt and makes a mistake persevere until their is no evidence that he is improving.

 

[be55]

How much more time does he need though? Serious question.

for example, Dufty was given plenty of time and never reached the heights that were expected.

so how long do we give Sloan?

Sloan should be given enough time to see where his ceiling is. I’d suggest to you that a 20 year old, who hasn’t even played 20 games of first grade, certainly hasn’t hit that yet. He’s over 6ft and still growing into himself, physically and mentally, and is a player of immense promise for what the future might hold. If you’re not going to invest in a junior of his calibre, then you may as well throw the policy of investing in youth right out the window.

Sloan shouldn’t be compared to Dufty because Dufty had plenty of time to correct the deficiencies in his game and he didn’t. Besides the exceptional, most of these kids need consistent time in top grade, to build confidence and to feel they belong there. You’ve only got to look at what consistent 1st grade time did for Amone last year. His confidence built throughout and at the back end of the year he was in terrific form. When you talk about Sloan, he looked really good in the games he played in 2021. He started 2022 slow and was dropped after the Cronulla game in round 3. He had a tough night at the back, in terrible conditions, in a game where Griffin was totally outcoached by a rookie, 1st year coach, in Fitzgibbon. We went into that game with the plan to tuck the ball under the arm, complete high, and compress our defence. And Fitzgibbon went into the game with the plan to throw the ball around and strip us on our edges, which they did all night. If anyone should have been dropped, after that game, it was our coach for not having another game plan to go to and being unable to adjust to what Cronulla were doing.

In my opinion dropping Sloan after that game was ridiculous. It was an obvious shot to his confidence and had a huge impact on his form. There are no excuses for not committing defensively, and to the high ball as a fullback, but I’d suggest to you that by the time he was brought back into 1st grade his confidence was shot to bits and he was a shadow of himself. That’s where a good man manager earns his money. Knowing what is needed for each individual player. Dropping a 20 year old kid, who may have had some doubts in his own mind, three games into a season, after you had chosen him in pre-season as our fullback going forward, was probably the wrong thing to do as far Sloan’s confidence was concerned. The kid should have been given the time and the confidence to prove what he really had under the hood, not scapegoated for a loss in the third game of the season.

Hopefully Griffin incorporates a different approach this year. That is if he even picks him at fullback, or at all, to start the year. Personally, I’ve got my doubts. Just my opinion…

Ramsey who had a few errors in him became one of the most consistent players we had last year and a gun young player in my opinion.

I couldn't agree with you more mate. He proved how talented he was last year. I think physically he is a good 12 months ahead of Sloan at the moment. I just think that if you can persist with Sloan and get the best out of him, long term, he could offer more at the back than what Ramsey could. I think when Ramsey hits his physical peak, with his speed and footwork, he'd eventually make a great centre...

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

i got to say

I only played a couple years of FB when I was a young fella at local level

If your forwards and halves are controlling field position it is super rare to receive a bomb under pressure

The best FBs look the best because they are a touch above others in the comp but they massively benefit from field position and minimal pressure to show their attacking abilities

I wonder if the very best two FBs in the comp would look nearly as good at the Dragons last few years?

Sloan has a starting position at his feet if he can tough through our cycle of footy at the Dragons and bring a little more under the bomb

The guy is silky in attack and counter attack if we have the field position

 

[Yow]

Yeah plus him & the Hammer are probably the two quickest around, especially over a 100

Hammer would nail him as a better footballer

Yeah plus him & the Hammer are probably the two quickest around, especially over a 100

Hammer would nail him as a footballer

 

[Old Timer]

Sloan should be given enough time to see where his ceiling is. I’d suggest to you that a 20 year old, who hasn’t even played 20 games of first grade, certainly hasn’t hit that yet. He’s over 6ft and still growing into himself, physically and mentally, and is a player of immense promise for what the future might hold. If you’re not going to invest in a junior of his calibre, then you may as well throw the policy of investing in youth right out the window.

Sloan shouldn’t be compared to Dufty because Dufty had plenty of time to correct the deficiencies in his game and he didn’t. Besides the exceptional, most of these kids need consistent time in top grade, to build confidence and to feel they belong there. You’ve only got to look at what consistent 1st grade time did for Amone last year. His confidence built throughout and at the back end of the year he was in terrific form. When you talk about Sloan, he looked really good in the games he played in 2021. He started 2022 slow and was dropped after the Cronulla game in round 3. He had a tough night at the back, in terrible conditions, in a game where Griffin was totally outcoached by a rookie, 1st year coach, in Fitzgibbon. We went into that game with the plan to tuck the ball under the arm, complete high, and compress our defence. And Fitzgibbon went into the game with the plan to throw the ball around and strip us on our edges, which they did all night. If anyone should have been dropped, after that game, it was our coach for not having another game plan to go to and being unable to adjust to what Cronulla were doing.

In my opinion dropping Sloan after that game was ridiculous. It was an obvious shot to his confidence and had a huge impact on his form. There are no excuses for not committing defensively, and to the high ball as a fullback, but I’d suggest to you that by the time he was brought back into 1st grade his confidence was shot to bits and he was a shadow of himself. That’s where a good man manager earns his money. Knowing what is needed for each individual player. Dropping a 20 year old kid, who may have had some doubts in his own mind, three games into a season, after you had chosen him in pre-season as our fullback going forward, was probably the wrong thing to do as far Sloan’s confidence was concerned. The kid should have been given the time and the confidence to prove what he really had under the hood, not scapegoated for a loss in the third game of the season.

Hopefully Griffin incorporates a different approach this year. That is if he even picks him at fullback, or at all, to start the year. Personally, I’ve got my doubts. Just my opinion…


I couldn't agree with you more mate. He proved how talented he was last year. I think physically he is a good 12 months ahead of Sloan at the moment. I just think that if you can persist with Sloan and get the best out of him, long term, he could offer more at the back than what Ramsey could. I think when Ramsey hits his physical peak, with his speed and footwork, he'd eventually make a great centre...

If he refuses to catch bombs or make head on tackles then he has already reached his ceiling.

I'm ok if he makes errors whilst making attempts (get palmed off, get run over the top of or drop a bomb etc) but not making attempts is unacceptable.

People will try and sheet it home to the coach but let's face the facts you can't make it this far if you can't catch or tackle to some degree but deciding to shirk it because you are now in with the big boys now just doesn't cut the mustard.

All this hoo haa about his size and growing into his body bla bla bla as an excuse is flawed thinking because if you think you aren't big enough for the contact yet, then come back when you are.

If you are worried about body contact then this level is not for you.

FMD if you take the money and keep demanding that the position should be yours then FFS own all of it.

As I keep saying I can live with mistakes whilst they improve but not having a go at all especially when the chips are down is nigh on unforgivable.

Nah it is unforgivable.