Player Market

[SGMax]

Enough with this concern about blocking progress for the juniors.
If they are good enough, they will make it with us or with another team.
The Club's job is to assemble the best possible roster and always look to improve it.

If someone becomes available that is an improvement on our current talent, we should look to add them.
The ISP players will get their chance through injury or by playing well in the lower grades and forcing selection. None are doing that at present although i am hopeful Lomax will.

Look at the Chooks and Sharks in particular, they are always adding talent to their squad even for positions that are well covered.
Dragons need to stop being so precious and get aggressive about competing for talent.
Every good player we sign won't be playing for the opposition against us.

 

[Old Timer]

Enough with this concern about blocking progress for the juniors.
If they are good enough, they will make it with us or with another team.
The Club's job is to assemble the best possible roster and always look to improve it.

If someone becomes available that is an improvement on our current talent, we should look to add them.
The ISP players will get their chance through injury or by playing well in the lower grades and forcing selection. None are doing that at present although i am hopeful Lomax will.

Look at the Chooks and Sharks in particular, they are always adding talent to their squad even for positions that are well covered.
Dragons need to stop being so precious and get aggressive about competing for talent.
Every good player we sign won't be playing for the opposition against us.

Thank god we got Nicholls, Latimore, Pereira and we kept Nighty otherwise we would have been carved up.

 

[SGMax]

Thank god we got Nicholls, Latimore, Pereira and we kept Nighty otherwise we would have been carved up.

Not saying the Club is doing it right....and I know you mean well when you push for players to be promoted from within.
There is a place for players like Latimore and Pereira whether it be for depth, experience, or potential or whatever.

It is a bit naive to think that all our juniors are going to be the next big things and they will all come good at the same time to carry the Dragons to glory so we should ignore external players that are already better than those in our roster.
Its too much of a gamble and it could leave us always competing but never being able to take it all the way.

I don't want to be waiting another 30 years or more for the next premiership while clubs more motivated and ruthless end up celebrating at the end of each season.
We have a decent roster now but we need to go out and take every opportunity to make it as good as possible.

 

[Old Timer]

Not saying the Club is doing it right....and I know you mean well when you push for players to be promoted from within.
There is a place for players like Latimore and Pereira whether it be for depth, experience, or potential or whatever.

It is a bit naive to think that all our juniors are going to be the next big things and they will all come good at the same time to carry the Dragons to glory so we should ignore external players that are already better than those in our roster.
Its too much of a gamble and it could leave us always competing but never being able to take it all the way.

I don't want to be waiting another 30 years or more for the next premiership while clubs more motivated and ruthless end up celebrating at the end of each season.
We have a decent roster now but we need to go out and take every opportunity to make it as good as possible.

If we are going to go external I would love to see us buy a player who forces an existing player back to the bench or reggies because I think we have some that are not up to a high enough standard to hold a starting spot.
By doing that you create depth of a higher quality rather than buying stop gaps to fill in every pancake day because they are not good enough to force there way in on ability.
A gun centre or winger would put unbelievable pressure on the backline instead of the current situation of you will get picked regardless.

 

[SaintPauli]

Like the team in theory, but there's no way we'll get Oates AND Tupou. It'll be one or the other... Or Neither.
But f**k me if we did, that is a HUGE backline. Tupes, Oates, Lomax and MacDonald ALL over 190cms.

I also wouldn't demote Graham to the bench. He has to start or nothing in my opinion. You want impact from your bench forwards and he doesn't really provide line-bending spark. He's much better off starting to ignite the team and start well with good line-speed and energy etc.

There's also the golden rule of never weakening one position to strengthen another. We gain nothing by moving Frizell to prop. He's one of the best edge back-rowers in the game and we need him on the field for 70-80 minutes.

A rhetorical question?
How can the the ALL STARS Roarters get Crighton, Hall and Morris ! and we can't get all of Sims, Tupou and Oates?

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

A rhetorical question?
How can the the ALL STARS Roarters get Crighton, Hall and Morris ! and we can't get all of Sims, Tupou and Oates?

They have brown paper bags we have see through plastic bags, which are banned..

 

[dragonssamy61]

I think you will find Jennings has or is about to re sign with Souths and Raiders wont let Rapana go. I thought he was under contract. Is it official yet or even going to happen? that we have signed the Fijian Mounties winger

No its not official.
Very quite

 

[Life's Good]

If we are going to go external I would love to see us buy a player who forces an existing player back to the bench or reggies because I think we have some that are not up to a high enough standard to hold a starting spot.
By doing that you create depth of a higher quality rather than buying stop gaps to fill in every pancake day because they are not good enough to force there way in on ability.
A gun centre or winger would put unbelievable pressure on the backline instead of the current situation of you will get picked regardless.

I agree with your sentiment entirely. The missing link here is the club not acknowledging we have a problem in the outside backs. There’s no trust in the ISP players(Herbert, Lomax etc.)nor journeymen(Mann)so the cycle continues of minimal pressure on the incumbents.
FFS, Flanagan hooked Townsend in a semi final because he was stinking it up & he came back a better player for the GF. I can’t see that happening with us under SuperCoach(wish I had a boss like him).

 

[Old Timer]

I agree with your sentiment entirely. The missing link here is the club not acknowledging we have a problem in the outside backs. There’s no trust in the ISP players(Herbert, Lomax etc.)nor journeymen(Mann)so the cycle continues of minimal pressure on the incumbents.
FFS, Flanagan hooked Townsend in a semi final because he was stinking it up & he came back a better player for the GF. I can’t see that happening with us under SuperCoach(wish I had a boss like him).

We're scaring the pants off our 1st grade players with Pereira & Nicholls and Latimore of course has forced his way in on the back outstanding personal game winning form and a bright future.
FMD everyone getting excited about the untried Mounties Fijian winger, just another example of buy and hope rather than attract a top line fully qualified player.
If Mc Fookknuckle gets an extension the only way the Fijian will get a start in 1st grade is if his people own a beach front resort with jetski's and even then it will be 5 minutes off the bench.
In fact if we buy him I fully expect to see 2 or 3 of the young guys on the waiting list to be let go.

 

[BLM01]

We're scaring the pants off our 1st grade players with Pereira & Nicholls and Latimore of course has forced his way in on the back outstanding personal game winning form and a bright future.
FMD everyone getting excited about the untried Mounties Fijian winger, just another example of buy and hope rather than attract a top line fully qualified player.
If Mc Fookknuckle gets an extension the only way the Fijian will get a start in 1st grade is if his people own a beach front resort with jetski's and even then it will be 5 minutes off the bench.
In fact if we buy him I fully expect to see 2 or 3 of the young guys on the waiting list to be let go.

Who is getting excited and who has posted excitement about the Fijian Mounties winger apart from yourself to make this statement. It would be a buy and hope which the club has done a plethora of times.

 

[Life's Good]

We're scaring the pants off our 1st grade players with Pereira & Nicholls and Latimore of course has forced his way in on the back outstanding personal game winning form and a bright future.
FMD everyone getting excited about the untried Mounties Fijian winger, just another example of buy and hope rather than attract a top line fully qualified player.
If Mc Fookknuckle gets an extension the only way the Fijian will get a start in 1st grade is if his people own a beach front resort with jetski's and even then it will be 5 minutes off the bench.
In fact if we buy him I fully expect to see 2 or 3 of the young guys on the waiting list to be let go.

I think most agree our fringe players(specifically our outside backs)haven’t been given a go despite there being opportunities to do so. I think we have the players to be putting pressure on Lafai, Nighty & Aitken but until they get dropped because of form we’ll remain in this same situation.
Frustrating as hell given our forwards are delivering.

 

[Old Timer]

Who is getting excited and who has posted excitement about the Fijian Mounties winger apart from yourself to make this statement. It would be a buy and hope which the club has done a plethora of times.

Plenty of posts showing excitement about this you just need to have a bit of a look around but don't confuse me as being one of them.
IMO just another example of the grass is always greener on the other side and in the meantime invest no worthy amount of time finding out what we actually have in house.

 

[BLM01]

Plenty of posts showing excitement about this you just need to have a bit of a look around but don't confuse me as being one of them.
IMO just another example of the grass is always greener on the other side and in the meantime invest no worthy amount of time finding out what we actually have in house.

I agree and Tupou would be another one of a bandaid for a crack, either go for someone very good, top shelf or go within. But we need good depth as well as young players just like the Panthers have and we need to work towards that. No one wants to play reserve grade anymore even if not up to 1sts it and will go round the globe just to find a 1st grade gig and good money. Toronto Wolfpacks a prime example. That is what expanding your game becoming glbally recognised does.