Premiership

[Minh]

It's a worry that we seem so flat of energy the last game but I'm not giving up yet, every team can have slumps and I just hope we snap out of it and real quick....

 

[coast_dragons]

If they can make the top 8 with a slowish backline and a 7 who clearly is a 9 then thats something.

The backend of the season if they can jag at least 6 wins from the 12 that may get them into the top 8.

The way they played against the Tigers and Dogs i can see them missing out on the finals again.

 

[Tuddy]

I hope he does but my gut feeling is no. Too safe and no creativity. I also think he just wants to be "one of the boys" and that's not something I think a coach should be. Think Gibson, Bellamy, Bennett.

 

[Minh]

I guess it's too much too expect Dragons fans show any faith in the Club and Coach..
The constant sniping about the Coach and Board is tiresome, most Clubs will go through cycles and rebuilding. It's well documented over the last few years all of the woes and cockup, 2016 was the watershed year and I think the Club, has turned the corner with retaining best of juniors and some astute signings this year.
I want to see the Club go as far as they can, and acknowledge we are on the right track for the future.
Go the Dragons...

The fact that we are even in the mix this year as a contender is astonishing in itself.....we play a very physical brand of footy and it's taking its toll at the moment. We need to find that second wind and fast.....

 

[coast_dragons]

Marys use of the bench is a joke the constant having a outside back on it is laughable when you want to play a forward based game.

 

[St Georgio]

lol you honestly think this team is a top 4 team then you clearly have no idea.

Dragons are not even close to a top 4 team.

Disagree Brian Smith got a bunch of players not worthy of a top 5 finish and made 2 GFs
This is roster is far more superior of those 92/93 teams.

 

[coast_dragons]

Disagree Brian Smith got a bunch of players not worthy of a top 5 finish and made 2 GFs
This is roster is far more superior of those 92/93 teams.

You do realise the game has changed alot since the 90's.

Those teams probably played with alot more pride and courage for a start.

 

[mickeylane]

It takes a lot of luck to win a Comp! I think we will play in a GF by 2019.. I really do..I think Ben Hunt will be that good!
Once in a GF anything can happen..
The coach doesn't play the game the players do - if anyone can honestly say that Roosters could have one the comp w a debutant coach in Trent Robinson I would have said no chance - guess what Roosters won the comp!
Stop blaming McGregor - he trotted the strongest team possible against the Bulldogs including Mann at centre and guess what ? The players failed not McGregor!

 

[Frank Facer]

Games are won on the field and a coach is only as good as the cattle he has to work with. With the right squad I believe that Mary could coach us to a premiership, I think any coach should be able to win a comp with the right squad. I believe that Saints supporters have put way too much importance on our coach, ever since we had success under Bennett. We are assembling a squad that could possibly win a comp in the next 3 to 5 years. I believe that Hunt will make a massive difference. We will have one of the best pair of halves in the comp, that is the first step towards winning a comp in my opinion. Much hinges on Field or Dufty being a success at fullback. I also think the likes of Herbert, Lomax, Marsters and Garrick will all be better centre options than Aikten. We could have a very exciting backline in the next few years.

In saying all of that. I am not happy with Mary not giving either Field or Dufty a run when Dugan was out injured. I have been unhappy with many of Mary's selections. I think we could have a better coach.

 

[Country Dragon]

Disagree Brian Smith got a bunch of players not worthy of a top 5 finish and made 2 GFs
This is roster is far more superior of those 92/93 teams.

What about the coach?

 

[thebigredv]

Good question.

My view is simplistic but in my heart I feel he doesn't have what it takes based on what I have seen.

Every season has been a roller coaster with him, with way more lows than highs. The most important part of the analogy is that each time we either derail, run out of petrol or grind to a halt under Mary.

Agree with Georgio regarding Monday being evidence of our impending doom. In fact when we were on a winning streak I stated that his test, as leader of our team, was going to come when some of the better teams hit their straps which they now have. Clearly, (no need to go into detail, look at the results) we don't seem to be in the running. We've exceeded our own and everyone else's expectations after a deplorable 2016 season but for most of us here, that just isn't enough. In fact isn't that the definition of mediocrity? Something Dragons of 90s would never accept. Ben Hunt on the horizon all seems a little deflated now we have lost two crucial players, with still no quality replacement. Doesn't smell like we have a premiership winning type coach or aura about us.

Mary seems to have a lot of friends in the media who are always ready to defend him but at the end of the day their bias view is less credible than that of a long suffering Dragons fan.

That turned into a bit of an ambling rant but I feel better now...

 

[2010]

Hats of to Mary for where we sit on the table.
He has to step up now and has to realise other teams have seen our play and adjusted accordingly.
What will bring Mary down is that he has stuck with McCrone at 1/2 back. Nothing against him but the kicking game is useless.
Nona has been killing it and two weeks ago his kicks resulted in 7 line dropouts. Is he even considered to at least come onto the bench.
Speaking of the Bench, our Bench options are terrible
I have been a Saints supporter for 50+ years and whilst I will always support the Saints.
However I watch every game with a sinking feeling that this dream start to this season is about to go belly up.
D4L

 

[Dragons 09]

Just wondering how many of you guys think it's possible to win a premiership under Mary ?
I don't think it is but what are your guys thoughts ?

Depends how long we keep re-signing him for............got to learn how to coach eventually i suppose, so i guess it's possible.

 

[possm]

No. Signing McGregor for 2 more years so early in this season was stupid.
On another issue Whilst I'm disappointed we lost Packer and Dugan paying huge overs like as reporterd for Packer would be stupid. I've no idea what we offered Dugan nor what Sharks are paying him; nor who was more at fault the Club and Millwood or Dugan. Sorry we lost him though.

The problem is we could have signed Packer when there were NO chases for his services. I imagin a 500k - 550k deal for 3 years would have been snapped up by Packer.

My belief is that Millward spent a lot of our cap retaining/upgrading our forwards and juniors and came to the point that he could not sign both Dugan and Packer with the money left over. Dugan had it in his head that he is a 1m dollar player so, rather than put of Packer until Dugan came to his senses, Millward just need to sign Packer at the same time he secured the services of our other forwards.

The fiasco between Millward and Dugan was very unprofessional and flamed by Mary's public support for Dugan's desire to be considered as an elite fullback.

As a result we have reduced the potency of our forward pack and lost two internationals to boot. But what is worse is that we never had a plan B to replace like with like or better.

It's a mess and along with the decision to extend Mary's contract, these decisions will diminish our chances of success over the next two years.

 

[duck]

It's a mess and along with the decision to extend Mary's contract, these decisions will diminish our chances of success over the next two years.

Hooray.

I appreciate the blue text. It allows me to recognise yours posts at a glance so I can scroll right past them.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Hats of to Mary for where we sit on the table.
He has to step up now and has to realise other teams have seen our play and adjusted accordingly.
What will bring Mary down is that he has stuck with McCrone at 1/2 back. Nothing against him but the kicking game is useless.
Nona has been killing it and two weeks ago his kicks resulted in 7 line dropouts. Is he even considered to at least come onto the bench.
Speaking of the Bench, our Bench options are terrible
I have been a Saints supporter for 50+ years and whilst I will always support the Saints.
However I watch every game with a sinking feeling that this dream start to this season is about to go belly up.
D4L

I also don't understand why McGregor has consistently overlooked Nona.
Specialist 5/8 with a top class kicking game and an excellent link man.
Very good goal kicker too.
He strikes me as player with the latent ability to be successful in FG but has been frozen out by Mary.
As a result he tends to be a little inconsistent because he is frustrated.
Maybe the fact the JD brought him to the club and rated him highly, counted against him in the end.

 

[mickeylane]

I also don't understand why McGregor has consistently overlooked Nona.
Specialist 5/8 with a top class kicking game and an excellent link man.
Very good goal kicker too.
He strikes me as player with the latent ability to be successful in FG but has been frozen out by Mary.
As a result he tends to be a little inconsistent because he is frustrated.
Maybe the fact the JD brought him to the club and rated him highly, counted against him in the end.

Can't tackle - simple

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

Can't tackle - simple

Jamie Soward couldn't tackle also but his kicking game was a big factor in making us a Premiership contender which culminated in 2010.

 

[dragonssamy61]

He would have to improve in leaps & bounds and i don't think he can but obviously hope so. Got a sneaking suspicion that someone behind the scenes is polling some of the coaching strings ( and it's not Hornby & Young ! )

It mark Coyne imo.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

To me, the question of whether Mary is a coach capable of winning a premiership is a little unfair. So many factors have to fall a team's way for them to win a comp these days. That is why no team has had successive victories for a couple of decades. Brian Smith did a great job in 1993 but it was not his fault that we lost Jason Stevens in the opening minute. David Waite did a great job in 1996 but it was not his fault Manson allowed the tackled Ridge to get up and run away. Nor his fault in 1999 that Choc didn't pass the ball to unmarked support which would have opened up an unassailable lead nor for Bill Harrigan to even the contest up a little with a Storm try off a forward pass. Or looking at it from another angle, we may not have made the 2010 GF had Jeremy Smith been penalised for a high shot with roughly 8 minutes to go. Would such a decision have made Bennett a lesser coach?

The question should be "is Mary the best available option?" My response to that question is three-fold:

1. We don't really know because we appoint rather than call for applications.

2. If we must appoint a coach without recourse to calling for applications then I believe Mary is the most reliable choice. Six months ago I was amongst his harshest critics. I envisaged a season of watching more Illawarra matches than those of the Dragons. But until the past 2 weeks and with the exception of the Eels game I have derived a lot of pleasure from the Dragons' performances. I could list many concerns which I agree with that are commonly raised on the Forum but I have no doubt that overall Mary has shown improvement and a willingness to change. In Press Conferences this year he has appeared much more relaxed and, dare I say it, a better human being than he revealed in his excusathons last year. And his recent quoted remarks in relation to Russell Packer show that his concern for his players as individuals rivals the long lauded qualities of Wayne Bennett.

3. Without an open selection process, who would you suggest is a better choice and available?