R14 v Dolphins 06/06 Friday @ Suncorp

[Sloan Ranger]

Hope you're right mate, that would be a great outcome for Fraudagan to be turfed this year.

This nightmare would finally be over and we could use it as an opportunity to get a much better coach and some structural changes around them (ie a coaching director, a recruitment manager, a pathways manager) with real ability to bring about change and improve the long term prospects of this once great club.

I love your optimism. I find it hard to believe that our organisation has employed a CEO capable of doing half of that!

 

[RedVDave]

Hope you're right mate, that would be a great outcome for Fraudagan to be turfed this year.

This nightmare would finally be over and we could use it as an opportunity to get a much better coach and some structural changes around them (ie a coaching director, a recruitment manager, a pathways manager) with real ability to bring about change and improve the long term prospects of this once great club.

Who would you like to see as coach realistically?

For mine the coach is irrelevant as long as we have the board we have we are absolutely cooked.

but I'm interested to know who you think is a better option you know my feelings on Flanno but Young & Carr are very bad support staff IMO.

 

[Gardenia]

Is it the Sharks next game ? Lots of blood in the water ........

Yes and they are currently getting reamed by the warriors

 

[InFlannoWeTrust]

Not in anyway glossing over a heavy loss. Though Sharks got 40 put on them before Their bye and another 40 tonight .
The squad they have compared to ours is way better. Though these huge losses happen.
Just cause we haven’t seen success in 10 years it’s not built overnight.
coach changes just resets the whole process.
Yes injuries or players left in preseasons aren’t a excuses though here’s the list we’ve been dealt all year


- Molo
-Sele
-BMM
-Eisenhuth
-Fifita (still in top 30)
- R Couchman
- CT
- Allan
- Egan
- T Couchman (few weeks- At times)
- Sua (Few weeks)
-Guler (Suspended and injured - At times)


We can’t sit here and say that6 in the above that is in our 17.
There’s only a certain about of depth in forwards & outside backs.
Then we have :
Stewart handful of game
Loko handful of games
Lawson second games
King Togia handful of games

With all this in mind we have “been in the game “ for all but 2 this season!

 

[dungay dragon]

I don't know how you put Metcalfe in the same level as Flanagan. I can assure Metcalfe is a very good player and would be a good pick up. Flannagan is a reserve grader at best Sexton maybe worth a shot but I am not as convinced on him though better than Flannagan.
In the end we could Nathan Cleary and it would not matter as we have no descent front rowers.
Also we have no line speed in defence, if you do not move up on your opponents you will always get belted.

Some hard markers on here Thommo
Would take Metcalfe in a heart beat
The only thing he has in common with KF ..is they are best mates

 

[Lovemedragons]

We haven't had much luck with injuries during games. Egan, sua, couchman etc. Hope this changes.

This didn’t change, losing the winger after the inglorious start was the end of the game. Putting Cook into centre has never been good.

 

[Sloan Ranger]

Not in anyway glossing over a heavy loss. Though Sharks got 40 put on them before Their bye and another 40 tonight .
The squad they have compared to ours is way better. Though these huge losses happen.
Just cause we haven’t seen success in 10 years it’s not built overnight.
coach changes just resets the whole process.
Yes injuries or players left in preseasons aren’t a excuses though here’s the list we’ve been dealt all year


- Molo
-Sele
-BMM
-Eisenhuth
-Fifita (still in top 30)
- R Couchman
- CT
- Allan
- Egan
- T Couchman (few weeks- At times)
- Sua (Few weeks)
-Guler (Suspended and injured - At times)


We can’t sit here and say that6 in the above that is in our 17.
There’s only a certain about of depth in forwards & outside backs.
Then we have :
Stewart handful of game
Loko handful of games
Lawson second games
King Togia handful of games

With all this in mind we have “been in the game “ for all but 2 this season!

You raise an interesting point, but that list of players tells me how average our roster is. It's not like there's Origin stars there. I think our problem is, with the exception of Gutho and Holmes, when everyone is fit, there isn't a lot of difference between our first 13 and our second thirteen.

 

[InFlannoWeTrust]

You raise an interesting point, but that list of players tells me how average our roster is. It's not like there's Origin stars there. I think our problem is, with the exception of Gutho and Holmes, when everyone is fit, there isn't a lot of difference between our first 13 and our second thirteen.

We’ve swang and missed in recruitment . Though can’t say it’s coaches fault .
These recruitment issues have been happening since Bennett left
Big name signing was Widdop then next big name was Hunt (we know how that went)
So to hear people say it’s Flanno’s fault we arent signing players. It’s a CLUB problem not any coach!
We know the problem runs deeper then the head coach, and unfortunately until we get backroom Sorted NO-ONE of exceptional talent will come!
and this is how we come to players like
-Illias
- RFM
- Lawrie (old management re signed)
- Rava (old management re signed)
-Fifita (old management signed)
So much dead wood! Can’t get rid of them all in 1 off season!

 

[John moz]

Dragons recruitment issues for years not the coaches issues.
Millward has been a hiding for years he is why Dragons have signed players to ridiculous contracts . We have not signed a marquee player in his early 20s from another club ever.
Hopefully new Ceo has the power and experience to find a GM and a recruitment guy for 2026. The Dragons are so behind other clubs bulldogs got a Gus Tigers got a Richardson and are still buying players for 2026.

 

[Gareth67]

Luciano signing he is on a huge salary and the highest paid forward in the Dragons not putting in every week on the money he is on has been disappointing.

The bloke seems to be more interested in showing off that bloody ridiculous hairstyle of his instead of getting into some hard yakka .

He is undoubtedly good in attack , however his defence at times leaves a lot to be desired . As you have said Moz
he is being paid a huge sum yet has not really been earning it on a weekly basis - certainly no Sua nor Jack De Belin .

 

[Sloan Ranger]

The bloke seems to be more interested in showing off that bloody ridiculous hairstyle of his instead of getting into some hard yakka .

He is undoubtedly good in attack , however his defence at times leaves a lot to be desired . As you have said Moz
he is being paid a huge sum yet has not really been earning it on a weekly basis - certainly no Sua nor Jack De Belin .

He's the poster child for our poor management and recruitment. And that's up against some pretty stiff competition.

Letting him go the first time was the right decision. He left us to do bugger all and we resign him on better money. Genius.

 

[bathtime]

Up until this game we were an average side but at least playing consistent footy and (mostly) making the opposition earn their wins. Now it looks like we're a mediocre side who give up when things get tough. So what happened? Over-trained too close to the game? Players looking forward to the long weekend? Afflicted by a mystery virus just before kick-off? Old Flanno is making promises but I can't see how he turns this around. We'll lose the next game by thirty and management will be guzzling crownies while congratulating themselves on the improvement.

sharks got smahed by a similar score . Blow outs part of modern game. six agains and possession , one team can quickly get gassed

 

[thebigredv]

sharks got smahed by a similar score . Blow outs part of modern game. six agains and possession , one team can quickly get gassed

And yet how often do we get a blow out victory?

 

[gorilla]

The bloke seems to be more interested in showing off that bloody ridiculous hairstyle of his instead of getting into some hard yakka .

He is undoubtedly good in attack , however his defence at times leaves a lot to be desired . As you have said Moz
he is being paid a huge sum yet has not really been earning it on a weekly basis - certainly no Sua nor Jack De Belin .

Looks like Tarzan, plays like a brioche

 

[since77]

Reallly disappointing loss. Turned it off at halftime and looks like the second half was much the same by the final score line.
I don’t understand the passive defensive line. While I disagree with the mindless coach bashers who pop their gleeful heads up like meerkats after losses like this, I will say one thing - our defensive structures ARE on the coaching staff. Needs to change. So many of the line breaks in the half that I watched I was screaming at the TV for them to just move up and tackle the ball carrier. So many Dolphin players just allowed to move with complete freedom. Infuriating.
Thought taking the two in the first few minutes of the game was an appalling decision. And unsurprisingly it backfired on them instantly. Dumb dumb dumb. They’re just so dumb.
Again dumb errors gifting possession and field position to the other side. Geez. An issue all season. Holmes one of the worst offenders.
While the loss wasn’t his fault, this is what happens when plodder Lawrie represents the standard for making the starting side. There’s no way we don’t have better options than him. I just HATE watching him play. Slow, ineffective, and so far behind the standard for the modern front rower that it’s laughable.
If the kicking game isn’t going to be long - then why at least aren’t we contesting for the ball? The opposition do it to us……So many useless and innocuous kicks…….and the receiver gets a free 10- 15 -20 metre carry back to close to halfway…..
The two thrashings we’ve suffered this year were just relentless. No ability to wrestle back momentum. No ability to match the opposition’s intensity or aggression.
I’m out of f#$ks to give - just throw the most promising young guys out there for the rest of the season and develop them. They can’t be worse than Lawrie, RFM, or Leilua.
Depressing.

 

[matPORTS]

I don't think there is any end to our pain before at least 2027, if not 2028.

Shane is not going to get sacked.

The positives of recent times seem to be that our youth (particularly the forward pack) seem to be coming along well.

The negatives are that we still have too many plodders and dead weight hanging about and under contract for at least another 12 months, with no real strategy or pathway to cleaning out and replacing this with outside talent that we really need (keep in mind - Flanagan can't do all of this on his own and at some point the club has to address the elephant in the room that is Ben Haran, Ian Milward and the wider recruitment/retention team).

It will be hard to get the dead weight off the books (as other clubs are unlikely to take without us contributing a chunk of the salary) and it will be equally as hard to recruit in the open market (as we're not exactly a marketable place that outsiders want to come and play at).

The other concern is that our only outside signing so far for 2026 is Daniel Atkinson, with no solid rumours or otherwise as to who else we may be looking at (only speculation among us punters about what we would like to see).

When was the last time we signed a genuine marquee? Was it Widdop for 2014? Maybe Hunt for 2018? Or do we look back to 2009 with Boyd & J Smith? Either way, we managed to convert one premiership out of these 'marquee signings'.

The last time we turned 'discards' into genuine footballers was Weyman & Costigan in 2009. We got some good miles out of Dugan after we got him midway through 2013. Same with Cam McInness in 2017. Same so far with Liddle since coming to us in 2023. Can we consider Gutho & Holmes as discard signings as well? Other than that, and to my previous point here, the signing of plodders (particularly during the Hook-era and to date) hasn't exactly paid any dividends for us.

We need to do more in terms of getting the following players into the top grade:

Buchcanan
Tsougranis
Rumble
Halangahu
Liu
Reed (still some time away)
Ramsey (we continue to cross fingers and hold out hope that he may make it back)

 

[InFlannoWeTrust]

I don't think there is any end to our pain before at least 2027, if not 2028.

Shane is not going to get sacked.

The positives of recent times seem to be that our youth (particularly the forward pack) seem to be coming along well.

The negatives are that we still have too many plodders and dead weight hanging about and under contract for at least another 12 months, with no real strategy or pathway to cleaning out and replacing this with outside talent that we really need (keep in mind - Flanagan can't do all of this on his own and at some point the club has to address the elephant in the room that is Ben Haran and the wider recruitment/retention team).

It will be hard to get the dead weight off the books (as other clubs are unlikely to take without us contributing a chunk of the salary) and it will be equally as hard to recruit in the open market (as we're not exactly a marketable place that outsiders want to come and play at).

The other concern is that our only outside signing so far for 2026 is Daniel Atkinson, with no solid rumours or otherwise at who else we may be looking at (only speculation among us punters about what we would like to see).

When was the last time we signed a genuine marquee? Was it Widdop for 2014? Maybe Hunt for 2018? Or do we look back to 2009 with Boyd & J Smith? Either way, we managed to convert one premiership out of these 'marquee signings'.

The last time we turned 'discards' into genuine footballers was Weyman & Costigan in 2009. We got some good miles out of Dugan after we got him midway through 2013. Same with Cam McInness in 2017. Same so far with Liddle since coming to us in 2023. Can we consider Gutho & Holmes as discard signings as well? Other than that, and to my previous point here, the signing of plodders (particularly during the Hook-era and to date) hasn't exactly paid any dividends for us.

We need to do more in terms of getting the following players into the top grade:

Buchcanan
Tsougranis
Rumble
Halangahu
Liu
Reed (still some time away)
Ramsey (we continue to cross fingers and hold out hope that he may make it back)

Exactly this Mate! Everyone is pinning their hopes on the new CEO though he has no input in retention of recruitment so hopefully his business skills give us more third-party payments

 

[I'm Hornby]

Who would you like to see as coach realistically?

For mine the coach is irrelevant as long as we have the board we have we are absolutely cooked.

but I'm interested to know who you think is a better option you know my feelings on Flanno but Young & Carr are very bad support staff IMO.

I've said for a long time that management was an issue at the club and a hindrance to our coaches as well. When Flanagan was appointed coach, no one on here from my memory, stated that management would be a problem for Flanagan, in fact most naively thought Flanagan would have the experience and know-how to work around the inept management at the club.
That being so means most are now rolling this out as an excuse for Flanagan.

Secondly, you have to remember that a coach can demand changes to management as conditions of their appointment. This is what Ryles did and by all reports, the BOD had agreed to it before Ryles decided to remain at Melbourne and back out of the deal.

I am of the view that the only way these changes are going to be made is if we get a coach who is going to demand them and have them done upfront, not use it as an excuse when they realise they've got more than they bargained for with our mediocre BOD.

Having said all of this, I'll be supportive of any new coaching appointment so long as they go the Ryles route and demand these changes from the outset. I also believe we need to look at an assistant coach from a successful system who wants to make the next step and revamp the club from the top down. So in answer to your question, I would like to see any of Ben Gardiner (Penrith assistant), Peter Wallace (Penrith assistant), Matt King (Roosters assistant), Aaron Bellamy (Melbourne assistant and son of Craig) or Josh Hannay.

 

[Tuddy]

I still think Flanno has been doing all right. To be where we are with the roster we have is quite an achievement. We have the worst forward pack in the comp and our best of them are the juniors. Having a quality halfback is all well and good, but Andrew Johns couldn‘t have done much with what we have.

Also … No recruitment manager, no established CEO with a proven track record that the board listens to, no third party agreements from major businesses, a disjointed and unaligned board, no key sponsor keen to grow the club (Laundy vs WIN) and nepotism everywhere.

I‘ve got to a point now where I accept mediocrity, as I know until we get the above right we just won’t compete. Let all the circle jerkers blame one person, but at the end of the day a new coach isn't the answer and posting fifteen times a day won’t fix that.