R6 Titans

[Parko1310]

I know it's early days, but our season is over after that loss. With a tough draw towards the back end when injury undoubtedly strikes us, we needed to pick up as many points at this stage of the season as possible. I said we needed to win at the very least 4 of our next 5. The first game of those 5, we've lost. There is no chance we go down to Canberra just as its starting to get really cold, back up for a big ANZAC Day game, then back up for the Bulldogs, before taking a trip to play the Tigers, and win all four. I hate to say it, but we're gone. We'll linger around that 10th-12th position again all year, and fail to make the 8. Then at the end of the year and all summer we'll hear "we're not far off, we dropped some competition points in games we shouldn't have, we need to fix that up and we'll make the eight". Yet, they never fix it up. That was a really really crucial game to win, and one they should have too given how depleted the Titans were.

Amone was terrible yesterday as some have pointed out, I think he should be the 14 and come on to create some spark around the ruck. Sullivan back to 6, Mbye left right out. Mbye is wrongly getting credit for yesterday's game, he was awful and frustrating to watch. Yes, he actually ran the ball a couple of times, but that's not the standard. As a hooker, he doesn't get involved in defence. With Bird another player in the middle who doesn't get himself involved defencively, we can't have two of them in the middle who don't make tackles, it tires the other middles out. His service is so slow, he stands up to pass the ball from acting half. When he tries to pass it off the ground from dummy half, it goes above the first receivers head, and the play is over already at that point, every.. single.. time.

The Mat Feagai questions I get, because he hasn't been as good this year, but he's playing outside of the worst centre in the competition. Lomax can't pass a ball or create anything for him, his pet play is to try and use his right foot step even though he's on the left and run Feagai out of room. Lomax is the one people really need to ask questions about, he's a big reason we lost yesterday. Not just because of his missed goal kick (which we all know he should have kicked), but the amount of times he rushed up out of the line, or was caught in field, giving them space on the outside was unbelievable. He's not a team player, he's a player who wants to pull off the big play every single time. He was even making tackles in the middle of the field multiple times, leaving his edge completely exposed. Almost all of the Titans' line-breaks came off the back of Zac Lomax defensive lapses. Feagai should be moved into Lomax's centre position and another winger brought in. I'm not even opposed to simply switching Feagai and Lomax, but I do worry about the calamity that would be Zac Lomax under the high ball in that situation.

 

[since77]

Are Sullivan and Amone really the future? They have both played NRL a good achievement. I’m still waiting to see consistent quality play from both of them

Maybe if the coach picks Sullivan consistently you might see consistent quality play from him. He should have been straight back into the team for the Titans game after recovering from the shoulder injury regardless of a win against an under strength Dolphins team last week.
The knocks on the youngsters I’m seeing in threads lately is crazy and incredibly short sighted. They are sooooooo not the problem in this team. And all should be a year ahead of where they are in development but aren’t thanks to a coach that is woefully out of touch with the modern game and prefers journeymen over raw talent. FFS even Moga was named as 18th man yesterday.

 

[RedVee_8]

Piss off. If those teams split the Magpies should return to Macarthur where the juniors are. Not to mention the return of the Magettes cheerleaders

That’s better. I’m happy enough for the Tiger half to go to Brissy or Perth.

Not from where I was sitting he acknowledged what we all thought may have been the match winner at the time but no personal contact. I'll watch a replay to see if I was wrong but I didn't see a hug or a jump on him

Watching from the TV I saw, or imagined I saw, Lomax entering the congratulatory throng after the Hunt try. He even looked to be smiling. It could be a matter of camera angle etc, but that was the impression I got - I even commented that at the time (to my self on the couch, then had another sip of Guinness)

 

[Crush]

Hunt is a mystery to me. On the one hand, he plays his guts out every week - particularly under Hook - and yet he shows zero spine as a captain when the ref gets involved.

In this instance you could see Sua losing it and speaking up because he copped a penalty when clearly their captain and the bloke who came in throwing them should have earnt the ire of the ref. Hunt lets his footy do the talking but his lack of ability to speak up for our rights is half the reason we cop it from refs. Maybe refs aren't swayed by chatty captains but you have to hold them to account for the benefit of your team.

We've seen Hunt lose it at team mates many times before, and deservedly so, but this combination is not the makings of a good captain. His support for the coach at this point really baffles me. If he were such an amzing coach he wouldn't have us losing games like this in the 3rd year of his tenure. Hunt more or less suggesting if Hook goes he does too...pffft

I won't hold my breath for Griffin to pick a new captain.

Can someone explain to me what Hunt means by saying sacking Hook will just put our development back years?
Doesn’t seem to have put Warriors development back years? Didn’t seem to put Sharks development back years when their new coach finished 2nd in his first year after the club missed finals the year before he arrived?
What is Hunt actually saying?
How exactly will it set us back?

 

[Parko1310]

Can someone explain to me what Hunt means by saying sacking Hook will just put our development back years?
Doesn’t seem to have put Warriors development back years? Didn’t seem to put Sharks development back years when their new coach finished 2nd in his first year after the club missed finals the year before he arrived?
What is Hunt actually saying?
How exactly will it set us back?

If I was guessing, I'm assuming he's making those comments on the assumption that whoever comes in won't be able to continue/improve the positive things Hook has done. Our salary cap is no longer a mess and the junior systems have also improved under him. I believe Hook probably does have eventual vision for what he wants the team to look like, but it's going to be a long road. To some extent I don't disagree, but I also think all of Hook's positives can be undertaken in a GM role. As a coach, a lot of his selections, game plans and bench rotation aren't good enough.

 

[TruSaint]

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Hunt is a mystery to me. On the one hand, he plays his guts out every week - particularly under Hook - and yet he shows zero spine as a captain when the ref gets involved.

In this instance you could see Sua losing it and speaking up because he copped a penalty when clearly their captain and the bloke who came in throwing them should have earnt the ire of the ref. Hunt lets his footy do the talking but his lack of ability to speak up for our rights is half the reason we cop it from refs. Maybe refs aren't swayed by chatty captains but you have to hold them to account for the benefit of your team.

We've seen Hunt lose it at team mates many times before, and deservedly so, but this combination is not the makings of a good captain. His support for the coach at this point really baffles me. If he were such an amzing coach he wouldn't have us losing games like this in the 3rd year of his tenure. Hunt more or less suggesting if Hook goes he does too...pffft

I won't hold my breath for Griffin to pick a new captain.

Yep read my comments yesterday...said basically the same thing......Hunt goes missing when it comes to challenging or confronting the refs.......tbh Ive never been excited about his appointment as skipper but after scanning the team who else is there

 

[be55]

Many posters saying the same thing about our sides lack of speed. I don’t disagree. But my issue is that even the speed we do have we don’t look to utilize to its fullest. Put asides our leaky defence for a moment, my biggest gripe, and it has been for two years now, is our complete lack of structure and purpose in attack. Especially when it comes to attacking inside the opposition twenty. When we get inside the attacking zone, at times, we look like we don’t even train together. Good sides have structure and purpose when they get into good ball areas. We start to resemble 13 headless chickens running around.

Yes, we do lack speed but the speed we do have we don’t use. Sloan is a prime example. Like what Brisbane look to do with Walsh and Cronulla do with Kennedy. These teams look to set up at a goal post and swing the ball back the other way with multiple lead runners to hold up the inside defenders and then play out the back, to a sweeping Walsh or Kennedy, and look to get on the outside of teams that way. We have a guy like Sloan, who’s as quick across the ground as anyone, and who can ball play too, and we barely look to even try to give him the time and space to do that. Slaon should be central in our attacking shape but he seems to just be tasked with sniffing around the middle, as back up, incase of a break or an offload. When the good sides attack, they set up with structure and depth and run multiple decoys to keep those inside defenders interested and that’s what creates the space on the outside. We rarely look to do that. It’s why you never see the likes of Suli given the real space to show the damage he could do.

I hate to bring up Dufty, because he was a defensively inept fullback, but with ball in hand he could do some real damage. In the dying days of McGregor’s tenure, he made a change to our attack and looked to play Dufty out the back, off a two-pass shift, and suddenly Dufty had the room to move, and he showed how quick across the ground he was and what a good a ball player he was too. Sloan could do the same, but he isn’t given the opportunity.

The good sides have structure in attack. They have multiple set plays with slight variations to keep the defence guessing. We are slow, predictable and lack creativity. We play too flat at the line. We don’t ask anywhere near enough questions of the opposition. The extent of our game plan, at times, resembles ‘get the ball to Ben’. It’s not good enough, and it’s been my biggest gripe with the coach, and it really hasn’t improved in two years.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

You know you’re a Dragons fan when the score goes to 18-14 with 4 minutes to go and you just know that they’re going to throw the game away.

sadly 100% correct

 

[Dragon David]

Maybe if the coach picks Sullivan consistently you might see consistent quality play from him. He should have been straight back into the team for the Titans game after recovering from the shoulder injury regardless of a win against an under strength Dolphins team last week.
The knocks on the youngsters I’m seeing in threads lately is crazy and incredibly short sighted. They are sooooooo not the problem in this team. And all should be a year ahead of where they are in development but aren’t thanks to a coach that is woefully out of touch with the modern game and prefers journeymen over raw talent. FFS even Moga was named as 18th man yesterday.

You are spot on since77. Sullivan should definitely have been brought back into the game against the Titans. He played in our first round 2 game against the Titans which we won. Why in hell did Hook not do this? The other thing that nothing seemed to have been done about was making sure our players were on guard 100% with the marking of Sami. I'm sure he would have got a few points for best and fairest.

If the Dragons Board were handing out rewards for the best brains we have in our football department, they wouldn't be giving any.

 

[Dragon David]

Can someone explain to me what Hunt means by saying sacking Hook will just put our development back years?
Doesn’t seem to have put Warriors development back years? Didn’t seem to put Sharks development back years when their new coach finished 2nd in his first year after the club missed finals the year before he arrived?
What is Hunt actually saying?
How exactly will it set us back?

Indeed Crush - It is puzzling isn't it? It was also bad timing. Does Hunt think that Hook has devised a sure fire plan to win more than lose and make the 8 and if he is bulleted out too soon it would that mean that all plans would go out of the window and get us in a dither - what effin crap!

Hook him now and let us get a movin' along and getting the wins boys.

 

[Dragon David]

Many posters saying the same thing about our sides lack of speed. I don’t disagree. But my issue is that even the speed we do have we don’t look to utilize to its fullest. Put asides our leaky defence for a moment, my biggest gripe, and it has been for two years now, is our complete lack of structure and purpose in attack. Especially when it comes to attacking inside the opposition twenty. When we get inside the attacking zone, at times, we look like we don’t even train together. Good sides have structure and purpose when they get into good ball areas. We start to resemble 13 headless chickens running around.

Yes, we do lack speed but the speed we do have we don’t use. Sloan is a prime example. Like what Brisbane look to do with Walsh and Cronulla do with Kennedy. These teams look to set up at a goal post and swing the ball back the other way with multiple lead runners to hold up the inside defenders and then play out the back, to a sweeping Walsh or Kennedy, and look to get on the outside of teams that way. We have a guy like Sloan, who’s as quick across the ground as anyone, and who can ball play too, and we barely look to even try to give him the time and space to do that. Slaon should be central in our attacking shape but he seems to just be tasked with sniffing around the middle, as back up, incase of a break or an offload. When the good sides attack, they set up with structure and depth and run multiple decoys to keep those inside defenders interested and that’s what creates the space on the outside. We rarely look to do that. It’s why you never see the likes of Suli given the real space to show the damage he could do.

I hate to bring up Dufty, because he was a defensively inept fullback, but with ball in hand he could do some real damage. In the dying days of McGregor’s tenure, he made a change to our attack and looked to play Dufty out the back, off a two-pass shift, and suddenly Dufty had the room to move, and he showed how quick across the ground he was and what a good a ball player he was too. Sloan could do the same, but he isn’t given the opportunity.

The good sides have structure in attack. They have multiple set plays with slight variations to keep the defence guessing. We are slow, predictable and lack creativity. We play too flat at the line. We don’t ask anywhere near enough questions of the opposition. The extent of our game plan, at times, resembles ‘get the ball to Ben’. It’s not good enough, and it’s been my biggest gripe with the coach, and it really hasn’t improved in two years.

I'm sure that Hook had Dylan Edwards coming through the system when he was at Penrith. Surely what Hook should do is to watch several videos of games played by Penrith and get our players, particularly Sloan, to see how Penrith get their possible State of Origin fullback, Dylan Edwards comes into the attacking line. He is a master of this, just like Slater.

 

[Desperate Dragon]

And so it goes on.
Molo looking at a 3 week suspension, but thankfully Su'a a fine only.
Hoping Musgrove's injury from Saturday is not serious so he comes straight in.
An upgrade on what Molo following his game v Titans.

 

[Lovemedragons]

If I was guessing, I'm assuming he's making those comments on the assumption that whoever comes in won't be able to continue/improve the positive things Hook has done. Our salary cap is no longer a mess and the junior systems have also improved under him. I believe Hook probably does have eventual vision for what he wants the team to look like, but it's going to be a long road. To some extent I don't disagree, but I also think all of Hook's positives can be undertaken in a GM role. As a coach, a lot of his selections, game plans and bench rotation aren't good enough.

Perhaps Hook can make a great ‘Director of Football’ given what you say but as a strategic and/or tactical game manager needed of a coach, he is lacking. His handling of Liddle/Mbye and of Amone/Sullivan and even Lomax/Suli riddles is clear proof he often takes the wrong option or poor timing.

 

[SEAT 1A]

After a tight first half and playing one man down for ten minutes, the team is screaming for a coach to identify what needs to be changed.

When Wayne was coach, on the times when things were tight, he would get the team back on track and hay presto, we would get away with a win.

I have no idea how the Titans got the penalty. There was a forearm on Slone's throat, good on the boys for not putting up for that.

Lomax needs time in reggies as he has cost the team to many games and Max Feagai needs to start.

Typical Dragons, in five minutes, miss two points from a kick, not securing the ball after the kick off, Hunt fumbling the ball.

Amone made no impact in the game and Liddle on for the last five minutes after the horse has bolted.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Can someone explain to me what Hunt means by saying sacking Hook will just put our development back years?
Doesn’t seem to have put Warriors development back years? Didn’t seem to put Sharks development back years when their new coach finished 2nd in his first year after the club missed finals the year before he arrived?
What is Hunt actually saying?
How exactly will it set us back?

Hunt is just talking bullshit to save his mate from getting the sack

 

[Parko1310]

After a tight first half and playing one man down for ten minutes, the team is screaming for a coach to identify what needs to be changed.

When Wayne was coach, on the times when things were tight, he would get the team back on track and hay presto, we would get away with a win.

I have no idea how the Titans got the penalty. There was a forearm on Slone's throat, good on the boys for not putting up for that.

Lomax needs time in reggies as he has cost the team to many games and Max Feagai needs to start.

Typical Dragons, in five minutes, miss two points from a kick, not securing the ball after the kick off, Hunt fumbling the ball.

Amone made no impact in the game and Liddle on for the last five minutes after the horse has bolted.

Lomax won't get dropped, no matter what he does. He's one of Hook's automatic selections on the team sheet. He's also part of the leadership group despite leading us to nothing but defeat, so he's untouchable essentially. Max Feagai also is guilty of rushing in a fair bit and getting no one in defence, but I am happy for him to be in the team over Lomax as no doubt Feagai can improve on this and I genuinely don't think there is a worse centre than Lomax. The other option is moving Mat Feagai to centre which I also would like to see. It's all a dream though, and Lomax will be picked again next week and cost us again too.

 

[OneEyedDragon]

Many posters saying the same thing about our sides lack of speed. I don’t disagree. But my issue is that even the speed we do have we don’t look to utilize to its fullest. Put asides our leaky defence for a moment, my biggest gripe, and it has been for two years now, is our complete lack of structure and purpose in attack. Especially when it comes to attacking inside the opposition twenty. When we get inside the attacking zone, at times, we look like we don’t even train together. Good sides have structure and purpose when they get into good ball areas. We start to resemble 13 headless chickens running around.

Yes, we do lack speed but the speed we do have we don’t use. Sloan is a prime example. Like what Brisbane look to do with Walsh and Cronulla do with Kennedy. These teams look to set up at a goal post and swing the ball back the other way with multiple lead runners to hold up the inside defenders and then play out the back, to a sweeping Walsh or Kennedy, and look to get on the outside of teams that way. We have a guy like Sloan, who’s as quick across the ground as anyone, and who can ball play too, and we barely look to even try to give him the time and space to do that. Slaon should be central in our attacking shape but he seems to just be tasked with sniffing around the middle, as back up, incase of a break or an offload. When the good sides attack, they set up with structure and depth and run multiple decoys to keep those inside defenders interested and that’s what creates the space on the outside. We rarely look to do that. It’s why you never see the likes of Suli given the real space to show the damage he could do.

I hate to bring up Dufty, because he was a defensively inept fullback, but with ball in hand he could do some real damage. In the dying days of McGregor’s tenure, he made a change to our attack and looked to play Dufty out the back, off a two-pass shift, and suddenly Dufty had the room to move, and he showed how quick across the ground he was and what a good a ball player he was too. Sloan could do the same, but he isn’t given the opportunity.

The good sides have structure in attack. They have multiple set plays with slight variations to keep the defence guessing. We are slow, predictable and lack creativity. We play too flat at the line. We don’t ask anywhere near enough questions of the opposition. The extent of our game plan, at times, resembles ‘get the ball to Ben’. It’s not good enough, and it’s been my biggest gripe with the coach, and it really hasn’t improved in two years.

Excellent analysis @be55 . As I keep trying to explain to my long suffering missus - "there is just no deception in our attack." The opposition can see from a kilometre away who is going to get the ball and defend accordingly. Our successful attack relies on a defensive mistake from the opposition or an unexpected offload. Not nearly good enough!

 

[jodragon40]

50 missed tackles so back to normality. The biggest offenders were Bird 6, Lawrie 5 Su'a 5 Lomax 5. The engine room missed 29 out of the 50. You can't win games missing 50 tackles. Another interesting fact Lawrie played only 41 min, JDB 39 min, Molo 38 min, Liddle only 34 min and Kerr only 20 min, you cannot carry players in your engine room who can only play or being allowed to play 20 min, even 40 min is my minimum requirement when I coached. At the ground it just looked off, our interchanges and something is not right with the timing and coaching of this team in my humble views.

 

[jodragon40]

Many posters saying the same thing about our sides lack of speed. I don’t disagree. But my issue is that even the speed we do have we don’t look to utilize to its fullest. Put asides our leaky defence for a moment, my biggest gripe, and it has been for two years now, is our complete lack of structure and purpose in attack. Especially when it comes to attacking inside the opposition twenty. When we get inside the attacking zone, at times, we look like we don’t even train together. Good sides have structure and purpose when they get into good ball areas. We start to resemble 13 headless chickens running around.

Yes, we do lack speed but the speed we do have we don’t use. Sloan is a prime example. Like what Brisbane look to do with Walsh and Cronulla do with Kennedy. These teams look to set up at a goal post and swing the ball back the other way with multiple lead runners to hold up the inside defenders and then play out the back, to a sweeping Walsh or Kennedy, and look to get on the outside of teams that way. We have a guy like Sloan, who’s as quick across the ground as anyone, and who can ball play too, and we barely look to even try to give him the time and space to do that. Slaon should be central in our attacking shape but he seems to just be tasked with sniffing around the middle, as back up, incase of a break or an offload. When the good sides attack, they set up with structure and depth and run multiple decoys to keep those inside defenders interested and that’s what creates the space on the outside. We rarely look to do that. It’s why you never see the likes of Suli given the real space to show the damage he could do.

I hate to bring up Dufty, because he was a defensively inept fullback, but with ball in hand he could do some real damage. In the dying days of McGregor’s tenure, he made a change to our attack and looked to play Dufty out the back, off a two-pass shift, and suddenly Dufty had the room to move, and he showed how quick across the ground he was and what a good a ball player he was too. Sloan could do the same, but he isn’t given the opportunity.

The good sides have structure in attack. They have multiple set plays with slight variations to keep the defence guessing. We are slow, predictable and lack creativity. We play too flat at the line. We don’t ask anywhere near enough questions of the opposition. The extent of our game plan, at times, resembles ‘get the ball to Ben’. It’s not good enough, and it’s been my biggest gripe with the coach, and it really hasn’t improved in two years.

This is exactly what happens when you have 1 play maker who also happens to be the cpt. If you watch any successful team in the last few years they have a play maker either side of the ruck with different attacking structures. Inside the opponents 20m you must be able to create structures and opportunities that stretch or places the opposition defensive line in doubt. This includes sweeping moves with both your playmakers on one side of the ruck creating an additional player or opening up the other side of the ruck with the injection of your fullback into the movement. Your right we swing the ball right to left then left to right. Any decent defence just slides and stays static. Speed is a great commodity to have but I was at the ground yesterday and the Titans new fullback Campbell made 18 runs for 275m Sloan 12 runs for 100m. It appeared to me that Sloan did not try to inject himself especially through the ruck area where offloads were possible. This team is not only divided but uncertain as to their individual roles. Just a humble view from an old broken down coach.