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Dragonsamy, I noticed Aitken with ice on his hammy during the victory song, Is this something he always does precautionary or did he twinge it ? If so Lomax should be brought in & not carry a liability like last year when he only lasted a few minutes before aggravating it.
Footballers use ice after a game. That's a huge scoop there thanks
maybe dugan caught gastro sitting on another roof with poor old parra broken nose ........
Speaking of which
Putting Lomax outside Aitken is not the solution mainly because Lomax will be left on his pat Malone to sort out the mess Aitken creates out wide on our right and Lomax will get absolutely no ball or no chance to score from Aitken.
Maybe this is the opportunity for change. If Lomax is at 3 and if Mary finaly picks Pearson at 5, we may just win the ANZAC Day match on Thursday.
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT POSSM I REALLY HOPE MARY AGREES WITH YOU
No hope I'm afraid.
gee mcidiot is a d hRookie Ravalawa making massive strides for Dragons in 2019
Dragons Den
MATCH-WINNER: Mikaele Ravalawa celebrates his late try against Manly on Saturday night. Picture: Mark Nolan/NRL Photos
THE NRL can be a tough school but Dragons coach Paul McGregor is full of praise for the way rookie winger Mikaele Ravalawa has embraced his crash course over the opening five rounds of the season.
The Fijian flyer's selection for round one came as a surprise to many despite a standout a preseason, but he's made a fine fist of top-grade action with four tries in five appearances on the right flank.
None were more important than his 79th minute four-pointer against the Sea Eagles on Saturday, sealing his side's fourth win on the trot.
McGregor said it's a remarkable effort given he had barely half a season of reserve grade under his belt prior to the current campaign.
"Mika's still learning the game, he's only played it for a few years," he said.
"He's only made his first grade debut this year, he only played half a year in the Canterbury Cup last year before he went back to bush footy.
"To repeatedly get himself involved in the game, and he's been on the end of a couple of tries at important times this year as well, it's a credit to the way he's learning and his preparation to improve each week.
"He got another good one [on Saturday night] and he gets excited about them to."
It was a void that needed filling for the Dragons following the departure of Nene Macdonald over the off-season and the retirement of club stalwart Jason Nightingale.
McGregor's also found another surprise packet on the opposite edge with Jordan Pereira making the most of his belated opportunity on the other side.
However, the pair are part of an ongoing selection headache for McGregor following the long-term injury to skipper, and goal-kicker, Gareth Widdop.
Centre Tim Lafai has stepped up as a part-timer in his absence but endured a tough night with the boot against the Eagles, missing two penalty goal attempts - one from virtually in front of the posts in the first half.
The second came as he attempted to level the scores at 10 apiece with four minutes left, with Ravalawa's try ultimately getting the Dragons out of jail.
It's seen plenty of fans urge McGregor to find room for young-gun, and noted sharpshooter, Zac Lomax somewhere in his starting 13.
It will only amp up if Lafai's woes off the tee continue but McGregor backed him to bounce back from his off night.
"It wasn't a great night [of goal-kicking]," McGregor said.
"When you lose your main kicker in Gareth that can happen. Laf's been good the last couple of weeks, he was just a bit off [on Saturday].
"He missed a couple of goals that would have put us in a bit better position but that's footy. I don't think to much fazes Laf to be honest.
"It's a job he's doing but it's not a job he's been employed to do. Someone had to do it and he's practicing hard at training to try and be better.
"He wasn't great [against Manly] but all kickers have their off nights. That was just one of them."
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au...-massive-strides-for-dragons-in-2019/?cs=3713
I've never seen a player almost butcher a simple "put the ball down" try in my life.....Rookie Ravalawa making massive strides for Dragons in 2019
Dragons Den
MATCH-WINNER: Mikaele Ravalawa celebrates his late try against Manly on Saturday night. Picture: Mark Nolan/NRL Photos
THE NRL can be a tough school but Dragons coach Paul McGregor is full of praise for the way rookie winger Mikaele Ravalawa has embraced his crash course over the opening five rounds of the season.
The Fijian flyer's selection for round one came as a surprise to many despite a standout a preseason, but he's made a fine fist of top-grade action with four tries in five appearances on the right flank.
None were more important than his 79th minute four-pointer against the Sea Eagles on Saturday, sealing his side's fourth win on the trot.
McGregor said it's a remarkable effort given he had barely half a season of reserve grade under his belt prior to the current campaign.
"Mika's still learning the game, he's only played it for a few years," he said.
"He's only made his first grade debut this year, he only played half a year in the Canterbury Cup last year before he went back to bush footy.
"To repeatedly get himself involved in the game, and he's been on the end of a couple of tries at important times this year as well, it's a credit to the way he's learning and his preparation to improve each week.
"He got another good one [on Saturday night] and he gets excited about them to."
It was a void that needed filling for the Dragons following the departure of Nene Macdonald over the off-season and the retirement of club stalwart Jason Nightingale.
McGregor's also found another surprise packet on the opposite edge with Jordan Pereira making the most of his belated opportunity on the other side.
However, the pair are part of an ongoing selection headache for McGregor following the long-term injury to skipper, and goal-kicker, Gareth Widdop.
Centre Tim Lafai has stepped up as a part-timer in his absence but endured a tough night with the boot against the Eagles, missing two penalty goal attempts - one from virtually in front of the posts in the first half.
The second came as he attempted to level the scores at 10 apiece with four minutes left, with Ravalawa's try ultimately getting the Dragons out of jail.
It's seen plenty of fans urge McGregor to find room for young-gun, and noted sharpshooter, Zac Lomax somewhere in his starting 13.
It will only amp up if Lafai's woes off the tee continue but McGregor backed him to bounce back from his off night.
"It wasn't a great night [of goal-kicking]," McGregor said.
"When you lose your main kicker in Gareth that can happen. Laf's been good the last couple of weeks, he was just a bit off [on Saturday].
"He missed a couple of goals that would have put us in a bit better position but that's footy. I don't think to much fazes Laf to be honest.
"It's a job he's doing but it's not a job he's been employed to do. Someone had to do it and he's practicing hard at training to try and be better.
"He wasn't great [against Manly] but all kickers have their off nights. That was just one of them."
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au...-massive-strides-for-dragons-in-2019/?cs=3713
Apparently Pearson dropped his first ball & then missed a simple tackle but went on to score a couple of tries.
Yes your probably right! Mary is more likely to select Aitken only for him to break down mid game thus wasting a bench spot in a game where we are facing a hot competition front runner.
Rookie Ravalawa making massive strides for Dragons in 2019
Dragons Den
MATCH-WINNER: Mikaele Ravalawa celebrates his late try against Manly on Saturday night. Picture: Mark Nolan/NRL Photos
THE NRL can be a tough school but Dragons coach Paul McGregor is full of praise for the way rookie winger Mikaele Ravalawa has embraced his crash course over the opening five rounds of the season.
The Fijian flyer's selection for round one came as a surprise to many despite a standout a preseason, but he's made a fine fist of top-grade action with four tries in five appearances on the right flank.
None were more important than his 79th minute four-pointer against the Sea Eagles on Saturday, sealing his side's fourth win on the trot.
McGregor said it's a remarkable effort given he had barely half a season of reserve grade under his belt prior to the current campaign.
"Mika's still learning the game, he's only played it for a few years," he said.
"He's only made his first grade debut this year, he only played half a year in the Canterbury Cup last year before he went back to bush footy.
"To repeatedly get himself involved in the game, and he's been on the end of a couple of tries at important times this year as well, it's a credit to the way he's learning and his preparation to improve each week.
"He got another good one [on Saturday night] and he gets excited about them to."
It was a void that needed filling for the Dragons following the departure of Nene Macdonald over the off-season and the retirement of club stalwart Jason Nightingale.
McGregor's also found another surprise packet on the opposite edge with Jordan Pereira making the most of his belated opportunity on the other side.
However, the pair are part of an ongoing selection headache for McGregor following the long-term injury to skipper, and goal-kicker, Gareth Widdop.
Centre Tim Lafai has stepped up as a part-timer in his absence but endured a tough night with the boot against the Eagles, missing two penalty goal attempts - one from virtually in front of the posts in the first half.
The second came as he attempted to level the scores at 10 apiece with four minutes left, with Ravalawa's try ultimately getting the Dragons out of jail.
It's seen plenty of fans urge McGregor to find room for young-gun, and noted sharpshooter, Zac Lomax somewhere in his starting 13.
It will only amp up if Lafai's woes off the tee continue but McGregor backed him to bounce back from his off night.
"It wasn't a great night [of goal-kicking]," McGregor said.
"When you lose your main kicker in Gareth that can happen. Laf's been good the last couple of weeks, he was just a bit off [on Saturday].
"He missed a couple of goals that would have put us in a bit better position but that's footy. I don't think to much fazes Laf to be honest.
"It's a job he's doing but it's not a job he's been employed to do. Someone had to do it and he's practicing hard at training to try and be better.
"He wasn't great [against Manly] but all kickers have their off nights. That was just one of them."
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au...-massive-strides-for-dragons-in-2019/?cs=3713
Apparently Pearson dropped his first ball & then missed a simple tackle but went on to score a couple of tries.
Re. Aitken : I'm not convinced the ice on his hammy was just a regular ice treatment post match. The lack of regular hit ups makes you wonder or may have felt something after he was tripped.
Lack of Impact intensity from Simms was also noticed. Last week I noticed him holding his rib & sure enough after the Manly game there he is with rib strapping!!!!!
Mary would rather play busted players against a quality Roosters team with a 5 DAY turnaround so he can win the premiership in April.
