Rnd 1- Storm Vs Dragons Discussion.

[MattYg1]

Not sure what people were expecting? A Win? attack that was clicking and on fire?


Honestly in a rebuilding phase all you can do is watch for what works and what doesnt and hope that the coach has the balls to make changes thusly...


1) Beale excited me, for one his footwork and little bit of improve the many times the second man play wasnt on showed something that we havent had even in Boyd who would often stop, palm and drop if the pass wasnt on. Also had a great cut out ball to Morris in the first half, he will get better in time. Morris and Nighty were as solid as always so that back 3 could become something special with more time.


2)Pack was great, and this is a benchmark of our season last year even, we have a good pack so we know thats not so much the problem.


3)I didnt really have an issue with how Soward played, again anybody expecting Jamie to be a ball running gun five eight are kidding themselves, he has never been one, he is a Half back who is good at organising the team, kicking and taking oppotunities that present themselves.


4)Nathan Fien... my biggest concern is that even replacing him with Drinkwater doesnt help our halves all that much because from what I have been hearing Drinkwaters skillset is mostly the same as what Sowards is... I'd still like to give him a go more so then Fien, f**k it give Happy the Dragon the 7 jersey over Fien at this point. Love what you did for us in 2010 mate but I think its time to hang em up and hit the showers...


5)Stanley went okay, never good to see him go down, Coops was invisible though... I love Coops always have but Gasnier's skillset offset Coopers on opposite side of the field and without that dynamic attacking centre on the opposite side of the field a lot of expectation is placed on Coops... I just dont think he is up to it anymore. Would love to be proven wrong Coops...


6)Steve Price... look I feel sorry for this bloke, he has been much maligned from the moment he got the job. He took over for possibly the greatest coach of all time and last year was average at best and he starts this year against the Premiers at their homeground where we havent won in 14 years... This was a loss before the schedule was released!! What we hope is that he has the balls to make changes and tweaks to the team.


I think this is his biggest weakness, he seems like a good bloke and all but seems to be very stubborn in his coaching and he hasnt earnt the right to be so.

 

[tumbidragon]

I saw the game pretty much the same as most but not quite
Firstly needs to be noted that it was a hot day and the older guys would have been feeling it
? Fein is no longer an NRL capable half. Needs to be transferred urgently to the cutters or bench hooking spot. Personally I?d move Soward to half and King to 5/8 and play Fein as reserve hooker at least for the time being
? Prior was MOMIMO! Played in the hottest part of the day and tackled his heart out. No errors either though he did concede one penalty.
? Mez played really well though he did not dominate
? Au Mau, yet another, maligned in the past, is damned good and looks like he will get better.
? Coops had a poor game, his performance needs to be monitored though the older you get, the longer it takes for you to come up to speed each season
? Beale looked okay
? Is the season over for Chase yet?
? Horse looks a bit suspect, hope he holds up
? Ben Creagh played 80 minutes (of the forwards only he and Ryan Hoffman did so)
? Harrison looked out of place in attack but made 33 tackles, the most of anyone on the field except the Australian captain
So short of dropping Fein and shuffling the spine and the forced move of Vidot back onto the centre, I?d leave the all else in place and see how we go next week. Change nothing and I believe we?re in trouble again but Brisbane weren?t too impressive either and we have them at home

I really do think this is the best option going forward for the team. Reports by some fans say Drinkwater is no where near ready for 1st's yet, and Fien certainly is not cutting it. King has all the attributes of a good solid 5/8. Those who say he's not fast enough I say to them he has at least 2 yards on fiensy.

 

[St_Bondi]

Can't agree more about King having a run at 5/8.

His gallant attempt to catch Widdup showed he definitely has some pace ... and before you say it I know Widdup isn't the fastest 5/8 around.

Anyway, where was Fien in that chase ... Ooohhh that's right he tried to put that stupid frickin' kick through that led to the try when we had an overlap. Great decision.

The only team I think we are capable of beating are the Warriors and that is only if they play like they did on the weekend. I don't think Matt Elliott will let that happen too often. :crazy:

 

[BennyV]

Not sure what people were expecting? A Win? attack that was clicking and on fire?


Honestly in a rebuilding phase all you can do is watch for what works and what doesnt and hope that the coach has the balls to make changes thusly...


1) Beale excited me, for one his footwork and little bit of improve the many times the second man play wasnt on showed something that we havent had even in Boyd who would often stop, palm and drop if the pass wasnt on. Also had a great cut out ball to Morris in the first half, he will get better in time. Morris and Nighty were as solid as always so that back 3 could become something special with more time.


2)Pack was great, and this is a benchmark of our season last year even, we have a good pack so we know thats not so much the problem.


3)I didnt really have an issue with how Soward played, again anybody expecting Jamie to be a ball running gun five eight are kidding themselves, he has never been one, he is a Half back who is good at organising the team, kicking and taking oppotunities that present themselves.


4)Nathan Fien... my biggest concern is that even replacing him with Drinkwater doesnt help our halves all that much because from what I have been hearing Drinkwaters skillset is mostly the same as what Sowards is... I'd still like to give him a go more so then Fien, f**k it give Happy the Dragon the 7 jersey over Fien at this point. Love what you did for us in 2010 mate but I think its time to hang em up and hit the showers...


5)Stanley went okay, never good to see him go down, Coops was invisible though... I love Coops always have but Gasnier's skillset offset Coopers on opposite side of the field and without that dynamic attacking centre on the opposite side of the field a lot of expectation is placed on Coops... I just dont think he is up to it anymore. Would love to be proven wrong Coops...


6)Steve Price... look I feel sorry for this bloke, he has been much maligned from the moment he got the job. He took over for possibly the greatest coach of all time and last year was average at best and he starts this year against the Premiers at their homeground where we havent won in 14 years... This was a loss before the schedule was released!! What we hope is that he has the balls to make changes and tweaks to the team.


I think this is his biggest weakness, he seems like a good bloke and all but seems to be very stubborn in his coaching and he hasnt earnt the right to be so.

Everything about this is correct!

Can't agree more about King having a run at 5/8.

His gallant attempt to catch Widdup showed he definitely has some pace ... and before you say it I know Widdup isn't the fastest 5/8 around.

Anyway, where was Fien in that chase ... Ooohhh that's right he tried to put that stupid frickin' kick through that led to the try when we had an overlap. Great decision.

The only team I think we are capable of beating are the Warriors and that is only if they play like they did on the weekend. I don't think Matt Elliott will let that happen too often. :crazy:

I was under the impression that Widdop is fairly quick! Filling in at the back for Slater last year he seemed to zip around quite easily and showed a fair bit of speed. I was very impressed at King keeping up. That said, hooker to five-eight isn't an easy transission...

 

[jenninga]

I saw the game pretty much the same as most but not quite
Firstly needs to be noted that it was a hot day and the older guys would have been feeling it
? Fein is no longer an NRL capable half. Needs to be transferred urgently to the cutters or bench hooking spot. Personally I?d move Soward to half and King to 5/8 and play Fein as reserve hooker at least for the time being
? Prior was MOMIMO! Played in the hottest part of the day and tackled his heart out. No errors either though he did concede one penalty.
? Mez played really well though he did not dominate
? Au Mau, yet another, maligned in the past, is damned good and looks like he will get better.
? Coops had a poor game, his performance needs to be monitored though the older you get, the longer it takes for you to come up to speed each season
? Beale looked okay
? Is the season over for Chase yet?
? Horse looks a bit suspect, hope he holds up
? Ben Creagh played 80 minutes (of the forwards only he and Ryan Hoffman did so)
? Harrison looked out of place in attack but made 33 tackles, the most of anyone on the field except the Australian captain
So short of dropping Fein and shuffling the spine and the forced move of Vidot back onto the centre, I?d leave the all else in place and see how we go next week. Change nothing and I believe we?re in trouble again but Brisbane weren?t too impressive either and we have them at home

I mentioned earlier today that i would like to see Soward at 7 and King at 6.King looked enthusiastic and worked hard ,and Fien back as back up hooker gives the side experience coming off the bench.
Fien at half will not get better so i hope Price doesn't persist with him at 7.

 

[Cagey Mac]

I mentioned earlier today that i would like to see Soward at 7 and King at 6.King looked enthusiastic and worked hard ,and Fien back as back up hooker gives the side experience coming off the bench.
Fien at half will not get better so i hope Price doesn't persist with him at 7.

Sorry I missed your comment
I guess I agree!

 

[jenninga]

Sorry I missed your comment
I guess I agree!

Thank you for agreeing.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Any news on Chase Stanley's injury, or any other injuries?

 

[tumbidragon]

Any news on Chase Stanley's injury, or any other injuries?

St George Illawarra Dragons centre Chase Stanley has suffered a minor knee sprain and will be re-evaluated on Monday.
The Hurstville United junior has met with Club medical staff and will be monitored following the ailment to his right knee sustained in the 30-10 loss to the Mlebourne Storm at AAMI Park, Melbourne on Sunday.
?Chase has a minor knee sprain and will be reassessed on Monday,? said Dragons High Performance Director Andrew Gray.
?We may possibly proceed to have it scanned if we require further information and go from there.?

http://www.dragons.com.au/news-display/Dragons-Injury-Update/69666

 

[BennyV]

What about Rein? He looked to take a hit in the first half, then didn't get back on the park..

 

[Slippery Morris]

Same crap as per 2012. What pi$$es me off more is that Price told us they worked hard on their attack all offseason and it loked the same as 2012....

Hopefully 5 more weeks of pain then they punt Price. Hope they don't leave it to late.
With 20 rounds to go they still have a chance to make the 8.

Rubbish attack. Defence was not that bad as they scored from errors. 1st try was very poor but appart from that they were OK?

Seriously if they throw in Qunilan and Drinkwater it can't get worse and there is a chance it could get better.

Melb are a class outfit but they really did not play well at all. They were probably in 2nd gear all game and did not have to move up a gear with the crap the Saints threw at them.

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

http://www.dragons.com.au/news-display/Dragons-Injury-Update/69666

Thanks. That's good news

 

[Elias1983]

Halves, Halves, Halves!!!

There was a 15 min period after we scored that 2nd try we were giving it to melb up the middle.

King was gaining great yardage with his runs, Ah mau, Hunt and merrin were getting the upper hand and that is exactly where you needed your halves to take control.

Perfect example of this was Manly on Friday night against the broncos when they ran in those 3 tries. The forwards got on top and the halves did the rest.

I'm not saying we would have run in 3 tries against Melb (then again anything is possible) but there will be plenty of these opportunities throughout the season that we will need to convert to points.

 

[TheRev]

Its not a "development period" when we are playing short-term players in key positions, Fein specifically and Soward if hes not going to be there beyond 2013.

King & Rein are being suggested as potential halfbacks, and im not opposed to an experiment if they are realistic longterm options, but I dont know that they are, they are great hookers but im not sure they can read the game well enough to be playmakers, Rein has never amazed me with his football brains, and King I dont know enough about, I know hes played the position before, but made some fundamental errors against Melbourne when adlibing, but yes hes an option but only if coaching staff really see him becoming our next great halfback, if not lets use the time to "develop" someone else.

 

[giboz71]

King actually looked pretty good out of dummy half. Yes, he took some wrong options, but realistically, he's only played a handful of FG games, so he will develop.

Rein is a good player, but in a team so bereft of creativity and attacking options, I'd take a chance on King as our long term hooker to add that spark out of dummy half. Very few points are going to come from our backiline based on what I've seen so far.

 

[Johnny-b-Goode]

Okay firstly I will say that everyone knows that I am glass half full guy but please people ...

What we delivered Sunday was utter crapola...

Lets start with our game plan, every club knows Cronk is going to hit the line and throw the short pass, we failed to cover that.

The storms weakness is its left side defence, everyone knows, even Leeds ran through them at ease, so where is our attack focused, down their right side?????

A couple of forwards showed some grit, inc Prior, but otherwise the boys didn't want to be there.

Fien = a bucket of camel crap!!! Drinkwater may not be the best but he has gotta be better... Give King a shot at 7.... Anyone else, put Prior there but just get rid of Fien .....

Sorry but the sooner Price is gone and Doust commits huri-curi the better we will be... Bring Sheens in for the remainder of the year and get some young hot shot ala Greenberg in charge!

 

[Old_Timer]

You Judas Johnny! You sounds more like me than I do, LOL.

 

[Johnny-b-Goode]

Mate, I may be optimistic, but I am honest...

 

[hardbaby]

at 7.... Anyone else, put Prior there but just get rid of Fien .....

Prior at half. I like it. Got my vote.

 

[jenninga]

Okay firstly I will say that everyone knows that I am glass half full guy but please people ...

What we delivered Sunday was utter crapola...

Lets start with our game plan, every club knows Cronk is going to hit the line and throw the short pass, we failed to cover that.

The storms weakness is its left side defence, everyone knows, even Leeds ran through them at ease, so where is our attack focused, down their right side?????

A couple of forwards showed some grit, inc Prior, but otherwise the boys didn't want to be there.

Fien = a bucket of camel crap!!! Drinkwater may not be the best but he has gotta be better... Give King a shot at 7.... Anyone else, put Prior there but just get rid of Fien .....

Sorry but the sooner Price is gone and Doust commits huri-curi the better we will be... Bring Sheens in for the remainder of the year and get some young hot shot ala Greenberg in charge!

I know it was the same for both sides,but unless you were there you couldn't believe how hot it was.With Cronk running the show it would have been easier for the Storm and with Fien struggling i thought we did well first game against the premiers .
I was proud how we competed,some errors came late in the game due to the heat.
I will reserve my judgement after say rd5.