Rnd 19: Saints vs Manly

[mmap dragons]

Farrell must come back into the starting side and Dugan has to move back to FB. They bought Farrell as a specialist centre and if fit, He should start. McGregor may have the opinion that Dugan may be a future Australian centre, However, He needs to play at the back at club level as it's the best fit for the side. Dugan is a far better option at F/B IMO.

If McGregor can separate his infactuation with Dugan at Centre and move him back to FB, Combined with the return of Mez & Friz, I feel they can make the 8.

 

[friend10]

Man this game was annoying so many penalties from both sides. the ref should have let the game free flow more. this was the ref which let the warriors push in scrums, we should have tried pushing

 

[dragonreddy]

He has been very good the last few weeks.

He gets paid well to be GOOD every week ,if you have a look at total number of games so far there are more bad than good, which is in keeping with his form from last year.

 

[Dezziedc]

You guys crack me up. Unrealistic expectations...

 

[Joey_dragons]

Adam quinlan cost us the game tonight. Dugan back to fullback and Farrell to centre.

 

[dragonreddy]

You guys crack me up. Unrealistic expectations...

My expectations aren't unrealistic i said at the start of the season i thought we would finish 12th at best and that looks more likely than a top 8 finish, on Marshall its no good going ok against the easier sides then playing ordinary when the defence gets tougher from the better sides ,sorry but he takes up too much salary cap for that.

 

[stgill2001]

I think if it comes down to dragons having a mathematical chance of making the 8 then we don't deserve to be there.
All the Benji knockers come out again after a loss so I say put some boots on and get out there and do better.
I still prefer to have him in the Red V then playing against it.
I thought the forwards matched the eagles all game but it was acts of stupidity and the coach killer penalties that lost the game.You give a team like Manly a sniff and they capitalise nearly every time.They also are one of the luckiest teams too.Things just seem to go their way a lot of the time.
IMO keep Dugan in the centres,move Beale to FB and chuck Mata or Farrell into centre.

 

[Dezziedc]

As I said, unrealistic expectations.

You guys blame Quinlan for losing the game, yet Dugan made a number of mistakes at crucial times as well - but nahhhhh - he can do no wrong. He is the second coming - more like you guys blowing a load in your pants every time he runs onto the field. Hell he seemed completely uninterested tonight but not a bad thing to say about him from anyone. Yes Quinlan had a rough night, but our edge defense was appalling. Quinlan didn't lose us the game, our right edge lost us the game.

You guys expected us to beat Manly? Seriously? The sea eagles have an established team that have essentially had their core playing together for years now with a solid back line - they are a well oiled machine who know how to work together through years of experience. They aren't top of the table out of luck.

For us, we have a spine that are still finding their feet and trying to work out the best fit. This shit just doesn't stick over night. We are starting to build but it is going to take longer than 5 games. Whether you like it or not, the reality is that we lost 1/2 the year playing under a coach who didn't know what he was doing. Mary is trying to build some structure and consistency in the team but it is going to take time.

Wake up and stop crying for peoples heads every time we lose. If you are going to say Benji takes up too much salary cap to play like he did tonight, then I have to throw Dugan in the same class. He needs to pull his finger out and play better than that if he wants to earn his salary as well. And how about Widdop not kicking out on the full - again!!! Hell, lets bag him as well.

 

[rainman44]

I think if it comes down to dragons having a mathematical chance of making the 8 then we don't deserve to be there.
All the Benji knockers come out again after a loss so I say put some boots on and get out there and do better.
I still prefer to have him in the Red V then playing against it.
I thought the forwards matched the eagles all game but it was acts of stupidity and the coach killer penalties that lost the game.You give a team like Manly a sniff and they capitalise nearly every time.They also are one of the luckiest teams too.Things just seem to go their way a lot of the time.
IMO keep Dugan in the centres,move Beale to FB and chuck Mata or Farrell into centre.

I agree, benji is class but our team is not up to the big sides and we are no chance of making the finals.

 

[grouch]

Lol Dezzie's Quinlan essays are becoming more and more unhinged.

None of the recent wins have been against decent teams with the exception of Melbourne, and Quinlan was a bit player in that at best. Time to get serious. Put Dugan back there and bring Farrell in

 

[ellskimore]

As I said, unrealistic expectations.

You guys blame Quinlan for losing the game, yet Dugan made a number of mistakes at crucial times as well - but nahhhhh - he can do no wrong. He is the second coming - more like you guys blowing a load in your pants every time he runs onto the field. Hell he seemed completely uninterested tonight but not a bad thing to say about him from anyone. Yes Quinlan had a rough night, but our edge defense was appalling. Quinlan didn't lose us the game, our right edge lost us the game.

You guys expected us to beat Manly? Seriously? The sea eagles have an established team that have essentially had their core playing together for years now with a solid back line - they are a well oiled machine who know how to work together through years of experience. They aren't top of the table out of luck.

For us, we have a spine that are still finding their feet and trying to work out the best fit. This shit just doesn't stick over night. We are starting to build but it is going to take longer than 5 games. Whether you like it or not, the reality is that we lost 1/2 the year playing under a coach who didn't know what he was doing. Mary is trying to build some structure and consistency in the team but it is going to take time.

Wake up and stop crying for peoples heads every time we lose. If you are going to say Benji takes up too much salary cap to play like he did tonight, then I have to throw Dugan in the same class. He needs to pull his finger out and play better than that if he wants to earn his salary as well. And how about Widdop not kicking out on the full - again!!! Hell, lets bag him as well.

I actually agree with a lot of this.

 

[blacksafake]

Boy they were rusty after the bye as usual.I think it's time to move Dugan back with Farrell coming in & put Quinlan on the bench as back up dummy half.This is one area where we really lack, spark out of dummy half & Quinlan can bring that to the team with his speed & passing.

Did Mary ring Price tonight for selection advice with the selection of Green WTF

 

[Slippery Morris]

The bye was a momentum killer. Came at the wrong time. Saints looked flat tonight but I am sure they will put in a better performance on Sunday.

Saints did not play well but Manly scored a couple of their tries from luck (1st one bounced off the back of a dragons heel into their hands to score) and 1 try was off a clear forward pass. Saints also made silly errors which gave Manly possession on the zero tackle.

Not doom and gloom yet guys give them a chance to make up for this game. I think Quinlan to Cutters is now due and give possibly Beale a crack at fullback with Farrell at center or move Duges back to fullback if he wants to. Farrell should definitely come in for Quinlan. And what is the story with Green? I thought he was gone.

They need a win on Sunday if they want to play finals footy that's for sure so pick your best 17 Mary. No more trial and error selections.

 

[dino2170]

noooooooooooooo grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenn

 

[getsmarty]

Beaten by a better side...Agree re Quinlan to cutters...time to try either Dugan back at fullback or Beale to fullback and farrell to come into the side.

 

[Saint Angelo]

Dugan to fullback is a MUST.
Origin is over now, and if Mary picks Dugan at centre next week, our season will be over.
Does Darius play on the wing for the Knights, Inglis at centre for souths, etc etc.
Answer: no no no no, NO !!!!!!

 

[pinkmoon]

Manly scored a couple of their tries from luck (1st one bounced off the back of a dragons heel into their hands to score) and 1 try was off a clear forward pass. Saints also made silly errors which gave Manly possession on the zero tackle.

No, no, no, no ,no. Our right edge defence was like an autobahn, and we were lucky to only concede two tries in the first half; luck being on our side regarding the obstruction for Symond's try. Manly run their plays with speed and precision, putting them in a position to take opportunities as they arise.

 

[pinkmoon]

A pattern is forming with our predictable attack.

We run the ol' sweeper on the left, with Widdop playing the "Hornby role". This play hasn't been effective since midway through 2011.

Even worse, when we go right, we stand flat footed and pass the ball slowly through 10 sets of hands until the ball gets to Dugan, and he cuts back into the waiting defence on the inside. It's all done in slow motion and the top teams will not be troubled by it. Surprisingly, we actually scored a try of this play against Melbourne, thanks to Kurt Mann's relative inexperience. Anyway, it's a very average way to attack the opposition line....school boy stuff.

 

[TheRev]

Guys we were actually pretty damn good with the ball that we had, Widdop/Benji asked a lot of questions, repeat sets, I was really happy with that side of our game.

All that let us down were errors, and frankly some very harsh ref calls, one of them was virtually a 12 point turn-around, its the kind of thing you just cant absorb against the best team in the comp, but to our credit we hung in for 80 minutes anyway, even with all that D we had to do.

Tough game to watch, but proud of the boys, cant wait to see if we can bounce back next week and keep the run alive.

 

[pinkmoon]

Guys we were actually pretty damn good with the ball that we had, Widdop/Benji asked a lot of questions, repeat sets, I was really happy with that side of our game.

We had enough ball in good territory to win 10 games of football. Everything we did in attack was 10 times slower than Manly, not to mention disjointed. Manly beat us in a canter. There is plenty of work to do in attack.