Round 1 Teamlist

[Godz Illa]

Teamlist announcement meltdowns usually make me scoff, but on this occasion it is entirely warranted. If anything we're being too kind.

 

[hazzbeen]

Stanley on the bench will probably see him get time as hooker - a backward step imo and a waste of bench space. Great to see Hunt at starting prop again, that'll help our defence greatly and when Stockwell comes back it'll be him and Hunt starting with Ah Mau and or DeBelin on the bench, good stuff.

I have said before for some reason stanley is suppose to be saints savour. Dont know why he is on the bench should be in the cutters? No williams Price has dead set lost it. Here we go again Drinkwater all over again.

 

[Elias1983]

Let's just see what happens sunday .....who knows maybe witt and widdop will strike up a good partnership..

 

[saints4me]

Not good IMO. For Prices sake I hope they go ok or the fans will be baying for blood.

....And they're not now???

 

[Minh]

Yep... band aid solution, with all due respect to Witt.

Witt won't let us down but he is a bit of a yesterdays man, we need a player for the future and even if we win this week it'll feel a bit like a loss. All due respect to Witt like you said Tru, but I would have thought he was the plan B if Williams didn't work out. This is deflating.

 

[Redvpassion]

I hate this club.

No no you hate the coach.

 

[jenninga]

This is why I despise Price so much as a coach. Always playing safety first to cover his own bacon by choosing an old veteran over giving a young gun in Williams a chance. Sure he might have a greater chance of winning due to goal kicking alone, but that is not forward planning, that is self preservation.[/QUOTE]

Correct,Price has panicked and obviously feeling pressure.
What's going through his head,the front row looks ordinary and Hunt hasn't played for 6 months,and Thomson on the bench,don't get me started.

 

[hazzbeen]

Let's just see what happens sunday .....who knows maybe witt and widdop will strike up a good partnership..

No problem with Witt on the bench.Williams is part of saint future and will develop into a top number 7.Witt is not saint future.I can see Price destroying Williams before the season starts..........the guy is mad.

 

[Redvpassion]

Dan hunt straight into starting line up? You would ease him back in wouldn't you?

Elias thats what normal coaches would do. Price is a super coach.

 

[getsmarty]

Witt gets nod over Williams for halfback spot

By ADAM PENGILLY

March 4, 2014, 1:59 p.m.

• 
  Michael Witt has won the race for the halfback spot for round one. Picture: CHRISTOPHER CHAN

St George Illawarra coach Steve Price has given the nod to Michael Witt over Sam Williams to wear the No 7 in the Dragons season opener against Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Summer signing Witt, an NRL journeyman with previous stints at Manly, Parramatta and the Warriors, only joined the Red V in the summer from English Super League strugglers London Broncos.
And after impressing in the Auckland Nines and a brief cameo in the Charity Shield, Price has opted for experience in the halves to partner marquee man Gareth Widdop.
Adam Quinlan will warm the seat at fullback for the injured Josh Dugan while Price’s experiment with Ben Creagh in the front row has been shelved, at least temporarily, as the skipper reverts to back row.
‘‘The players are excited that the new season is now only days away after a long, tough preseason,’’ Price said. ‘‘It is a new season, a new squad and a new challenge for us all.
‘‘The players have all pushed each other every single day of the preseason, there has been great competition for spots and the players chosen have earned their place in the squad for Sunday.’’
Widdop, Witt, Dylan Farrell and Joel Thompson will make their Dragons debuts, while English recruit Mike Cooper was named on an extended five-man bench.
Jack Stockwell is expected to miss the first two games of the season while Dugan won’t be back until round five.
Dragons squad: 1 Adam Quinlan, 2 Brett Morris, 3 Dylan Farrell, 4 Gerard Beale, 5 Jason Nightingale, 6 Gareth Widdop, 7 Michael Witt, 8 Jack de Belin, 9 Mitch Rein, 10 Dan Hunt, 11 Leeson Ah Mau, 12 Ben Creagh (c), 13 Trent Merrin. Interchange (one to be omitted): 14 Bronson Harrison, 15 Kyle Stanley, 16 Joel Thompson, 17 Tyson Frizell, 20 Mike Cooper.


http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/...-nod-over-williams-for-halfback-spot/?cs=2382




STUNNED...how on earth does Stanley jag a bench spot??? I would have played 7/ Williams /Bench Witt /Cutters Stanley.

 

[jenninga]

I hate this club.

I love this club,,,just hate who's running it and making the decisions.

 

[twinkletoes]

We buy new players and yet we start with the same forward pack as last year...what suddenly is going to make these same players so much better than last season and the season before. The starting forward pack is soft with no defensive muscle...we will lose it in the forwards....

 

[mmap dragons]

Witt won't let us down but he is a bit of a yesterdays man, we need a player for the future and even if we win this week it'll feel a bit like a loss. All due respect to Witt like you said Tru, but I would have thought he was the plan B if Williams didn't work out. This is deflating.

Agree with you Minh that Witt won't let anyone down. What beggars belief is Price's decision to overlook Williams whom was brought to the club by Price as a specialist half yet is ultimately picked at 6 for the cutters.

All hail the supercoach.

 

[2010Dragons]

No mongrel in the forwards, no speed at dummy half, Rein at hooker ..WTF?
Looks like Price is ready to lose the first game of the season!

 

[st.phil]

The thing is that Williams' defensive weaknesses were well and truly known, so any confirmation of that in the CS should have come as no surpise and shouldn't be a reason for his omission. He was brought in to bolster the attack. Any judgement of him should be based on that.
Like Soward/Lockyer et al, there needs to be a protective defensive structure built around him to accommodate.

He was not dropped because of defense - he was isolated badly in CS, Au Mau is sluggish in the line, he is a decent defender for a half.

 

[Gazzaw]

If we don't win Rd 1, we may not win till round 10. Take a look at the draw guys. Why the hell wouldn't Stanley be in the cutters to rebuild confidence.

I have stayed away from this BUT NOW "DICE PRICE" & "OUST DOUST"

 

[st.phil]

Really deflating...why oh why did they hang on to this joker?? He MUST have something over Dousty...but I seriously doubt he understands the word let alone could carry out a well orchestrated extortion plot.

Doust has dug his own grave here - the great slide will continue for a while yet.

 

[Cagey Mac]

Price is an embarrassment to the team, the club, the state, the NRL, the country, the male gender, the human race, the planet earth, our solar system...................

Grow some cojones Doust and bone this idiot!!

 

[Drain the Dragon]

Witt at half is a half-witted idea.

 

[Gazzaw]

No it's a fullwitt idea (gee did I spell that wrong)