Round 1 v Sharks

[Gareth67]

Gareth, besides Kevin Ryan, who were the hard nuts from Saints, and/or Illawarra, that fit that mould. I am not taking the piss here, I really want to know.
I know all the Cronulla hard buggers.

Well there were a number of saintly gentlemen whom were well versed in a bit of bar room brawling . However as you mentioned besides Ryan , there was a chap by the name of Billy Wilson who just loved throw the occasional haymaker and of course Harry Bath who was well versed in the manly arts - with tuition from the great English forwards of the day .

Another who comes to mind was Brian ‘ poppa ‘ Clay who could certainly take care of himself due to his earlier training in the forward pack before he went to 5/8 th , but later took it out on the opposing players with some good old fashioned ball and all tackling - and if use the ears to drag the player down then that was okay by him too .

One player whom I always admired was John Wittenberg , a tough uncompromising , yet a clean player unless provoked , I recall the Souths pack often going out of their way to imitate Apisai Toga who was a great player for the Dragons yet quite gentle , but Wittenberg would let them know that if they wanted to play games then do it with him .

However most teams had their tough nuts , but some were just downright thugs who eventually got their comeuppance from another who could hit that bit harder or accidental throw a stiff arm in the opponent’s face as he came running past .

The only thing that turn me off was you would occasionally see a boot going in and then it was on for young and old .

Apologies for taking the thread off track somewhat gents .

 

[boardlumps62]

You’re missing the point. If the coaching staff at the Dragons fixed the defence of the team that stands in front of Duffy and lets all those line breaks through then Dufty’s defensive deficiencies are going to be an issue far less often. Blaming Duffy for teams scoring against us for the last 2 years is myopic.

There was a coach we had Peter Flanders some would know him. He was the fullback last line of defence "12 humans can't stop them I am only 1 human what can I do".
Go figure don't put it on Dufty.

 

[denis preston]

No one is saying it isn’t an obvious fact but it is about the effort and willingness to out one’s body on the line and Dufty isn’t even close to Dugan in that regard.
Simple question if you were in front on the scoreboard by 1 with the opposition pressing your line with 5 to go who would you pick Dufty or Dugan?

Or if you were behind by 3 with 5 to go and you were in your own half in attack , who would you rather have the ball in their hands Dufty Or Dugan ?

 

[kit66]

Well just about everyone has written us off, not just for this game but for the whole season and has us fighting it out for the spoon, so this game is so important to make a statement.
I think it's good then that our first up opponents are the Sharkies at home, a game we should win.
We played them twice last year, beating them in round 5 ( 30-16 ) and losing to them in round 11 ( 28-24 ) courtesy of an incorrect Bunker call when they awarded Cronulla a try that replays show was clearly grounded in goal by Dufty ( not only did that lose us the game but saw us finish 12th on the ladder instead of 10th ) - one bad call. We bombed a couple of tries as well.
Also in that Round 11 clash we lost our 7, Clune for the second half and Merrin only played 6 minutes before going off injured. There will be some personnel changes for this Sunday, most notably no McInnes for us and no Shaun Johnson for them, among others. The Sharkies will have almost the same team otherwise. They'll have Moylan in for Johnson who is capable of some spectacular brain explosions ( fingers crossed ) and we'll have McC in the 9, Griffin's 31 year old wunderkind to the rescue.
If our new guys put in good performances in our first home game we should get a win against the Sharks with no Johnson running the show and laying on most of their points as usual.

No A. Fifita I notice. If they don't want him we'll take him, Kerr needs a worthy back row partner. ; ) .

Go Saints !

 

[Dragon David]

Well just about everyone has written us off, not just for this game but for the whole season and has us fighting it out for the spoon, so this game is so important to make a statement.
I think it's good then that our first up opponents are the Sharkies at home, a game we should win.
We played them twice last year, beating them in round 5 ( 30-16 ) and losing to them in round 11 ( 28-24 ) courtesy of an incorrect Bunker call when they awarded Cronulla a try that replays show was clearly grounded in goal by Dufty ( not only did that lose us the game but saw us finish 14th on the ladder instead of 12th ) - one bad call. We bombed a couple of tries as well.
Also in that Round 11 clash we lost our 7, Clune for the second half and Merrin only played 6 minutes before going off injured. There will be some personnel changes for this Sunday, most notably no McInnes for us and no Shaun Johnson for them, among others. The Sharkies will have almost the same team otherwise. They'll have Moylan in for Johnson who is capable of some spectacular brain explosions ( fingers crossed ) and we'll have McC in the 9, Griffin's 31 year old wunderkind to the rescue.
If our new guys put in good performances in our first home game we should get a win against the Sharks with no Johnson running the show and laying on most of their points as usual.

No A. Fifita I notice. If they don't want him we'll take him, Kerr needs a worthy back row partner. ; ) .

Go Saints !

A win on Sunday by our boys will give the whole team a lot of confidence going into the next games against the Cowboys (Dean Young will want to beat us) and the Sea Eagles (Jason Saab might have something to prove) and even the Knights (Tyson will want to show us what we will miss).

Who knows, if we win the first 4 games it will put the doubters in their place but it all starts hopefully with a win against the Sharks. Come on guys, you can do it!

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I agree David its paramount we record our first win this weekend.....not getting carried away if we do because theres a lot of work to do if we are to be anywhere near competitive this season......whilst we lack punch and go forward if we gain some confidence early and complete our sets etc we may go allright....when I look at our 17 theres plenty of ability there but its between the ears where the problem lies

 

[Miller was a legend]

Well just about everyone has written us off, not just for this game but for the whole season and has us fighting it out for the spoon, so this game is so important to make a statement.
I think it's good then that our first up opponents are the Sharkies at home, a game we should win.
We played them twice last year, beating them in round 5 ( 30-16 ) and losing to them in round 11 ( 28-24 ) courtesy of an incorrect Bunker call when they awarded Cronulla a try that replays show was clearly grounded in goal by Dufty ( not only did that lose us the game but saw us finish 14th on the ladder instead of 12th ) - one bad call. We bombed a couple of tries as well.
Also in that Round 11 clash we lost our 7, Clune for the second half and Merrin only played 6 minutes before going off injured. There will be some personnel changes for this Sunday, most notably no McInnes for us and no Shaun Johnson for them, among others. The Sharkies will have almost the same team otherwise. They'll have Moylan in for Johnson who is capable of some spectacular brain explosions ( fingers crossed ) and we'll have McC in the 9, Griffin's 31 year old wunderkind to the rescue.
If our new guys put in good performances in our first home game we should get a win against the Sharks with no Johnson running the show and laying on most of their points as usual.

No A. Fifita I notice. If they don't want him we'll take him, Kerr needs a worthy back row partner. ; ) .

Go Saints !

You are forgetting the wonder kid Sir Chadley “the hair” Townsend. He’s got dis

 

[boardlumps62]

A win on Sunday by our boys will give the whole team a lot of confidence going into the next games against the Cowboys (Dean Young will want to beat us) and the Sea Eagles (Jason Saab might have something to prove) and even the Knights (Tyson will want to show us what we will miss).

Who knows, if we win the first 4 games it will put the doubters in their place but it all starts hopefully with a win against the Sharks. Come on guys, you can do it!

Four on the trot who'd have thought.

 

[LINESPEED]

A win on Sunday by our boys will give the whole team a lot of confidence going into the next games against the Cowboys (Dean Young will want to beat us) and the Sea Eagles (Jason Saab might have something to prove) and even the Knights (Tyson will want to show us what we will miss).

Who knows, if we win the first 4 games it will put the doubters in their place but it all starts hopefully with a win against the Sharks. Come on guys, you can do it!

IMO while ever the current ossified Board remains in place
& beyond true & widespread democratic scrutiny,
the best of Dragon DNA & culture,
Our diaspora,
will remain embedded elsewhere across the NRL

In exile.

So much footy knowledge & talent has fled the Club in a decade of crass, self-serving boganism
-
Best evidenced in the rolling eyes of pundits, journos & assorted commentariat when the Dragons are mentioned in dispatches ...

(Increasingly as an afterthought in passing).

We make up the numbers only

For the media,
elite players
& wider fan base
we’re the WTF Club

... the litmus test for failure

... with a Board the yardstick & model of poor governance

Unrepresentative swill practising their very own GOP-like voter suppression

A nagging hindrance that must soon be gone.

BTW Hookie

.... We’ve found the hard way that bench selection/rotation is a good barometer of footy IQ.

Williame?
How’s his hammy?
Bit sore?

 

[Old Timer]

Or if you were behind by 3 with 5 to go and you were in your own half in attack , who would you rather have the ball in their hands Dufty Or Dugan ?

We both know that the answer to that is a no brainer of course it would be Dufty but this part of the discussion in this thread didn't start on the subject of attack it was about defence or lack thereof by Dufty in prior seasons.

Some posters want to always confuse the discussion by introducing other points or pros and cons rather than sticking to the actual subject matter. All this stuff about we wouldn't win another game or we would win less games if Dugan was the FB or saying that if the defence up front was better Dufty wouldn't be so bad is simply not recognising what is being said.

I for one love Dufty's attacking ability, his speed, his vision and as I originally said he had could well do with some of Dugan's ability / qualities in defence.

If people think that is bagging Dufty (are you listening muzby) and people honestly believe that Dufty is at this point a better defender at FB then Dugan then IMO they are blind to the obvious.

Simple question do people want Dufty to replicate in defence what he has delivered thus far in his NRL career or would they prefer him to more Dugan like (when he was our FB) in the last line?

 

[kit66]

People still riding Dufty is getting very tiresome. The guy is the reason we didn't collect a Spoon for the trophy cabinet last year. He was responsible for a third of our tries and this may come as a shock but he's nowhere near the top 50 for missed tackles - whereas Hunt and Norman are, along with Ponga. I put a heap of stats up in another thread before showing Dufty's worth to our club which surpass most other fullbacks. I'll also remind you that not only are most tries scored out wide but that nearly every try is scored because someone misses a tackle.
Yes, I hope he defends well this year and takes high balls cleanly but most of all I want him being one of the best attacking footballers in the game and helping us win.
If Dufty gets injured round 1 and is out for a couple of months we're f*k'd, wooden spoon specials for sure.

 

[ALSGI]

People still riding Dufty is getting very tiresome. The guy is the reason we didn't collect a Spoon for the trophy cabinet last year. He was responsible for a third of our tries and this may come as a shock but he's nowhere near the top 50 for missed tackles - whereas Hunt and Norman are, along with Ponga. I put a heap of stats up in another thread before showing Dufty's worth to our club which surpass most other fullbacks. I'll also remind you that not only are most tries scored out wide but that nearly every try is scored because someone misses a tackle.
Yes, I hope he defends well this year and takes high balls cleanly but most of all I want him being one of the best attacking footballers in the game and helping us win.
If Dufty gets injured round 1 and is out for a couple of months we're f*k'd, wooden spoon specials for sure.

Well said Kit

 

[muzby]

I for one love Dufty's attacking ability, his speed, his vision and as I originally said he had could well do with some of Dugan's ability / qualities in defence.

If people think that is bagging Dufty (are you listening muzby) and people honestly believe that Dufty is at this point a better defender at FB then Dugan then IMO they are blind to the obvious.

Whilst I do feel guilty about not paying any rent for that space I occupy in your head, I feel I need to remind you that last time Dugan played fullback the opposition scored 10 tries.

I, for one, don’t fancy having any sloppy defensive skills like that instilled in poor Matthew..

 

[Old Timer]

Whilst I do feel guilty about not paying any rent for that space I occupy in your head, I feel I need to remind you that last time Dugan played fullback the opposition scored 10 tries.

I, for one, don’t fancy having any sloppy defensive skills like that instilled in poor Matthew..

Amazing that you chase me when I respond to others yet you supposedly occupy my thoughts lol.

I note over in JA a lot of disquiet about Dufty and his defence yet amazingly not a single post or any push back from you I wonder why that is?

Also fantastic how you site 1 game as the foundation to build your case for Dufty over Dugan as the last line of defence and yet no mention of the tissue thin defence in front of Dugan that day.

Good old muzby the agent provocateur who has blisters on the palms of his hands and scabs on his knuckles.

 

[muzby]

Amazing that you chase me when I respond to others yet you supposedly occupy my thoughts lol.

I note over in JA a lot of disquiet about Dufty and his defence yet amazingly not a single post or any push back from you I wonder why that is?

Also fantastic how you site 1 game as the foundation to build your case for Dufty over Dugan as the last line of defence and yet no mention of the tissue thin defence in front of Dugan that day.

Good old muzby the agent provocateur who has blisters on the palms of his hands and scabs on his knuckles.

Wot?

 

[Maddragon99]

People still riding Dufty is getting very tiresome. The guy is the reason we didn't collect a Spoon for the trophy cabinet last year. He was responsible for a third of our tries and this may come as a shock but he's nowhere near the top 50 for missed tackles - whereas Hunt and Norman are, along with Ponga. I put a heap of stats up in another thread before showing Dufty's worth to our club which surpass most other fullbacks. I'll also remind you that not only are most tries scored out wide but that nearly every try is scored because someone misses a tackle.
Yes, I hope he defends well this year and takes high balls cleanly but most of all I want him being one of the best attacking footballers in the game and helping us win.
If Dufty gets injured round 1 and is out for a couple of months we're f*k'd, wooden spoon specials for sure.

Our Captain has asked for patience and this also applies to Dufty. It’ll be interesting to see where we are at after 6wks coming into the ANZAC day game. If we have lost a few tight games & Dufty’s defence hasn’t improved then Ramsey might get his chance. Also if the Fuimaono experiment at Lock doesn’t work then Bird should be fit enough by then to play 80mins at Lock leaving the left side for the Feagai twins.

For mine after a couple days of consideration I’m pretty concerned about this weeks team. I don’t like Kerr in the backrow & the complex replacement strategy for Williame looks like trouble to me.

 

[Como Connection]

We both know that the answer to that is a no brainer of course it would be Dufty but this part of the discussion in this thread didn't start on the subject of attack it was about defence or lack thereof by Dufty in prior seasons.

Some posters want to always confuse the discussion by introducing other points or pros and cons rather than sticking to the actual subject matter. All this stuff about we wouldn't win another game or we would win less games if Dugan was the FB or saying that if the defence up front was better Dufty wouldn't be so bad is simply not recognising what is being said.

I for one love Dufty's attacking ability, his speed, his vision and as I originally said he had could well do with some of Dugan's ability / qualities in defence.

If people think that is bagging Dufty (are you listening muzby) and people honestly believe that Dufty is at this point a better defender at FB then Dugan then IMO they are blind to the obvious.

Simple question do people want Dufty to replicate in defence what he has delivered thus far in his NRL career or would they prefer him to more Dugan like (when he was our FB) in the last line?

Duf will be fine.
CC

 

[Mjab]

Maybe someone has already said it as I haven’t read 15 pages thread to be honest but why Williame on bench I would thought Ford more useful even though I think both have done very little to impress in the last 12 months

2 of a long list of players who should be shown the door at this club
I guess in that sense it doesn’t really matter which of the 2 they select

 

[Dragon David]

Maybe someone has already said it as I haven’t read 15 pages thread to be honest but why Williame on bench I would thought Ford more useful even though I think both have done very little to impress in the last 12 months

2 of a long list of players who should be shown the door at this club
I guess in that sense it doesn’t really matter which of the 2 they select

Williame was OK when he played in the Super League but he has been a dud playing for us. Ford showed a lot of potential earlier on when he came onto the scene but lacks consistency now. I think he should be on the bench instead of Williame though.

A massive clean out coming at the end of the year I would imagine and we haven't started playing yet.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

Our Captain has asked for patience and this also applies to Dufty. It’ll be interesting to see where we are at after 6wks coming into the ANZAC day game. If we have lost a few tight games & Dufty’s defence hasn’t improved then Ramsey might get his chance. Also if the Fuimaono experiment at Lock doesn’t work then Bird should be fit enough by then to play 80mins at Lock leaving the left side for the Feagai twins.

For mine after a couple days of consideration I’m pretty concerned about this weeks team. I don’t like Kerr in the backrow & the complex replacement strategy for Williame looks like trouble to me.

I smell a late changeup.