Round 12 v Tigers

[jeffdragon]

My observations on this game, they may be controversial for a few.

1. Our forwards are weak physically, consistantly dominated. No doubt they try their best but not physical enough.

2. The dad's army approach is starting to bite. There were other options than a few of those who played tonight.

3. Sorry to say, but young Cody is no fullback. Wing is his spot.

4. Did Faama play?

5. Norman, I just don't see his value to the team. Young Amone looked sharper at centre when he came on, than Norman for the entire game.

6. BHunt trying too hard to create the SAME play every set.

7. Bird was missing tonight and his error rate is becoming an issue for the team.

8. Ford is not a first grader. Don't know what happened to him but he's nowhere near what he promised to be.

I understand 100% we are down on troops, but it's the troops who should be leading the way simply just aren't.

Next week we have a lonely Thursday night game, there needs to be changes. Yes, Rava and Kerr are back, possibly a few others bavk from injury.

I'm finding tomorrows KOE Cup game as the big focus this weekend.

Josh Kerr is useless.
He's a marshmallow.
Ford is no good.
Ramsay got run down by hiroti.last werk.
Too slow.
Norman runs like a ballerina to the line and hunt doesn't run enough to the line which shits me.

 

[SaintPauli]

The tigpies have beaten us twice this year and sit just behind us on points on the ladder. They played with more go forward than i expected.

Dragons fowards were all soft and inadequate.

The Michael Weyman days are but a distant memory.

To lose Dufty at seasons end is a large risk as i do not see a better fullback at the club at the moment.

We are woeful at receiving high kicks.
All clubs have exposed this weakness and is a constant opposition taftic.

 

[jeffdragon]

The game is there for us
When dickhead Norman throws a hard pass to butterfingers sims who couldn't catch a cold.
That set the tone for the game.

 

[thebigredv]

I've really struggled coming to grips with knowing my team is one of the consistently poor ones of the competition. In fact for most of my life I wondered what it would feel like to be one of 'those clubs'. We have nestled into that lowly position comfortably in the last 5-8 years, no longer competitive when push comes to shove. Our players lack grit, character and confidence, and our systems are a mess for all to see. The record books are tragic, I can't even bare to look. The worst part is how we overachieve in the start of seasons and then as supporters watch a slow painful demise to the bottom of the ladder, with issues too numerous to know where to start with a rebuild. Hook is looking like a man without answers. It's not easy but throwing some coin at some outside talent would have/would be the obvious thing. There's no shortage right now....and can we not kid ourselves that some returning players are going to change all the above...

 

[RedVDave]

Well what's your solution? Continue to watch the side decline?

Lol decline a 2 game losing streak? Yes obviously we should persist Not everything in life is a quick fix things take time. Manly persisted, so to the cowboys, the tigers hell even the Broncos are finding some rhythm all this after fans demanded to see the back of the coach.

Mary did everything possible to totally destroy this team investing the majority of our salary cap in the halves and creating a losing culture from within this stink will take a while to air out a lot players coming off contact this season that have been far to comfortable for to long Hook is taping some of them on the shoulder I highly doubt they take to kindly to this this can create barriers he deserves to get the team he wants for starters opposed to a mess made for him to clean up.

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

 

[Gareth67]

Hopefully Griffin will have a long hard look at tonight’s result and realize that there are a number of players who simply will not go to the next level and as such may be better moving them on at seasons end .

The fact that Duffy has been given his marching orders because of that very reason means that if the coaches are truly being serious about the Dragons moving ahead , then other players whom have not given as much as the Duff has , should also be sent packing.

Even taking into account that our regular 1st graders are not there , I still expected a far better performance tonight considering how well the team played last weekend .

Disappointment is what we have become use to for far too long now , let’s hope we have something to cheer about when our normal squad returns .

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Broncos amd then bulldogs the next two weeks

Could u imagine the staff looking at their 4 week block of sharks, tigers, bronco's and dogs and thinking 4 from 4 and we will top4

Ouch 0 from 2 so far

I know if we had the following players available we are a seriously different team but our game management and hit ups were absolutely reserve grade last night

McGuire
Lomax
Dufty
JDB
Mcinnes
Rava
Kerr
Etc

 

[possm]

I had to laugh when Hook said the tigers had polished attack.
What a load of bs.
Should ask him are you kidding dufty creates a lot.
What's wrong with you.
You want to get rid of him.


He said we will fix the issue of our performance.
Hes been saying that for many weeks.
He's got to be joking.

I'm convinced that we won't fix these issues until we recruit some better players. I know we had a lot of players out for this game but surely there are some on the field that should not be there.

Forget about Dufty, he is gone. Start moving forward with decisions on who will replace him and which other recruits do we need to occupy positions until our young talent comes through. I'd like to see:
Fullback Hynes. He's got a lot of talent and he is very versitile.
I don't think we need to recruit any other backs for 2022 however we do need to let some go; Dufty, Pereira, William, Norman.

Our biggest problems are in the forwards, we really do need to recruit one more decent prop to partner Vaughan in the run on 13. I'm not sure if Lawrie is injucarrying an injury or not but he has not been playing his best football over the last few games. Alvaro, Faamausili, Ellis and most probably McGuire are reserve grade standard at best.I just hope De Belin is ready to go.

So until next season we need to select our best 17 and spend the rest of the season preparing properly for next season. 'Drop our deadwood to park football if necessary; at least keep them out of first grade. Promote some youngsters and make changes to give us the best possible chance in 2022. Like Kerr back to the prop rotation, Fui as edge forward and of course De Belin as lock.

With the players we have, our best 17 would be:
1. Ramsey - give him a little time
2. Sloan - while Matt Feagai is injured
3. Bird
4. Schiller - Beale is not what we need.
5. Ravalawa
6. Sullivan or Amone if Sullivan is injured
7. Hunt
8. Lawrie - but we need another prop for next year
9. McCullough - B Smith for next year
10. Vaughan
11. Fui - he is off-contract so better perform
12. Sims
13. De Belin

14. Wishart - give him as much exposure to first grade as possible
15, 16, 17 I'll leave for others to sort out. I don't have faith in our current props.

 

[Rob Dragon 1]

My God are people seriously writing off Griffin already? Yeah I'm pissed about tonight's loss I can't stand losing especially to the Tigers of all teams.

But seriously? The mess Mary has left us in will take more than half a friggin season to fix!! Griffin is giving young kids a go for starters. We are inconsistent as buggery but that's understandable considering we have TEN players out, take that many players out of any other team and they would struggle to. The least we can do is stand by and support the bloke for the duration of his contract.

Yes losing sucks and I'm annoyed to but people have tendency to forget quickly and want a quick fix for everything, sack the coach, sack the halves, sack the him etc. And replace them with who exactly? Yes we have potential stars but throwing them in the deep end now will only do more harm than good.

Agreed Red Dave. This McGregor/Young stench will take more then a few games to get rid of. Hook and Co inherited this mess and there were slim to none real marque players available at that stage. To be clear they inherited a salary cap whereby Trent Merrin was on $700K, Norman $800K and Hunt thereabouts as well. The squad deficiencies and associated salary cap mess could take a few seasons to sort out. No quick fix here fellas. Once again if we want to apportion blame look no further then the board of directors. Body rots from the head. If any of you were starting a business with your own money at stake would you even contemplate employing, Gordon, Doust, Millward, McGregor, Young (Senior and Junior)? And yet these idiots collectively had the custody of steering the ship. Any surprise the ship has run aground?

 

[Crush]

But we didn't field a reserve grade side. This was mostly our first grade side. We have backs, forwards and halves who have played origin. Tigers have one old origin forward (Tamou), one origin back (Roberts), and a bunch of unknowns or ordinary players. And yet we were never in it.

Mate as I said, tigers played very well. They, like us, are up and down. Next week they’ll probably be shit and we’ll play well, that’s how this comp is with the bottom teams of which we are in.
And we did have 6 of our regular starters sitting on the sidelines so half the team was made up of reserve graders.
I get the frustration though.

 

[moes]

If hook is consistent with his standards set to justify Dufty release then I expect the following players to join him out the door

norman
Vaughan
McCullough
Sims
Lawrie
Alvaro
Burns
Ford
Periera
Ellis

 

[ozbuck]

1 win from our last 7.

Different coach, same crap.

The problems with this playing squad and club have anyways gone much deeper than the coach. Same crap to continue for a couple of more years at least

 

[Coffs dragon]

I’m struggling to find 1 positive from that game last night. We looked like a team of B grade plodders with no direction, except sideways.
Apart from Dufty, we have zero speed and stand flat devoid of options.
Hook talks about our young players coming thru & giving them opportunities, yet aren’t our Reserve Grade NSW cup running last.
FMD the cupboard appears dry & the club is stacked with bargain buy plodders and off cuts. This rebuild since Bennett left, will take longer than the Afghanistan war.

 

[TruSaint]

First time ever that I started watching a game and switched it off at half time.

I kid you not.

Every team talks about identity. Our identity is "soft". We melt under any pressure.

And to think I was actually contemplating a chance of finals footy.

Griffin has a massive job if he wants an extension.

I honestly can say I am at the point where I just dont give a f**k. The players don't, barring 1 or 2.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Lol decline a 2 game losing streak? Yes obviously we should persist Not everything in life is a quick fix things take time. Manly persisted, so to the cowboys, the tigers hell even the Broncos are finding some rhythm all this after fans demanded to see the back of the coach.

Mary did everything possible to totally destroy this team investing the majority of our salary cap in the halves and creating a losing culture from within this stink will take a while to air out a lot players coming off contact this season that have been far to comfortable for to long Hook is taping some of them on the shoulder I highly doubt they take to kindly to this this can create barriers he deserves to get the team he wants for starters opposed to a mess made for him to clean up.

No, a decline is losing our last 6 from 7, and failing to even be competitive against the side running 14th. Your points about the losing culture under Mary are noted. On last nights showing I'm not convinced Hook has the answers.

 

[St_Bondi]

The game is there for us
When dickhead Norman throws a hard pass to butterfingers sims who couldn't catch a cold.
That set the tone for the game.

Hopefully Sullivan has a good game today and Hook hooks Norman from this woeful team. He is one of if not the worst five eighths in the game and has been for years even before Mary and Co. signed him. Biggest waste to our cap in a long time.

 

[St_Bondi]

First time ever that I started watching a game and switched it off at half time.

I kid you not.

Every team talks about identity. Our identity is "soft". We melt under any pressure.

And to think I was actually contemplating a chance of finals footy.

Griffin has a massive job if he wants an extension.

I honestly can say I am at the point where I just dont give a f**k. The players don't, barring 1 or 2.

Jack Bird has been the only player week in and week out to have a go. If he was playing in a Storm or Roosters jumper he’d be unstoppable.

 

[TruSaint]

Jack Bird has been the only player week in and week out to have a go. If he was playing in a Storm or Roosters jumper he’d be unstoppable.

He was one of the two I thought of mate.