Round 14 V Dragons

[Blues Riff]

Who got man of the match? Only Mansour was great imo

Dean Whare ?

 

[chrisD]

How badly could we have played? They had 53% possession, and the penalties 7-4, and yet we still won. We have the best defence in the comp, and this result proves that this is where we win games. Maybe our attack isnt as good as some, but we have shown all season that we can stop the opposition scoring, and this wins games. What do the Warriors, Tigers or Broncos have different in attack that means that they will 'roll us'?

I'm not sure if we're playing those teams at full strength but I think they are significantly better attacking teams than what we've played lately. Have you seen the last Sharks and Raiders games? They're a disgrace, and the Eels were Hayneless and shit against us.

 

[Pomoz]

I think we are allowed to criticize individual players. Just not the coach.

Haha, come on Billy, toughen up mate. Just because some of us don't want to mount Ivan's head on a spike doesn't mean you can't say what you want. If you dish it out, just expect to get it back. It's a forum, enjoy the ride and the complex mix of young, old, passionate, logical, irrational and miserable fans. Just for the record, I'm in the old, logical and passionate camp.

 

[Pomoz]

I think we are allowed to criticize individual players. Just not the coach.

And just to add to the "not criticising the coach" bottom lip quiver. We are currently first in first grade, first in reserve grade, top eight in u20's, grand finalists in u16 and u18's. But you are right, everybody has the right to criticise the coach and make suggestions to improve things. I fully support that, but it is also other people's right to be critical of the negativity that surrounds the team, especially given the current performance of the club.

When you have been around a few years and seen a number of wooden spoons, the unfortunate death of a promising junior, the ridiculous appointment of CEO's, GM's and coaches who have no idea, Ivan is a lot easier to deal with, even when he makes bad decisions.

 

[forby]

You sound like the pro dragon commentators on the ABC today. You can only beat those you play. The Dragons were brave, great, etc., etc., and little credit to the Panthers.
According to them the only reason we sit on top of the comp is because of our easy draw. 9 from 13, and an unlucky loss against Melbourne, and a controversial no try loss to the Sharks.
Only the losses against the Eels, and the Rabbits (where we competed) blot the copybook. What more do we want?
Do we expect to thrash every team we play?
Credit where it is due - we concede less points per game except for the Bulldogs, and this is nearly equal. It is acknowledged that defence wins comps, and that we have.
Imagine what we would do if we didn't play 'badly' like we do!
Perhaps we should all take a deep breath and read the article by James Hooper (Soward leads Panthers to five in a row) regarding the game and see what others are starting to see. We ARE on top of the table for a reason - we deserve to be!

 

[Pomoz]

You sound like the pro dragon commentators on the ABC today.

Who is you?

 

[chrisD]

So have you seen the football those teams have been playing? Knights, Dragons, sharks and raiders? Even titans of late. Honestly I get the impression a lot of you don't watch other team's games often if at all and so don't have much of a reference point.

 

[Nealo 12]

Great day for the club , we won all three grades today !

 

[TheFrog]

Dragons coach McGregor described this as his team's best performance of the season, and yet we still won. We coughed up too much ball in prime field position, certainly, but we hung in against an opponent who played far better than expected.

 

[Panther Pete]

I guess it's a sign that we are doing well when we can play poorly like tonight and still win. Our defence is fantastic, I just wonder how well we would go if we could cut out the basic errors, hold on to the ball and kick for field position. I know a lot of posts tonight aren't overly positive considering we won and are leading the comp but I think that is down to our expectation is now higher so we expect a better standard of footy. Anyway, happy days with a bye next week and young blokes like Waqa Blake coming thru our system!,

 

[forby]

Pomoz - "Who is you?" was in reply to a post by somebody who made it sound like verybody we play against is rubbish. I dont really like naming posters as everybody has their opinion. It would seem that you have some similar opinions to me though, and dont really like the negativity in the forum today.

 

[Pomoz]

Did anybody see Waqa Blake in NSW Cup? He scored three tries and looked like a champion in the making. He got into the clear for one of his tries and beat 3 players with a swerve a fend and sheer strength and pace. He still qualifies for u20's! He is a ball of explosive power, I can't wait to see him in first grade.

 

[dragonsman4eva]

Congrats on the win, you have a great team on your hands. To not play well and still win is a sign of a great team, enjoy it while it lasts

 

[Pomoz]

Congrats on the win, you have a great team on your hands. To not play well and still win is a sign of a great team, enjoy it while it lasts

Thanks, those of us who have been following football a few years know how fleeting success can be. Premiers one year, wooden spoon the next. Success is a fickle beast.

 

[mxlegend99]

Did anybody see Waqa Blake in NSW Cup? He scored three tries and looked like a champion in the making. He got into the clear for one of his tries and beat 3 players with a swerve a fend and sheer strength and pace. He still qualifies for u20's! He is a ball of explosive power, I can't wait to see him in first grade.

Yep he is a superstar in the making for sure. Should jump ahead of Kevin Naiqama in the pecking order after last night too IMO.

It should be DWZ, Nabouli, Blake and then Naiqama. Considering the advantages Naiqama has over Simmons, that performance was just so bad that he shouldn't get another unless we are desperate. He has pace, strength and athleticism that Simmons could only dream of. But he's inconsistent and error prone. I was expecting a double at the least from his last night... with the Dragons being the ideal team for a player to come in and demand to be part of the full strength side. Instead he did the opposite.

 

[roofromoz]

We have (after these) just the worst run into the finals. We really need to build solidarity and confidence going into the rounds post Broncos.

2/3 would be fantastic. As long as one of them is the Donkeys

I mean, had we not just run 5/5, you'd say these are all probable, but the law of averages is against us. Tippers bitch, isn't it.

And that can only be the best thing for us, particularly to test our credentials. That's assuming that we are still in the mix... what I mean is how many points are required for the top 8 this year? Most of the last years it has been 28, and after the bye next week we will be on 22. But given the congested ladder this year, will 28 (i.e. 3 more wins) be enough? For some reason, I'm thinking something like 32 will be the magic number this year. So still a bit of work to do, and obviously more wins will provide a better guarantee of a top 4 spot. I would really love to have a crack at a team like Manly or the Roosters, but we have to wait at least a month before the Roosters match, and then Manly in the second last round.

Last night wasn't pretty, and happy with the 2 points obviously. 5 in a row for the first time since 2005. As others have said, in previous seasons we would have lost that. But if dished that up last night against others in the top 4, we would have been absolutely smashed, particularly with the completion rate. I guess we were entitled to one bad performance in the current stretch... hopefully lessons are learnt and we play a lot better across the ditch in a couple of weeks.

 

[roofromoz]

Did anybody see Waqa Blake in NSW Cup? He scored three tries and looked like a champion in the making. He got into the clear for one of his tries and beat 3 players with a swerve a fend and sheer strength and pace. He still qualifies for u20's! He is a ball of explosive power, I can't wait to see him in first grade.

Me too. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

[Dragon_Taylor6]

Bye next then Warriors, Tigers, Bronx. All winnable before we meet the Roosters

If you guys play like last night, it will be 4 losses.

 

[Randy81]

Always a good sign when you can win without playing your best.

naiqama made some poor mistakes which seems to be in his game these days unfortunately
I am a massive fan of waqa blake and hope he is in the lineup next outing

 

[Randy81]

If you guys play like last night, it will be 4 losses.

Thanks scoop