Round 17 Dragons v Titans

[TheOnlyTeam]

Lets not kill off Mann at halfback after three quarters of a game. Only yesterday we were asking to give him a chance.

 

[getsmarty]

Lets not kill off Mann at halfback after three quarters of a game. Only yesterday we were asking to give him a chance.

I think he has to be in the team somewhere...problem is the coach will not drop McDonald/Nighty/Aitken/Lafai for him...that's were he should probably be in the team. Has Speed and footy smarts and a good step. Best thing Mann can do is go out and play is own game and forget what the coach tells him to do.

 

[st.phil]

We are so fkn shit it's painful. f**k McGregor, that imposter is a clueless embarrassment. Line speed and energy, gone. Spark, gone. Everyone has their fat contracts sorted, Wollongong house prices booming, happy days. Tick the dapto boxes, cross em all off. All good. We're doing fine, just need to execute, we'll get that right after a lil holiday.

 

[st.phil]

We are so fkn shit it's painful. f**k McGregor, that imposter is a clueless embarrassment. Line speed and energy, gone. Spark, gone. Everyone has their fat contracts sorted, Wollongong house prices booming, happy days. Tick the dapto boxes, cross em all off. All good. We're doing fine, just need to execute, we'll get that right after a lil holiday.

I convinced myself to renew membership but at the end of the day, I'm ashamed. All this "support" is enabling this corrupt, incestuous incompetence to fortify and grow ever more mouldy. f**k you Peter Doust you waterhead swine.

 

[getsmarty]

I convinced myself to renew membership but at the end of the day, I'm ashamed. All this "support" is enabling this corrupt, incestuous incompetence to fortify and grow ever more mouldy. f**k you Peter Doust you waterhead swine.

St Phil...I know we are all upset...Why not write to Doust at seasons end...please refrain from abusing him ( he will ignore your email ) but tell him that you will not renew your membership until there are significant changes at the club. If enough people do this and stick to their guns, then hopefully the message will get through.

 

[Life's Good]

That was me in 2015/2016.......would turn off the tele at half time and go and mow the lawn and do some work in the garden, even if it was dark....sadly in 2017 it looks like Im going to have the best lawn in the street again

On last years form then you must have had a backyard that would have made Don Burke blush!!

 

[Carlton]

Flat out reluctance to give Aitken any ball. He is 50/50 of scoring close to the line if you give him early pill.

Oh, and Mann isn't a half. Surprisingly, ol' Gypsy was right.

Gypsy

How would anyone know Mann's not a half, he wasn't even playing half last night. The closest he was allowed to come to playing half was wearing the 7 on his back.

While Mann was on the field I don't think he was given the ball once as first receiver. As soon as McCrone comes on Widdop moves out to second receiver. The biggest problem, which has existed for a long time, is game management. We don't get repeat sets or take the pressure off our own team when needed and give them a rest. Funny how Benji is playing now, maybe the problem is closer to home.

 

[epDragon62]

How would anyone know Mann's not a half, he wasn't even playing half last night. The closest he was allowed to come to playing half was wearing the 7 on his back.

While Mann was on the field I don't think he was given the ball once as first receiver. As soon as McCrone comes on Widdop moves out to second receiver. The biggest problem, which has existed for a long time, is game management. We don't get repeat sets or take the pressure off our own team when needed and give them a rest. Funny how Benji is playing now, maybe the problem is closer to home.

So true!

 

[Dragons 09]

Oh, and Mann isn't a half. Surprisingly, ol' Gypsy was right.

Gypsy

OK, you and me have had some retort in the past with regards Mann's ability, but i have to admit, you win, you got me, i seriously thought you meant what you were saying, but now i see you were just taking the piss out of me all along.

The only way someone could make the statement you have made above is either as a huge piss take, through being delusional with absolutely no idea what you are talking about, or you are Mary McGregor..........there can be no other explanation for such a comment if you are basing your view on what occurred last night.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

On last years form then you must have had a backyard that would have made Don Burke blush!!

Yeah probably mate....Im cracking funnies but hurting inside still...bloody sad really

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

St Phil...I know we are all upset...Why not write to Doust at seasons end...please refrain from abusing him ( he will ignore your email ) but tell him that you will not renew your membership until there are significant changes at the club. If enough people do this and stick to their guns, then hopefully the message will get through.

I hear what your saying mate but sadly I think it will fall on death ears.....as far as our incompetent mob are concerned they would see 2017 as a success based on where the critics thought we would be at this stage of the season....thats why they didnt wait till season end to judge Mary on his overall performance.they think its been a great year for us......weve been sliding since Bennett left and membership must have deteriorated since then....it hasnt stopped them in the last 7 years Cant see it stopping them now.....to be totally honest their way of thinking would be weve done ok this year things will improve when Hunt comes on board etc etc.....that may very well be the case as far as our half back problems are concerned but theres a lot more problem areas than just our half situation imo

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Some serious regression to the mean going on with our team right now

I agree...weve spoke about our forwards are burnt out because of our so called early rounds power game....and yet I look at teams like Storm Roosters Manly etc and to me their blokes ran just as hard and fast and they dont look burnt out.....after being at the game last night imo for what its worth some of our players looked very ordinary in the warm up ....I realise it was a short turn around this week but that doesnt excuse the one out running again, no offloads ,very little running from dummy half..even though Peats stole metres all night....and even though Mcinnes made 40 tackles his workload should have been shared so he could make some short sharp bursts.....and our backline although it looks acceptable on paper is disorganised and most times dysfunctional .....now having said all that theres something as you say very very wrong within out ranks....and to me its NOT fatigue

 

[Ben_Kusto_magic]

I think he has to be in the team somewhere...problem is the coach will not drop McDonald/Nighty/Aitken/Lafai for him...that's were he should probably be in the team. Has Speed and footy smarts and a good step. Best thing Mann can do is go out and play is own game and forget what the coach tells him to do.

Should be there ahead of McDonald. Much better footballer

 

[Dragonslayer]

Lets not kill off Mann at halfback after three quarters of a game. Only yesterday we were asking to give him a chance.

Agree and I actually thought he did Ok. He wasn't given any possession from dummy half and when he did receive it he actually did something with it. His match stats were comparable to Aitkins actually.
I would persevere as I think it adds better balance to the team with him at half.
McCrone (as much as I hate to say) is better suited as the #17, where he can cover half and hooker as McInnes is looking a little jaded of late (not surprising given the amount of defense he's been subjected to lately) and McCrone fits the interchange better.

 

[getsmarty]

Dugan and Frizell in doubt for Origin III

Mitch Jennings@@Mitch_Jenno

30 Jun 2017, 8 p.m.

BUSTED: Josh Dugan leaves the field in the Dragons loss to the Titans. Picture: Getty Images

ST GEORGE Illawarra sunk to their sixth loss in their past nine games, but it's NSW coach Laurie Daley who has the most to be concerned about, with Blues pair Tyson Frizell and Josh Dugan both injured in the Dragons 20-10 loss to the Titans on Friday.

Frizell came from the field with the apparent recurrence of a niggling rib injury in the 45th minute and Dugan followed him just seven minutes later, finishing the match on the bench with ice on his right knee. Both were certain to be named in Daley’s side for the Origin decider but are now under an injury cloud with game three just 12 days away.

While Jarryd Hayne’s commanding performance at fullback for the Titans would have made for pleasant viewing for Daley, the injuries to two of his key men will no doubt be his biggest concern ahead of selecting his 17 for game three.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor will have a few headaches of his own given his side’s lacklustre attacking effort, that looked to have been pulled straight out of their 2016 playbook.

They were the most potent attacking side in the competition over the opening half of the season, but twice settled for penalty goals after breaking the hosts open through the middle in a try-less first half.

The Titans made them pay on both occasions through cult hero Anthony Don, who had a first half double as the hosts led 10-4 at halftime. He completed his hat-trick moments after Dugan left the field in the second half and the hosts were never headed.

Josh Dugan came from the field in the second half of the Dragons loss to the Titans

It means the Dragons will head into their round 18 bye badly out of sorts, with their only wins in the past five weeks coming over the Tigers and Knights who play in Sunday's 'Spoon Bowl' in Newcastle on Sunday. They remain entrenched in the top eight, but will have some soul-searching to do in the 14 days before their round 19 away clash with the Raiders.

Gareth Widdop opened the scoring with a third minute penalty goal but the Titans hit back seven minutes later with Don producing an incredible one-handed grab of a well-weighted Ash Taylor kick, fending off Jason Nightingale with the other, to plant the ball. Taylor’s attempted conversion bounced off the upright keeping the margin to two after 11 minutes.

Widdop slotted his second penalty goal to level things up at four points apiece after 24 minutes, but it proved a wasted opportunity, with Don bagging his second two sets later after Hayne caught the Dragons short on their left edge.

The Titans took a six-point buffer into the break via a penalty goal to Tyrone Roberts and led 16-4 on the back of Don’s third try, again courtesy of a Hayne long ball 14 minutes after the resumption.

The Dragons finally got across through Kurt Mann, who shifted from halfback to the left wing after Dugan limped off, with Widdop nailing the sideline conversion to get back within six with 20 minutes play.

Roberts put the margin beyond a converted try with his second penalty goal 10 minutes from fulltime, with the Titans good enough to close the match out from there.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/4764159/stars-injured-in-dragons-loss/?cs=3713

 

[getsmarty]

"ragons coach Paul McGregor will have a few headaches of his own given his side’s lacklustre attacking effort, that looked to have been pulled straight out of their 2016 playbook."

Had to be said...