Round 17 vs Melbourne

[blacksafake]

Watching the panthers play we signed the wrong 1/2 from the panthers lower grades

We sure did

 

[Old Timer]

Watching the panthers play we signed the wrong 1/2 from the panthers lower grades

Well done recruitment
29 year old master blaster v a bloke who can play the game

 

[Forster Dragon]

How good are they managing the young players at the Panthers.Maybe our mob could give them a call and seek some guidance in preparing the younger brigade for the NRL.
We are sick in comparison.

 

[O'Sullivan]

I think we do have the forwards in ISP.
Host could be great, I like the look of Lawrie, my jury is still out on Sele, Luc I could do without.
However, giving them 5 min off the bench is not preparing them for first grade, that much is obvious.
We are short on props, even shorter with AhMau leaving, but what quality prop is going to come over with Graham and Vaughn in front of him?
Latimore is doing alright, went missing a bit last night, but then again most of them did.

Yep the use of and selection of our interchange was again strange at best. Lawrie made one very impressive run, but is slow in defence and does not have good lateral movement. Luc was much better in attack but seems not to understand the impact his size could have in defence. Too much arm grabbing and falling off tackles. Sele was simply not given enough time even though a forward from the bench was gone. Robson had no impact and Nightingale was sacrificed and was targeted all night. He was involved in making poor reads that directly led to three Storm tries. Ah Mau and Latimore went missing a little last night.

 

[aquiin]

Watching the panthers play we signed the wrong 1/2 from the panthers lower grades

Luai wasn’t off contract.

Gould said this week he wasn’t allowed to sign Nichols to the contract they wanted, they had to sign him to a development contract which was too little money. Thinks that the NRL have made another mess with recent changes with squads and how they are handling the lower grades.

Penrith had the same issues when most of their depth was under 22 years old 2-3 years ago. Apples and oranges.

 

[JDHD]

Luai wasn’t off contract.

Gould said this week he wasn’t allowed to sign Nichols to the contract they wanted, they had to sign him to a development contract which was too little money. Thinks that the NRL have made another mess with recent changes with squads and how they are handling the lower grades.

Penrith had the same issues when most of their depth was under 22 years old 2-3 years ago. Apples and oranges.

Exactly, we’ve only started focusing on developing our juniors in the last three years. We’ll be fine.

 

[nontime111]

Don't exaggerate...1st full year in 1st grade...Has saved plenty of tries and missed a few tackles..( Guys like Slater/Tedesco/Thurston miss similar tackles )..Dufty has an X factor about him....Some fans are never satisfied...Maybe you would be happy if Nightingale was fullback....How about supporting our Young players....give them a chance to develop..They will make mistakes along the way .but that is what learning your craft is about..

Dufty has magic.....if you took it away wed be halfway down the table he is electric! he had a bad game......hell be back youll see, defence with these kids of ferrari fullbacks takes time but is WORTH it! look at Dugan era Saints.....oh man he was a good tackler....but didnt pass or ever score us points like Dufty! Defence is something you can learn....but attack you cannot! Id rather Dufty than ANY fullback hes a junior thats why and LOVES the place!

 

[getsmarty]

Dragons 2018: Melbourne loss no write-off for McGregor

• 
  Mitch Jennings

Dragons Den News

TOUGH NIGHT: Gareth Widdop reacts to his side's loss to Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: AAP

DRAGONS coach Paul McGregor insists he won’t dismiss Thursday’s loss to Melbourne as an anomaly despite the bizarre 52-30 scoreline.

With a combined 10 players missing due to Origin commitments, the two youthful line-ups put on a show at AAMI Park to the tune of 82 points and 14 tries.

It was a result that went against the trend of dour matches depleted sides traditionally produce during the Origin period.

It was also the only match this season the Dragons will be forced to play without their Origin contingent and sees them come through the rep season with a 3-1 record.

In a tit-for-tat battle McGregor conceded his young side did not show the composure to close out the match when leading by two with 17 minutes to play.

It was a tough lesson, but one his young crop will need to take out of the match should they be called on again if injuries or suspension strike.

“We’ve certainly got to look at the game because the players we were missing tonight could be missing in the future,” McGregor said.

“The players that played [on Thursday] could be playing so they’ve got to learn from it. We were in front with 17 minutes to go and then James [Graham] went off with an HIA. It’s pretty important when you’ve already lost your four [Origin] forwards that didn’t start.

“When you lose another senior player on the field at a time when you need to close the game out it hurts a bit, but I’m not going to use any of it as an excuse.

“Those [young] guys have been preparing and waiting for that opportunity for a long time. Everyone needs to be able to be a little bit better and we weren’t.”

The Dragons already stretched forwards depth was tested after just five minutes with Jacob Host suffering a dislocated shoulder in an attempted tackle on Ryan Hoffman.

It forced McGregor to deploy winger-cum-bench utility Jason Nightingale on the right edge next to debutant half Darren Nicholls, something the Storm exploited on a number of occasions.

“He’s popped his shoulder, it popped out and came back in,” McGregor said of Host’s injury

“Defensively, our right edge was affected a little bit by the interchange early. [Nicholls] was on that right edge and he lost his back-rower which is really difficult.

“Jase did a job for us there but he’s never played tight like that as a back-rower. That affected us in d.”

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5511888/melbourne-loss-no-write-off-for-mcgregor/?cs=3713

 

[ouryears]

OMG!
I cant stop laughing at some of you.
Nitpicking about this player should do this and that......armchair experts.
We lost, build a bridge, and get over it.
Like Dugan would "probably" have stopped some of those tries. Well yeah he may have, but would he have set up Mann for his 2nd?, no he would have gone for it himself and "probably" lost the vall or got tackled short killing the momentum.
Nighty is done, well yeah he is, he's "probably" still sleeping from last night. Lets face reality, he's been pkaying 15 od si mins from the bench, and then last night thrown in to play edge forward for 70 mins and make 40 tackles. He's well and truly done now.
If you want to cast any blame, just look at the planning for this game and the players selected, particularly onbthe bench. Then look what plan was devised when Host was injured.
Thats where these threads should be examining not the players who really gave their all.

The coach is the dork, yes I agree
Crush.....Damo
Own up

 

[ouryears]

How good are they managing the young players at the Panthers.Maybe our mob could give them a call and seek some guidance in preparing the younger brigade for the NRL.
We are sick in comparison.

Mate, when I said this 6 weeks ago, most on here accused me of being a panthers troll and anti dragons.

Well, they are narrow minded fools because as you write, they are light years in front of us.

Damo, crush, dragonsamy, frank facer....hello??!!

 

[This Year?]

Dragons 2018: Melbourne loss no write-off for McGregor

• 
  Mitch Jennings

Dragons Den News

TOUGH NIGHT: Gareth Widdop reacts to his side's loss to Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: AAP

DRAGONS coach Paul McGregor insists he won’t dismiss Thursday’s loss to Melbourne as an anomaly despite the bizarre 52-30 scoreline.

With a combined 10 players missing due to Origin commitments, the two youthful line-ups put on a show at AAMI Park to the tune of 82 points and 14 tries.

It was a result that went against the trend of dour matches depleted sides traditionally produce during the Origin period.

It was also the only match this season the Dragons will be forced to play without their Origin contingent and sees them come through the rep season with a 3-1 record.

In a tit-for-tat battle McGregor conceded his young side did not show the composure to close out the match when leading by two with 17 minutes to play.

It was a tough lesson, but one his young crop will need to take out of the match should they be called on again if injuries or suspension strike.

“We’ve certainly got to look at the game because the players we were missing tonight could be missing in the future,” McGregor said.

“The players that played [on Thursday] could be playing so they’ve got to learn from it. We were in front with 17 minutes to go and then James [Graham] went off with an HIA. It’s pretty important when you’ve already lost your four [Origin] forwards that didn’t start.

“When you lose another senior player on the field at a time when you need to close the game out it hurts a bit, but I’m not going to use any of it as an excuse.

“Those [young] guys have been preparing and waiting for that opportunity for a long time. Everyone needs to be able to be a little bit better and we weren’t.”

The Dragons already stretched forwards depth was tested after just five minutes with Jacob Host suffering a dislocated shoulder in an attempted tackle on Ryan Hoffman.

It forced McGregor to deploy winger-cum-bench utility Jason Nightingale on the right edge next to debutant half Darren Nicholls, something the Storm exploited on a number of occasions.

“He’s popped his shoulder, it popped out and came back in,” McGregor said of Host’s injury

“Defensively, our right edge was affected a little bit by the interchange early. [Nicholls] was on that right edge and he lost his back-rower which is really difficult.

“Jase did a job for us there but he’s never played tight like that as a back-rower. That affected us in d.”

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5511888/melbourne-loss-no-write-off-for-mcgregor/?cs=3713

Mary doesn't want to give excuses but then straight away gives excuses. Thanks for giving us false hope in 2018 you merkin. He may as well start giving our underdone players some game time now instead of his token bench player that doesn't get any minutes so at least we can have some kind of succession plan in 2019..

I'm still furious over this loss and it's unforgivable we put in such a poor defensive game. The confidence we would have got from winning this game would have been really something.

Instead the slide has begin. Now we just need a couple of injuries/suspensions from SOO and our season will be in freefall.

 

[ouryears]

Mary doesn't want to give excuses but then straight away gives excuses. Thanks for giving us false hope in 2018 you merkin. He may as well start giving our underdone players some game time now instead of his token bench player that doesn't get any minutes so at least we can have some kind of succession plan in 2019..

I'm still furious over this loss and it's unforgivable we put in such a poor defensive game. The confidence we would have got from winning this game would have been really something.

Instead the slide has begin. Now we just need a couple of injuries/suspensions from SOO and our season will be in freefall.

Hopefully not “this year”, confident of a resurgence.
Fingers crossed

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Where u been champion ?

Or have i missed your posts.. ? Hope all is well

Hi buddy...been in Croatia and now in England till August 3.......will be back in time to help get us over the line...in the meantime I know their in good hands with mates like yourself and others on here supporting the cause...stay well mate...cheers

 

[TruSaint]

Hi buddy...been in Croatia and now in England till August 3.......will be back in time to help get us over the line...in the meantime I know their in good hands with mates like yourself and others on here supporting the cause...stay well mate...cheers

Good to hear... enjoy

 

[hermidale1]

OMG!
I cant stop laughing at some of you.
Nitpicking about this player should do this and that......armchair experts.
We lost, build a bridge, and get over it.
Like Dugan would "probably" have stopped some of those tries. Well yeah he may have, but would he have set up Mann for his 2nd?, no he would have gone for it himself and "probably" lost the vall or got tackled short killing the momentum.
Nighty is done, well yeah he is, he's "probably" still sleeping from last night. Lets face reality, he's been pkaying 15 od si mins from the bench, and then last night thrown in to play edge forward for 70 mins and make 40 tackles. He's well and truly done now.
If you want to cast any blame, just look at the planning for this game and the players selected, particularly onbthe bench. Then look what plan was devised when Host was injured.
Thats where these threads should be examining not the players who really gave their all.

Well said

 

[ouryears]

I was blowing up at that too - it was obviously deliberate time wasting, and should have been penalised.
And yes, when he does his drifting sucking in defenders thing just bloody hit him. He’ll probably get the ball away first but but do hard and often he’ll slow down.

Interesting score Panthers VS Warriors last night, panthers without 8 PLAYERS!
Now what did Warriors beat our full strength side by?

Proven, Panthers kids are streets in front of us, their development strategy puts ours to shame.

FESS UP. OWN UP. ADMIT IT. STOP LYING.

 

[Willow]

Dragons 2018: Melbourne loss no write-off for McGregor

• 
  Mitch Jennings

Dragons Den News

TOUGH NIGHT: Gareth Widdop reacts to his side's loss to Melbourne on Thursday. Picture: AAP

DRAGONS coach Paul McGregor insists he won’t dismiss Thursday’s loss to Melbourne as an anomaly despite the bizarre 52-30 scoreline.

With a combined 10 players missing due to Origin commitments, the two youthful line-ups put on a show at AAMI Park to the tune of 82 points and 14 tries.

It was a result that went against the trend of dour matches depleted sides traditionally produce during the Origin period.

It was also the only match this season the Dragons will be forced to play without their Origin contingent and sees them come through the rep season with a 3-1 record.

In a tit-for-tat battle McGregor conceded his young side did not show the composure to close out the match when leading by two with 17 minutes to play.

It was a tough lesson, but one his young crop will need to take out of the match should they be called on again if injuries or suspension strike.

“We’ve certainly got to look at the game because the players we were missing tonight could be missing in the future,” McGregor said.

“The players that played [on Thursday] could be playing so they’ve got to learn from it. We were in front with 17 minutes to go and then James [Graham] went off with an HIA. It’s pretty important when you’ve already lost your four [Origin] forwards that didn’t start.

“When you lose another senior player on the field at a time when you need to close the game out it hurts a bit, but I’m not going to use any of it as an excuse.

“Those [young] guys have been preparing and waiting for that opportunity for a long time. Everyone needs to be able to be a little bit better and we weren’t.”

The Dragons already stretched forwards depth was tested after just five minutes with Jacob Host suffering a dislocated shoulder in an attempted tackle on Ryan Hoffman.

It forced McGregor to deploy winger-cum-bench utility Jason Nightingale on the right edge next to debutant half Darren Nicholls, something the Storm exploited on a number of occasions.

“He’s popped his shoulder, it popped out and came back in,” McGregor said of Host’s injury

“Defensively, our right edge was affected a little bit by the interchange early. [Nicholls] was on that right edge and he lost his back-rower which is really difficult.

“Jase did a job for us there but he’s never played tight like that as a back-rower. That affected us in d.”

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5511888/melbourne-loss-no-write-off-for-mcgregor/?cs=3713

Note the McGregor quote: “We were in front with 17 minutes to go and then James [Graham] went off with an HIA..."

This was actually a fair point. IMO, James Graham being off the field at that point gave us no chance. We may have won, we may still have lost, but I believe the scoreline would have been a lot closer.

Graham was actually cleared and allowed back on, so the HIA folk got it wrong. At the time I questioned why he was taken off at all. He was in a heavy tackle but immediately got back into the defensive line and didn't seem at all concussed.

Prior to him leaving the field, Graham was plugging the gaps and leading the forwards (what we had left of the forwards that is). It was no coincidence that Storm were able to run in late tries against a tired defence when Graham was off.

Graham's removal from the field was especially perplexing, given that Hoffman was allowed to play after copping a falcon. Hoffman actually appeared to be slightly concussed but was allowed to play on. If the Head Injury Assessment is about erring on the side of caution and 'player safety' etc, then they're definitely lacking some consistency... which makes the whole process a bit of a joke.

 

[West coast dragon]

Grand finals are won in Sydney not Melbourne!

 

[TomRedVRiver]

Well done recruitment
29 year old master blaster v a bloke who can play the game

Come on OT, don't be that guy.

Luai wasn't off-contract, and there was no way Gould was letting him go. Nicholls was a cheap depth option who was on the open market. Get the facts right before you lash out.

 

[ALSGI]

FMD, just finished reading this thread from Thursday night.

I enjoyed the game, disapointing last period but it was certainly entertaining.

Reserves got a good hit out and will learn more from that than a dire 12 all draw. Plenty made mistakes, I think Nicholls did ok considering what a massive game it was for him - imagine the pressure of his first NRL game at 29 with a depleted team, in Melb. People really need to calm the f**kc down and start enjoying the footy and our very good team. I’ve already said I’m not saying any more on Nighty unless it’s positive.

The negatives from that game, quiet a few don’t worry me tbh. Happy to take the positives, also quiet a few from the game, we’re in the top 2 after 17 rounds, most of our regulars will have a good rest, looking forward to the game against the Tigers at Kogarah on a Sunday arvo - perfect.