Round 18 v Roosters

[Blood Shot Eyes]

What I understand with many here they believe we should get rid of B.Hunt, Bird, this player, that player, but FMD, who the F do you replace them with?
They got beat by a club who have been cheating the salary cap since Brad Fitler days, the salary cap suits the Rorters perfectly.
The Dragons at the moment are on par with the Dragons of 2007/8. Thank God Flanno is there, if Dean Young was head coach we would be definate wooden spooners, he is the Dragons defensive coach (great work mate), I hope and pray, like Barrett, he ends up at Eels.
If the Dragons finish on equal points as the team that makes the top 8, but miss out on for and against, happy days, a good year, why finish 8 a lose anyway in the semi's.
Next year will be the year the Dragons must entrench themselves in the Top 8, Top 5, similar to the 2018 season.
2026 Top 4 Title Contender.
And if that fails, suck yours thumbs, grab your willy and start crying.

Mate if Young ever got the head coaching role here then seriously I would be gone.....ps not sure about grabbing my willy bit though

 

[Walpole]

Disappointing today but I think we all know we're just not in the same class as the top three, one of which will definitely win the comp. Seems to me that for the most part Flanagan is getting the best out of what he has but unless we can attract 3-4 top class players, the best we can hope for is to be a an 8th to 10th place team.

 

[saintmar]

I think Flanno is slowly losing it also how my times did he say we were in it for 55 min ..... You have to play for 80 min can someone let him know ...... https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2024/07/07/nrl-round-18-press-conference-roosters-vs-dragons/

Yep he needs to lobby the NRL bosses to cut the game to 55 mintutes
Beginning to sound like a previous pretender who was complaining about the length of the field,size of the in goal areas and tries off kicks don’t count.

 

[saintmar]

Mate if Young ever got the head coaching role here then seriously I would be gone.....ps not sure about grabbing my willy bit though

Young/Hornby combo will do the job successfully

 

[This Year?]

Just watched the shitshow and some things stood out for me:
We won't be seeing finals this season. We simply cannot compete consistently with the top 4 teams. We don't have the quality and I'm actually proud we competed for about 50 minutes.
Ben Hunt likes to play in a dinnersuit and I wish he f**ked off yesterday. His trick shots when we were down by 20+ only pissed me off more.
Most of the side are average/plodders and when you really think about it they've overachieved already.
We're slow and robotic in attack. It was painful to watch our attack, especially in the 1st half. We had so much ball on their line and couldn't break them down.
Also f**k you fox league.

 

[Budpower]

1. Talagai
2. Finau
3.Suli
4. Allen
5. Tuipolotu or Matt F
6. Kyle
7. Marshke

8. Saifiti
9.Cook
10.Frank
11.Sua
12. RFM
13. Eisenhuth
or Jack

BENCH.
Sele
Luch
both Couchmens
Liddle

with some gametime to a couple of the upcoming forwards guns like Pacifiki Tonga, Latu etc and we should be far more competitive

no more Hunt or Lawrie forever thanks!!

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Yesterdays game plan by the Roosters was very clever

they know we like achieve our extra metres through both edge backrowers getting us some good PCM and a fast play off the ball.

they know we are very reliant on Tui etc on that first or second hitup to get things rolling.

the Roosters targeted several players yesterday via swarming personal defence and we struggled to respond

Luc was targeted
Tui was targetted
Sloan was targeted
Molo and JDB were targeted

these guys were gang tackled and targeted as they are key to getting our field position rolling.

we didn’t have a plan B to move the ball quickly the other way? To have an offload and trail runner on that play or the next? We just let the Roosters some off the line and smack us around.

it truly was men vs boys

It was such a great reminder that incredibly clinical and aggressive defence all game is just so bloody hard to handle.

I was inspired by their force and 80mins focus. It was almost SOO level offensive defence !!!

I personally would watch that game again with all players - break it down. Show every aspect of the ambush in slow mo.

The Roosters were the formula yesterday and we need to replicate that defensive intensity. That hunting and that owning the opposition if we want to be a real deal team.

 

[Saints Forever]

As someone who was fortunate enough to have watched the likes of Billy Smith, Ross Strudwick, Mark Shulman & Steve Morris play for us in the number 7, I'm almost happy not to watch us at all with that (C) Hunt killing us by pretending to be an elite half-back.
How many times has he been schooled by rookie halves? And they don't outrun or outmuscle him - they out-think him.
He seemingly has no ability to read a game or adapt or ad-lib. Every weapon in his under-equipped arsenal is either from the same well-thumbed playbook that everyone sees coming or it's a low-percentage Hail Mary play that either comes off and looks miraculous or more often backfires and is disastrous.
We've been stuck with this since 2018 and his continued presence makes a rebuild impossible.
There's just one solution - Punt the (C)Hunt!

You can add Goldthorpe to the list

He could kick a field goal and was much more effective than Hunt

 

[Saints Forever]

Reality is we are are currently a mid table team with our current squad & we played a team that will go very close to winning the competition this year. However 55 missed tackles is not acceptable & we desperately need another big bopper to help F Molo when he goes off for a rest unfortunately Blocker has gone backwards this year & adds no value when he comes on. Will Flanno make changes for next week ? Not sure we have the backup to make much of a difference our reserves are struggling as well. We have a great opportunity to beat the Broncos, it’s up to them if they want it enough. I

Bottom quarter to potentially 8th or 9th

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

Roosters game

Toby Couchman 47mins played
11 runs
104m
44m PCM

JDB our spearhead 57mins played
4 runs
35m
5 PCM

my f**king lord !!!!!!!

 

[since77]

Reality is we are are currently a mid table team with our current squad & we played a team that will go very close to winning the competition this year. However 55 missed tackles is not acceptable & we desperately need another big bopper to help F Molo when he goes off for a rest unfortunately Blocker has gone backwards this year & adds no value when he comes on. Will Flanno make changes for next week ? Not sure we have the backup to make much of a difference our reserves are struggling as well. We have a great opportunity to beat the Broncos, it’s up to them if they want it enough. I

This is a pretty realistic take on where we are.
Perfect example of a great roster versus a roster in its first year of reversing 12 years of inept mismanagement.
It was like a Ferrari versus a second hand Toyota. Not helped by a ref pulling six agains out of his a$$ for one team and not the other......
Hoping Flanno can jag some quality signings between now and start of next season.

 

[since77]

Roosters game

Toby Couchman 47mins played
11 runs
104m
44m PCM

JDB our spearhead 57mins played
4 runs
35m
5 PCM

my f**king lord !!!!!!!

Young Toby was one of the few bright spots. He's going to be a good one.

 

[rasaint]

I notice that Tony is reasonably quick for a forward. Made a genuine fist out of his chasing of Teddy.

Many different opinions and comments which are relevant. I believe that senior Flanno is getting the best out of the squad he inherited.

I have said previously that the gong is a nice place but intuitively I think not attractive in the final decision criteria mix for possible recruits. Unlike Melbourne n Newcastle which are discreet Cities away from Sydney, the gong is just far enough away so that prospective players think I could be much closer to central Sydney etc. Who knows?

Finally, the Feagai brothers, birds, Ben Hunt, Sloan etc are all talented players and have reached the NRL. Trouble is the bar is just so high. Also, ( to state the obvious) we haven’t recruited speed Since Bennent had Gaz, Coops, Boyd, Morris, Sowie in his winning 2010 team.

 

[justadragon]

I do feel sorry for KF, he wasnt recruited as a 6, but my concern is with the impending arrival of Cook ( who BTW I think should be made Captain) this will keep KF at 6, unless the Cook / Liddle combo can mean one of them goes to Lock and we have Liddle and KF on the bench, all very complicated now. It was extremely evident that when the Roosters went up a few gears especially Walker, we had nothing that could go with them. Unfortunately also our Captain is also our main organiser and game manager, and I use those words loosely when it comes to BH. BH came to us from a great team in the Broncos, he didnt have to do too much except run the ball on his attacking plays and call the defence on his side. He also had Widdop here who was a great organiser and leader, he just hasnt been able to fire a shot when things are not going the Dragons way and probably never will. This also leads to the fact that if BH cant change things around or drag back momentum, then neither can KF, so we are left with a team that is struggling for leadership and ideas whilst we continue to get pumped, ala yesterday. Have a good think about it folks, if your spine collapses, so does the rest of your body, and in the Dragons case we have been spineless for quite a few years now. Its time for the ultimate conversation to happen and realise that without it we are going nowhere, and never will.

 

[maestro1]

Young/Hornby combo will do the job successfully

Absolutely not.

 

[maestro1]

Yesterdays game plan by the Roosters was very clever

they know we like achieve our extra metres through both edge backrowers getting us some good PCM and a fast play off the ball.

they know we are very reliant on Tui etc on that first or second hitup to get things rolling.

the Roosters targeted several players yesterday via swarming personal defence and we struggled to respond

Luc was targeted
Tui was targetted
Sloan was targeted
Molo and JDB were targeted

these guys were gang tackled and targeted as they are key to getting our field position rolling.

we didn’t have a plan B to move the ball quickly the other way? To have an offload and trail runner on that play or the next? We just let the Roosters some off the line and smack us around.

it truly was men vs boys

It was such a great reminder that incredibly clinical and aggressive defence all game is just so bloody hard to handle.

I was inspired by their force and 80mins focus. It was almost SOO level offensive defence !!!

I personally would watch that game again with all players - break it down. Show every aspect of the ambush in slow mo.

The Roosters were the formula yesterday and we need to replicate that defensive intensity. That hunting and that owning the opposition if we want to be a real deal team.

It helped them that Klein allowed them to slow every play down. They laid all over us, rolled us over, held the ball, etc. Klein rightly infringed, but then he warned them, they kept it up and Klein yielded and let them continue for the rest of the game. Watch the game again and watch how quick we were letting them up, allowed them to walk 2 metres forward and then play the ball with speed. We let JWH play the ball so quick on our line that Sloan who had just tackled JWH didn't have time to get back for Walkers little kick. The Roosters defence on their line was awesome, but they completely discounted the rules and were happy to infringe and keep their line set. Klein needed to act or better still our captain should have told us to do the same when they attacked our line. That way, Klein would have to act against both teams or neither.

I personally would prefer to keep slowing the play the ball down on our line, risk the 6 agains and then set our line and be ready for the next attacking play. This was the Roosters defense (push the limits of the rules), make sure every one is set for each attacking play, stop the fatigue by slowing the oppositions attack down with illegal slowing down tactics. We were the exact opposite, we didn't slow the play the balls down, we were scrambling to be in position and this fatigued us quicker

 

[since77]

It helped them that Klein allowed them to slow every play down. They laid all over us, rolled us over, held the ball, etc. Klein rightly infringed, but then he warned them, they kept it up and Klein yielded and let them continue for the rest of the game. Watch the game again and watch how quick we were letting them up, allowed them to walk 2 metres forward and then play the ball with speed. We let JWH play the ball so quick on our line that Sloan who had just tackled JWH didn't have time to get back for Walkers little kick. The Roosters defence on their line was awesome, but they completely discounted the rules and were happy to infringe and keep their line set. Klein needed to act or better still our captain should have told us to do the same when they attacked our line. That way, Klein would have to act against both teams or neither.

I personally would prefer to keep slowing the play the ball down on our line, risk the 6 agains and then set our line and be ready for the next attacking play. This was the Roosters defense (push the limits of the rules), make sure every one is set for each attacking play, stop the fatigue by slowing the oppositions attack down with illegal slowing down tactics. We were the exact opposite, we didn't slow the play the balls down, we were scrambling to be in position and this fatigued us quicker

This. This. This. This. THIS. THIS. THIS!!!!!

I mentioned this in an earlier post. If I was a newcomer to the game yesterday I would have sworn the two teams were playing under two separate sets of rules when they had the ball. There's been a bit of a ground swell over the last few weeks to get rid of the six agains and I'm onboard with that if they can't referee both teams the same way.

No doubting the team that had the better roster won yesterday because they had a clearly better squad of players 1-17. All approved by the salary cap auditors of course. But geez it makes it a whole lot harder to compete with them when one team is allowed to get away with slowing down the ruck all game and the weaker team is forced to clear the ruck at light speed.
Never thought I'd say this but bring back the wrestle. At least its fair for both teams (except if you're the Storm).

 

[Dragon David]

I do feel sorry for KF, he wasnt recruited as a 6, but my concern is with the impending arrival of Cook ( who BTW I think should be made Captain) this will keep KF at 6, unless the Cook / Liddle combo can mean one of them goes to Lock and we have Liddle and KF on the bench, all very complicated now. It was extremely evident that when the Roosters went up a few gears especially Walker, we had nothing that could go with them. Unfortunately also our Captain is also our main organiser and game manager, and I use those words loosely when it comes to BH. BH came to us from a great team in the Broncos, he didnt have to do too much except run the ball on his attacking plays and call the defence on his side. He also had Widdop here who was a great organiser and leader, he just hasnt been able to fire a shot when things are not going the Dragons way and probably never will. This also leads to the fact that if BH cant change things around or drag back momentum, then neither can KF, so we are left with a team that is struggling for leadership and ideas whilst we continue to get pumped, ala yesterday. Have a good think about it folks, if your spine collapses, so does the rest of your body, and in the Dragons case we have been spineless for quite a few years now. Its time for the ultimate conversation to happen and realise that without it we are going nowhere, and never will.

That's the sad reality of it all justa. After yesterdays game my enthusiasm has dropped immensely. It is of course a good thing that there are signs of improvement with the team, however, improvement doesn't mean much when you get flogged and we have been flogged quite a bit this year meaning that someone is not doing his job in getting the boys to defend for the full 80 minutes.

Our squad consists of players who need a total clean up. Adding a few here and there to try and become some quality team is not going to get us anywhere. We just keep doing this with all of the coaches we have had since Bennett. Lots need to go, not just a few and lots have to be signed up who are decnt to replace the ones turfed. We have got to be tough and do what the Bulldogs have been doing. It will be tough and very sad but it has to be done.

If we continue to do band aid stuff, we will remain in the lower part of the competition over and over again for another decade. Just clean it up and in say 5 years we could be where we would like us to be.

Flanno will cop lots of flack but it is not his fault. The club is just run poorly.

 

[56to66]

This. This. This. This. THIS. THIS. THIS!!!!!

I mentioned this in an earlier post. If I was a newcomer to the game yesterday I would have sworn the two teams were playing under two separate sets of rules when they had the ball. There's been a bit of a ground swell over the last few weeks to get rid of the six agains and I'm onboard with that if they can't referee both teams the same way.

No doubting the team that had the better roster won yesterday because they had a clearly better squad of players 1-17. All approved by the salary cap auditors of course. But geez it makes it a whole lot harder to compete with them when one team is allowed to get away with slowing down the ruck all game and the weaker team is forced to clear the ruck at light speed.
Never thought I'd say this but bring back the wrestle. At least its fair for both teams (except if you're the Storm).

Yep bring back the wrestling, at least it bring the scores closer against Salary cap cheating teams.

 

[sammymills]

This. This. This. This. THIS. THIS. THIS!!!!!

I mentioned this in an earlier post. If I was a newcomer to the game yesterday I would have sworn the two teams were playing under two separate sets of rules when they had the ball. There's been a bit of a ground swell over the last few weeks to get rid of the six agains and I'm onboard with that if they can't referee both teams the same way.

No doubting the team that had the better roster won yesterday because they had a clearly better squad of players 1-17. All approved by the salary cap auditors of course. But geez it makes it a whole lot harder to compete with them when one team is allowed to get away with slowing down the ruck all game and the weaker team is forced to clear the ruck at light speed.
Never thought I'd say this but bring back the wrestle. At least its fair for both teams (except if you're the Storm).

i want to see big boppers back in rugby league. Bring back unlimited interchange. I want 140kg props like Charlie Leano.