Round 19 v Titans

[kit66]

Unlike our former coach, Griffin never points the finger at anyone else...

I will borrow some stats posted by @Starkers in J.A..

2021: 8 wins after 18 games. Sitting 8th, likely to miss semis but a roster overhaul with underperformers moved on, youth blooded and an internal focus, incredible player stupidity, learning CEO, no excuses tendered to the fans, 2 current Qld rep forwards inbound to club, overall roster on par with 2020 and results better than last 2 years with 6 games remaining.

2020: 7 wins in 20 games. Sat dead last at the conclusion of round 4 after losing first 4 games. Ran 12th overall and NEVER set foot inside the 8. Mary won 5, Young won 2. A continuation of 2019. Excuses every week.

2019: 8 wins in 24 games. Departed top 8 in round 9 never to visit again, finished second last and worst season on record as a joint venture. Excuses every week.

The differences are black and white.
We are in a rebuilding phase...you don't undo 8 years of mediocre overnight... Griffin has started moving on the dead wood and we will be better in 22....this year was never going to be easy.

Good post dude. Forget today. We should keep our chins up. Not easy but it aint over 'til the fat lady sings.
They might surprise us with some good signing news soon and in 2 weeks we'll get a full strength team on the park - fingers crossed.

 

[getsmarty]

Have you ever noticed that you constantly defend Hook because he is a better coach than Paul McGregor?
Perhaps you should compare him to other coaches in the NRL as well.
Is he doing as good a job as other clubs coaches regarding recruitment, technical aspects, game plans, defence and attack.
And most importantly is he building a culture that galvanises the team. A team the fans can be proud of. How would you rate the team culture right now?
Being a better coach than Paul McGregor doesn’t make him a good coach.

I understand and agree with what you are saying, but every situation is different.

Have other coaches inherited the mess that was left by our former coach....
Griffin has a tough job on his hands....we are in a transition period....I'm happy to wait and see where we are at the end of next year....

Recruitment has improved....juniors are being blooded....Teams like Penrith took years to build to were they are now.

We will get a better idea by them of how good Griffin is....currently he is ahead of 7/8 other NRL coaches.

 

[getsmarty]

Good post dude. Forget today. We should keep our chins up. Not easy but it aint over 'til the fat lady sings.
They might surprise us with some good signing news soon and in 2 weeks we'll get a full strength team on the park - fingers crossed.

Thanks @kit66 . At this stage griffin has a job on his hands....hopefully next year will be much better...

 

[thebigredv]

Read it again...unlike our former coach, Griffin never points the finger at anyone else...

I will borrow some stats posted by @Starkers in J.A..

2021: 8 wins after 18 games. Sitting 8th, likely to miss semis but a roster overhaul with underperformers moved on, youth blooded and an internal focus, incredible player stupidity, learning CEO, no excuses tendered to the fans, 2 current Qld rep forwards inbound to club, overall roster on par with 2020 and results better than last 2 years with 6 games remaining.

2020: 7 wins in 20 games. Sat dead last at the conclusion of round 4 after losing first 4 games. Ran 12th overall and NEVER set foot inside the 8. Mary won 5, Young won 2. A continuation of 2019. Excuses every week.

2019: 8 wins in 24 games. Departed top 8 in round 9 never to visit again, finished second last and worst season on record as a joint venture. Excuses every week.

The differences are black and white.
We are in a rebuilding phase...you don't undo 8 years of mediocre overnight... Griffin has started moving on the dead wood and we will be better in 22....this year was never going to be easy.

Read it again? Are you looking for someone to take out your pent up frustration on? Ok.

If your argument is Griffin is better than Mary than no one will argue with that and I for one am still revelling in his expulsion from our club. Hook's has a much better demeanour overall. The lack of excuses is very refreshing.

Meanwhile, Griffin would admit the rebuild is not taking perfect shape at this point. I'd say it is a little shaky, particularly right now. Griffin has his two years at least no matter what happens and I am certainly happy for that to be the case. He has taken on added issues big and small through none of his own doing.

However how I honestly feel as we wallow in the shadows of another horrible performance is that:

- The 8th is irrelevant. I am happy to bet my house we don't finish higher than 10th. If you don't think it gets uglier from here then I have to question your faculties. I don't want to think what the bunnies, roosters and panthers will do with us.

- Sullivan is going to get dropped again and I am almost certain Sloan won't get a run again for a while. He's identified both as underperformers yet doesn't seem to have the faith or the guts to back the young blokes. Makes zero sense to me. He needs to select Sloan and Sullivan again this week.

- The Vaughan BBQ was in complete defiance of the coach's direction. These are his players. If it doesn't say something about his standing or credibility in the eyes of the stupid players I don't know what does. They haven't come out and responded as a team and as far as it stands the majority of them will be playing under him next year.

- Molo and Sua more than make up for Vaughan's departure but we are still short a proper utility, another quality forward and some x-factor out the back. It seems pretty certain we were after Mbye. That would be a very poor signing. This is Griffin's second round of recruitment. McCullogh, MacGuire, Ellis not getting rave reviews hate to tell you. With the miss of Finucane, there's slim picking on offer.

Shame on me for having such high expectations, I know. The 'wait it out' mantra has an expiry date and I think its fair to assess the trajectory is not that great. A game where we show about of skill and composure would be a nice treat.

 

[getsmarty]

Read it again? Are you looking for someone to take your pent up frustration on? Ok.

If your argument is Griffin is better than Mary than no one will with that and I for one am still revelling in his expulsion from our club. Hook's has a much better demeanour overall. The lack of excuses is very refreshing.

Meanwhile, Griffin would admit the rebuild is not taking perfect shape at this point. I'd say it is a little shaky, particularly right now. Griffin has his two years at least no matter what happens and I am certainly happy for that to be the case. He has taken on added issues big and small through none of his own doing.

However how I honestly feel as we wallow in the shadows of another horrible performance is that:

- The 8th is irrelevant. I am happy to bet my house we don't finish higher than 10th. If you don't think it gets uglier from here then I have to question your faculties. I don't want to think what the bunnies, roosters and panthers will do with us.

- Sullivan is going to get dropped again and I am almost certain Sloan won't get a run again for a while. He's identified both as underperformers yet doesn't seem to have the faith or the guts to back the young blokes. Makes zero sense to me. He needs to select Sloan and Sullivan again this week.

- The Vaughan BBQ was in complete defiance of the coach's direction. These are his players. If it doesn't say something about his standing or credibility in the eyes of the stupid players I don't know what does. They haven't come out and responded as a team and as far as it stands the majority of them will be playing under him next year.

- Molo and Sua more than make up for Vaughan's departure but we are still short a proper utility, another quality forward and some x-factor out the back. It seems pretty certain we were after Mbye. That would be a very poor signing. This is Griffin's second round of recruitment. McCullogh, MacGuire, Ellis not getting rave reviews hate to tell you. With the miss of Finucane, there's slim picking on offer.

Shame on me for having such high expectations, I know. The 'wait it out' mantra has an expiry date and I think its fair to assess the trajectory is not that great.

Apologies @thebigredv ...I did re-edit my post in regards to the 1st line but was too late as you quoted it...

We all want High expectations...we all want to win...unfortunately..in reality we are a long way from there @ the moment....
Roster management is not as simple as people make it out to be....we used to pay overs....those days are gone....
The "wait it out mantra has an expiry date "...I agree...
Griffin has not even completed 1 year....the former coach was here for almost 8 !!!
In fairness he deserves to at least be given until the end of next year...WHY ..he inherited a mess and needs time to turn things around...

I am as disappointed as anybody in regards to today's flat performance, but you can't win games when you keep turning the ball over....We are a work in progress...

In regards to we won't finish higher than 10th , I tend to agree...the horse bolted weeks ago...we haven't had a consistent side all year due to suspensions etc....

Anyway, not here to argue with people.Have a good week.

 

[Dorothy the Winowhore]

What has Junior Amone done wrong? Why is he not getting any more chances in 1st grade? I thought he was looking ok in the few games he played in earlier in the season. But not been picked again for the last 6 - 8 weeks.

 

[Lindsay Moss]

I understand and agree with what you are saying, but every situation is different.

Have other coaches inherited the mess that was left by our former coach....
Griffin has a tough job on his hands....we are in a transition period....I'm happy to wait and see where we are at the end of next year....

Recruitment has improved....juniors are being blooded....Teams like Penrith took years to build to were they are now.

We will get a better idea by them of how good Griffin is....currently he is ahead of 7/8 other NRL coaches.

Good post dude. Forget today. We should keep our chins up. Not easy but it aint over 'til the fat lady sings.
They might surprise us with some good signing news soon and in 2 weeks we'll get a full strength team on the park - fingers crossed.

The fat lady is starting to gargle.

 

[getsmarty]

The fat lady is starting to gargle.

I thought the fat lady had drowned after this guy...

https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sportal_com_au/e0/bc/paul-mcgregor_xhkx9qwbsogc1rb7bcz0yy41u.jpg?t=-263490381&w=%7Bwidth%7D&quality=80

 

[thebigredv]

The fat lady is starting to gargle.

The fat lady attended the bbq.

 

[Crush]

Apologies @thebigredv ...I did re-edit my post in regards to the 1st line but was too late as you quoted it...

We all want High expectations...we all want to win...unfortunately..in reality we are a long way from there @ the moment....
Roster management is not as simple as people make it out to be....we used to pay overs....those days are gone....
The "wait it out mantra has an expiry date "...I agree...
Griffin has not even completed 1 year....the former coach was hear for almost 8 !!!
In fairness he deserves to at least be given until the end of next year...WHY ..he inherited a mess and needs time to turn things around...

I am as disappointed as anybody in regards to today's flat performance, but you can't win games when you keep turning the ball over....We are a work in progress...

In regards to we won't finish higher than 10th , I tend to agree...the horse bolted weeks ago...we haven't had a consistent side all year due to suspensions etc....

Anyway, not here to argue with people.Have a good week.

I think the concerning thing is there has been no progress, quite the opposite.
If we are “a work in progress” then alarm bells are ringing for me.

 

[getsmarty]

I think the concerning thing is there has been no progress, quite the opposite.
If we are “a work in progress” then alarm bells are ringing for me.

Agree to disagree.... I can see progress...although ball security has been poor this year...suspensions stuffed us up big-time resulting in players playing out of position etc...

Alarm bells will be ringing if after improving our roster for 22, we continue along the same trajectory...time will tell.

 

[BLM01]

I think the concerning thing is there has been no progress, quite the opposite.
If we are “a work in progress” then alarm bells are ringing for me.

Hand on Shark heart!
Did you honestly think we would have a good year this year?
After losing Mcinnes for the season you thought with the squad we had that we would be as high as we are?
Look how many young blokes we have seen trickled into our squad and getting a go when the time is right and some of the right decisions being made to set up for the near future.
I also see steps in the right direction even if it is not showing hugely on field.

 

[Dragonssupporter]

I didnt see todays game-that seems lucky to me judging by what ive been reading. All i want to say is that ever since about 2013 all ive heard is "were in a rebuilding stage". Weve heard it from McGregor and it is still being said. I havent quiet written off for this year yet but it would seem a lot of people on here have-and i certainly dont blame you. But when do the faceless people who run our club get held up to be accountable for this mess. We cant be rebuilding forever but it seems we are. Maybe being an old supporter im expecting too much when i want at least some level of commitment,reliability and respect for our jersey from our players. Were constantly being beaten by teams below us but our team doesnt seem to care. I really think a complete cleanout is needed-board members and all . We never used to accept second best but now its part of our makeup. At least i have memories of when we were the best

 

[possm]

After that performance, some need to be put on notice and it is not just some players.

Dufty and Peira should be dropped to reserve grade, their minds are on 2022 and their new club now. Replace Dufty with Sloan.

Also, I still can't see the value of selecting Beale at the right center. We need to blood one of our young guns in the centers for next season.

Jack Bird seems to have lost some pace in attack and he is also missing plenty in tackles lately. It is time to use Stuart or Schiller from the lower grades. Griffin needs to find a spot for him in the team and maybe that is as the utility player on the bench.

De Belin and Sims should have been given the job of stopping Fifita. Bringing him on after 20mins to attack opposite our right centre (Beale) was a Holbrook masterstroke but should have been countered with Sims and JDB given the job to stop him. In defense, I would have lined up Fifita with De Belin in and given him to stand opposite Fifita where ever he moves to on the field. Fifita opposite Ramsey was a miss-match and yet Griffin did not address the problem during the game.

Griffin needs to have some strong words with his assistant coaches, as it was in attack and defense that the Dragons were poor today. Griffin should also let the players know, 'if you don't perform your in reserve grade next week'. He needs to follow through with this no matter what if he wants to change the culture.

Surely, it is time to get rid of Millward. His salary does not come under our salary cap and he constantly misses signing the players we need. this has been a constant problem at the Dragons for years now; it is time for a change.

So, we still need at least one more top-grade prop for 2022. Who is available?

 

[muzby]

After that performance, some need to be put on notice and it is not just some players.

So if it’s not some players on notice, is all players on notice or none?

 

[since77]

Our forwards are soft, ineffective and pathetic. Never looked like getting out of their own half all game.
Another disgraceful performance by a bunch of pea hearts who should hang their heads in shame when they collect their next pay packet.

 

[Gareth67]

Thanks @kit66 . At this stage griffin has a job on his hands....hopefully next year will be much better...

If the team doesn’t improve next year , more so with the new boys , then Griffin will have as much hair on his noggin as did Poppa Clay .

 

[thebigredv]

Our forwards are soft, ineffective and pathetic. Never looked like getting out of their own half all game.
Another disgraceful performance by a bunch of pea hearts who should hang their heads in shame when they collect their next pay packet.

How long have we been saying this in regards to our forward pack? Feels like forever. And it is a plain fact.

No one can really pinpoint the other frailties/strong suits of this team until we sort out this issue. Molo and Sua are great signings but what really worries me too is the standards of the club and their accountability. If I am honest, based on what I have seen from the likes of Vaughan*, Lawrie, Sims to name a few of our bigger name forwards, those two recruits and their friend Burgess will probably be expecting to come for a bit of a holiday. Vaughan's attitude epitomises that. Sims in origin vs Sims in our jersey. Too much to expect him to lift us or inspire his teammates once or twice a season?

They have a tough yet simple job but they refuse to muscle up and dig in for the jersey as a collective.

 

[Illusion]

I think the concerning thing is there has been no progress, quite the opposite.
If we are “a work in progress” then alarm bells are ringing for me.

Agree here Titans play a kid in his first game at 7 and they smashed us ..... Hook again out coached ..... Should have won that game even with the team we had ..... Hook doesn’t seem to have any answer's in his presser's ..... I know we are rebuilding but don't like the way they are defending or attacking ...... Coaching thing ?????

 

[kit66]

The fat lady is starting to gargle.

Come on man, this is a family forum !