Round 2 vs Sharks

[getsmarty]

Dragons press conference
St George Illawarra Dragons coach Paul McGregor and captain Gareth Widdop face the media after their side's 20-16 win over the Cronulla Sharks

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/03/15/dragons-press-conference-round-2/

 

[getsmarty]

DRAGONS

Dragons coach McGregor praises team's gutsy win
Author
Chris Kennedy
Timestamp
Thu 15 Mar 2018, 11:18 PM

A satisfied St George Illawarra Dragons coach Paul McGregor says his team's impressive efforts in a testing opening 40 minutes against Cronulla Sharks – which they lost 14-4 – was crucial in paving the foundations for their 20-16 win.

The Dragons were regularly pinned in their own half by a relentless and disciplined Cronulla Sharks outfit that made just a single error in the first stanza, so to go into the sheds trailing by just 10 was a great result.

With the wind at their backs in the second 40 and Cronulla's discipline disintegrating, the Dragons overhauled the deficit to move to a 2-0 season record.

"I was very happy with the first half," McGregor said after the game.

Dragons v Cronulla photo gallery

Dragons v Cronulla photo gallery

"We had no field position. The Sharks were 21 from 22, so they were playing some good footy. There was a fair breeze so we just needed to swing that possession around, get a bit of field position and keep the Sharks under 16 points which we managed to do tonight.

"It's great going forward. You don't come here to win pretty, you come here to scrap to win. We scrapped well tonight. It wasn't a great game to watch but Cronulla, fortunately, had 40 tackle breaks but didn't execute too much with the footy."

Arguably the most important 10 minutes of the contest came after the Dragons had finally claimed the lead for the first time midway through the second half only to see winger Jason Nightingale sin-binned for a professional foul.

Dragons rally to edge Sharks in derby

The Sharks kicked two points from the infringement and didn't get back in attacking range the whole time Nightingale was off.

"During that period, the boys handled it really well," McGregor said.

"For us, it's maintaining an 80-minute game. Last year we were very good over 40 minutes for the whole year, we were good early for 10 or 12 weeks for 80 minutes then we dropped off. It's just about us being consistent week-to-week. The boys have got the right attitude which is around belief.’’

Skipper Gareth Widdop agreed that trailing by just 10 at half time was a positive.

"That first half everything went against us and to the boys' credit we went in at half time at 14-4," he said.

"We just had to be resilient [while down to 12 men]. I thought we were really good there, a man down.

"We worked hard over the pre season and tonight it showed, the boys' effort for each other, everyone competing for each other. You need to do that when you come to a place like this."


https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/03/15...ach-paul-mcgregor-praises-team-for-gutsy-win/

 

[getsmarty]

Nene Macdonald pulled off a miraculous try
NENE Macdonald left NRL fans speechless as he defied the laws of physics to help the Dragons pull off a stunning fightback.

AAPMarch 15, 201810:53pm

• Video
• Image

Nene MacDonald's all-time acrobatic stunning try

ST GEORGE Illawarra have overcome an early deficit to shock Cronulla 20-16 in a bizarre NRL local derby at Southern Cross Group Stadium.

The Sharks looked to have the game within their grasp a number of times, leading 14-0 after 26 minutes and then with a man advantage midway through the second half when the game was locked at 16-all.

But after a near perfect first half in attack, Cronulla could only muster three play-the-balls with Jason Nightingale off the field for a professional foul, handing the Dragons back-to-back penalty goals and the four-point victory. Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop again showed the potential of their combination, as the Red V made use of a blustery wind at their backs in the second half. They kicked for both of the Dragons’ initial two tries of the comeback, Widdop’s first highlighted by a miraculous leaping Nene Macdonald effort to get the ball down before his feet went out.

TRY Dragons! #NRLSharksDragons 14-4 33' Nene Macdonald with an early try of the year contender.

Watch LIVE: https://t.co/vee8pxIG8o
Follow LIVE: https://t.co/h9vymIV4VR pic.twitter.com/o7MPerY9Qn

— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) March 15, 2018
After Hunt fortuitously put Tyson Frizell in via a miskick following the halftime break, he and Widdop combined to put Euan Aitken outside his opposite centre to score.

Aitken also played a key role in the win, having moments earlier forced the ball loose from Josh Dugan as the former Dragon crossed the line in his first game at fullback for the Sharks.

Cronulla were left to rue blowing a first-half effort where they made just one handling error.

Matt Moylan’s impact was more pronounced than in last week’s loss to North Queensland, forcing two line dropouts off his boot and having his first assist for Cronulla when he threw a bullet cut-out pass for Sosaia Feki.

"The Dragons are the real deal this year." #9NRLFootyShow pic.twitter.com/cLngth3GA3

— The NRL Footy Show (@NRLFootyShow) March 15, 2018
His combination with Josh Dugan at fullback was also impressive, however the five-eighth blew a difficult chance to win the match for the Sharks when he fumbled a tough Kurt Capewell offload in front of the posts with minutes to play.

Meanwhile Valentine Holmes had an unhappy night back on the right wing.

He was jumped over by Macdonald for the Dragons’ first try, threw an intercept as the Sharks mounted pressure late in the opening half and then made another error early in the second.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/ne...y/news-story/06e572ff462848f464c1f824353cb8e8

 

[Brutalitops]

Interesting that coach specifically mentioned Nene's work ethic finally matching his talent in the press conference. Explains a lot about his form

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

It's like McGregor is like a rabbit in the headlights as far as his bench management goes. From selection to actually using the bench tactically during a game, he is lost.

We won though despite that so it feels good.

McGregor is looking very happy at the moment which is a carbon copy of the last couple of years at the beginning of the season.
Positives - defended very well (5 missed tackles all game) which kept us in striking range by HT.
Great contributions from Ah Mau, McDonald (probably the best game he has played for us) and Sims.
Negatives - wingers and centres are still uncoordinated - no real strike in my view. Poorly coached.
On tonight's performance you could easily drop Nightingale, Lafai and even Dufty (letting the bomb bounce and getting rag dolled not a good look).
Hunt was very quiet with practically no running game to speak of.
Use of the bench continues to be poor. Mann should start and we should use all the replacements.
Graham's only asset is experience. Little impact and struggles to bend the line IMO.
Overall happy to get the 2 points but given the number of errors we conceded and the fact that Cronulla just self destructed in the second half I think we were quite fortunate to walk away with the 2 points.
This is where the coach needs to be gutsy and make changes that will make a difference.

 

[Dennis Papaioannou]

He does think he's up to the task. That's why he selected him. He wasn't needed on the night. If we were down with 5-10 minutes to go he would've come on. But bringing on Leilua to grind out a game isn't a smart idea.

What did McGregor expect against Cronulla other than an arm wrestle and a grind?
Leilua is probably the wrong kind of player for a local derby, knock 'em down, drag 'em out king of game.
Then why pick the poor sap?
If fitness is still an issue then why is he in FG at all?
McGregor needs to get fair dinkum with the whole use of his squad and game day bench rotation.
Maybe he just doesn't have the smarts or coaching ability to get it right.
It sure looks that way

 

[nontime111]

Sele would have made it another ten points ahead hes so hungry it was crap not seeing him on there

 

[Dragonsteve2]

Any win when you come from behind is highly meritorious and shows character. Sterlo loves to blurt on about the stats of teams ahead at half time going on to win games. So we defied the odds. Funny thing about the halftime turnaround. In my experience at Shark Park the majority of points are scored at the northern end. I remember Willie Peters booting a FG on halftime to give us a 13-0 lead about 15 years back. We lost 33-13! All 46 points were scored at the northern end.

A few comments on some of the above posts. Was I at the same game as others? I think some posters need to drop their prejudice and comment more objectively. Sims quiet? Credited on Fox with running 159 metres. Dufty letting a ball bounce- he took some great catches, the one he let go he knew he couldn't get to. Those high balls were really swirling around. Give the kid a break! Nighty, yes a game to forget. Maybe a bit unlucky with some dropped ball - certainly complained he'd been stripped. Then 2nd half he was pulled up because Badger didn't see the deflection off a Sharks player. But the try to Feki was really poor. I think Nighty and Mann should swap. If Nighty sat on the bench all game we would not be losing as much as Mann doing so. Lafai - once we had the ball he began to look dangerous in the latter stages. Lattimore- wouldn't have picked him RD 1 but have been impressed by him in both games. Looks a much better player now than when he played under Price. Hunt not running? But he and Widdop were scheming all night. Maybe his kicking was not as good as last week but far better than what we have had for years. Widdop- always looking to attack. Ran huge metres on at least one occasion to be involved first on the left and then the right in successive plays. Has a great ability to read the play to make the crucial tackle or tidy up a loose ball or kick. Finally the bench. Leilua no game time. Agree with Old Timer. Mary has probably already damaged the confidence of guys like Host, Sele and Lawrie. Now it's Luc's turn. Makes no sense. Mann, a few minutes - what a waste of talent 2 games running.

 

[dragonssamy61]

Interesting that coach specifically mentioned Nene's work ethic finally matching his talent in the press conference. Explains a lot about his form

He's finally looking after himself better .
Re training harder and less of the other things in life

 

[dragonssamy61]

Any win when you come from behind is highly meritorious and shows character. Sterlo loves to blurt on about the stats of teams ahead at half time going on to win games. So we defied the odds. Funny thing about the halftime turnaround. In my experience at Shark Park the majority of points are scored at the northern end. I remember Willie Peters booting a FG on halftime to give us a 13-0 lead about 15 years back. We lost 33-13! All 46 points were scored at the northern end.

A few comments on some of the above posts. Was I at the same game as others? I think some posters need to drop their prejudice and comment more objectively. Sims quiet? Credited on Fox with running 159 metres. Dufty letting a ball bounce- he took some great catches, the one he let go he knew he couldn't get to. Those high balls were really swirling around. Give the kid a break! Nighty, yes a game to forget. Maybe a bit unlucky with some dropped ball - certainly complained he'd been stripped. Then 2nd half he was pulled up because Badger didn't see the deflection off a Sharks player. But the try to Feki was really poor. I think Nighty and Mann should swap. If Nighty sat on the bench all game we would not be losing as much as Mann doing so. Lafai - once we had the ball he began to look dangerous in the latter stages. Lattimore- wouldn't have picked him RD 1 but have been impressed by him in both games. Looks a much better player now than when he played under Price. Hunt not running? But he and Widdop were scheming all night. Maybe his kicking was not as good as last week but far better than what we have had for years. Widdop- always looking to attack. Ran huge metres on at least one occasion to be involved first on the left and then the right in successive plays. Has a great ability to read the play to make the crucial tackle or tidy up a loose ball or kick. Finally the bench. Leilua no game time. Agree with Old Timer. Mary has probably already damaged the confidence of guys like Host, Sele and Lawrie. Now it's Luc's turn. Makes no sense. Mann, a few minutes - what a waste of talent 2 games running.

Steve
Well said. I agree with you summery
The other thing was that that wind was incredible.
In the first half the sharks had a gail behind them.
Then in thr second half it died down.
I think anyone would have trouble out there trying to catch the ball.

 

[giboz71]

My only lingering concern is player burn out like in past seasons.

A win like that will take it out of you especially when you only really use 15 players. Has a smell of 2017 all over again when we fade out late in the year.

I hope they have some kind of rotational plan in mind to give guys like Vaughan, Graham, JDB etc a rest some time during the year and use Sele, Host, Lawrie and co.

 

[Coffs dragon]

That 1st half by the Sharks was faultless and our team defended their guts out. Sharks had all the momentum, all the possession and yet our blokes hung in there when the scoreboard could have got ugly.
Big momentum change in the 2nd half when the Sharks errors came and the wind advantage behind us.
Credit where credit is due.....MacDonald, Lafai and Lattimore all had very strong games after being severely criticised in the past. That was the best game I have seen Nene play and was my MOM. Brilliant and may it continue.....
For the opposition, I thought Dugan was exceptional for 75 minutes and close to their best. Sure he made 2 errors, but he's on fullback money now and has learnt to pass the ball under Flanno. Well done Dragons, a gutsy team effort from all 16!
On the positive.....Flo cannot play worse and will be better.

 

[Life's Good]

My only lingering concern is player burn out like in past seasons.

A win like that will take it out of you especially when you only really use 15 players. Has a smell of 2017 all over again when we fade out late in the year.

I hope they have some kind of rotational plan in mind to give guys like Vaughan, Graham, JDB etc a rest some time during the year and use Sele, Host, Lawrie and co.

Absolutely it’s a concern. I posted elsewhere it’s hypocritical of Mary to be concerned about burnout/travel & refuse to use the bench to give players a rest to freshen up. After 2 rounds it’s the one glaring reminder of our failings from 2017.
If that gets fixed we find a great deal more consistency on account of the 17 players pulling their weight.

 

[Life's Good]

Woke up this morning and noticed the air was fresher, the kids arguing went unnoticed, my coffee tasted it’s best in a while.
Tried to find the reason, that’s right, we beat the Sharks at the swamp. Sweet.

 

[giboz71]

Absolutely it’s a concern. I posted elsewhere it’s hypocritical of Mary to be concerned about burnout/travel & refuse to use the bench to give players a rest to freshen up. After 2 rounds it’s the one glaring reminder of our failings from 2017.
If that gets fixed we find a great deal more consistency on account of the 17 players pulling their weight.

I understand not putting Luc on in such an intense and close game. He would have been a pretty big defensive risk.

If that’s the case, why have him on there in the first place if he’s just going to be a passenger?

Surely someone like Sele would have been a better option?

 

[Life's Good]

I understand not putting Luc on in such an intense and close game. He would have been a pretty big defensive risk.

If that’s the case, why have him on there in the first place if he’s just going to be a passenger?

Surely someone like Sele would have been a better option?

That’s a fair point about Luc(lack of experience, pressure etc.) but the critical stages weren’t until with about 25mins to go. Surely he can get some prior to that with a simple role of tackle anything that moves & hold the ball in our own half.
As you say though, why have him there in the first place?Every game has pressure moments and if you can’t trust a player in anticipation of that then choose someone who can.

 

[getsmarty]

Dragons make best start under Paul McGregor

Scott Bailey
AAP / 33 minutes ago
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St George Illawarra are off to their best early start to a season under Paul McGregor following their come-from-behind 20-16 win over Cronulla.


Dragons hold on to secure tense derby win

Dragons hold on to secure tense derby win

VIDEO Two late penalty goals gave the Dragons a 20-16 victory over Cronulla.

After they fell behind 14-0 early, the Dragons had stars all over the field as they mounted their second-half comeback at blustery Southern Cross Group Stadium on Thursday.

Gareth Widdop and Ben Hunt both had one assist each, their combination in the halves easily the most fluent during McGregor's tenure given Hunt's ability to guide the Dragons as their first specialist halfback since 2012.

Tyson Frizell was also impressive for the second straight week, while Tariq Sims ran 153 metres with four tackle breaks to back up the forwards' domination of Brisbane last week.

Centre Euan Aitken also scored once, and pulled off a crucial try-saver on former Dragon Josh Dugan midway through the second half to change the course of the match when he helped spill the ball loose over the line.

The Red V is red-hot. Image: Getty

Combined, they helped ensure the Dragons would go 2-0 at the start of the year for the first time since 2014 - the year Steve Price was later sacked as coach after they quickly fell apart and McGregor took over.

"Our draw was tough the first two weeks playing against sides who have been predominantly top four for the last few years with Brisbane and Cronulla," McGregor said.

"We've come away two-from-two, one at home and one away. It is pleasing but it is only two weeks."

McGregor knows better than most coaches not too get over excited.

The Dragons last year became just the third team since the top-eight system was introduced to miss the finals after leading at the end of the seventh round.



He has used last year's disappointment to help fuel a Dragons side this season that are desperate to make amends.

"For us it's maintaining an 80 minute game," McGregor said.

"Last year we were good over 40 minutes for the whole year. We were good early for the first 10-12 weeks for 80 minutes then we dropped off.

"It's just about us being consistent week to week in the game."

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/league/a/39525056/nrl-dragons-make-best-start-under-paul-mcgregor/

 

[Carlton]

Any win when you come from behind is highly meritorious and shows character. Sterlo loves to blurt on about the stats of teams ahead at half time going on to win games. So we defied the odds. Funny thing about the halftime turnaround. In my experience at Shark Park the majority of points are scored at the northern end. I remember Willie Peters booting a FG on halftime to give us a 13-0 lead about 15 years back. We lost 33-13! All 46 points were scored at the northern end.

A few comments on some of the above posts. Was I at the same game as others? I think some posters need to drop their prejudice and comment more objectively. Sims quiet? Credited on Fox with running 159 metres. Dufty letting a ball bounce- he took some great catches, the one he let go he knew he couldn't get to. Those high balls were really swirling around. Give the kid a break! Nighty, yes a game to forget. Maybe a bit unlucky with some dropped ball - certainly complained he'd been stripped. Then 2nd half he was pulled up because Badger didn't see the deflection off a Sharks player. But the try to Feki was really poor. I think Nighty and Mann should swap. If Nighty sat on the bench all game we would not be losing as much as Mann doing so. Lafai - once we had the ball he began to look dangerous in the latter stages. Lattimore- wouldn't have picked him RD 1 but have been impressed by him in both games. Looks a much better player now than when he played under Price. Hunt not running? But he and Widdop were scheming all night. Maybe his kicking was not as good as last week but far better than what we have had for years. Widdop- always looking to attack. Ran huge metres on at least one occasion to be involved first on the left and then the right in successive plays. Has a great ability to read the play to make the crucial tackle or tidy up a loose ball or kick. Finally the bench. Leilua no game time. Agree with Old Timer. Mary has probably already damaged the confidence of guys like Host, Sele and Lawrie. Now it's Luc's turn. Makes no sense. Mann, a few minutes - what a waste of talent 2 games running.

Agree with most of what you say Dragonsteve2 but it hasn't just been one game with a bit of bad luck for Nighty. He is physically struggling and needs to be replaced.

Dufty has not really shown anything (apart from he is fast) so far. He runs around trying to beat the defence with speed like an under 6 a lot of the time, he has trouble muscling up when tackled and so far has not displayed the "ball playing" we supposedly so desperately needed in our fullback. He did get under the ball last night to stop a try, which was great. However, in defence he is too far behind the ball as it is moved across field and is not an effective cover.

PS: Its not about giving him a break, he is either up to being the first grade fullback at the moment or he isn't.

 

[DJShaksta]

Good win bitches.
Seriously embarrassed by what my team dished up in the 2nd 40.

 

[LINESPEED]

Agree with most of what you say Dragonsteve2 but it hasn't just been one game with a bit of bad luck for Nighty. He is physically struggling and needs to be replaced.

Dufty has not really shown anything (apart from he is fast) so far. He runs around trying to beat the defence with speed like an under 6 a lot of the time, he has trouble muscling up when tackled and so far has not displayed the "ball playing" we supposedly so desperately needed in our fullback. He did get under the ball last night to stop a try, which was great. However, in defence he is too far behind the ball as it is moved across field and is not an effective cover.

PS: Its not about giving him a break, he is either up to being the first grade fullback at the moment or he isn't.

Be patient Zac

Fittler will be having a word in Fuc*nuckle's ear sooner rather than later