Round 25 - our last game of pain

[redandwhite4evr]

They are very clever Redandwhite4evr they have been doing this ground work for years and you see the proof in all their sides. We use to have scouts like you said that went to country carnivals to recruit. I don’t know anymore, NZ well there’s another question. There is a question to ask Ryan Webb. There are players out there, we don’t seem to have a vehicle to recruit will or won’t

All clubs scout and recruit from outside their NRL region Ghostrider- our Feagai twins were Group 20 Leeton juniors after migrating from NZ- but some clubs seem better at it than others. The Roosters with virtually no juniors seem to have incredibly successful junior rep teams. I assume they cast their net wider and with more scouts than most clubs and Uncle Nick is always there to finance these sorts of activities. I remember seeing Joey Manu in their Junior rep teams destroying the Dragons and we saw how determined they were to sign Sualii. That was us 60 years ago- we recruited English RL internationals like Dick Huddart, Rugby internationals like Phil Hawthorne and Scott Gourlay- even South African Rugby League players (Trevor Lake).!!
There's just a complacency and lack of ambition in this club now-we definitely need new owners and a different board structure more responsive to the Members.

 

[dannyt]

It’s funny how the players of the weaker sides are always treated differently at the judiciary.

Same when it comes to decisions made by referees.

Dare I say, it almost feels as if results are orchestrated.

Subconscious bias.

According to anal Annesley, this doesn't happen with refs

 

[denis preston]

Feagai has the talent to be a very good centre. We desperately need impact forwards with power and skill. Take your pick - Suli or Lomax to the forwards in 2023. Thoughts?

Yes but no within this coaches comprehension.

 

[denis preston]

They are very clever Redandwhite4evr they have been doing this ground work for years and you see the proof in all their sides. We use to have scouts like you said that went to country carnivals to recruit. I don’t know anymore, NZ well there’s another question. There is a question to ask Ryan Webb. There are players out there, we don’t seem to have a vehicle to recruit will or won’t.

Mate, where do you think Ramsey , the Feagels etc came from ?

 

[I'm Hornby]

I hope this helps.

What may appear to be clear to you is not necessarily clear to everyone else. This is demonstrated by my initial question and your response. What you said was not clear to me, hence my question, while the premise that what may appear clear to some may not be clear to others appears obvious to me, but, based on your response, this premise is not obvious to you, obviously. Your reasoning is also flawed, which added to the ambiguity of your response, hence my initial question.

Your premise is souths is worse without Reynolds because they are not challenging for a grand final victory in 2022, which they did in 2021. However, your premise is invalid because it is premature and based on assumption. It is premature because the semi final series hasn't started, and you assume that souths will not at least challenge for the grand final. Therefore, your conclusion that it was a mistake to let Reynolds because south are worse without him, based on your criterion for success, is completely invalid.

You may be correct in your premise, eventually, but it is invalid at this point in time.

Clear enough?

Seeing as you wasted however many minutes or hours of your life typing your multiple paragraphs shows you had a fair understanding of my post in the first instance. Not really sure why you even bothered asking me to elaborate.

 

[Ghostrider22]

Mate, where do you think Ramsey , the Feagels etc came from ?

Ramsey and Feagel Bros are good young players Denis, don’t you think there would be more. We had a very good hooker in Reece Robson and we let him walk to the Cowboys.
Bad management and coaching we have to get better can’t have blinkers on.
The window is very small today to have a strong roster to compete. Roosters and Penrith do it so well. We are struggling at the moment. The Dragons players that would finish their footy and go back to country NSW and QLD, Would let the club know that there was a player to look for.
Max Ninness before he was coaching at the Dragons was a scout, he was at club for a long time with Brian Smith and Brownie he had a great footy brain and was a passionate Saints man. He helped many young up and coming Saints players while he was there. Denis let’s hope that the management can get their act together and give a team that everyone can follow and enjoy the footy.

 

[dannyt]

Seeing as you wasted however many minutes or hours of your life typing your multiple paragraphs shows you had a fair understanding of my post in the first instance. Not really sure why you even bothered asking me to elaborate.

Looks like I hit a nerve. Maybe you should follow this advice:

 

[justadragon]

In my opinion our last game was the best one as far as managing a game went, we always seemed to have control and wrestled back momentum when we needed, Faegai's try was the icing on the cake. It was good to see Sloan do a few things although he really does need to bulk up for either FB or WNG, he got brushed off there a couple of times in defense. If we could get Hunt and Sullivan to interchange in the game that would be great and maybe that could happen with Sloan and Ramsay. If we are not going to recruit from outside next year then we MUST retain all our juniors, I would also assume the way Su'a was celebrating that he is staying. Also maybe our new assistant coaches can take the shackles off in attack but one thing is for sure we do need to invest into the KOE cup, we have to lift the standard in that grade, an example was even when J Hunt came on I wasnt really impressed with him, you could really see the difference in running and tackling, we must invest heavily into KOE cup. Apart from that it was a good way to end the year " the broncos cant play !!!!! " oh well I'll take that as a bit of revenge ) Please let us not buy any duds from other clubs, fine example our middle gets torn to shreds when Woods is on,, please no more has beens !!! Go the Dragons girls and JF, heres hoping for a better 2023 !!!!

 

[2010Dragons]

I barely watch the semi's if we're not in it - haven't watched a Grand Final for years (switched off before full-time in 2016 so that I didn't have to see the Scum win. A moment, I hasten to add, which took a lot of the joy out of watching league. Jubilee hasn't been the same on derby day when the Army can't sing "XX years and you've won **** all, Sharkies, Sharkies").
I drag out DVD's of great semi-final wins of past years - especially the big win over Norths in the 1996 PF, as they had become a bit of a bogey team.
Grand Final day it's '77, '79, 2010 replays. No matter how often you watch them they never get old.

This is what I do exactly too...

I'm on the Cowboys bandwagon now...Hoping Deano gets a GF win and then comes back home, where he belongs to coach this rabble. Hook needs to be hooked. Bring back DEANO !!!
Just look at all the successful coaches this year, all have fresh new ideas, Hook is still using outdated game plans, I use play to 30 years ago.

 

[twinkletoes]

What we really really need is a good defensive coach… fix that major issue and other things will fall into place

 

[Dragon David]

In my opinion our last game was the best one as far as managing a game went, we always seemed to have control and wrestled back momentum when we needed, Faegai's try was the icing on the cake. It was good to see Sloan do a few things although he really does need to bulk up for either FB or WNG, he got brushed off there a couple of times in defense. If we could get Hunt and Sullivan to interchange in the game that would be great and maybe that could happen with Sloan and Ramsay. If we are not going to recruit from outside next year then we MUST retain all our juniors, I would also assume the way Su'a was celebrating that he is staying. Also maybe our new assistant coaches can take the shackles off in attack but one thing is for sure we do need to invest into the KOE cup, we have to lift the standard in that grade, an example was even when J Hunt came on I wasnt really impressed with him, you could really see the difference in running and tackling, we must invest heavily into KOE cup. Apart from that it was a good way to end the year " the broncos cant play !!!!! " oh well I'll take that as a bit of revenge ) Please let us not buy any duds from other clubs, fine example our middle gets torn to shreds when Woods is on,, please no more has beens !!! Go the Dragons girls and JF, heres hoping for a better 2023 !!!!

All of the above!

 

[Dragon David]

What we really really need is a good defensive coach… fix that major issue and other things will fall into place

A good attacking coach will help as well twinkletoes. We need to score tries and then defend them. Scoring tries from all over the park is what we need to get back to and achieve this with speed to burn.

 

[Slippery Morris]

Feagai's try the highlight of the year so far. Good to see this guy score a great try as he has had a solid full year in FG. Sloan looked better and it was good to see Bud play well at No.9. Ramsey had a couple of howlers but apart from that was ok. Hopefully he will not get the Sloan treatment and punted for a couple of errors. Hunt was amazing and surely will get the Daly M. He will get it because when Saints win he gets the points nobody else really stands out as much as he does where as other teams like Penrith, the points are shared because they have multiple match winners. Hunt won all the big moments on Sat and deserves the 3 points as well as the Daly M.

It was a good way to finish the season but at the end of the day they finished 10th. 26 pts would have got Saints top 8 previous years and I am afraid that they will probably take that into account and give Hook another season to make 8. Saints won the last 3 against weak teams and just beat Tigers who have been flogged before and after the Saints lucky escape. That will be forgotten though as the board will see a W in that game only and not care about performance.

I think Saints have the cattle to really give the premiership a good shake as they show glimpses like they did on Sat, they just need a coach to get them playing to their potential.

Anyone know how much Woods will be stealing from the Saints cap next season. Wow, can't believe we see him again in the red v. What a joy that will be.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

In my opinion our last game was the best one as far as managing a game went, we always seemed to have control and wrestled back momentum when we needed, Faegai's try was the icing on the cake. It was good to see Sloan do a few things although he really does need to bulk up for either FB or WNG, he got brushed off there a couple of times in defense. If we could get Hunt and Sullivan to interchange in the game that would be great and maybe that could happen with Sloan and Ramsay. If we are not going to recruit from outside next year then we MUST retain all our juniors, I would also assume the way Su'a was celebrating that he is staying. Also maybe our new assistant coaches can take the shackles off in attack but one thing is for sure we do need to invest into the KOE cup, we have to lift the standard in that grade, an example was even when J Hunt came on I wasnt really impressed with him, you could really see the difference in running and tackling, we must invest heavily into KOE cup. Apart from that it was a good way to end the year " the broncos cant play !!!!! " oh well I'll take that as a bit of revenge ) Please let us not buy any duds from other clubs, fine example our middle gets torn to shreds when Woods is on,, please no more has beens !!! Go the Dragons girls and JF, heres hoping for a better 2023 !!!!

Agree in general, justadragon, but I think you are a bit tough on Jaiyden Hunt: 10 minutes, 2 runs, 19 metres, 7 tackles, 2 misses, 1 ineffective tackle. Wow, 7 effective tackles in 10 mins! Has barely tallied a half of football in his 3 NRL games this year. Tough to make a negative judgment on such limited minutes. Hasn't played a game in NSW Cup for a few weeks. But agree more thought needs to be put into NSW Cup. Must have a decent and settled half and 5/8 combination - these positions were constantly changing. This team has only looked a reasonable side when either Clune or Sullivan have played in the last couple of years.

 

[denis preston]

Feagai's try the highlight of the year so far. Good to see this guy score a great try as he has had a solid full year in FG. Sloan looked better and it was good to see Bud play well at No.9. Ramsey had a couple of howlers but apart from that was ok. Hopefully he will not get the Sloan treatment and punted for a couple of errors. Hunt was amazing and surely will get the Daly M. He will get it because when Saints win he gets the points nobody else really stands out as much as he does where as other teams like Penrith, the points are shared because they have multiple match winners. Hunt won all the big moments on Sat and deserves the 3 points as well as the Daly M.

It was a good way to finish the season but at the end of the day they finished 10th. 26 pts would have got Saints top 8 previous years and I am afraid that they will probably take that into account and give Hook another season to make 8. Saints won the last 3 against weak teams and just beat Tigers who have been flogged before and after the Saints lucky escape. That will be forgotten though as the board will see a W in that game only and not care about performance.

I think Saints have the cattle to really give the premiership a good shake as they show glimpses like they did on Sat, they just need a coach to get them playing to their potential.

Anyone know how much Woods will be stealing from the Saints cap next season. Wow, can't believe we see him again in the red v. What a joy that will be.

Sorry Slip, admire your optimism but IMO we are 3 or 4 very good forwards and one fast back from being a real premiership force. Still can believe we have salary cap issues to fix this. if true surely Haran has to go as he is the common denominator the past 5 years ?

 

[Willow]

I watched the highlughts and didn’t notice it at first but the Walters try looked to be a classic double movement.

It looked like a double movement at the game. Just saw the replay and it was most definitely a double movement.

I don't mind the onfield ref missing this but how does the bunker miss it? Another example of how video refs are more trouble than their worth

 

[Willow]

Hope your right about the Dragons by 8.....Im not convinced tbh....would be nice to shove it up Langer.....knock the Donkeys out of the finals...and message him with "St George can play"...and just a correction mate the Raiders play the Tigers on Sunday

Haha. I got him with "Brisbane can't play" as he was running under the cage. He had a bit of gear in tow but it didn’t slow him down, I've never seen anyone in such a hurry to get off the field.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

Sorry Slip, admire your optimism but IMO we are 3 or 4 very good forwards and one fast back from being a real premiership force. Still can believe we have salary cap issues to fix this. if true surely Haran has to go as he is the common denominator the past 5 years ?

And if Wayne and the cashed up Dolphins can't recruit anyone of note, what chance do we have?

 

[possm]

One final thought as much as Ben Hunt has been criticised of late - myself included , he certainly showed his worth to the team today .

The Dragons were pumped up for a big one , perhaps as a goodbye to their fellow teammates who were leaving the club and therefore put their all into the game .

That helped Hunt weave the magic that he is capable of and played his best game of the season , if not for the entirety of his time with the Big Red V . Well done Benny .

With a bit of coaching and the right game plan a spine of:
1. Ramsey
6. Amone
7. Sullivan
9. Hunt

Could be devastating in 2023. Add in Bird at 13 and you have 4 general play kickers and quite a lot of skill in attack.

In the offseason, the 3 young guns, Ramsey, Amone, and Sullivan should strengthen their defensive skills to really put the Dragons in a competitive position.

However, it remains so that the Dragon's biggest problem lies in their forward pack. Significant changes need to be made in this area during the offseason,. We need at least 2 new top-grade Props and 2 new top-grade edge forward to be competitive.

With Hunt, Amone, Sullivan, and Ramsey in the spine, the Dragons should try to maximize Arial attacks using their two wingers and Lomax.

 

[possm]

Ramsey and Feagel Bros are good young players Denis, don’t you think there would be more. We had a very good hooker in Reece Robson and we let him walk to the Cowboys.
Bad management and coaching we have to get better can’t have blinkers on.
The window is very small today to have a strong roster to compete. Roosters and Penrith do it so well. We are struggling at the moment. The Dragons players that would finish their footy and go back to country NSW and QLD, Would let the club know that there was a player to look for.
Max Ninness before he was coaching at the Dragons was a scout, he was at club for a long time with Brian Smith and Brownie he had a great footy brain and was a passionate Saints man. He helped many young up and coming Saints players while he was there. Denis let’s hope that the management can get their act together and give a team that everyone can follow and enjoy the footy.

I say it is time to introduce a player draft system. Things have changed and there is such a system in many other sports these days. For me, it is the only thing that may level the playing field and thus even up the competition.