Round 25 V Knights

[getsmarty]

St George Illawarra Dragons one step closer to Sydney final after unconvincing 24-14 win over Newcastle Knights

• 
  St George Illawarra are one step closer to locking in a Sydney final after coming from behind to down Newcastle 24-14 on Saturday.
  
  The Dragons traveled north to the Hunter with their season on the line. A loss to the Knights, who were celebrating their Old Boys’ Day at McDonald Jones Stadium, would have left them facing an elimination final away from home, an unthinkable scenario nine weeks ago as St George Illawarra led the competition.
  
  St George Illawarra did it the hard way, behind 10-2 at half-time before just doing enough to down the brave Knights.
  
  It was an unconvincing win at best. Still a shadow of the team that were the dominant force in the competition for most of the season, the Dragons did little to allay the fears of fans worrying whether they face an abrupt first round finals exit.
  
  Sio gets the first Try of the afternoon!#TelstraPremiership#NRLKnightsDragons#NRLpic.twitter.com/N9NG4gzIi9
  
  — NRL (@NRL) September 1, 2018
  The victory kept St George Illawarra in sixth place on the NRL table for now. Should Brisbane, who are two points behind the Dragons, fail to beat Manly by 24 points or more on Sunday, the Dragons would host the New Zealand Warriors in week one of the finals.
  
  Should the Broncos score a big win over the struggling Sea Eagles, the Dragons could even find themselves playing in Brisbane next weekend.
  
  Dragons coach Paul McGregor handed an NRL starting debut to Zac Lomax in place of the injured Euan Aitken.
  
  SKD pounces on the ball after it is spilt in the contest!#TelstraPremiership#NRLKnightsDragons 10-2 just before HT.#NRLpic.twitter.com/siaFhfi9Fz
  
  — NRL (@NRL) September 1, 2018
  Captain Gareth Widdop did not appear for the red V after failing in a mooted comeback bid from a dislocated shoulder, with Kurt Mann continuing to deputise at five-eighth.
  
  A Lomax penalty goal, the centre’s first points in the top grade, gave St George Illawarra the lead after six minutes before Ken Sio crossed for Newcastle five minutes later.
  
  The Dragons failed to deal with a Mitchell Pearce cross field kick just before half-time, with Shaun Kenny-Dowall pouncing on the loose ball to give the Knights an eight-point lead at the break.
  
  57 games without a Try!
  
  Not any more.
  
  Jeremy Latimore scores.#TelstraPremiership#NRLKnightsDragons 10-8 after 47 minutes.#NRLpic.twitter.com/YERr8j2mUA
  
  — NRL (@NRL) September 1, 2018
  With their season slipping away St George Illawarra desperately needed a response. They got it seven minutes into the second half when Jeremy Latimore barged over from close range.
  
  The match was turned on it’s head midway through the half when Nene Macdonald raced 60 metres to score after excellent offloads from Tim Lafai and Cameron McInnes.
  
  Matt Dufty looked to have sealed the result for the Dragons when he also scored a long distance try after St George Illawarra had scooped up a loose ball with Newcastle on the attack.
  
  Second phase special from the @NRL_Dragons!#TelstraPremiership#NRLKnightsDragons#NRLpic.twitter.com/5FfHTnytzt
  
  — NRL (@NRL) September 1, 2018
  But the Knights refused to quit, with Sio scoring his second with nine minutes to go to set up a nervy finish.
  
  St George Illawarra held off Newcastle’s final charge and eventually secured the points through Jordan Pereira’s late four-pointer.
  
  Leader Scoreboard
  
  The @NRL_Dragons know who to get it to in open spaces!#TelstraPremiership#NRLKnightsDragons#NRLpic.twitter.com/vKTLKqM1YY
  
  — NRL (@NRL) September 1, 2018
  St George Illawarra Dragons 24 (Jeremy Latimore, Nene Macdonald, Matt Dufty, Jordan Pereira tries. Zac Lomax four goals)
  
  defeated
  
  Newcastle Knights 14 (Ken Sio two, Shaun Kenny-Dowall tries. Nick Meaney goal)
  
  at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
  
  Crowd: 24,662
  
  Leader man of the match: Jack de Belin (Dragons)

https://www.theleader.com.au/story/...o-sydney-final-after-downing-knights/?cs=3833

 

[getsmarty]

DRAGONS


Pereira inspires Dragons with big play in gritty win
Author
Peter Jolly
Timestamp
Sat 1 Sep 2018, 06:56 PM

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor has praised young winger Jordan Pereira for a momentum shifting tackle in the second half of Saturday's hard fought 24-14 win over the Newcastle Knights.

The home side were on the attack, and looked to have an overlap out wide when Pereira raced off his wing to put a hit on Mitchell Barnett to deny the Knights any points.

From there the Dragons took the lead, and the Dragons coach admitted it was a defining moment.

"It was good timing," McGregor said.

"He (Pereira) made the decision to come off the wing on the pass and made the right tackle at a really important time.

"That's one of the game changers you have, when you are short of a couple of numbers and come up with a play like that."

The win provided plenty of positives for Dragons officials, who were extremely pleased with the goal line defence, holding out most of the Knights' 46 tackles inside the 20-metre zone.

The visitors also only missed 14 tackles for the game, giving the team confidence heading into the finals.

Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons - Round 25, 2018

"I think you saw some of it today, we wanted to get back to being a strong defensive side, which we were for the first 15 rounds," McGregor said.

"We will take the win but we did it the hard way - we had no possession in the first half, and no field position – just like the other eight weeks before it - but we found a way today, which is good.

"To a man, the effort and the energy and intent across the board was very pleasing."

But McGregor was not happy with the 10 handling errors, and the seven penalties conceded, saying that it would not be good enough in the finals environment. He also was critical of his side's finishing.

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In a further boost, McGregor could welcome back key stars Gareth Widdop and Jason Nightingale from injury next week.

Hooker Cameron McInnes is confident they can carry the momentum into the finals.

"It's just having the right attitude and wanting to get off the line and take the contact to them," McInnes said.

"That's what we did all day, regardless of how many we had to make – there was a lot of them – but we just kept going all day.

"That's the DNA of our team, so it will be good for us in the finals."


https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/09/01/pereira-inspires-dragons-with-big-play-in-gritty-win/

 

[Ascalon]

Hi gents. I’ve followed the forum for a long time but haven’t posted much till now. I was at the game and was seated behind our bench. A few brief observations I made. Luc was pissed he was pulled off. Young looked perplexed as to why he came off also and couldn’t answer him. De Belin’s calf/ankle looked pretty bad. They fed him pills on a few occasions.
Field was deflated as can be expected. I can’t fathom why McGregor persists in playing a 17 man game with 15 players.
A few of the boys came over to Field at the end. Looked like they were consoling him. Seemed like there was a definite disconnect between the bench and the coaches box.

 

[getsmarty]

Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons - Round 25, 2018
The St George Illawarra Dragons overturned a 10-2 half-time deficit to defeat the Newcastle Knights 24-14 at McDonald Jones Stadium

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/09/01/match-highlights-knights-v-dragons---round-25-2018/

 

[getsmarty]

 

[rednwhites]

Hi gents. I’ve followed the forum for a long time but haven’t posted much till now. I was at the game and was seated behind our bench. A few brief observations I made. Luc was pissed he was pulled off. Young looked perplexed as to why he came off also and couldn’t answer him. De Belin’s calf/ankle looked pretty bad. They fed him pills on a few occasions.
Field was deflated as can be expected. I can’t fathom why McGregor persists in playing a 17 man game with 15 players.
A few of the boys came over to Field at the end. Looked like they were consoling him. Seemed like there was a definite disconnect between the bench and the coaches box.

Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing.

 

[nontime111]

yes this discontent just means PISS HIM OFF!!! FROGHEAD!!!
I feel so damn sorry for the player busting their ass for this tool!

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I am glad to read your comment, Carlton. Thought I must have been dreaming! On the video it looks like the ball was in Sio's possession as he scraped the corner post. But I was at the ground with a perfect and close view of the sideline, the corner post and Sio. I was sitting in that corner at the base of the hill. The ball bounced off the corner post into Sio's hands. He would not have caught it had it not hit the corner post. But this is not what the video shows! Could not believe it when I saw it. What gives with this technology? The lying video camera! It's tough enough dealing with touchies who don't call the forward passes and refs who send our blokes to the sinbin and give us few of the 50-50s without having to cop a biased camera!

Yes looking on the tv it looked like it hit the post......the bunker replayed from front on but I noticed they only played that bit once where as ususlly if its a put down or a foot on the sideline they show it a dozen times

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

The beltings by Melbourne and Parramatta bit deeply too.

The flogging by the wooden spooners 40 to 4 and the 38 to nil by the Dogs just confirmed to me how far we had deteriorated......we talk now about how many points etc the Donkeys need to get their home semi against us when in all seriousness we should never have let the above scores eventuate in the first place.....

 

[rednwhites]

... ususlly if its a put down or a foot on the sideline they show it a dozen times

Not if they are trying to get a win for the old boys. The reffing yesterday was plainly biased. I was expecting they'd find a way to overturn the last Knights 'no try'. There were a myriad of dud calls in general play, the worst of all being McInness getting penalised on the last for putting a bit of pressure on the kicker.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Hi gents. I’ve followed the forum for a long time but haven’t posted much till now. I was at the game and was seated behind our bench. A few brief observations I made. Luc was pissed he was pulled off. Young looked perplexed as to why he came off also and couldn’t answer him. De Belin’s calf/ankle looked pretty bad. They fed him pills on a few occasions.
Field was deflated as can be expected. I can’t fathom why McGregor persists in playing a 17 man game with 15 players.
A few of the boys came over to Field at the end. Looked like they were consoling him. Seemed like there was a definite disconnect between the bench and the coaches box.

Good to have you back posting on here....yes its one of the great mysteries but not surprising to all of us on here why McGrexit does what he does to our bench players ....we keep witnessing how fatigued and tired some of our blokes look and playing with injuries etc but still we play mainly with 15 or 16 ....just goes to show his complete lack of not just coaching skills but his management levels as well...its no wonder we have deteriorated like we have and players want to seek better opportunities elsewhere

 

[ouryears]

Hi gents. I’ve followed the forum for a long time but haven’t posted much till now. I was at the game and was seated behind our bench. A few brief observations I made. Luc was pissed he was pulled off. Young looked perplexed as to why he came off also and couldn’t answer him. De Belin’s calf/ankle looked pretty bad. They fed him pills on a few occasions.
Field was deflated as can be expected. I can’t fathom why McGregor persists in playing a 17 man game with 15 players.
A few of the boys came over to Field at the end. Looked like they were consoling him. Seemed like there was a definite disconnect between the bench and the coaches box.

Thanks for the insight Ascalon, confirms what most of us thought, they need to ram the bench they sit on down mcidiots throat.

 

[jeffdragon]

De belin in moon boot dont sound good

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

De belin in moon boot dont sound good

Where did this story come from..he didnt have one on in the team dressing room victory song

 

[jeffdragon]

Where did this story come from..he didnt have one on in the team dressing room victory song

Mary was on sky sports radio
Interviewed .
He was asked about jack and that was his reply.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Mary was on sky sports radio
Interviewed .
He was asked about jack and that was his reply.

Ok thanks mate

 

[Smurf]

Hi gents. I’ve followed the forum for a long time but haven’t posted much till now. I was at the game and was seated behind our bench. A few brief observations I made. Luc was pissed he was pulled off. Young looked perplexed as to why he came off also and couldn’t answer him. De Belin’s calf/ankle looked pretty bad. They fed him pills on a few occasions.
Field was deflated as can be expected. I can’t fathom why McGregor persists in playing a 17 man game with 15 players.
A few of the boys came over to Field at the end. Looked like they were consoling him. Seemed like there was a definite disconnect between the bench and the coaches box.

Interesting reading
Thank you for sharing
I am sure most of us have played sport and also been a reserve for a team
There is nothing more deflating for your confidence than to sit on bench for a whole game .
The 17th player could be anyone in the crowd , as they never get to play more than 5 mins most often none at all
Mcgregor is an idiot

 

[getsmarty]

Play of the Week: Round 25
Play of the Week: Round 25. Vote on the Dragons official Facebook page. A. Jeremy Latimore B. Nene Macdonald

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2018/09/04/play-of-the-week-round-25/

 

[mickeylane]

Called it in late August Widdopto FB for semis - it’s on today !!

“Im prepared to say that Widdop will be our FB in the semis and Herbert or Lomax in the centres. Dufty is GOOOOONE!!

Aug 28, 2018EditReport
Reply

 

[BLM01]

Interesting reading
Thank you for sharing
I am sure most of us have played sport and also been a reserve for a team
There is nothing more deflating for your confidence than to sit on bench for a whole game .
The 17th player could be anyone in the crowd , as they never get to play more than 5 mins most often none at all
Mcgregor is an idiot

Yeh, you would think as we needed 10 points to leap frog Penrith, he would of tried a game breaker late in the 2nd half even though the Knights were coming to get us. Perhaps Mary thought our for and against was good enough to hold onto a home semi. I mean Manly playing for zip and in crisis and Broncos at home in form, I never saw them winning by 24...neither did Mary. There is method in Mary's madness..get Hunt away from the Sydney media...straight into the Brisbane media...oops.