Round 4 V Newcastle

[Blood Shot Eyes]

I'm used to Smith and Alexander death riding us we will never get those two to see things our way....and as for Anasta who cares really, overrated as a player and just as bad in the media world

 

[Spazer]

Our line speed is good because we're starting to hold down and slow the play the ball more, compared to last year where we were too scared to give away set restarts and let opposition get right up for a quick play the ball.

We will give away more set restarts doing this but teams wont be able to march up the field as easy as past seasons. There was one point in the match where newcastle had 9 consecutive runs and only made 33 metres, shows how important ruck speed is.

 

[SAP58]

8 six again & 30 missed tackles, imagine how we will go when we tidy this side of our game up in the future. I agree a pleasure to watch press conferences again I stopped watching them last year.

 

[possm]

The ball was thrown backwards by Dufty, slightly touched Kerr's thumb and continued going backwards to Lomax and his pass to Rava was "a little forward imo" moreso than the one the bumker pinged off Kerr.

Swings and roundabouts I guess and can say this because we won. We lose by six and a different story.

The real issue is that the bunker overturned the refs decision to award a try without discovering hard evidence to do so. The NRL need to investigate and then provide a warning to the bunker. If this is not done we will be stuck with such decisions for as long as we have the bunker.

 

[Slippery Morris]

It is so clear the bunker has an agenda against Saints. 2 absolute shocking calls by the bunker both against Saints after the ref and linesman called a try. (1st Saints, then Knights game). Pathetic. Also time was not brought back a minute for the delay. There were so many things wrong with that call it is not funny. It is like a person was their for the first time not knowing any rules and was anti Saints. Pathetic yet because of the victory to Saints and Injury the shocking decision will be ignored until next week or the week after when Saints cop it again.

Hook was asked about the short drop outs. His response, I hate them. It shows he lets the boys play what they see. Not too much BS structure in attack. He also made mention Saints are not where he wants them to be yet after 3 wins and he said it is only round 4. Love it. He is definitely the right man for the job. How good is he.

Boys where good and played so calmly after being down by 7. They look so composed and really have this strong belief especially in defense close to the line. Those short drop outs may be more a defense tactic than an attacking one. Their defense is immense. Knights have one of the best packs. Take away that shocking bunker call and Saints should have been 12 nil up. Knights had nothing in the 1st half with most of their starters on the field. That call was a huge turning point in the half and Saints just went on with it which is a sign of a really good side. The first half was not a true reflection all because of a dodgy call. Imagine if it were Bellamy or Sticky copping a call like that? They would explode.

Tariq is back which I always knew. Class is permanent, form is temporary. Tariq is all class. Great competitor and cannot believe he copped any criticism playing busted up. Playing injured then having major surgeries and no offseason is not easy. He was the best by a mile. Rava was not far behind. The forwards are really standing tall. Alvaro and Paola are doing well off the bench. A coach that uses the bench properly, what a difference.

 

[getsmarty]

Post match: Tariq Sims
Hear from Tariq Sims outside the sheds after his two-try effort spurred the Dragons to victory over the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2021/04/05/post-match-tariq-sims/

 

[Gareth67]

I'm used to Smith and Alexander death riding us we will never get those two to see things our way....and as for Anasta who cares really, overrated as a player and just as bad in the media world

Agree , particularly with Anastasia , one of the games most overrated players . Mind you he played at premiership winning clubs , however as a true match winner he was in the same boat with the bloke who came last at the 2020 Stawell Gift race .

 

[getsmarty]

DRAGONS


'Refused to lose': Griffin proud of Dragons' steely resolve
Author
Brett Keeble NRL.com reporter
Timestamp
Sun 4 Apr 2021, 09:07 PM
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St George Illawarra are a long way from where coach Anthony Griffin wants them to be, but he was pleased with their resolve and resilience in beating a bashed-up Newcastle on Sunday.

Dismissed as wooden-spoon candidates by many punters and pundits during the pre-season, the Dragons posted their third straight win after victories over the Cowboys and Sea Eagles in the previous two weeks to be sitting sixth heading into next Sunday’s game against Parramatta.

Griffin acknowledged Newcastle’s crippling injury toll, which included losing Mitchell Pearce (pectoral muscle), Kurt Mann (concussion) and Tex Hoy (hamstring) on Sunday, but the Dragons were without Ben Hunt and Jack Bird and lost Cameron McInnes before the season kicked off.

The visitors also had to stay composed enough to recover from a 13-6 deficit early in the second half in front of a parochial pro-Knights crowd of 21,770, but they did exactly that to enhance their remarkable record in Newcastle to 18 wins from 23 games.

Adam Clune looked sharp as Hunt’s replacement alongside Corey Norman in the halves and Brayden Williame, filling in for the suspended Bird in the centres, scored the match-sealing try from a Norman stab kick in the 67th minute.

Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons


Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons

"Our blokes have just got a real will to compete at the moment … I just like the way they’re competing and they keep coming to the game," Griffin said.

"We were really messy in the first half but the second half we were 16 from 18, and obviously a lot more direct, and I thought Cluney did a real good job.

"The Knights were really brave – they had a lot of problems – but at this level you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do. It wasn’t pretty from us for long periods but defensively, they just refused to lose in the second half.

"Again, it’s only four weeks and the opposition were down on troops, but we had to come in without our halfback and captain and Jack Bird, and McInnes is gone for the year, so we had a fair hole in our salary cap today.

"They’re just really enjoying their footy at the moment, and it’s come off the back of all the hard work they did in November, December and January, and we’re finding a way to win at the moment."

The Knights thrashed the Dragons 42-18 in the corresponding game last September amid a string of heavy losses that highlighted St George Illawarra’s lack of effort in defence.

Griffin said the Dragons still had some work to do to fine-tune their attack as "we left a few points out there today" but, after he had identified the need to improve their resilience in defence, he was pleased with their progress in that department.

Sims charges down a Green kick and he has a double


Sims charges down a Green kick and he has a double

"I’m very respectful of what’s happened in the past at this club but obviously we needed to improve and change a lot of things that we did as a club and one of them is defence, and you don’t get defence without attitude," he said.

"There’s a lot of things, but I think the main thing is attitude. They’ve got a real desire to want to play, and want to play for each other, and that’s the most important thing.

"Again, it’s round four, but we’ve done a good job up to this point to put ourselves where we are."

Griffin said Tariq Sims, who scored two tries against his old club in an eight-minute burst midway through the second half to turn the game, had recovered well after a slow start to the season.

Sims steams onto a Clune pass


Sims steams onto a Clune pass

Sims charged down attempted clearing kicks by Pearce in the first half and Blake Green in the second, and he regathered his chargedown of Green’s kick to score his second try.

"Last week against Manly he was very good and he was in everything today," Griffin said of the former NSW Origin forward.

"He’s got his physicality back on both sides of the ball, and I thought his chargedown was obviously something that turned the game, and that’s an effort play.

"He’s just enjoying his football like most of them, and it’s good to see him in that form again."


https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/04/refused-to-lose-griffin-proud-of-dragons-steely-resolve/

 

[Inisai Toga]

Griffin’s not silly, he know the press will turn on him with a few losses. His comments of i didn’t realise people were saying that...ensures an insurance policy when or if that happens. What i like is how he positions himself in the conversation; we’re getting better; i hate the short drop outs, but they like it etc... This highlights subtle elements in his language of promoting continued improvement, confidence, trust, autonomy, and independence in their decision making.

Juxtapose this against previous years press conferences where the centre of attention appeared to be on the coach not the players. ..sprucing now how others had written us off, blah, blah, combined with cute phrases and new terminology.
Players previously seemed too rigid to do anything through restrictive and controlled game plans and then when we did attack, it was so foreign to us that it resulted in simply passing from side to side or just putting up a bomb with no chases.

Still plenty of improvement in this football side though, so exciting times.

 

[ALSGI]

Tariq is back which I always knew. Class is permanent, form is temporary. Tariq is all class

Great post Slippery, especially on Tariq. And some said make him Capt - he might lift.

 

[Maddragon99]

Post match: Tariq Sims
Hear from Tariq Sims outside the sheds after his two-try effort spurred the Dragons to victory over the Newcastle Knights on Sunday.

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2021/04/05/post-match-tariq-sims/

Tyson who? Tariq absolutely dominated & played like the Origin player he is. His return to form has been a beautiful thing to watch. With a rested Bird back next week our left side attack is ready to rampage over the eels.

 

[getsmarty]

Tyson who? Tariq absolutely dominated & played like the Origin player he is. His return to form has been a beautiful thing to watch. With a rested Bird back next week our left side attack is ready to rampage over the eels.

I think the Eels will be a big test. Teams often find it difficult to backup after physical encounters like we had yesterday. re tyson, would have loved him to stay...quality player...but we all know why he, along with guys like Host left.

Love seeing our side play with such commitment. We are still nowhere near the Top teams ...I.M.O a few roster spots short...but I will take what we are seeing at the moment over the rubbish that was dished up under the previous regime.

 

[ALSGI]

Good pressers by Coach Hook and what a delight not having to hear NoooCarsell mentioned 20 times!

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Well, I saw Klemmer punched Lawrie, which is supposed to be a minimum 10min sin bin but no, he was put on report and a penalty given instead.

The Knights were constantly slowing the play the ball down when in defence and interfering with the markers when playing the ball themselves. No six again. Most of the time, the ref only seemed to have eyes for errors made by the Dragons. There was one point in time when a Newcastle player played the ball side ways and the ref did not penalise him.

In the end, the Newcastle forwards though we were going to be easy meat but found us way to hard for them to chew.

I agree with you mate. I thought Sim’s first try came off a forward pass. I also thought the Newcastle pass wasn’t forward. The team did very well to overcome the bad calls. Last year, we would’ve lost that game by 20. The team this year appears to be working hard no matter what they’re up against. Well done Hook and the team

 

[TruSaint]

DRAGONS


'Refused to lose': Griffin proud of Dragons' steely resolve
Author
Brett Keeble NRL.com reporter
Timestamp
Sun 4 Apr 2021, 09:07 PM
Share on social media

• Share via Facebook
• Share via Twitter
• Share via Reddit
• Share via Email

St George Illawarra are a long way from where coach Anthony Griffin wants them to be, but he was pleased with their resolve and resilience in beating a bashed-up Newcastle on Sunday.

Dismissed as wooden-spoon candidates by many punters and pundits during the pre-season, the Dragons posted their third straight win after victories over the Cowboys and Sea Eagles in the previous two weeks to be sitting sixth heading into next Sunday’s game against Parramatta.

Griffin acknowledged Newcastle’s crippling injury toll, which included losing Mitchell Pearce (pectoral muscle), Kurt Mann (concussion) and Tex Hoy (hamstring) on Sunday, but the Dragons were without Ben Hunt and Jack Bird and lost Cameron McInnes before the season kicked off.

The visitors also had to stay composed enough to recover from a 13-6 deficit early in the second half in front of a parochial pro-Knights crowd of 21,770, but they did exactly that to enhance their remarkable record in Newcastle to 18 wins from 23 games.

Adam Clune looked sharp as Hunt’s replacement alongside Corey Norman in the halves and Brayden Williame, filling in for the suspended Bird in the centres, scored the match-sealing try from a Norman stab kick in the 67th minute.

Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons


Match Highlights: Knights v Dragons

"Our blokes have just got a real will to compete at the moment … I just like the way they’re competing and they keep coming to the game," Griffin said.

"We were really messy in the first half but the second half we were 16 from 18, and obviously a lot more direct, and I thought Cluney did a real good job.

"The Knights were really brave – they had a lot of problems – but at this level you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do. It wasn’t pretty from us for long periods but defensively, they just refused to lose in the second half.

"Again, it’s only four weeks and the opposition were down on troops, but we had to come in without our halfback and captain and Jack Bird, and McInnes is gone for the year, so we had a fair hole in our salary cap today.

"They’re just really enjoying their footy at the moment, and it’s come off the back of all the hard work they did in November, December and January, and we’re finding a way to win at the moment."

The Knights thrashed the Dragons 42-18 in the corresponding game last September amid a string of heavy losses that highlighted St George Illawarra’s lack of effort in defence.

Griffin said the Dragons still had some work to do to fine-tune their attack as "we left a few points out there today" but, after he had identified the need to improve their resilience in defence, he was pleased with their progress in that department.

Sims charges down a Green kick and he has a double


Sims charges down a Green kick and he has a double

"I’m very respectful of what’s happened in the past at this club but obviously we needed to improve and change a lot of things that we did as a club and one of them is defence, and you don’t get defence without attitude," he said.

"There’s a lot of things, but I think the main thing is attitude. They’ve got a real desire to want to play, and want to play for each other, and that’s the most important thing.

"Again, it’s round four, but we’ve done a good job up to this point to put ourselves where we are."

Griffin said Tariq Sims, who scored two tries against his old club in an eight-minute burst midway through the second half to turn the game, had recovered well after a slow start to the season.

Sims steams onto a Clune pass


Sims steams onto a Clune pass

Sims charged down attempted clearing kicks by Pearce in the first half and Blake Green in the second, and he regathered his chargedown of Green’s kick to score his second try.

"Last week against Manly he was very good and he was in everything today," Griffin said of the former NSW Origin forward.

"He’s got his physicality back on both sides of the ball, and I thought his chargedown was obviously something that turned the game, and that’s an effort play.

"He’s just enjoying his football like most of them, and it’s good to see him in that form again."


https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/04/04/refused-to-lose-griffin-proud-of-dragons-steely-resolve/

Some real telling comments by our coach.

He repeated thats its only round 4, ( i.e lets not get ahead of ourselves ), complimented the oppo for their grit, and this " happy to be playing " and " refuse to lose " comments are spot on.

Now i understand that the Knights were down on troops, but them's the breaks. They still played at home at a packed stadium and we were without Hunt and Bird.

Have no idea where we will finish this year, but a game like this we lose under our previous coach.

They have a great pack and our lads stood toe to toe with them. Laurie, Sims, Fui etc were awesome.

Bring on those ugly Eels.

 

[Maddragon99]

I think the Eels will be a big test. Teams often find it difficult to backup after physical encounters like we had yesterday. re tyson, would have loved him to stay...quality player...but we all know why he, along with guys like Host left.

Love seeing our side play with such commitment. We are still nowhere near the Top teams ...I.M.O a few roster spots short...but I will take what we are seeing at the moment over the rubbish that was dished up under the previous regime.

We have a full 7 days to prepare which is a bonus there’ll definitely be some bumps & bruises after that game.

 

[getsmarty]

Some real telling comments by our coach.

He repeated thats its only round 4, ( i.e lets not get ahead of ourselves ), complimented the oppo for their grit, and this " happy to be playing " and " refuse to lose " comments are spot on.

Now i understand that the Knights were down on troops, but them's the breaks. They still played at home at a packed stadium and we were without Hunt and Bird.

Have no idea where we will finish this year, but a game like this we lose under our previous coach.

They have a great pack and our lads stood toe to toe with them. Laurie, Sims, Fui etc were awesome.

Bring on those ugly Eels.

The Eels will be a tougher Test i.m.h.o. Teams usually find it difficult to backup after physical encounters and again I believe we are a few roster spots short of the Top teams ( which may change ) .

In saying that, will take what we are seeing at the moment over the rubbish dished up by the previous regime. We are a work in progress and I Think Griffin is well aware of the holes in our roster.

 

[blacksafake]

TBH - the Foxtel of a 10 years ago is nothing like the comedy hours, gossip and sensationalist driven agenda of today. Especially on NRL related shows.

Any wonder when Matty Johns is the face of their league.

 

[redv13]

I hope all the “experts” continue to dismiss us. No pressure from the outside and the team can focus on themselves and continue to serve more shit sandwiches for the media to swallow

 

[denis preston]

A very respectful, measured press conference from Hook. No big puffed out chest & big happy smiles after a win like that, unlike he who shan’t be named. Not getting ahead of themselves & keeping the boy’s feet firmly on the ground. Loved his comment about the short drop outs & poker face response to the critics who said we’d be in the battle for the spoon.

Wouldn't you think that word would come out by the trainer after the first short one "we are 9 points ahead with 10 mins to go and Norman can kick it 60 metres some times , so bloody well do it ! " Cant believe the coaches would leave this type of decision making to a proven air head.