Round 4 V Newcastle

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Funny on the Knights site they have the opposite opinion of the ref's to us

They think the decisions went our way

They also think Rava caused the mele

April 1st was a few days ago they have to be kidding dont they......should've gone to spec savers

 

[Saints Forever]

Unfortunately Lomax missed one from out wide, it was waved away, ending his streak. He kicked 3 out of 4.

Our first disallowed try was a disgraceful decision, it barely brushed Kerr (if at all) and was never knocked forward. Further evidence that the bunker review is subject to human error and ultimately self defeating. Frustrating to watch and a waste of time.

Try had been awarded

No clear evidence Kerr touched it

How and why did the bunker overrule the on field referee.

Maybe our try wasn’t in the game script?

8 six agains to zero suggests we weren’t supposed to win.

 

[Illusion]

Try had been awarded

No clear evidence Kerr touched it

How and why did the bunker overrule the on field referee.

Maybe our try wasn’t in the game script?

8 six agains to zero suggests we weren’t supposed to win.

Yep and after the disallowed try to us it wasn't shown again unless I missed it ..... Strange ......

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Funny on the Knights site they have the opposite opinion of the ref's to us

They think the decisions went our way

They also think Rava caused the mele

Everyone seems to think the ref is against them. It’s human nature. You need to take off your Saints glasses sometimes. 7 Nil tackle restarts is unbelievable. It’s almost impossible. The Kerr knock on was travelling back. No way a knock on. But that Knights forward pass was def not a forward pass. Ah well f**k em. We won.

 

[Willow]

To people who say the Knights were battling against injuries, think about what caused those injuries. They were savaged by our forward pack. Injuries are part of the game.It wasn't bad luck, Newcastle were out-muscled and overwhelmed. The opposition's fatigue levels were going through the roof.

I'll credit Newcastle with hanging in there and not getting thrashed on the scoreboard.

They were helped by the amount of "6 Agains", to get them out of trouble, and Newcastle had more possession throughout the match (ended up being 54% but was over 60% at one point). But our forwards took this as an opportunity to belt them more in defence.

Reminded me a little of the days of unlimited tackles, when teams had to endure long periods of defending and using those periods to soften up the opposition.

 

[St Tangles]

Everyone seems to think the ref is against them. It’s human nature. You need to take off your Saints glasses sometimes. 7 Nil tackle restarts is unbelievable. It’s almost impossible. The Kerr knock on was travelling back. No way a knock on. But that Knights forward pass was def not a forward pass. Ah well f**k em. We won.

First part was my point exactly
I thought there were a few decisions either way
We won the penalties they won the 6 agains

I do also agree f**k em we won

 

[Crush]

Everyone seems to think the ref is against them. It’s human nature. You need to take off your Saints glasses sometimes. 7 Nil tackle restarts is unbelievable. It’s almost impossible. The Kerr knock on was travelling back. No way a knock on. But that Knights forward pass was def not a forward pass. Ah well f**k em. We won.

Exactly, every supporter reckons they get the wrong calls every game.
Knights supporters will hardly have noticed the 7 Nil tackle restarts and the Dragons supporters barely have noticed the 5 nil penalty count in favour of SGI.
Human nature.

 

[Willow]

Everyone seems to think the ref is against them. It’s human nature. You need to take off your Saints glasses sometimes. 7 Nil tackle restarts is unbelievable. It’s almost impossible. The Kerr knock on was travelling back. No way a knock on. But that Knights forward pass was def not a forward pass. Ah well f**k em. We won.

Referees make human errors. We generally accept this with the knowledge that these decisions tend to even out over a season.

The difference between the the two disallowed tries is that the Knights' no try was called in the heat of the moment in real time. You can see why the touchy and ref made the call.

There's no such excuse for the Saints' no try. They had time to review it by video, supposedly to 'get it right'?

Since when are video refs allow to overrule an on-field ref when there's no clear evidence that supports that overruling?

I can think of two possible reasons for this:
1. To give someone a job.
2. To ultimately make on-field refs redundant and hand over all power to the bunker.

Hopefully it'll be the bunker review that gets a review, asap. Otherwise the fans are just going to get more pissed off.

 

[st.phil]

The NRL again w policy on the run.
At least with the old “send everything up for review” rule, you had the on field decision taking president. Right now, it’s a black box and if anything looks remotely suss it’s a no try. The bunker can defy the laws of physics in a split second, it’s impossible for that ball to go forward with such minor contact.

Ridiculous decision

 

[R&WTILLIDIE]

Referees make human errors. We generally accept this with the knowledge that these decisions tend to even out over a season.

The difference between the the two disallowed tries is that the Knights' no try was called in the heat of the moment in real time. You can see why the touchy and ref made the call.

There's no such excuse for he Saints' no try. They had time to review it by video, supposedly to 'get it right'?

Since when are video refs allow to overrule an on-field ref when there's no clear evidence that supports that overruling?

I can think of two possible reasons for this:
1. To give someone a job.
2. To ultimately make on-field refs redundant and hand over all power to the bunker.

Hopefully it'll be the bunker review that gets a review, asap. Otherwise the fans are just going to get more pissed off.

there are a few certainties in life...death...taxes...and the bunker continually stuffing up week after week.

 

[muzby]

Eels next week will be a big test..

If we can knock them off, or at least play like yesterday but lose, I’ll be very confident we can lift the Anzac cup

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

long year...

It is a long year but a massive run of injuries aside we are not getting the spoon this year.

 

[Dragon David]

What a pleasure it is to hear Hook’s post game conference

respectful, realistic and well aware as to where our team is at

No BS

No wonder the players want to play for one another and the coaching staff

Yes, very good responses to questions asked of Hook. Straight forward and no beating around the bush.

So good to know that he believes that our players have the right attitude, belief in themselves,playing for each other and wanting to win. This is the big difference to how they were in previous years.

Keep it up boys.

 

[Dragon David]

The no try call for Ravalawa is unacceptable and I hope there is recourse against the bunker. Dufty, the passer, is clearly in front of Kerr who is clearly in front of Lomax, the receiver. He did touch the ball but it couldn't have been travelling in any direction but backward, especially given how subtle the touch was.

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.

 

[Dragon David]

Feeling positive and happy with the games so far
But

still havent played a decent team and won today against a decimated injured knights

next week will be a decent test of where we stand

Win, lose or draw, if the guys attitude towards the game is very good, then that is the main thing. Their attitude has been good to be 3 from 4 when last year we were 0 from 4.
The Eels game will be a test of our mental strength as well as our physical strength. They have a strong team and will be hard to beat at Bankwest next Sunday, but where there is a WILL there is hope.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

The NRL again w policy on the run.
At least with the old “send everything up for review” rule, you had the on field decision taking president. Right now, it’s a black box and if anything looks remotely suss it’s a no try. The bunker can defy the laws of physics in a split second, it’s impossible for that ball to go forward with such minor contact.

Ridiculous decision

Must have had a 6 inch thumbnail

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Was great to see us belt them particularly in the forwards....they have arguably a top 4 pack which goes to show with a bit of self belief aggression and mongrel (controlled) we can match it with the top packs in the comp

 

[possm]

I always admire your passion, Possm, and am well aware of your many posts stating Dufty is a 5/8 not a fullback. But I would like to ask you after yesterday's game is there any chance that you could be convinced that Dufty has made some improvement both under the high ball and in defence while Ramsey may benefit from more time on the wing? Dufty like so many other team mates is showing the benefit of playing under a genuinely professional coaching staff. I for one want him to be playing for the Dragons for many years to come, not against us.
In his one NRL game Sullivan looked like he could quickly make the transition. But often with young stars this is not the case and some fall by the wayside. I wonder if you got your way with the above selections whether you would have the patience to stick with them if they do not star overnight.

In short yes, I would be happy for Dufty to remain at fullback and Ramsey to gain more first grade experience on the wing. I am not against Dufty, I am more for the best for the team as a whole. I was a big support of the Dufty in place of Dugan when Dufty first was pushing for selection in first grade.

To me, Dufty has not the character to match it with the best fullbacks in the competition. He has the attacking flair and gaining a sense on when to be there to backup a break, but that is about it. To cover his problems he does not position himself to be in the frame to take a big hit and so, most high balls he took last night were not taken under pressure. I did not notice any defensive work that saved a try and to be honest, his passing game fell away with a few mis-directed passes.

I'd say that Griffin and his staff are more qualified than me to judge Dufty's suitablility for the first grade fullback spot, so I will defer that judgement to them. To me they are doing a super job in transforming each player and the team as a whole and I am very happy with that.

It is quite possible that the likes of Sloan and Schiller will also stake a claim for the fullback job while applying pressure from reserve grade; it is all a matter of timing.

My mind turns back to the loss of our former young hooker (Robson). The thinking was that McInnes is an 80min hooker and captain of our club so, no room for Robson who like all aspiring young reserve grade players, had designs on playing first grade.

Now even with McCullough doing such a great job, there is still a place in our squad for a bright young hooker who could stand in for McCullough in times of injury or when we want to introduce a change in style during a game. Brittain is not the player and Wishart is still too young and inexperienced.

McInnes was only our long term hooker while Mary was coach. Both the Dragons coach and the Sharks coach do not see him as their first choice hooker.

 

[Dion]

I’m gobsmacked at the steel & toughness that Hook has instilled in our forward pack. Certainly have not seen this level of attitude since Bennett was coach.
They look and play like a unified team that now has some belief. Any sign of adversity and the continual ref calls against the team & they now rally not crumble.

Thanks Hook, Elliot & Gentle for putting the Steel back in the Dragons....it’s a pleasure to watch and be proud of our team once again.

Newcastle's game plan was to steamroll us down main street.
Well, they got more than they bargained for with all our forwards smashing them at every opportunity.
Sims is a weapon when he's in the mood.
Lawrie was in the thick of things and McCulloch continues to impress with his guile, decision making and work rate.
What is so pleasing to see is our line speed in defence.
A far cry from our meek "wait and see" sieve that McGregor presided over.
Even with two important players absent, the replacements played out of their skins and even Norman stepped up when it mattered most. One of his better games.
Promising start to the season as we actually look like a well coached football team for a change.

 

[possm]

Everyone seems to think the ref is against them. It’s human nature. You need to take off your Saints glasses sometimes. 7 Nil tackle restarts is unbelievable. It’s almost impossible. The Kerr knock on was travelling back. No way a knock on. But that Knights forward pass was def not a forward pass. Ah well f**k em. We won.

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.