Round 5 v Sharks

[hazzbeen]

Rav is like so many of our players they have glaring flaws that are never rectified.

I honestly think he is a fish out of water on the wing but IMO has the potential to be a strike centre.

He has dynamic strength and from what we have seen a very good passing game so IMO he would be worth a try at some point before consigning him 100% to the scrap heap.

Mate not sure on this , he is strong , and powerful enough they are his strengths ..... Williame and Lomax for me are a better pairing so unless there are injuries long term I can't see him playing there ..... As for wing and centre IMO he doesn't have the smarts to hold down either position .... This is just my thoughts on him , I hope he does develop and you are right .... Time will tell ......

 

[muzby]

Drop Aitken and put Rav at centre and Saab on the wing.

Coaches generally don’t make changes to a winning side..

Oh yeah, Mary...

Never mind

 

[Old Timer]

Mate not sure on this , he is strong , and powerful enough they are his strengths ..... Williame and Lomax for me are a better pairing so unless there are injuries long term I can't see him playing there ..... As for wing and centre IMO he doesn't have the smarts to hold down either position .... This is just my thoughts on him , I hope he does develop and you are right .... Time will tell ......

Not impressed with Williame I suspect he is a cross between Lafai & Nene i.e. slow & lacks focus.

Rava actually runs good lines and when he has made a break infield he looks for support and can hit them with a pass.

I say this change on the proviso if it was out of Williame, Lafai, Aitken and Rava to fill that centre position.

I cannot see Mc Humptydumpty looking at Sailor or any other young player as an option.

 

[BLM01]

Agree but these days it's normally a fine.
I seem to recall Josh Reynolds doing it on numerous occasions but only received a fine?
I can't remember the last player suspended for it

Fair enough... but it’s a sham... used to be a send off offence.... why change it

 

[hazzbeen]

Not impressed with Williame I suspect he is a cross between Lafai & Nene i.e. slow & lacks focus.

Rava actually runs good lines and when he has made a break infield he looks for support and can hit them with a pass.

I say this change on the proviso if it was out of Williame, Lafai, Aitken and Rava to fill that centre position.

I cannot see Mc Humptydumpty looking at Sailor or any other young player as an option.

Like I said , time will tell we will see how it all pans out soon .... For Its Williams the better of the two ....

 

[possm]

Clune does not deserve to be axed. Sailor can play elsewhere, the 7 jersey is locked in at the moment

If Sailor has signed with the Broncos then the only position he should be considered for is left centre however, would he be a better option than turnstile Aitken?

 

[Kilkenny]

I had a feeling you guys would get the job done against the Sharks and happy to see that you did.

I don’t think it alters the coach landscape for one minute, rightly or wrongly.

You will almost certainly have a new coach for 2021 whether the change happens during the current season or is delayed until seasons end for financial reasons time will tell.

 

[jeffdragon]

Agree but these days it's normally a fine.
I seem to recall Josh Reynolds doing it on numerous occasions but only received a fine?
I can't remember the last player suspended for it

If Norman pleads guilty$700 fine

 

[Dragonslayer]

If Sailor has signed with the Broncos then the only position he should be considered for is left centre however, would he be a better option than turnstile Aitken?

Sailor has not signed with the Broncos he hasn't even asked for a release.

 

[slippery5]

Rav is like so many of our players they have glaring flaws that are never rectified.

I honestly think he is a fish out of water on the wing but IMO has the potential to be a strike centre.

He has dynamic strength and from what we have seen a very good passing game so IMO he would be worth a try at some point before consigning him 100% to the scrap heap.

You're probably right, he is powerful returning the ball & could be the answer to Suli rejecting us, he can also put on a good hit.

 

[SBD82]

All you blokes who are advocating Rav at 4. I hope you’ll be super patient with him making defensive decisions when he doesn’t have the luxury of learning it in reserve grade.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

So today is about whether

• Clune is allowed to have any ball and to be the organiser that Hunt isn't but still was in last weeks game despite Clune playing.
• Fumiano is just a battering ram and will run out of puff playing that way.
• Host can get any early ball if he is playing on the edge or whether he will constantly run at holes while the halves turn it back inside.
• Graham who is a a starting player will get 2 stints or whether he is just a 25 minute man these days.
• The shitful idea of Hunt to 9 and Mc Innes to 13 will be employed at some point.
• Dufty's entry into the game provides him with any chance to impose himself and whether he is a straight substitution or will it trigger multiple positional changes.
• Aitken is hooked if multiple tries are scored down his side of the paddock.
• Gould can find some way to introduce pro Mary commentary if we are being ripped apart.

OT, I have not read every post since the game - have you attempted to evaluate what you wrote before the game? For what it's worth here's my response:

* More ball to Clune, but still not enough. Fascinating to see that with Clune's superior kicking game on display both Norman and Hunt kicked better than usual. Only the one over the dead ball line (one too many!). Hunt certainly kicked better from dummy half.
* Some good hits from Fuimaono but not quite as strong as his game against the Panthers. At least there was no attempt to play him very long minutes.
* Can't recall Host getting any early ball.
* I was surprised by Graham's performance - it looked like he may have paid a visit to the Fountain of Youth during the week. Seemed to suit him coming off the bench.
* The Hunt/McInnes change seemed to work very well.
* Thankfully the Dufty swap was made to start the game and he had one of his best games.
* Aitken went missing only on the Sharks' 2nd try. His running game appeared at its strongest. Such a pity he hasn't had a coach who could teach him to defend in the line and pass. One of the worst indictments of the Mary era.
* Thankfully we had the more objective Sterlo as the expert commentator rather than Pompous Phil.

Great to get a win! But it needs to be one step at a time - we have now elevated ourselves to being in a contest for the Spoon rather than its hot favourite. Coincidence that the win came without carrying a back on the bench in case of injury? But in relation to the bench I must add I was stunned that Kerr after a very strong first 20 odd minutes only reappeared with about three minutes of the game to go.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

There’s a reason why Clune hasn’t played 1st grade until he was 24!
He’s not our answer at 7...

M.Lane,
As far as I am concerned Clune has not previously played NRL because he has not been given a chance. Last year in CC he was so clearly the star not Mary's replacement pick of "Daz". Mary, being Mary, ensured Clune saw little ball vs the Dogs last week which contributed to the loss. Yesterday when getting a bit more ball he showed the advantage of a good tactical kicker in the team. One repeat possession from a grubber rather than another over the dead ball line and bombs which gave Lomax an opportunity to challenge. He seemed to have a positive impact on Norman's kicking too.

In a later post you mentioned you don't see Clune as a premiership winner. May I ask how many of the current team you would apply that lofty status to? Can I suggest first things first? Number 1 is to win enough games to avoid the Spoon. Then employ a decent coach who can develop longer term plans to drag the club from cellar dwelling back into premiership contention.

 

[Dragonsamy]

Sailor has not signed with the Broncos he hasn't even asked for a release.

Official stated by the CEO see the web site as he is staying

 

[Gareth67]

M.Lane,
As far as I am concerned Clune has not previously played NRL because he has not been given a chance. Last year in CC he was so clearly the star not Mary's replacement pick of "Daz". Mary, being Mary, ensured Clune saw little ball vs the Dogs last week which contributed to the loss. Yesterday when getting a bit more ball he showed the advantage of a good tactical kicker in the team. One repeat possession from a grubber rather than another over the dead ball line and bombs which gave Lomax an opportunity to challenge. He seemed to have a positive impact on Norman's kicking too.

In a later post you mentioned you don't see Clune as a premiership winner. May I ask how many of the current team you would apply that lofty status to? Can I suggest first things first? Number 1 is to win enough games to avoid the Spoon. Then employ a decent coach who can develop longer term plans to drag the club from cellar dwelling back into premiership contention.

Well spoken Dragonsteve 2 , my thought also . Clune had an excellent game , a few minor errors yes , but all in all he played quite well for only his second NRL game .

For mine he is the little general that the Dragons have been missing for oh so long . The more games he plays the better he will get .

Now we must pray that the maestro does not begin to tinker with the orchestra as the music is beginning to sound ever so sweet .

 

[Saints Forever]

Do you have to turn every thread into yet another of your rants against me?

You’re boring.

Everyone’s sick of it.

I quite enjoy it

 

[muzby]

I quite enjoy it

Yes, but you’re delusional

 

[Old Timer]

OT, I have not read every post since the game - have you attempted to evaluate what you wrote before the game? For what it's worth here's my response:

* More ball to Clune, but still not enough. Fascinating to see that with Clune's superior kicking game on display both Norman and Hunt kicked better than usual. Only the one over the dead ball line (one too many!). Hunt certainly kicked better from dummy half.
* Some good hits from Fuimaono but not quite as strong as his game against the Panthers. At least there was no attempt to play him very long minutes.
* Can't recall Host getting any early ball.
* I was surprised by Graham's performance - it looked like he may have paid a visit to the Fountain of Youth during the week. Seemed to suit him coming off the bench.
* The Hunt/McInnes change seemed to work very well.
* Thankfully the Dufty swap was made to start the game and he had one of his best games.
* Aitken went missing only on the Sharks' 2nd try. His running game appeared at its strongest. Such a pity he hasn't had a coach who could teach him to defend in the line and pass. One of the worst indictments of the Mary era.
* Thankfully we had the more objective Sterlo as the expert commentator rather than Pompous Phil.

Great to get a win! But it needs to be one step at a time - we have now elevated ourselves to being in a contest for the Spoon rather than its hot favourite. Coincidence that the win came without carrying a back on the bench in case of injury? But in relation to the bench I must add I was stunned that Kerr after a very strong first 20 odd minutes only reappeared with about three minutes of the game to go.

Good post champion

Luckily some changes were made pre game and you have elaborated well.0$

Watched the game and also replayed it and hard to get overly enthused about the performance from a team perspective.

Mc Humptydumpty just won’t go that extra step by dropping the out of form players nor release the hand breaks he has put on the team.

When you watch the slick teams play it puts our performance yesterday into realcontext “clunky & lacking finesse”

 

[Qapm]

I'm hoping that the majority of us Dragons fans are thinking the same Qapm. Why wish for us to get the spoon when it feels better when we win games irrespective on how that might affect the outcome of Mary's misfortunes one day?

For us to come last just so we can get rid of Mary is not what we are following our team for. Wins are greater than having losses even though we want Mary gone.

I'll even go one better and say that I hope Mary can turn things around and actually earn his salary.

I doubt it. I know f-all about rugby league but I know a failing organization when I see one but if Mary can turn it around I'll be one of the fist to say "sorry, I was wrong".

So here's hoping for a win against the Titans.

 

[Gareth67]

I'll even go one better and say that I hope Mary can turn things around and actually earn his salary.

I doubt it. I know f-all about rugby league but I know a failing organization when I see one but if Mary can turn it around I'll be one of the fist to say "sorry, I was wrong".

So here's hoping for a win against the Titans.

“ What the f##k ! A true believer ? “ “ Give me a call if you ever need a cheap paint job - I always look after my friends “ .