Round 5 vs Souths

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

It’s ok I reckon, we beat a team who has beaten us 9 times in the last 12 matches and a team who is hard skilled and tough

We need a tough win, 5 day turnaround teams lose 75% of the time,
But we won..... yeahhhhhh

Agree, the 5 day turnaround is a killer for teams at the start of the season. That and some lucky ref decisions got Souths as close as they did. Any win over Souths is a good win.

 

[ouryears]

That was our best defensive display in a long, long time. I'm really proud of the boys, no-one should underestimate how tough that game was, a short turnaround and against a team that always lifts against us but we held strong. 2 disallowed tries made it look like a close game but we were always in control apart from a 5 minute period when Souths decided to play some desperation footy. The Nene No Try - Obstruction was a terrible call. And how can you blow 33 penalties one week to make a point about off side then just ignore it the next week, I hate Badger.
Aitkens' move on Inglis was superb as was Nightie's try saver while do a running backwards reverse pirouette, magic. Sims, Hunt and Vaughan were mighty in defence. Wids was a bit quiet but still kept us organized and put in some great kicks. Good effort all round. 5 in a row...woohooo !
Next up the gummies at home, going for 6 !

All very very true kit
A great win I reckon too
One of our best

 

[ouryears]

Bulldogs only gave him 1 season then turfed him too - if Farrah was on his game ,at Souths, Cook may have been on his way to ESL. But looks like his talents are finally showing. What I like about Cook is his outright speed off the mark...and looks to be always testing the opposition..solid player.

I think the dogs offered a contract but Cookie said no because Des refused to allow his hookers to ever run the ball, thus the reason their other hooker was about to leave until Des got the sack.

 

[Walpole]

Don't underestimate this win. Souths are a tough team. They've been beaten by the three in-form sides (Warriors, Penrith and us) but for mine they'll be top 8 this year and all things being equal we could have beaten them by 20.

 

[Life's Good]

Lets give him some credit here , last year I was critical of Mary not giving players a go , and not mixing things up . At least we are seeing player interchange that he would never had done last year . He just has to be more selective when to use players and who to use ......

Fully agree. I have been critical of bench but he did play around with it giving Mann more time early so full credit to Mary for this type of change.
The extension of that is now getting the bench selection right & for mine I would have Host & Sele in front of Luc & Latimore.
Luc was loose last night when we needed him to play tough. I like Latimore but think we get a similar game of his from LAM(ugly hit ups, tight defence). Host/Sele offer a bit more variety.

 

[ouryears]

Fully agree. I have been critical of bench but he did play around with it giving Mann more time early so full credit to Mary for this type of change.
The extension of that is now getting the bench selection right & for mine I would have Host & Sele in front of Luc & Latimore.
Luc was loose last night when we needed him to play tough. I like Latimore but think we get a similar game of his from LAM(ugly hit ups, tight defence). Host/Sele offer a bit more variety.

Yep I hate that loose style of play, it’s what has gotten the raiders into trouble, score 2 then give away 3, it isn’t a recipe for success, Luc needs to learn quickly or find himself cut

 

[mickeylane]

Gutsy galore and a great win for Gypsy. Highlight for me was James Graham blasting the shit out of Luciano for the dumb pass in his own 20 Mt. He displays so much fire and passion to lead and win! We have lacked that severely for many many years.

Gutsy galore and a great win for Gypsy. Highlight for me was James Graham blasting the shit out of Luciano for the dumb pass in his own 20 Mt. He displays so much fire and passion to lead and win! We have lacked that severely for many many years.

Don't underestimate this win. Souths are a tough team. They've been beaten by the three in-form sides (Warriors, Penrith and us) but for mine they'll be top 8 this year and all things being equal we could have beaten them by 20.

Easily by 20

 

[mickeylane]

Fully agree. I have been critical of bench but he did play around with it giving Mann more time early so full credit to Mary for this type of change.
The extension of that is now getting the bench selection right & for mine I would have Host & Sele in front of Luc & Latimore.
Luc was loose last night when we needed him to play tough. I like Latimore but think we get a similar game of his from LAM(ugly hit ups, tight defence). Host/Sele offer a bit more variety.

Guys if you think Mcgregor misused the bench yesterday you are crazy - the coach pulled off a master stroke with a simultaneous 3 player change on the 27 min mark which allowed DeBellin, Vaughan, Graham to come back on on the 2nd half fresh and allowed us to finish strong.. The 3 player change really freshend up our team as well..

 

[dragonssamy61]

Lets give him some credit here , last year I was critical of Mary not giving players a go , and not mixing things up . At least we are seeing player interchange that he would never had done last year . He just has to be more selective when to use players and who to use ......

Agree Hazz
He needs to think of each team we play and how to best use the bench.
But must be smart enough to change it up when needed.

 

[dragonssamy61]

Someone has to get into his head space and get him to understand you gotta be hard and tough to play this game at first grade level. Got to be a warrior, a weapon, not just a guy running on the field to play a game of footy with your mates

Ouryears
100% mate Luc problem is not training or lack of it.
He trains as hard as most.
It all in his head.
He needs to be mentally tougher than he his.
A stint is the ISP will help.
To me Sele is much tougher mentally.
But I would give lowrie a go his is going great in isp

 

[Life's Good]

Guys if you think Mcgregor misused the bench yesterday you are crazy - the coach pulled off a master stroke with a simultaneous 3 player change on the 27 min mark which allowed DeBellin, Vaughan, Graham to come back on on the 2nd half fresh and allowed us to finish strong.. The 3 player change really freshend up our team as well..

Where did I say he misused the bench??

 

[kit66]

Guys if you think Mcgregor misused the bench yesterday you are crazy - the coach pulled off a master stroke with a simultaneous 3 player change on the 27 min mark which allowed DeBellin, Vaughan, Graham to come back on on the 2nd half fresh and allowed us to finish strong.. The 3 player change really freshend up our team as well..

Not to mention his response to the 2 Bunnie's tries by throwing Friz back out there just in time and moving Luc to the left side out of harms way. As much as I like Luc he needs to learn from last night asap.

Didn't Souths lift when Doiuihuie came on, not sure though if he was the inspiration or the score board.
I re-watched parts of the game this morning and noticed what a great job we did keeping the likes of Inglis, Gagai, Johnston and Reynolds quiet for most of the match, all dangerous players. If Souths play like that each week they'll win plenty of games.

 

[mickeylane]

Where did I say he misused the bench??

Not you the forum

 

[merahputih]

Great win against quality opposition, but I despair at the thought of a long season ahead with the current video/bunker system and refereeing standards. The fact that Macdonald's try was awarded by the on field ref and the bunker officials had to spend several minutes looking at multiple replays means surely the benefit of the doubt (as in cricket) should go the player.

 

[TruSaint]

The game should have been out of their reach by half time.
Couple of unlucky calls against us, kept it tight.

It was a grind at the end, but 2 valuable points.

2 key moments, were the obstruction call ( dubious at best ), and I thought Lafai should have gone himself rather than pass to Nene when he was bundled into touch. Thats 2 tries just there IMHO.

Score flattered Souths.

 

[jeffdragon]

A win we were tiring late but souths have danger players in cook, Gi,johnston , gagai and normally walker but walker had a shocker.
Nenes try was a try.
Bad decision

 

[Red V for life]

Watched it live on Foxtel last night and watched the replay this morning.

Even though we failed to rack up a score, we controlled the game for 70 mins. A few bad misses in defence, some major brain fades late and a few rough calls, but we didn’t panic or get impatient. If anything, I saw more steel in our defence which is a major improvement from last year.

As others noted, we did look flat. Hope the boys rest up coz our next 5 games are against quality opposition.

 

[Frank Facer]

I too noticed that the refs stopped refereeing Souths in the second half. I noticed Souths off side a few times and the refs ignored it.

 

[getsmarty]

Jason Nightingale celebrates 250th NRL game for St George Illawarra Dragons in style

• Dragon's Den
  
  
  
  Happy Dragon: Jason Nightingale celebrates after winning on his 250th NRL appearance. Picture: AAP
• 
  
• Rugby league doesn’t always throw up the fairy tale story. But for Jason Nightingale, he couldn’t have scripted his 250th NRL game much better.
  
  Running out onto his beloved Jubilee Oval at Kogarah in front of a packed house against traditional rivals South Sydney on a Friday night, with the Dragons winning 16-12. The only thing missing was a Nightingale try but the New Zealand international contributed at the other end of the field, producing two try-saving tackles with the Dragons under the pump in the second half.
  
  The Renown United junior, enjoying his 11th first grade season with the Dragons, has done it all in the red V. When he eventually hangs up his boots he will go down as one of the club’s modern greats.
  
  Only four players in the history of the game have played more than 250 games, scored 100-plus tries and played more than 30 internationals. Lockyer, Fittler, Slater… Nightingale.
  
  But it is his mentality as a club first, individual second kind of player that is why he is so loved at the club.
  
  “It’s really nice to win on an occasion for Jase too. For all the guys to find a little bit more [for him],” Dragons coach Paul McGregor said.
  
  “I’ve been fortunate enough to know Jase for a very long time. He’s a gentleman. A true professional in every aspect. And he’s never beaten on a footy field. And when you’ve got a player that’s never beaten they’re the ones you want to play with not against. And Jason typifies that.
  
  “He does everything possible in the hard parts of the game which is the back of the field to get his team in the right position. And the finishing, you’ve seen the somersaults, he’s a quality finisher, highly tough at the right ends of the footy field.
  
  “To do what he’s done, he’s not only done that but he’s scored 100 tries, 250 games, 30 Tests, won a premiership, the list goes on. It’s an amazing career and it’s still going.”
  
  Nightingale said the club was his extended family, having made a number of lifelong friendships.
  
  “It’s a pretty special place. I grew up in the area, a local junior. And I’ve been lucky enough to do this for as long as I have and I suppose it’s nights like these that remind you what you’ve done,” he said.
  
  “And also bring it back to the team and getting results like tonight is something that makes you feel better and get the reward for all the hard work I’ve put in and the boys have put in.
  
  “The club have been great. They’ve made it such a celebration for me that I couldn’t do anything but enjoy this moment.”
• http://www.theleader.com.au/story/5328619/nightingale-celebrates-a-happy-250th/?cs=3833

 

[getsmarty]

Paul McGregor holds his tongue on ‘confusing’ NRL bunker call
Dragons

• April 7, 2018 12:11pm
• Source: AAP

Dragons coach Paul McGregor.Source: News Corp Australia
PAUL McGregor couldn’t hide his displeasure at the match referees but has bitten his tongue to avoid another costly fine.

The St George Illawarra coach admitted he was “confused” after winger Nene MacDonald was controversially denied a first-half try by the bunker in Friday’s gripping NRL win over South Sydney.

MacDonald had the four-pointer taken off him after video referee Steve Chiddy ruled that lead runner Tariq Sims had obstructed Souths halfback Adam Reynolds in the lead up.

Despite the Red V posting a gritty win, the Jubilee Oval faithful gave the officials a chorus of boos as they came from the field at fulltime.


Sims appeared to stop short of the line and the only contact between him and Reynolds was made by the Rabbitohs playmaker who stretched out his arms to push away from the Dragons back-rower.

“I’m as confused as you are,” McGregor said.

“The two-defender (Reynolds) jammed in and when he jams, he’s made his decision. He’s come out of the line to make a decision and he didn’t make the tackle. That’s, that’s all I’ll say.”

Bunker's big obstruction call

0:34
McGregor was careful with his words after last year being slugged with a $10,000 fine after describing the referees as “embarrassing and incompetent” following a shock loss to Newcastle.

The incident will only inflame debate about the obstruction rule which appears to be a source of confusion after Canterbury two weeks ago were given a try despite Will Hopoate taking out James Maloney in the lead up.

NRL referees boss Bernie Sutton subsequently admitted his whistleblowers got the call wrong.

Asked for his view on the MacDonald no-try, Souths coach Anthony Seibold said: “I’m not sure. I was happy with the call. So I’ll say it’s the right call.”


https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...k=a7a139b81a22e129d1c7cde819e0ff85-1523070337