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Round 7 vs Warriors

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getsmarty

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Luke, Blair tell Warriors pack to lift for Dragons
Author
Jackson Thomas
Timestamp
Wed 18 Apr 2018, 02:01 PM

Friday's top-of-the-table clash in Auckland may be billed as a showdown between the Telstra Premiership's best-attacking teams but the Warriors are adamant the contest will be won up front.

The Warriors, stung by their first loss of the season last Saturday against Brisbane, are looking to ensure the unbeaten St George Illawarra Dragons suffer the same fate.

In five of their first six games, the Warriors have scored more than 20 points while the Dragons' spine seems capable of scoring from anywhere as they continue to ride their hot start to 2018.

While a lot of pre-game attention will centre on the flamboyant attacking styles of both sides, it's in the middle where Warriors hooker Isaac Luke says his side need to match the Dragons.

"Us middles have to turn up for that physical battle. Me and Blairy [Adam Blair] took ownership of that last week, took responsibility for us being off as a unit," Luke said.

"This will be our biggest test, last week was huge for us and we were off. We have to go up again this week so, they're travelling really well and have some great players up front that are driving their team around really well at the moment."

Coach Stephen Kearney said after the Broncos loss that he felt his side "didn't front up physically" in the opening exchanges, and that was ultimately the difference.

Blair says that won't happen again.

"It [last week] was a little bit of a hiccup but we've moved on. New week, new start, new challenge and we are now preparing for a standout team in the Dragons," Blair said.

"We came up against a team in the Broncos that were more committed than us, that wanted it more so that's been a lesson for us.

"It's a tough competition we play in and no matter how you are feeling, you have to turn up prepared to play a big game every week."

Kearney said he felt the addition of James Graham to St George Illawarra's pack and the continued development of players like Jack De Belin and Paul Vaughan had provided huge boosts to the joint venture club.

Blair said the Warriors had upped the intensity at training to prepare for the Red V forwards.

"They have quality international forwards, a lot of people are saying they're the best pack in the competition at the moment so for us it's a challenge for our middles and we know we weren't up to it last week," he said.

"We have to bounce back pretty quick. We came out to training with a lot of energy and that's going to be what's needed on Friday is to come out committed as a group and turn up with the attitude that we are going to get stuck in.

''If we don't, well, they could put a score on us."

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/04/18...t-ahead-of-st-george-illawarra-dragons-visit/
 
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getsmarty

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Dragons' bubble won't burst: McGregor
16x9_small

Coach Paul McGregor is happy with the way the Dragons are shaping up in the NRL. (AAP)


St George Illawarra are in good health ahead of their NRL clash with the Warriors despite reports of illness in the group, Paul McGregor says.

Updated Updated 3 hours ago

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor believes the doubters waiting for the Dragons' bubble to burst may be in for a rude shock.

The unbeaten competition leaders flew out for Auckland on Wednesday brimming with belief as they look to extend their best-ever start to an NRL campaign in Friday night's top-of-the-table clash with the Warriors.

But the Dragons have been "April premiers" before, only for similarly encouraging starts to to end in tears.

McGregor's men won six of their first seven last year before losing 11 of 17 to miss the finals.

In 2015, the Dragons won eight of their first 11 before limping into the playoffs in eighth spot and bombing out in week one.

McGregor, though, believes his "healthy" class of 2018 is different - and ready to keep the record streak rolling.

"A healthy roster definitely gives you confidence going into each week," he said as the Dragons eye a seventh straight win.

"So whilst we maintain that healthy roster, it obviously gives you good cohesion across the board. You get a lot of repetition in at training, which is important in this game.

"People can talk about it all they want. We've got a vision and discipline around that and standards around how we play.

"Each week we're learning to play a different way to win, which is pleasing."

Mathematically, the joint venture outfit likely only need to win six or seven of their remaining 18 games to make the finals and McGregor is refusing to play down his side's sizzling start to 2018.

"It's very important to start the year well. It doesn't matter what anyone says," he said.

"Everyone can say 'oh, you're peaking too early" or whatever they want to say.

"But if you've got a healthy roster and you're winning games of footy, it certainly helps throughout the year when you don't have a healthy roster and you'll have people away possibly through representative footy."

In an ominous warning to the Warriors, who themselves won their first five matches before falling to Brisbane 27-18 on Saturday, McGregor is demanding better from the Dragons than their 40-20 dispatch of Cronulla last Friday night.

Preserving themselves for the short turnaround before Wednesday's Anzac Day blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters won't be accepted.

"We'll go out and play our best on Friday night because we didn't show the Sharks our best," said McGregor, who laughed off talk that a nasty bug had swept through the camp this week.

"We need to show the Warriors our best on Friday night and, if we do that, we'll give ourselves every opportunity.

"Then, after that, we'll refocus on obviously the game on Anzac Day, We obviously all know what that's about."

Source: AAP


https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dragons-bubble-won-t-burst-mcgregor
 
Life's Good

Life's Good

Coach
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getsmarty said:
Dragons' bubble won't burst: McGregor
16x9_small

Coach Paul McGregor is happy with the way the Dragons are shaping up in the NRL. (AAP)


St George Illawarra are in good health ahead of their NRL clash with the Warriors despite reports of illness in the group, Paul McGregor says.

Updated Updated 3 hours ago

St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor believes the doubters waiting for the Dragons' bubble to burst may be in for a rude shock.

The unbeaten competition leaders flew out for Auckland on Wednesday brimming with belief as they look to extend their best-ever start to an NRL campaign in Friday night's top-of-the-table clash with the Warriors.

But the Dragons have been "April premiers" before, only for similarly encouraging starts to to end in tears.

McGregor's men won six of their first seven last year before losing 11 of 17 to miss the finals.

In 2015, the Dragons won eight of their first 11 before limping into the playoffs in eighth spot and bombing out in week one.

McGregor, though, believes his "healthy" class of 2018 is different - and ready to keep the record streak rolling.

"A healthy roster definitely gives you confidence going into each week," he said as the Dragons eye a seventh straight win.

"So whilst we maintain that healthy roster, it obviously gives you good cohesion across the board. You get a lot of repetition in at training, which is important in this game.

"People can talk about it all they want. We've got a vision and discipline around that and standards around how we play.

"Each week we're learning to play a different way to win, which is pleasing."

Mathematically, the joint venture outfit likely only need to win six or seven of their remaining 18 games to make the finals and McGregor is refusing to play down his side's sizzling start to 2018.

"It's very important to start the year well. It doesn't matter what anyone says," he said.

"Everyone can say 'oh, you're peaking too early" or whatever they want to say.

"But if you've got a healthy roster and you're winning games of footy, it certainly helps throughout the year when you don't have a healthy roster and you'll have people away possibly through representative footy."

In an ominous warning to the Warriors, who themselves won their first five matches before falling to Brisbane 27-18 on Saturday, McGregor is demanding better from the Dragons than their 40-20 dispatch of Cronulla last Friday night.

Preserving themselves for the short turnaround before Wednesday's Anzac Day blockbuster against the Sydney Roosters won't be accepted.

"We'll go out and play our best on Friday night because we didn't show the Sharks our best," said McGregor, who laughed off talk that a nasty bug had swept through the camp this week.

"We need to show the Warriors our best on Friday night and, if we do that, we'll give ourselves every opportunity.

"Then, after that, we'll refocus on obviously the game on Anzac Day, We obviously all know what that's about."

Source: AAP


https://www.sbs.com.au/news/dragons-bubble-won-t-burst-mcgregor
Click to expand...
Really pleasing to hear Mary say ‘...we didn’t show the Sharks our best....’
Either someone has tipped him to be a bit smarter about what he says or he is genuinely committed to maintaining a much higher standard therefore demanding more. Probably a bit of both.
 
blacksafake

blacksafake

First Grade
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9,622
I know it's an obvious but we need to win the battle in the ruck & reduce Lukes impact.The Warriors have improved dramatically since his return to form with Johnson & Co working off the back of his darts from quick play the balls.
 
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getsmarty

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NRL: Warriors coach Stephen Kearney wary of Dragons' attacking threat

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has highlighted St George Illawarra's attacking threat and believes the NRL leaders have the form spine of the competition.

The Dragons boast the quartet of fullback Matt Dufty, hooker Cameron McInnes, and star halves Ben Hunt and Gareth Widdop, whom the Warriors will have to try to shackle in Auckland on Friday night.

"They're putting real pressure on opposition teams with the way they attack," Kearney said of the unbeaten Dragons.

"Young Dufty, McInnes, Ben and Gareth - they're probably the form spine of the competition. And they have some guys in between them that all do fantastic jobs."

The Dragons, who top the table with a two-point lead over three teams including the Warriors, have averaged 32 points a game over the first six rounds.

In skipper Widdop, who will be making his 100th appearance for the club, they have the competition's leader in try assists and line-break assists.

At the back, Dufty's speed and step have brought him six tries, a figure bettered only by the eight of Warriors winger David Fusitu'a.

For Kearney, the best way to defend against the 22-year-old Dufty, who heads the NRL in line breaks, was to avoid giving him the ball. Failing that, stay switched on.

"We've seen what he's capable of," he said.

"We just have to make sure that, when he does carry the footy, we're all alert, because he catches the ball on one side of the field and he's on the other side of the park very quickly."The Warriors are looking to rebound from their first defeat of the season, when they failed to match Brisbane's intensity to lose 27-18 at home.

Backrower Adam Blair says the Warriors have moved on from "a little bit of hiccup" and it is back to business.


But they also knew they would have to lift physically against the Dragons.

"Everyone's saying they're the best forward pack at the moment, so it's a Challenge for our middles," Blair said.

"We weren't up to it last week, so we have to bounce back pretty quickly."

While the Warriors will have a home crowd to roar them on for a third week in row, they won't have history on their side.

They have won just one of their past 14 matches against St George Illawarra, and only five of the 26 the two teams have played.

NZN

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport...kearney-wary-of-dragons-attacking-threat.html
 
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getsmarty

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Warriors v Dragons preview
Robert Crosby | April 18 2018 8:03PM

Embed from Getty Images
Warriors v St George Illawarra Dragons Friday 6:00pm at Mt Smart Stadium
Unexpected heavyweights face off in unlikely anticipated clash

At the beginning of 2018 the scheduling of an early season match between two of last season's biggest disappointments appeared to be an uncontroversial choice for the dreaded Friday 6pm fixture. With the Warriors rounding out last year with a nine-match run of enduring mediocrity and the Dragons producing an unfathomable late season capitulation having set the pace during the opening months of the competition, the prospect of a top of the table fixture between these two teams appeared as likely as trickle-down economics resulting in an equitable distribution of wealth.

Remaining at Mt. Smart Stadium for the third consecutive week following contrasting showings against North Queensland and Brisbane, the Warriors will be hoping to make amends in front of their home supporters as they oppose the competition frontrunners. Holding a dismal record against the joint venture with a mere 5 wins from 26 meetings, the Dragons have proven to be a notoriously difficult prospect for the Warriors to contend with, a fact that extends back to the origins of the club in which the then Auckland Warriors managed a single win over St. George, while faring slightly above average over Illawarra. Making minimal changes to the squad that suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Broncos last Saturday, coach Stephen Kearney has elevated former captain Simon Mannering into a star-studded backrow to replace the injured Leivaha Pulu, while despite naming Solomone Kata in the centres, it appears likely that former Wigan premiership winner Anthony Gelling will make his first start in the NRL after spending the past three weeks coming off the bench in the late stages of matches. In addition to the omissions of Kata and Pulu, prop Albert Vete will make his first appearance in first grade since July last season ahead of Chris Satae and Isaiah Papali'i who have been included as part of the extended squad for Friday's match.

As the only unbeaten team after six weeks of the competition, the adulation afforded to St. George Illawarra's strong start to the season is not an uncommon occurrence in recent times, but despite notable examples of being unable to remain dominant across the duration of 24 home-and-away matches, the development of the Dragons from the collapse of last year has pundits feeling optimistic about the clubs' fortunes in 2018. Often criticised for lacking attacking prowess, the Dragons have identified the need to keep the scoreboard turning by boasting the best offensive record in the league with an average of 32 points per match, while retaining a strong defensive resolve second only to the Tigers. Aided strongly by the high-profile recruitment of Ben Hunt and James Graham, the side has unearthed an attacking dynamo in fullback Matt Dufty whose raw speed has already provided countless highlights akin to the breakthrough of Brett Morris a decade ago. Keeping the faith with the same squad that has served the Dragons so well over the first quarter of 2018, Friday's clash will hold special significance for captain Gareth Widdop who will celebrate his 100th appearance for the club since shifting from Melbourne in 2014, joining the exclusive ranks of only 23 other players to achieve the feat of featuring in a century of matches for the joint venture.

Last meeting: Round 11 2017 - Warriors 14 Dragons 30

Who to watch: In a side full of much-improved players, one of the major benefactors of the Warriors newfound confidence has been Ken Maumalo. Having delivered glimpses of promise since debuting in 2015, the Samoan international has taken a proactive approach towards eliminating costly errors from his game, while retaining a strong work ethic with the ball that has seen him average in excess of 150 metres per game over the past 18 months. Tasked with the responsibility of filling the void left by the man dubbed ‘The Beast', the 23-year-old winger has yet to replicate the try-scoring prowess that endeared Manu Vatuvei across the rugby league spectrum, however in forging his own path alongside the collective success of the team as a whole, Maumalo may experience a level of success that alluded Vatuvei over the course of his time in the NRL. As one of many players indicative of the Warriors plight over recent years, Maumalo's performance in what is unquestionably the biggest domestic fixture of his career may well prove to be a pivotal point in determining whether the Warriors are the real deal in 2018.

Poached from Cronulla six years ago under the premise of becoming a regular first grader, Tyson Frizell has proven to be one of the finest purchases made by St. George Illawarra in turning unknown potential into fully realised talent. Developing into one of the form forwards of the game with his bruising forcefulness and physicality, the 26-year-old has thrived on the right edge for the Dragons this season, while having the versatility to charge with no thoughts of self-preservation in the middle when called upon at representative level. Having been one of NSW best performers since being elevated to higher honours two years ago, Frizell will be eager to consolidate his position in the Blues line-up by showing his clout as a game-breaking player in a match of such high importance and likely intensity. As part of a formidable forward pack that has laid the foundation for all the success experienced by the Red V in 2018, Frizell may not have received the acclaim afforded to some of his teammates, but with his actions on the field it is irrefutable to see how valuable he is to the continuing success of the Dragons on Friday night and into the future.

The favourite: As the only side yet to record a loss in 2018, the Dragons are expected to continue their winning ways across the ditch.

My tip: Remaining resolute in defence while posting points with vigour rarely sighted in recent times, the Dragons have produced an accomplished start to the year that should continue despite the challenge posed by the much-improved Warriors. Dragons by 7.

TL-WAR18.png


1. Roger Tuivasa-sheck 2. David Fusitua 3. Peta Hiku 4. Solomone Kata 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Blake Green 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Bunty Afoa 9. Issac Luke 10. Agnatius Paasi 11. Simon Mannering 12. Tohu Harris 13. Adam Blair 14. Jazz Tevaga 15. Sam Lisone 16. Albert Vete 17. Anthony Gelling 18. Chris Satae 20. Mason Lino 21. Isaiah Papalii 22. Charnze Nicoll-klokstad

TL-SGI18.png


1. Matthew Dufty 2. Nene Macdonald 3. Euan Aitken 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Jason Nightingale 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Ben Hunt 8. James Graham 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Tariq Sims 13. Jack de Belin 14. Jeremy Latimore 15. Kurt Mann 16. Leeson Ah Mau 17. Hame Sele 18. Jacob Host 19. Zac Lomax 20. Mitchell Allgood 21. Blake Lawrie

Referees: Ben Cummins, Henry Perenara; Sideline Officials: Kasey Badger, Jeff Younis; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell, Ben Galea;


http://leagueunlimited.com/news/31635-warriors-v-dragons-preview/
 
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getsmarty

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McGregor setting a high standard
Local Sport
r0_0_5315_3543_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

TASKMASTER: Paul McGregor is setting a high bar. Picture: John Veage

WINNING with a 20-point cushion would please most people, but Dragons coach Paul McGregor says he’ll be looking for a considerable improvement from his side against the Warriors on Friday.

Last week’s 40-20 victory over Cronulla was the Dragons’ sixth in a row, but came as the Sharks battled a hefty injury toll and followed a scrappy second-half display against Souths a week earlier.

“Every game, whether you win or lose, you’ve got to learn from, and each week we’re learning and we’re playing a different way to win which is pleasing,” McGregor said.

“I was very happy to take the two points out of last week’s game, and I was impressed with the scoreline, but we had some work-on’s from the game that we weren’t impressed with.

“We dropped our standards a touch. Our discipline was not where we needed it to be and we let in 20 points so the guys have a really good focus on what they have to do better than last week.


https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/5353083/mary-setting-a-high-standard/?cs=302
 
Saint_JimmyG

Saint_JimmyG

First Grade
Messages
5,067
Despite the contest being held on their own 'dung hill', I'm fairly confident. For whatever reason the Warriors don't like playing SGI, and I don't reckon this will change tomorrow night.

Dragons by 13 plus.
 
possm

possm

Coach
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We always seem to lift when we travel over the ditch. I feel very confident about this game. It's the next game ANZAC Day match that I am a little worried about.
 
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denis preston

First Grade
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getsmarty said:
Yep...5 day turn around and a trip back from N.Z....That will really test the boys on Anzac Day.
Click to expand...
A lot on here keep saying this.The rorters only beat us by one day so what is really the difference ?NZ is closer than Perth so don't give me the travel bit.
 
Old Timer

Old Timer

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denis preston said:
A lot on here keep saying this.The rorters only beat us by one day so what is really the difference ?NZ is closer than Perth so don't give me the travel bit.
Click to expand...
The coach set that precedent with all that malachi about travelling to training being a problem and causing fatigue.
 
Gareth67

Gareth67

First Grade
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8,807
Just hope that the refs keep close tabs on Cameron Blair , he can resort to some back-lane thuggery at times . Our pack of ' cleanskins ' won't know how to handle that . :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
 
D

dragonssamy61

First Grade
Messages
5,549
Gareth67 said:
Just hope that the refs keep close tabs on Cameron Blair , he can resort to some back-lane thuggery at times . Our pack of ' cleanskins ' won't know how to handle that . :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Click to expand...

I'm sure Mr Graham will have a friendly word to him if he gets out of line Gareth.
If you know what I mean
 
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