Round 8 v Roosters Anzac Day

[Gomarchin]

It's not an excuse for the poor performance at all but the Roosters were either comically offside all game or they've become the quickest squad in the NRL over the off season. They sure were covering those 10 metres pretty damn quickly....Was blatantly obvious but didn't get pinged once.
I bet Trent Big Flushed Face Robinson was ok with the ref getting the interpretation of that wrong all game......

And of course Trent's whingeing about the refs the last couple of weeks before this game guaranteed this was going to happen.

 

[Slippery Morris]

What an awful game by Saints. Losing Suli did not help. I was at the game and the Chooks were ruthless.

All for Saints losing but why by more than 30 each time? For and against is going to kill Saints. They have won 4 games and lost 4 yet have the 3rd worst for and against. Few teams in front who have only won 3 but have had the bye.

That game clearly shows that a player like Bird would be more useful to the bench than starting as he can cover multiple positions especially in the backline and back row. Time to put Suli and Lomax in the centres and leave them there. Comparing Sam Walker's attack close to the line and Ben Hunt is chalk and cheese. Sam destroyed Saints with short kicks whilst Hunt went missing and we saw guys like Lawrie doing a hit up on the last closed to the line on the last. Diabolical. That is Ben Hunt to a tee. Qld would never pick him at half because they simply know he is not capable hence why he is a star at hooker.

 

[KogarahWarrior]

What an awful game by Saints. Losing Suli did not help. I was at the game and the Chooks were ruthless.

All for Saints losing but why by more than 30 each time? For and against is going to kill Saints. They have won 4 games and lost 4 yet have the 3rd worst for and against. Few teams in front who have only won 3 but have had the bye.

That game clearly shows that a player like Bird would be more useful to the bench than starting as he can cover multiple positions especially in the backline and back row. Time to put Suli and Lomax in the centres and leave them there. Comparing Sam Walker's attack close to the line and Ben Hunt is chalk and cheese. Sam destroyed Saints with short kicks whilst Hunt went missing and we saw guys like Lawrie doing a hit up on the last closed to the line on the last. Diabolical. That is Ben Hunt to a tee. Qld would never pick him at half because they simply know he is not capable hence why he is a star at hooker.

Chooks went hard until the final bell is what I noticed while we were gooooooone. They don't do that week in week out either. They just understood the occasion whereas our mob didn't, or our lot were too unfit, had no determination, or possibly all of the above.

 

[twinkletoes]

Just as a side light… my son found a YouTube video following the roosters on game day Anzac Day… from breakfast together to in the dressing room after the match. Roosters players looked as fresh as a daisy in the sheds after the match…. wouldn’t have known they’d played a match by the looks of them

 

[RedVee]

60+% possession in the first half keeps you fresh.

 

[justadragon]

60+% possession in the first half keeps you fresh.

The other team not turning up keeps you fresh as well.

 

[maestro1]

Commentators joked that the Roosters won the penalty count (especially early when it matters) for the first time in ages

 

[Dragon David]

Bloody Roosters killing the Broncos as well. Just thinking of their squad and players out injured and you really wonder with so many marquees they have, how do they keep within the salary cap. Yes I know, but really how is it that they have so many and we have maybe 1 and he isn't that much.

Not anywhere near an even playing field and so I say what chance do we have when there is this unevenness? If we had the players that the Roosters have we would be laughing just like the Roosters fans are doing now. I'm sick of it. Bloody unfair and yet the Roosters no chance to beat the Panthers in the grand final.

 

[Rocket Rod]

Bloody Roosters killing the Broncos as well. Just thinking of their squad and players out injured and you really wonder with so many marquees they have, how do they keep within the salary cap. Yes I know, but really how is it that they have so many and we have maybe 1 and he isn't that much.

Not anywhere near an even playing field and so I say what chance do we have when there is this unevenness? If we had the players that the Roosters have we would be laughing just like the Roosters fans are doing now. I'm sick of it. Bloody unfair and yet the Roosters no chance to beat the Panthers in the grand final.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again
There are way too many teams and not enough talent to go around
An elite competition should have minimal teams stacked with class players
Then the Koe cup would have better players pressing for selection in first with attractive matches not the rubbish being dished up now.
Vlandys is delusional in thinking to expand!

 

[Dragon David]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again
There are way too many teams and not enough talent to go around
An elite competition should have minimal teams stacked with class players
Then the Koe cup would have better players pressing for selection in first with attractive matches not the rubbish being dished up now.
Vlandys is delusional in thinking to expand!

Rightly said their Rocket Rod. I'm just thinking though that out of a squad of 30 players, 4 or so of the top clubs might have say on average 6 or 7 marquees possibly more, but what I am getting at is even though say V'Landys brings the total number of teams down to say 14, which is extremely unlikely, then you know which clubs will still have more of the better players than the tail enders even though the clubs get the same salary crap.

We have just got to make the Dragons a club that players want to stay at and want to come to. To me our image/brand has been tarnished so badly over the last decade, so badly and something drastic needs to be done to overcome this otherwise we will always be in the doldrums no matter how many teams there are in the comp.

If our image is visibly enhanced and we can attract the truly better players to come and keep the truly better juniors coming through the system of ours, we might be able to have a squad of similar numbers of marquees as the top clubs or even more. That is what we should be aiming for in my opinion.

So Flanno, get our club winning a lot more games so that our Promotions staff can highlight how great a club the Dragons is and will continue to be.

 

[OneEyedDragon]

Rightly said their Rocket Rod. I'm just thinking though that out of a squad of 30 players, 4 or so of the top clubs might have say on average 6 or 7 marquees possibly more, but what I am getting at is even though say V'Landys brings the total number of teams down to say 14, which is extremely unlikely, then you know which clubs will still have more of the better players than the tail enders even though the clubs get the same salary crap.

We have just got to make the Dragons a club that players want to stay at and want to come to. To me our image/brand has been tarnished so badly over the last decade, so badly and something drastic needs to be done to overcome this otherwise we will always be in the doldrums no matter how many teams there are in the comp.

If our image is visibly enhanced and we can attract the truly better players to come and keep the truly better juniors coming through the system of ours, we might be able to have a squad of similar numbers of marquees as the top clubs or even more. That is what we should be aiming for in my opinion.

So Flanno, get our club winning a lot more games so that our Promotions staff can highlight how great a club the Dragons is and will continue to be.

It is a bit of the chicken and the egg scenario DD. Do the Dragons need more good players so they can win more games, or do they need to win more games so they can get more good players? I think the Dragons are in a situation where their only option is to somehow win more games so they become a more attractive destination. Over to you Flano.

 

[since77]

The other team not turning up keeps you fresh as well.

The Dragons were poor, yes. But the impact of referee / rule assisted momentum in the modern game is keeping the attacking team fresh as a daisy whilst the defending team can often be completely gassed by half time.
60-18 last week
40-18 last night.
The game has been broken by idiotic rule changes. First time in forever I have completely agreed with something Phil Gould said last week.......

 

[maestro1]

The "parked in the 60s" management is the problem. We haven't evolved in the most important area of a club......the management. Not progressive at all. An image of lazy, dusty old grey Directors in old suits, smoking cigars and drinking scotch on the rocks and making crucial decisions. Steeped in Cronyism and Nepotism and all the other isms. Surely we can come up with better than Craig Young, Peter Dousts, etc. Why is Young still even involved. Loved him as a player, but every involvement from him since has been shyte (excluding the Bennett years). We need progressive thinkers, shakers and movers. Our board are slower than our NRL backline and that is saying something.

I watch nearly every game each round and it brings me to tears when I watch teams like the Panthers, Roosters, Broncos etc. The speed throughout their lineups is impressive and then you look at us.......
When you see Schiller, Saab, Garrick, Bostock, etc and you wonder how our board allowed all that speed to move on. How long before we have another Brett Morris, Nathan Blacklock, Gasnier, Cooper, Darius Boyd etc in our backline. Talk to Twiggy Forrest and the Gordon's, surely they are savvy enough to organise some awesome TPAs, after career perks etc. These guys are the best business minds in Australia. They would regularly organise larger, more financial, more important deals in their 5 minutes set aside for their coffee breaks.

 

[TheRev]

The NRL could field 25 teams if they wanted.. as long as there is a draft to share the talent around... the talent is stock-piled 2or3 deep at the wealthy & successful clubs...

 

[Dragon David]

It is a bit of the chicken and the egg scenario DD. Do the Dragons need more good players so they can win more games, or do they need to win more games so they can get more good players? I think the Dragons are in a situation where their only option is to somehow win more games so they become a more attractive destination. Over to you Flano.

That riddle has had scientists mystified over centuries and still does of course and my choice is that the egg came first somehow. So no matter what came first, the only way that we can come first is to have better players which would help the coach. We do need to sign a few goodies first and then build around them and with that maybe we win lots and then we are in with a chance to add a few more goodies until we have a team full of them.

If Robbo for instance only had one marquee at the Roosters like we have, he would be up shit creek without a paddle in my opinion.

So go Flanno, you can do it ........please!

 

[steerlerbab]

The NRL could field 25 teams if they wanted.. as long as there is a draft to share the talent around... the talent is stock-piled 2or3 deep at the wealthy & successful clubs...

At the moment draft won't help us. Let's see what wealthy and successful club do:

1. They develop their players like Panthers. The players that come though their pathways turn into first graders. In our case what we have managed in the last 8 years: Lomax who is leaving us and Sloan who is half baked. The rest are playing reserves like Bud or gone to super league like Dufty.
2. They identify successful young up and comers and they get them to their team. How many have we lost over the years? Garrick to Manly, Bostock to Dolphins, Wishart (Rod's son) to Melbourne to name few and to be fair they developed or developing in those teams.
3. Finally they identify marquee players and go after them. Under Mary we got Ben. At least we got somebody. Under Hook we got none. To be fair, Flanno has tried to get AFB and Deardon.

 

[steerlerbab]

The Dragons were poor, yes. But the impact of referee / rule assisted momentum in the modern game is keeping the attacking team fresh as a daisy whilst the defending team can often be completely gassed by half time.
60-18 last week
40-18 last night.
The game has been broken by idiotic rule changes. First time in forever I have completely agreed with something Phil Gould said last week.......

Totally agree. This has been happening for the last 2 years or so.
1. Get rid of repeat sets. Go back to penalties. This gives the defending team time to set their defensive line and with penalties referee less likely to blow his whistle. Whereas with repeat sets it keeps happening and nobdy has a clue what it was for.
2. Get rid of 7 tackles. I even suggest to go 5 tackle sets as players have gotten to big and they make more meters.

Believe me 1986 Grand final between Parra and Bulldogs which ended 4-2 will always be remembered as classic. It was arm wrestle till the end

And last year Grand final - forgettable. yeah it ended close but it seemed being controlled by referee. The last 20 minutes turned into a training session where Panthers were given all the ball to attack Broncs line. It was not referee's fault. He called it based on current rules which are bad.

 

[BLM01]

At the moment draft won't help us. Let's see what wealthy and successful club do:

1. They develop their players like Panthers. The players that come though their pathways turn into first graders. In our case what we have managed in the last 8 years: Lomax who is leaving us and Sloan who is half baked. The rest are playing reserves like Bud or gone to super league like Dufty.
2. They identify successful young up and comers and they get them to their team. How many have we lost over the years? Garrick to Manly, Bostock to Dolphins, Wishart (Rod's son) to Melbourne to name few and to be fair they developed or developing in those teams.
3. Finally they identify marquee players and go after them. Under Mary we got Ben. At least we got somebody. Under Hook we got none. To be fair, Flanno has tried to get AFB and Deardon.

We did get Sua under Hook which was a good buy, he has not played to his best until a new coach in Flanno

 

[Dragon the chain]

We did get Sua under Hook which was a good buy, he has not played to his best until a new coach in Flanno

Sua was better last year than he has been this year.

 

[BLM01]

Sua was better last year than he has been this year.

Difference of opinion but you must be watching a different game to me, out with injury half the season and the team won hardly any games all year. He has been more aggressive so much so they are talking about him vying for origin again. Last year was not even mentioned. Says a lot of others also see this year an improvement from him