Round 8 vs Eels

[slippery5]

Can anyone explain to me why Latimore is picked on our bench week in, week out? He offers us nothing.

Because he is so slow with no leg drive he isn't about to suffer from burn out & can keep plodding on.

 

[Old Timer]

I think you've described what I am trying to understand. It makes no sense to me that players aren't trying or that they feel comfortable in first grade and that they don't need to put in effort each week. Players want to play NRL - I would assume mainly for the next contract (as blacksafake has suggested) and for rep honours. Along with this comes more money. I admit that I don't know how the contracts work, but that seems to be the main drivers for most players.

I agree, the use of certain players is confusing and the coaching group just doesn't seem to be able to work with some of the players they have. That doesn't mean the players aren't good players or aren't trying. It's just that the coach/coaching group are trying to fit square pegs into round holes based on the game plan they want to run with. He might be a good man manager with good personable skills, but he lacks complete tactical knowledge. I think he has some, but it's not enough to get us to the next step.

The lack of nouse and balls by our coach makes some people jump to the conclusion that some players get it easy or can rely on mateship etc etc to keep their place in the side.
Our roster is ok but has some limitations and the fact that coach cannot get his head round the correct progression for young players makes it also easy to jump to that false conclusion.
As I said before coach has sublime belief in his own philosophy, has turfed anyone in the coaching staff that sees it otherwise, is pig headed re his philosophy and all the while the players do put in as best they can and no doubt coach struggles with hard decisions in relation to selection.
Many say he is a good man manager, but I dispute that as a good man manager would be able to drop players when warranted and get the best out of the player elevated and also get the best out of the player dropped. There is no evidence that coach has ever done that and as a result the "theory" of coach's pets gets a leg up.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

Looks like another sellout, tried to get some extra tickets today, only single tickets left in the corners. Guessing most will be Parra fans screaming the house down, hopefully they’ll be quiet for most of the match.

Should be a great game, glad the Knights brought these f**kcers back down to earth.

Hopefully JDB is named in the squad by tomorrow arvo.

Bought my (single) earlier today. At $83 (concession), it’s obvious why crowds are usually on the low side.

Speaking of the new stadia, oh why did BankWest have to be its major sponsor? Upon speaking to the Ticketek rep in procuring his seat, someone...let’s call him “Jimmy” for conversation purposes...confused his Bs and Ws on the phone.

True story.

I imagine it’s easy enough to do.

 

[Crush]

Bought my (single) earlier today. At $83 (concession), it’s obvious why crowds are usually on the low side.

Speaking of the new stadia, oh why did BankWest have to be its major sponsor? Upon speaking to the Ticketek rep in procuring his seat, someone...let’s call him “Jimmy” for conversation purposes...confused his Bs and Ws on the phone.

True story.

I imagine it’s easy enough to do.

$83 for a concession?
Geez Jimmy thats steep isn't it?
What do they do at this Wankbest stadium?

 

[Wittenberg]

Because he is so slow with no leg drive he isn't about to suffer from burn out & can keep plodding on.

Or possibly there are not many in the club to replace him with. Algood ? Meh. Kerr? He seems to have disappeared. Anyone else who is NRL ready?

 

[getsmarty]

The problem the Dragons are yet to solve
While the Dragons have seemingly sorted their spine issues, another substantial chink in their armour has appeared.

Angus Simpson
CONTRIBUTOR
April 29, 2019 - 10:29 am
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WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 23: Zac Lomax of the Dragons watches on during the NRL trail match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Newcastle Knights at WIN Stadium on February 23, 2019 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Following a rough start to the season both on and off the field and the forced re-shuffle of their much-maligned spine, the Dragons have begun to look like the premiership contenders they were tipped to be after winning four on the trot. However, if they are to remain in the top half of the competition there is another issue they must address, their leaky right edge defence.

While Euan Aitken and Mikaele Ravalawa have proved to be quite the handful in attack, with seven-try involvements between them in the opening six rounds, their defensive frailties far outweigh their attacking prowess.

The numbers do not paint a pretty picture for the Dragons’ right edge combination, with Aitken and Ravalawa ranking third and last respectively amongst all Dragons for tackle efficiency, as well as Ravalawa ranking first for try causes with seven, and Aitken ranking third in the same metric contributing three.

The Dragons have conceded a reasonable but not outstanding 20 tries over the opening six rounds of the competition, ranking seventh in the competition. However, unfortunately for the Red V, 11 of those tries have come through their right edge, with the middle conceding six and the left edge a slender three, clearly displaying a weakness to opposition teams.

Luckily for the Dragons’ faithful, coach Paul McGregor is thinking the same thing. Opting to start the man anointed by Brad Fittler as “the gifted one”, Zac Lomax, on the right wing for their ANZAC Day clash with arch-rivals the Roosters. While the Dragons did concede one try down their right on Thursday, a dropped bomb leading to a Latrell Mitchell try, Lomax and Aitken looked like a much more defensively solid combination. The pair communicated well and defended in unison, rather than one shooting up and one staying back like Ravalawa and Aitken did regularly across the first six rounds.


Another advantage to Lomax starting is he would provide St George Illawarra with a genuine goal-kicking option, following the injury to skipper and goal kicker Gareth Widdop as well as the less than impressive performances of centre Tim Lafai off the kicking tee. Culminating in a less than impressive 2/5 shots against Manly in round six, in which two of these missed kicks Lafai could have thrown over with his eyes shut. Lomax displayed over the back end of 2018 that he is more than capable off the tee, nailing 85% of his attempts.

While the Dragons are slowly gathering momentum on the field following a chequered off-season, if they are to be the premiership contender many pundits have tipped them to be, coach McGregor is going to have to find a solution to his leaky right edge. Here’s hoping for Dragons fans that solution has come in the form of the 19-year-old Lomax.

https://www.zerotackle.com/the-problem-the-dragons-are-yet-to-solve-43423/

 

[Wittenberg]

This game will be a real crunch game for both teams. Both sides coming off losses and not wanting to start a slide. Parramatta have been the more potent but the key is keeping their back three under pressure and upsetting Moses. He can be put off his game. Bombs will rain down on our outside backs. Moses is excellent at this. They have also played their best when they have been able to get quick play the balls. Oh and pray we don’t get Grant Atkins as referee. He doesn’t like us(which one does?) and his dad played on the wing for years with Parra. A tough game......we need to start well and keep the crowd out of the game at the new Fortress Eel.

 

[redandwhite4evr]

I agree with you. Definitely Aitken on the bench and a shootout between Host, Lawrie and Leilua for 2 of the 3 forward on the bench. Leilua is frustrating. He has so much potential but he comes across more like Bryce Cartwright than Jack de Belin. At this stage, I think Host is in front of him in a full strength team. IMO both of them need to up their aggression.

Agree- there is a lot of the built like Tarzan- plays like Jane about both Host and Leilua. Meanwhile, after briefly showing a bit of mongrel late last year when he was playing for a contract, Latimore has returned to his safe, retirement without injury focus. Without De Belin and K Sims, there is definitely a drop off in impact off the bench at present. Also, while Graham has a good workload and tries hard he's never going to put on a monster hit or bowl defenders over at this stage of his career.

Bottom line- we lack real depth in impact in the forwards and that may be the difference between a Top 4 as opposed to a top 8 position.

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

$83 for a concession?
Geez Jimmy thats steep isn't it?
What do they do at this Wankbest stadium?

It’s lucky I’m “loaded” so-to-speak.

With such an exhorbitant price tag, let’s hope if the name of the venue is anything to go buy, that my premium seat offers a lot of tissue for those unexpected sticky moments.

 

[Crush]

It’s lucky I’m “loaded” so-to-speak.

With such an exhorbitant price tag, let’s hope if the name of the venue is anything to go buy, that my premium seat offers a lot of tissue for those unexpected sticky moments.

OK, too far....

 

[Saint_JimmyG]

OK, too far....

Yeah well, you asked, I answered.

 

[The calm one]

Agree- there is a lot of the built like Tarzan- plays like Jane about both Host and Leilua. Meanwhile, after briefly showing a bit of mongrel late last year when he was playing for a contract, Latimore has returned to his safe, retirement without injury focus. Without De Belin and K Sims, there is definitely a drop off in impact off the bench at present. Also, while Graham has a good workload and tries hard he's never going to put on a monster hit or bowl defenders over at this stage of his career.

Bottom line- we lack real depth in impact in the forwards and that may be the difference between a Top 4 as opposed to a top 8 position.

James Graham no monster hits or bowl defenders over. You sure your television is on the right chanel. I loved his hits against Manly and Easts, I am sure some of the Manly forwards are still feeling it

 

[The calm one]

Agree- there is a lot of the built like Tarzan- plays like Jane about both Host and Leilua. Meanwhile, after briefly showing a bit of mongrel late last year when he was playing for a contract, Latimore has returned to his safe, retirement without injury focus. Without De Belin and K Sims, there is definitely a drop off in impact off the bench at present. Also, while Graham has a good workload and tries hard he's never going to put on a monster hit or bowl defenders over at this stage of his career.

Bottom line- we lack real depth in impact in the forwards and that may be the difference between a Top 4 as opposed to a top 8 position.

Lawrie is playing the better football between the three of them. Watch him tackle, it hurts. Sims keeps him focused as well. Remember it's a big frame that has to mature and develop. In 2 or 3 years he could be anything

 

[Dragonsamy]

Looks like another sellout, tried to get some extra tickets today, only single tickets left in the corners. Guessing most will be Parra fans screaming the house down, hopefully they’ll be quiet for most of the match.

Should be a great game, glad the Knights brought these f**kcers back down to earth.

Hopefully JDB is named in the squad by tomorrow arvo.

ALSGI
They will be tough.
They will be fired up after last week.
Let hope we can play like the semi against brisbane.
If we do that will shut those ferals up

 

[Dragonsamy]

Guys, genuine question here and I've struggled with it for some time now, but what is the real benefit of being selected in the NRL team?

This is where I am coming from - if players are actually thinking this way (that their security is safe because Mary is their mate) then that indicates to me that they feel as though they don't have to put in too much effort - irrespective of anything else.

If that's the case, then why do they care if they get selected in NRL or CC? Their contract is still their contract and they still get paid the same amount no matter which team they get picked in. There really is no incentive to be selected in the NRL team? It can't be their security because that isn't threatened either way? There must be something else impacting the desire to play in NRL.

True Believer
Some players may have a clause in their contract that states they will receive a bonus for how many games of NRL play each year, some of them will have some incentive like that. It's the same as some of the NRL players already will have it an incentive if they gets picked for State of Origin and other representative teams.

 

[blacksafake]

This game will be a real crunch game for both teams. Both sides coming off losses and not wanting to start a slide. Parramatta have been the more potent but the key is keeping their back three under pressure and upsetting Moses. He can be put off his game. Bombs will rain down on our outside backs. Moses is excellent at this. They have also played their best when they have been able to get quick play the balls. Oh and pray we don’t get Grant Atkins as referee. He doesn’t like us(which one does?) and his dad played on the wing for years with Parra. A tough game......we need to start well and keep the crowd out of the game at the new Fortress Eel.

Will be tough mate.
I’d be kicking away from Fergo as he’s good at bringing it back against a staggered or tired defence which gets their sets rolling.He’ll normally take the next hit up so hopefully the defenders are ready for that & test his ribs out.
Moses tends to stand a bit deep when kicking but I’d still like to see him sat on his ar*e when possible just to p*ss him off. Also plenty of running at their little hooker with support.

 

[Old Kogarah Boy 1]

Bought my (single) earlier today. At $83 (concession), it’s obvious why crowds are usually on the low side.

Speaking of the new stadia, oh why did BankWest have to be its major sponsor? Upon speaking to the Ticketek rep in procuring his seat, someone...let’s call him “Jimmy” for conversation purposes...confused his Bs and Ws on the phone.

True story.

I imagine it’s easy enough to do.

I'm confused about the Bs & Ws too.

BankWest Stadium
W-nkBest Stadium

Depending on the result, will stipulate what we call it in the future l guess.
Ok, l was just leaving.....

 

[True_Believer]

True Believer
Some players may have a clause in their contract that states they will receive a bonus for how many games of NRL play each year, some of them will have some incentive like that. It's the same as some of the NRL players already will have it an incentive if they gets picked for State of Origin and other representative teams.

Thanks Samy. That makes sense. I knew about the rep game incentives but didn't know how they applied the same thing to regular NRL games. As you say, it's some players, not all.

 

[Glenn012]

Will be tough mate.
I’d be kicking away from Fergo as he’s good at bringing it back against a staggered or tired defence which gets their sets rolling.He’ll normally take the next hit up so hopefully the defenders are ready for that & test his ribs out.
Moses tends to stand a bit deep when kicking but I’d still like to see him sat on his ar*e when possible just to p*ss him off. Also plenty of running at their little hooker with support.

"Gutho" is incredibly overrated. Kick to him all day. He is far more likely to screw up than he is to cause us any trouble in defense.

 

[Old Timer]

"Gutho" is incredibly overrated. Kick to him all day. He is far more likely to screw up than he is to cause us any trouble in defense.

Your estimation of Gutherson is about as good as the one you have for Widdop which confirms your complete lack of ability to rate players.