Round 9 vs Sea Eagles

[Dragon David]

Great second half today, Dragons looked best they have in ages.
Well done.

All the Dragons players should get rewarded for an almost perfect 2nd half. Minimal mistakes which makes for a completely different overall performance and result compared to recent games. Congratulations on the win boys!

 

[SBD82]

I don’t like Hunt starting. I don’t see him as a starting 9. His value is in his speed around the ruck when the game opens up. I think that putting him into the first 20 slugfest is going to expose his average defence and nullify his attacking value.

Prove me wrong Benny.

Pretty happy to be proven wrong on this one. 51 tackles with zero misses. Well done Benny.

 

[Qapm]

Dufty with that long range try nine minutes to go in the first half. Let's not forget Zac Lomax, the dude that has scored about half of the Dragon's points so far this season

 

[Old Timer]

Some positives out of the game for sure but not a complete bed of roses either.
My takeaways

• Team morale & camaraderie looked very / extremely good.
• Coaching morale & camaraderie looked very good.
• Hunt had his best game for many many months and he looked quite relaxed however he needs to show that & more against the best sides for me to be convinced. A few bad passes on critical plays but hopefully that improves with more time at 9.
• Clune looking more and more like a NRL half and getting more and more confident as the game plan is now including and suiting him more and more.
• Norman is a lightweight good time Charlie and should be dropped.
• Kerr is now hitting his straps and looking more than likely to start tearing teams up. Support players need to get the message to go with him.
• Mc Innes is the heart beat of the side, a champion club man and to be congratulated on his adaptability and must have his contract extended asap.
• Rava is learning very quickly and becoming an integral part of the team. His defence last night was a joy to behold and shows that his confidence is building.
• Aitken making the most of his chances and seems to be fine tuning his game to be within his limitations. Would like to see more from him but at the same time great to see the errors dwindling and the positivity growing.
• In all a very good performance and nice to see a 2nd half that produced lots of points all the way to the full time whistle so they played the game out to the end and a big tick to all for that.
• Manly were absolutely horrible and riddled with injuries where we were almost at full strength and finally had the rub of the green in a game. Great to win especially against Manly but 1 win doesn't make a season so we need to be happy but not too exuberant about our future prospects.
• In all we looked much better but still clunky at key moments however far better too be clunky and win by plenty than to look like the dreary team we have been for so long.

 

[redv13]

Some positives out of the game for sure but not a complete bed of roses either.
My takeaways

• Team morale & camaraderie looked very / extremely good.
• Coaching morale & camaraderie looked very good.
• Hunt had his best game for many many months and he looked quite relaxed however he needs to show that & more against the best sides for me to be convinced. A few bad passes on critical plays but hopefully that improves with more time at 9.
• Clune looking more and more like a NRL half and getting more and more confident as the game plan is now including and suiting him more and more.
• Norman is a lightweight good time Charlie and should be dropped.
• Kerr is now hitting his straps and looking more than likely to start tearing teams up. Support players need to get the message to go with him.
• Mc Innes is the heart beat of the side, a champion club man and to be congratulated on his adaptability and must have his contract extended asap.
• Rava is learning very quickly and becoming an integral part of the team. His defence last night was a joy to behold and shows that his confidence is building.
• Aitken making the most of his chances and seems to be fine tuning his game to be within his limitations. Would like to see more from him but at the same time great to see the errors dwindling and the positivity growing.
• In all a very good performance and nice to see a 2nd half that produced lots of points all the way to the full time whistle so they played the game out to the end and a big tick to all for that.
• Manly were absolutely horrible and riddled with injuries where we were almost at full strength and finally had the rub of the green in a game. Great to win especially against Manly but 1 win doesn't make a season so we need to be happy but not too exuberant about our future prospects.
• In all we looked much better but still clunky at key moments however far better too be clunky and win by plenty than to look like the dreary team we have been for so long.

I have been critical of Norman for a while now but I think last night was a step in the right direction. Took the line on a lot more and poked his nose through a few times. Nothing earth shattering but definitely an improvement. Needs to rip the doggies a new one

 

[Old Timer]

I have been critical of Norman for a while now but I think last night was a step in the right direction. Took the line on a lot more and poked his nose through a few times. Nothing earth shattering but definitely an improvement. Needs to rip the doggies a new one

As I said a "good time Charlie" of ever there was one.
A reasonable game against a depleted Manly and potentially the same against the worse than horrible Dogs will do nothing to change my mind on him.

 

[redv13]

As I said a "good time Charlie" of ever there was one.
A reasonable game against a depleted Manly and potentially the same against the worse than horrible Dogs will do nothing to change my mind on him.

Ha ha oh I’m far from Changing my mind.

 

[RedV Resurgence]

Norman needs to put more height into his kicks when they are near the attacking goal line. Last night his kicks close to the line did not provide enough time for our outside backs to challenge the defenders. He has a big kick, but when he is close to the line he tries to feel the kick. He needs to give it a bit more hang time.

Hunt also has the same problem. They need to practices these kicks near the line with greater hang time.

 

[muzby]

Norman needs to put more height into his kicks when they are near the attacking goal line. Last night his kicks close to the line did not provide enough time for our outside backs to challenge the defenders. He has a big kick, but when he is close to the line he tries to feel the kick. He needs to give it a bit more hang time.

Hunt also has the same problem. They need to practices these kicks near the line with greater hang time.

Waste of time doing that..

Any results will be null and void..

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Another 2m he would’ve been caught old Slomax .. Nonetheless good try..

Good thing the pitch was only 98m long then.

 

[Willow]

Another 2m he would’ve been caught old Slomax .. Nonetheless good try..

Haha. Thanks coach.

 

[TruSaint]

Pretty happy to be proven wrong on this one. 51 tackles with zero misses. Well done Benny.

Fair call.

Im the same, but want to see a few more games before I declare this position sorted.

Hunt was very good overall, and as you rightly pointed out his defence was solid. He's a confidence player that has been playing without it of late, and Manly were there for the taking.

If its the role change that gets us back on track, I can live with that. Will watch closely over the next month or so.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

Fair call.

Im the same, but want to see a few more games before I declare this position sorted.

Hunt was very good overall, and as you rightly pointed out his defence was solid. He's a confidence player that has been playing without it of late, and Manly were there for the taking.

If its the role change that gets us back on track, I can live with that. Will watch closely over the next month or so.

The game now favours hookers and fullbacks a bit so perfect timing for him really. Melbourne control the game from 9 with no issues. Could be a masterstroke by the selection panel. Hopefully he kicks on. Now that Dufty has thrown a grubber or two in we basically have 4 attacking kickers. I can see a heap more line dropouts coming our way. Exciting times, I think we can sneak in the 8 @ 8

 

[redv13]

Fair call.

Im the same, but want to see a few more games before I declare this position sorted.

Hunt was very good overall, and as you rightly pointed out his defence was solid. He's a confidence player that has been playing without it of late, and Manly were there for the taking.

If its the role change that gets us back on track, I can live with that. Will watch closely over the next month or so.

I like the fact that Hunt’s kicking game was on point last night and the energy of kick chase was there across the board. Many great dummy half kicks were put in and the Manly players picked up the ball from a corner and there were 6 and 7 red v’s lined up to cream them. Very dominant performance from our 9

 

[Spazer]

Hunt needs to give better service from dummy half, I noticed Clune and Norman having to jump or stop to catch his passes. It did progressively get better throughout the game though. Apart from that he was really good, his long kicking game was great and he looked dangerous close to the line. I love the way he hits the ball when he tackles, occasionally jarring the ball free.

 

[Gareth67]

As to Hunt , Clunes and Norman , I would really like to have Flanagan to pull them aside and tell them that they could become even more potent if they do this or that - whatever he could impart to them would be a major benefit to each as an individual and also in their attacking combinations .

 

[Brutalitops]

Hunt's kicking was great. Easily his best game for us since that final against Brisbane

 

[slippery5]

I’m going to stick by this belief - the size of the Manly win was more than we bargained for along w the success of Hunt at Hooker .. even the images of Flanno and McGregor working together as one was encouraging..

I seem to think Flanno was standing up with excitement knowing how his selection & game plan was panning out. McNOIDEA seemed to be sitting down in what looked to be a jealous appearance.
Just my take on it.

 

[Dragon David]

The game now favours hookers and fullbacks a bit so perfect timing for him really. Melbourne control the game from 9 with no issues. Could be a masterstroke by the selection panel. Hopefully he kicks on. Now that Dufty has thrown a grubber or two in we basically have 4 attacking kickers. I can see a heap more line dropouts coming our way. Exciting times, I think we can sneak in the 8 @ 8

Don't forget that Cam McInnes can put in a few kicks as well as Norman, Clune, Hunt and Dufty.

 

[Crush]

I seem to think Flanno was standing up with excitement knowing how his selection & game plan was panning out. McNOIDEA seemed to be sitting down in what looked to be a jealous appearance.
Just my take on it.

I think McGregor wants to win. I'm sure he was ecstatic with the way the team played last night and highly doubt it was a jealous experience for him.
If Flanno is having an impact it will only help McGregor not hurt him. Winning is good for McGregor.