Round 9 vs Storm

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Yep, that game showed exactly where we are at.
Me may grind a win or two against the bottom sides, but that will be all. We are so far off the pace in terms of roster, game plan etc.

100%

 

[baggygreen man]

So after the lift in spirits with those three wins on the trot we are back in the doldrums today with not a lot to look forward to unless changes are made amd made soon.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

Where do we play Amone in that threesome. He is not a ball player. Be better used in the three quarters. Sloan is the most skilfull of the three imo, so either he or Mbye are my 5/8 choice. Ramsay perhaps at the back. Griffin wont move the skipper to hooker so we are stuck with the Mac the tortoise there. But he really needs to take a close look at our current spluttering spine.

Amone might be better in the three quarters. I'm not convinced he's not a ball player though. He shows glimpses now and then. It's almost like he's been told "Hunt is in charge. Watch and learn. Don't try anything until the games almost over or you won't be playing next week."

 

[baggygreen man]

Sure I agree, we played some good footy in very minimal patches, but under the current regime, players not in correct positions, no attacking game plans that allow Amone to come into his own, all our attack revolves around Hunt, a winger like Rav that hasnt scored a try since round one, allowing Harry Grant to run 150m and control the ruck, unlike what we do, and very poor ball service to our outside backs, not to mention our go forward power plays that were behind by several hundred meters. The only thing I thought was slightly positive was our early defence, and that faltered late in the game. Yeah sure we maybe able to beat the other also rans but what happens when we think we are matching it with the elite teams, they flick a switch and blow us away, its been happening now for 12 years, you dont have to be a genius to work out where the Dragons are floundering, and it starts at the front office.

Pretty much agree word for word. Some of our tryline defense was paper thin lacking in any commitment. Like raising the white flag. We threw in the bloody towel like we did against the Sharks and Eels.

 

[baggygreen man]

Amone might be better in the three quarters. I'm not convinced he's not a ball player though. He shows glimpses now and then. It's almost like he's been told "Hunt is in charge. Watch and learn. Don't try anything until the games almost over or you won't be playing next week."

.. you make a fair point. If our skipper was more ball creative we likely would see Junior with the confidence to express himself more. Because on the odd occasions when he does he makes things happen.

 

[baggygreen man]

Some of the football that we played today was the best that we’ve played all season

.. yeh up to the break. Then it was a train wreck. We only needed to score first and the whole match mechanics are changed but we allowed them a softie and it was all bad from then.

What we showed against the Roosters was our best of the season imo.

 

[since77]

Amone might be better in the three quarters. I'm not convinced he's not a ball player though. He shows glimpses now and then. It's almost like he's been told "Hunt is in charge. Watch and learn. Don't try anything until the games almost over or you won't be playing next week."

To be honest I’ve seen nothing yet from Amone that excites me or convinces me he’s anything special. Sullivan on the other hand looks like a natural. Hopefully his run of injuries is over and he can nail down a spot. I’d be throwing him the 5/8 role for the rest of the year and sending Amone back to NSW cup to work on getting his confidence back.

 

[SBD82]

.. yeh up to the break. Then it was a train wreck. We only needed to score first and the whole match mechanics are changed but we allowed them a softie and it was all bad from then.

What we showed against the Roosters was our best of the season imo.

What we showed against the Roosters was scrappy and full of attitude. Played a dogged game in defence and disrupted them. We tried to do similarly against Melbourne but they capitalised on a couple of broken field transitions and it seemed to break our spirit, which led to that horrible period after half time.

What I’m specifically referring to though is our attack. We had players in motion with shape and options. The halves and other ball players were playing straight. We didn’t get it right. But it was an improvement from the awful attacking structures that we’ve had for years, and I hope that they continue to improve.

 

[justadragon]

What we showed against the Roosters was scrappy and full of attitude. Played a dogged game in defence and disrupted them. We tried to do similarly against Melbourne but they capitalised on a couple of broken field transitions and it seemed to break our spirit, which led to that horrible period after half time.

What I’m specifically referring to though is our attack. We had players in motion with shape and options. The halves and other ball players were playing straight. We didn’t get it right. But it was an improvement from the awful attacking structures that we’ve had for years, and I hope that they continue to improve.

Get Hunt to 9 Amone 6 Sullivan at 7 , Mbye 14 or 6, with the possibility of either Sloan or Ramsey to 1, then you will see the improvement

 

[baggygreen man]

as for our attack theres just no zip zip men for want of a better word.....they are one dimensional and boring tbh

All stems from our lack of creativity in the spine.. specially the halves. we have zip zip men but they are not getting either early or clean ball.

 

[justadragon]

All stems from our lack of creativity in the spine.. specially the halves. we have zip zip men but they are not getting early ball.

Perfect example was yesterday is it all started from Grant and Smith, end of story, we can all work out what the comparisons were between the sides.

 

[baggygreen man]

We tried to do similarly against Melbourne but they capitalised on a couple of broken field transitions

In most of our winning games we have had a strong completion rate. With more ball our attack kicks into life and we actually look like a good footy side.. To give a try scoring machine like the Storm 60% of the ball.. is suicide

 

[SBD82]

In most of our winning games we have had a strong completion rate. With more ball our attack kicks into life. To give a try scoring machine like the Storm 60% of the ball.. is suicide

Is there a specific game you are referring to where our attack has kicked into life?

 

[Mojo]

Get Hunt to 9 Amone 6 Sullivan at 7 , Mbye 14 or 6, with the possibility of either Sloan or Ramsey to 1, then you will see the improvement

100% - but, unfortunately it seems very unlikely to ever happen. Sloan at 1, Mbye at 14.

We may as well run the young guys as much as we can. I also think Muhleisen and Jaiyden Hunt should play first grade as much as possible. We might as well seize the opportunity of the rest of this year to give these young guys their big opportunity.

Lomax just doesn't look like the player he used to be. There's something wrong, Can't put my finger on it. Suli is a good ball runner but why does he never pass to his winger?

 

[baggygreen man]

Lomax, Mybe, Amone

Those three aint slouches. Just looks that way due to our poor game plans and structures.

 

[baggygreen man]

Is there a specific game you are referring to where our attack has kicked into life?

.. splutters into something approaching life then. If we had creative halves the points wud come from dominant possession.

 

[baggygreen man]

We might as well seize the opportunity of the rest of this year to give these young guys their big opportunity.

No chance with our unvisionary coach. Is that a word?

 

[baggygreen man]

but, unfortunately it seems very unlikely to ever happen. Sloan at 1, Mbye at 14.

They are not the real problem, the halves are. Skipper has a good kicking game .. his only skill.
He is still a bit of a speed bump in defense..tho his one on one stuff is improving and with ball in hand sometimes I dont think he has a clue what he is doing. Bird is a backrower.. end of story and prefer Junior in the outside backs.

 

[baggygreen man]

We may as well run the young guys as much as we can. I also think Muhleisen and Jaiyden Hunt should play first grade

Leaving those two and Sloan in lower grades is perhaps harming their confidence. They will have doubts over their ability to not even make the top side even when it has performed so poorly for most of the season so far.

 

[Dragonsteve2]

Johnno McJohnno wrote: We had speed. We had Dufty, Field, Saab, Garrick. Frizzel and McInnis in the forwards.

Of those who would we want back? I would say just Garrick and McInnes, not Saab because he clearly didn't want to play for us. Of the above list only Dufty and McInnes left under Griffin's watch. So we are still suffering from the shortcomings of our old Supercoach. We could devise a longer list for other decent young players we lost under Mary - Robson, Leilua, Host to name a few.

While still on speed we do have Sloan and Ramsey in the squad. Hopefully both will use their time in NSW Cup to strengthen their all round skills and then really add value to the NRL side with their speed. Round 8 I was very impressed with Ramsey's attacking prowess playing in the centres in NSW Cup but his front on defence let him down, often having to use his speed to catch his opponent from behind.

We as passionate supporters are understandably very deflated again today. Much has been written about the Storm being on a completely different level. Bridging the quality gap appears to be an ever lengthening process. But I would argue Griffin made a start by sending 9 players on their way (Alvaro No 10) and bringing in Sua, Molo and Suli who have all been good signings. I would also award at least pass marks to Mbye. We know Tariq will be going at the end of the season and assume several others. Hopefully we will pick up some more quality players in their place. But we are not the only club struggling to close the gap - think of the Dog's active recruitment over two seasons for a total of about 5 wins.

To remain supporters of the Dragons we have no choice but to continue the remarkable resilience that has been required of us since 2011, the sort of resilience we want to see from our players. What choice do we have in the winter months? After 56 years of supporting the Dragons I know it's too late for me to be giving up!