Saint_JimmyG
First Grade
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In fact, if you remove the “glory years”, the success rate from 1921 is also around the same percentage.
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Dragons lament conceding 46 second-half points in two weeks
Author
Dan Walsh NRL.com Reporter
Timestamp
Sat 11 May 2019, 09:02 PM
The sight of his Dragons players "looking at each other to do the job" is a harrowingly familiar one for Paul McGregor as St George Illawarra coughed up 46 second half points in consecutive fade-outs.
The Dragons slumped to their third loss on the trot after leading the Warriors 18-6 at Suncorp Stadium, their Magic Round venture north of the border ending in a disappearing act after the break.
The Warriors' 20 straight points after half-time follows on Parramatta's 32-18 come-from-behind win over McGregor's side a week earlier.
The loss leaves the Dragons sitting in 10th place, with the body language of players after conceding late points over the past fortnight of particular concern for McGregor.
"In the second half we stopped working in defence," he said after the 26-18 loss.
"We didn't stay connected when the ball went away from us, all the things we did well in the first 40 minutes we didn't continue to do.
"…We lost a bit of belief and started looking at each other to do the job instead of getting the job done as individual themselves.
"It [blowing two first-half leads] is concerning. You need to be a consistent side for 80 minutes in this competition."
With Corey Norman (fractured cheekbone) out for at least another two weeks, Gareth Widdop (shoulder) sidelined long term and Jack de Belin suspended under the NRL's no fault stand down policy, the Dragons are missing serious experience when being mowed down by opposition sides.
St George Illawarra can expect to be without Ben Hunt, Paul Vaughan, Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims when the Origin period rolls around in a month's time as well, hastening McGregor's search for answers to their worrying second-half fade-outs.
"We showed last week how dominant we were for 40 and tonight how dominant we were," McGregor said.
"But it's not good enough. You have to be clear on what it takes to get the job done.
"At the moment we have a few people – players and us as coaches – we have to look at it as to why it's happening and address it, quickly."
Hunt had a horror finish to an otherwise strong performance, his knock-on of a 69th-minute dropout leading to the Warriors try that put them ahead for the first time in the match.
McGregor didn't dance around the impact of the mistake, reminiscent of Hunt's spilled kick-off in Brisbane's 2015 grand final loss to the Cowboys.
"The score was 18-all, 12 minutes to go, we had an attacking set on their line," McGregor said.
"It was a pretty important catch. Obviously [Hunt] holds on to things.
"He cares a lot."
https://www.dragons.com.au/news/201...conceding-46-second-half-points-in-two-weeks/
I get your point however, why did not our players perform in the second half again this week?
By the end of the 2014 season, I called for him not to be appointed our head coach. The signs were obvious to me and many others.
Oh, for a good top line coach!
I think the coach is the only consistent element in the squad; consitsantly usless.
The coach is only part of the problem. As the game went on the Warriors treated Dufty like a rag doll. NRL is a Gladiator sport. Dufty, despite his speed is not physically endowed which is a detractor from his presence on the field. The same could be said of Field. Lomax has ability but is not a top first grade center, The jury is still out on him. The forwards were out muscled by the Warriors as the game went on. The wingers were poor on the night, as they were the week before. This game was a carbon copy of the week before.
I hope you are right because that would mean there is a chance of Aitken leaving with Mary when the coach finally gets the sack. I don't think we have much of a chance now of making the 8. It is too bad that the CEO and the Board did not hold off till seasons end to consider Mary's extension. We all know why they didn't do that so now SGI will pay the price on and off the field. No matter what the payout, Mary should be sacked ASAP.
T Simms had thermal shorts on, which indicates to me he has a groin injury, preventing him from blasting off the line nailing the attacking players as he has known for.
Tariq is back to the form he displayed at Newcastle.
I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago , that he seemed off the boil , and some on here said otherwise .......
I feel we just need to give up. No one is going to listen to us armchair critics even though we seem to have a better ideas then the one in charge. F this administration for renewing this muppets contract.
