Rumoured targets thread

[Jono078]

Am I the only one here that is willing to acknowledge that we are a team that are missing a lot of our key players through injury? We had a poor team on paper last season. This year we have a pretty good team however we are missing key players. I find it hard to cry foul of a poor culture when we are currently hAmmered with injuries. When we get to full strength then ill be happy to jump on he bandwagon if we are still playing inconsistent football.

The thing with that is, it's very hard to stomach when we are getting these 12-0 leads in the first 20 minutes of games and playing very well.

So when the team shows what they're capable of and don't follow through with it during the course of a game, that's where we all get frustrated.

But yes at the same time, if this we're happening with our full strength squad I'd be much more concerned.

 

[Burwood]

The only position that I feel we have been weakened this season due to injuries has been hooker. All of the other injuries have been covered reasonably well by the guys from the NSW Cup. It's very reassuring to know that we have players like Tahu, Costigan, Naiqama, Houston, Hilder etc who can step up to first grade and fill in when needed. Not many would have expected a starting backrow of McKinnon, Rochow and Fa'alogo would have been getting the job done for us.

Clydsdale needs to desperately get onto the field in these next few rounds before Gidley returns from injury. Waddell is just a slimmer version of Costigan as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Noname36]

Losing Bedsy and Smith for such a long period of time killed us. And now losing Gids has just added to that. We can replace Scott, even Uate, but those three have been a killer.

 

[aqua_duck]

^ That.

Stone and Brian Smith both got the side into the finals with less resources and inferior squads.

I'm a massive Brian Smith fan, he had us punching well above our weight and got the best out of some mediocre talent, he also had us playing a very exciting brand of football

 

[rnb11]

As exciting as we may have been under Smith and Stone, Bennett is the only one that's giving me hope of a premiership. The radical style we were playing would've never matched it with the best sides, which showed when we'd get toweled up in the first week of finals. People go on about Stone and Smith taking us to the finals and Wayne hasn't, I think they forget that last year was Wayne's first year with an entirely new squad, new ownership and changes were made in every single possible way. This year we've been in the top 5 pretty much all season so far and while we've been inconsistent, we've looked damn good in alot of games and we're on track for finals football. It's just a matter of giving Wayne and the boys the time to adjust and get their shit together, it's slowly but surely paying off.

 

[Noname36]

To everyone going on about the exciting and effective football we played under Smith and Stone, how many games in a row did we produce that? Because from what I can remember we'd play like that once every four weeks and limped into the finals to get knocked out 1st round.

Our record under Bennett hasn't been great so far but at least with him I can see what the aim is. For the first time in a long time there has been an acknowledgement that we have been an unsuccessful football club for the past 10 years, and we need to be completely rebuilt from the bottom up (i.e. getting us to just do the basics right).

I think when we signed Bennett people got too excited for a premiership and didn't realise why he was really brought here. He was brought here to rebuild us and help us turn into a successful football team again. A premiership would be a plus, but that was not why he was brought here. I'm sure the money didn't hurt, but ultimately the reason Bennett said he chose to come here was the length of the contract we offered him. He said he knew it would take time to get us on the right track, and the length of contract we offered him suggested that the club knew it would take a long time too.

He was brought to the Dragons because they wanted a Premiership. They already had a fantastic roster, but they needed some coaching to get them over the line. We were in much poorer shape when Bennett came here. He was left with a lot of players that history has shown performed well under Brian Smith but nobody else. Last year was always going to be a write off given our squad. This year is the first time Bennett has had the squad he wanted. It hasn't helped at all that the players we needed that he brought to the team like Smith and Scott haven't been able to get on the park.

I want success just as much as anyone, but I think the logical and realistic supporters knew it was going to take a long time to rebuild us when he signed.

 

[Allstar Knights]

We were a Top 4 side in 09 under Smith before he announced that he was heading to the Roosters.

Nothing wrong with the style we played, imo. We could blow any team off the park on our day which is something I miss. In 08, we were inconsistent but beat a heap of the top teams and then in 09 we saw a huge improvement in the team, beating the top teams and playing consistent footy. We lost our way after Smith, but I think that was more to do with our attitude and our poor D under Stone more than the attacking style we played.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

The thing with that is, it's very hard to stomach when we are getting these 12-0 leads in the first 20 minutes of games and playing very well.

So when the team shows what they're capable of and don't follow through with it during the course of a game, that's where we all get frustrated.

But yes at the same time, if this we're happening with our full strength squad I'd be much more concerned.

The fact that we are getting off to good starts gives me hope that the culture is improving. I've lost count how many games over the years that I have seen where we come out in second gear. I believe that one of the reasons that we struggle after the first 20 minutes is due to our starting props leaving the field. With the injuries that we have, the team lacks so much experience and football smarts once they go off. If we had Scott, Smith, Gidley and Buderus our there, then I would be confident that we wouldn't fall away after 20 minutes like we have been. Also we struggle to win from behind. Nothing rectifies this problem like a team full of experienced players.

Also on the other comments referring to Smith and Stone getting more out of the team then Bennett. I agree with the comments made that Bennett has been involved in changing the whole structure of our game and that could lead us to a premiership. Stone and in particular Smith had to tinker with what they had. The knights would often be involved in short passing raids as well as blindside plays from the opening minute. This type of play could get us some wins, but when it came down to it, it often resulted in handling errors and a poor completion rates. I also think that teams turn up to play us now, where as in the past they would turn up expecting to win. I mean how scary would it have been coming up against a pack consisting of Tolar, AK47, Tuimavave, Hilder and Houston?

 

[Noname36]

We were a Top 4 side in 09 under Smith before he announced that he was heading to the Roosters.

Nothing wrong with the style we played, imo. We could blow any team off the park on our day which is something I miss.

Nobody is saying that there was anything wrong with the style we played. Just that it happened too infrequently. Like you said "on our day". Problem was it wasn't our day enough. You can't consistently play the kind of football we put together. The good sides can put that on but also have the basics to fall back on when that stuff doesn't come off. We didn't. If it wasn't our day, we had nothing.

I have no doubt in my mind that even if Smith stayed on in 2009 we still would have bowed out of the finals in the same way we did after Stone took over. We were pretty, but we didn't have the ability to consistently put in a good performance when we needed to like the top sides.

 

[aqua_duck]

To everyone going on about the exciting and effective football we played under Smith and Stone, how many games in a row did we produce that? Because from what I can remember we'd play like that once every four weeks and limped into the finals to get knocked out 1st round.

Our record under Bennett hasn't been great so far but at least with him I can see what the aim is. For the first time in a long time there has been an acknowledgement that we have been an unsuccessful football club for the past 10 years, and we need to be completely rebuilt from the bottom up (i.e. getting us to just do the basics right).

I think when we signed Bennett people got too excited for a premiership and didn't realise why he was really brought here. He was brought here to rebuild us and help us turn into a successful football team again. A premiership would be a plus, but that was not why he was brought here. I'm sure the money didn't hurt, but ultimately the reason Bennett said he chose to come here was the length of the contract we offered him. He said he knew it would take time to get us on the right track, and the length of contract we offered him suggested that the club knew it would take a long time too.

He was brought to the Dragons because they wanted a Premiership. They already had a fantastic roster, but they needed some coaching to get them over the line. We were in much poorer shape when Bennett came here. He was left with a lot of players that history has shown performed well under Brian Smith but nobody else. Last year was always going to be a write off given our squad. This year is the first time Bennett has had the squad he wanted. It hasn't helped at all that the players we needed that he brought to the team like Smith and Scott haven't been able to get on the park.

I want success just as much as anyone, but I think the logical and realistic supporters knew it was going to take a long time to rebuild us when he signed.

I don't see how we're being rebuilt when we've got one of the oldest rosters in the comp, as for changing the way we play, we now play an outdated style of football that isn't the right style for our roster. Let's be honest if Wayne Bennett didn't have his reputation to ride on he'd be under a lot more pressure than he currently is

 

[perverse]

I don't see how we're being rebuilt when we've got one of the oldest rosters in the comp, as for changing the way we play, we now play an outdated style of football that isn't the right style for our roster. Let's be honest if Wayne Bennett didn't have his reputation to ride on he'd be under a lot more pressure than he currently is

The pretty simple answer to that, in my mind at least, is that you can't have your senior players teach your younger players good, winning habits and fortitude if you don't have any senior players that know how to win.

I thought blind Freddy could see that as a clear and obvious reason why Bennett has brought in all the experience. You can't build a good playing culture without blokes to teach it. Your eyes are painted on if you can't see how much difference it has made in the squad in regards to playing the full 80 at least, let alone our ability to stick in matches like the Sharks and Souths games. Look at how much Mullen has matured since Bennett got here and brought the senior blokes around him. His defence has gone from average at best to one of the best in the comp as far as halves go... let alone his composure and poise.

We are a completely different, and far better team under Bennett. I don't really see how Bennett's style of football with us is any more boring at all, to be honest... complete myth. It's more sensible, for sure... but we've shown heaps of times already that once we've earned the right to do so, we will chance our arm and score some brilliant tries. I don't really feel that chips over the top/long passes out to the wing on the 3rd tackle inside our 30 is premiership winning football, but if you like your heart in your throat and low percentage football then I guess I can see the appeal. Cheap shock tactics don't get us where we need to be, and they were a staple of how we'd manage to catch teams off guard in the post-Joey, pre-Bennett era.

 

[Noname36]

I don't see how we're being rebuilt when we've got one of the oldest rosters in the comp, as for changing the way we play, we now play an outdated style of football that isn't the right style for our roster. Let's be honest if Wayne Bennett didn't have his reputation to ride on he'd be under a lot more pressure than he currently is

We're currently tied 2nd with the Storm for the number of tries scored this year. We sure score a lot of points considering we play such as out of date style of football.

I don't see how the "oldest roster" argument in this case can be chalked up as a bad thing. Blokes like Smith and Mason are doing wonders in terms of setting an example for our young guys coming into grade. Who else would be setting that example for them if Bennett hadn't brought the players he had. Chris Houston? Cameron Ciraldo? You cant just throw a bunch of kids into the top grade and expect them to immediately lead the team on their own. Let them learn from the older guys now so they're better equipped to take over when the older players are gone.

edit - perverse beat me to it lol.

 

[aqua_duck]

I can appreciate that but if we were truly 'rebuilding' we'd have 3 or 4 senior players leading the way but truth of the matter is we've got 3 times as many 'teachers' as 'students'.
I think the thing which annoys me the most has been WB's utter failure in regards to player retention. Everyone says he didn't have the right players last year, in reality he's the bloke who approved the re-signings of Wes and Junior who ended up getting paid $200k+ a year to play NSW cup and who we're still paying, with that $400k we could've signed some handy players. This year he re-signed House only to realise 6 months later that the bloke is average at best and now is getting paid $200k+ a year to play NSW cup as well. I personally disagree with paying Aku $500k a year too, that's the biggest contract ever for a pure winger and reality is he's playing like a scrub 50% of the time.

 

[slotmachine]

If I wanted to watch the 2010 dragons I'd buy the DVD.

Big fan of what des has done with the dogs, tactics to suit the roster rather than the other way round.

 

[Noname36]

I can appreciate that but if we were truly 'rebuilding' we'd have 3 or 4 senior players leading the way but truth of the matter is we've got 3 times as many 'teachers' as 'students'.
I think the thing which annoys me the most has been WB's utter failure in regards to player retention. Everyone says he didn't have the right players last year, in reality he's the bloke who approved the re-signings of Wes and Junior who ended up getting paid $200k+ a year to play NSW cup and who we're still paying, with that $400k we could've signed some handy players. This year he re-signed House only to realise 6 months later that the bloke is average at best and now is getting paid $200k+ a year to play NSW cup as well. I personally disagree with paying Aku $500k a year too, that's the biggest contract ever for a pure winger and reality is he's playing like a scrub 50% of the time.

This is where you've lost me again. You criticise Bennett for re-signing the likes of Wes, Sau and Houston...players that were all brought to the club by none other than Brian Smith, the guy who's style of play we should apparently be following. At least Bennett had the brains/guts to realise that he'd made the wrong decision and cut them. They'd still be running around in the top grade if Smith was here.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

Darius Boyd - 25
Mcmanus - 27
BJ - 21
Gagai - 22
Uate - 25
Mullen - 26
Roberts - 22
Snowden -26
Gidley - 31
Mason - 33
Scott - 29
Mckinnon - 21
Smith - 33

Buderus - 35
Rochow - 22
Fa'alogo -32
Cuthbertson -28

That's the current ages of our team. There is no issue at all about the ages of the teams backs. Forwards usually hit their peak in their late 20's and early 30's (which most of our forwards are. The younger players coming through that will learn from the older players are; Simms, Rochow, Mckinnon, Rodney Mason, Tetevano, Clydsdale and Likiliki. If half these players kick on, then they can replace the older players when they start retiring over the next 2-4 years. Also we will have the possibility of using the wasted money spent on Sau and Naigama to buy another up and coming forward or 2.

 

[Allstar Knights]

Nobody is saying that there was anything wrong with the style we played. Just that it happened too infrequently. Like you said "on our day". Problem was it wasn't our day enough. You can't consistently play the kind of football we put together. The good sides can put that on but also have the basics to fall back on when that stuff doesn't come off. We didn't. If it wasn't our day, we had nothing.

I have no doubt in my mind that even if Smith stayed on in 2009 we still would have bowed out of the finals in the same way we did after Stone took over. We were pretty, but we didn't have the ability to consistently put in a good performance when we needed to like the top sides.

Fair enough, but I thought we were pretty capable of running deep into the finals in 09 if Smith had stayed. We had already matched and beat a lot of the top teams that year.

Having said all this, I'm not too against the way we play now under Bennett. When we're completing sets well and are disciplined, we're competing and always give ourselves a chance of winning. But when the opposition are playing very well and are up by 6, 12, etc, we still stick to the same game plan instead of trying to throw the ball around a bit to get us back into the match. Once the Sharks, Raiders, Warriors, Souths took the lead, we had nothing. That's the only issue I have. We need more variety in attack.

 

[aqua_duck]

This is where you've lost me again. You criticise Bennett for re-signing the likes of Wes, Sau and Houston...players that were all brought to the club by none other than Brian Smith, the guy who's style of play we should apparently be following. At least Bennett had the brains/guts to realise that he'd made the wrong decision and cut them. They'd still be running around in the top grade if Smith was here.

Smith recruited those guys on bottom tier contracts and they did a solid enough job but never showed any improvement, most people here realised they weren't the ones that were going to lead us to glory long term. I never said we needed to follow Smith's style of play, all I said was Smith had us playing an exciting brand of football

 

[Rolla]

We're currently tied 2nd with the Storm for the number of tries scored this year. We sure score a lot of points considering we play such as out of date style of football.

I don't see how the "oldest roster" argument in this case can be chalked up as a bad thing. Blokes like Smith and Mason are doing wonders in terms of setting an example for our young guys coming into grade. Who else would be setting that example for them if Bennett hadn't brought the players he had. Chris Houston? Cameron Ciraldo? You cant just throw a bunch of kids into the top grade and expect them to immediately lead the team on their own. Let them learn from the older guys now so they're better equipped to take over when the older players are gone.

edit - perverse beat me to it lol.

The commentators said we were the best in the NRL for Metres gained and Metres conceded before the last match too (might still be i dunno).

I think it is pretty clear we are a better side and don't think we are as far off the top teams as people are making out to be honest. We have been seriously effected by Injuries/suspensions and still remained competitive. I am pretty confident that teams won't want to play us come finals time, and i don't think we will be too far from 4th place either.

 

[Yosh]

I 100% agree with Rolla. We only need to get into the 8 to win it. If a couple of calls had gone our way in some games we could be 4 or 6 points better and within the top 4.

Results aside I don't see all the doom and gloom? I've watched all the Knights games since 2002 and i think we're playing some of the best team footy i've seen. I'm personally a fan of grinding out wins, high percentage plays, field position and winning off our defence. I think it's still within our reach to make top 4.