Sack Griffin

[BTB]

He was challenging for the Dally M playing at halfback. That's a good enough reason to justify his halfback credentials.

Hunt is not a halfback.
He's a dummyhalf.
If he won't play in that position. Sell him off.

 

[steerlerbab]

I think Griffin is gone and Hunt is going to sign elsewhere. It’s Cam McInnes all over again.
This season is over already for Hook, he’s only going to be re-signed if we play finals and that is almost impossible.
I’d say Des or Flanno will put pen to paper shortly and start to dictate selections based on who they plan to bring into the team next year.
Expect to get a good look at Sullivan going forward and Hunt to play less of a role.

To walkout from a loss making deal, is a win. If we lose the next 2, the board has to move and release Griffin to avoid Wooden Spoon. Between Hasler and Flanno, I think board will go for Hasler as according to journos some members of the board are against Flanno. However, is Hasler interested?

Hunt may also leave if Griffin goes. This was discussed by journos at NRL 360 last night. They think it is a possibility.

 

[TheRev]

Jack Bird will probably goal kick if Sully is on the bench. FMD and people whinge about Lomax and his goal kicking

Bird, MBye, Sullivan all kick around 70%, it probably doesnt really matter who it is.. but Sullivan would have been my choice as he practices in NSW Cup and more likely to be our longterm kicker.

But Agree with you, Lomax would be ideal.. he's still the best goalkicking option.. even out of form.. Actually Gus, A.Johns & Fittler all called out on podcasts yesterday that right back in the charity shield.. they were truly bewildered why the coach would move a right foot stepper being played on the left? Flanno mentioned it as well.. Utter madness.. but here we are 3 months later..

 

[Paddles]

Hunt, as the $1m player and leader, has led this team to 7th, 15th,12th,11th and 10th.

He has had sway over selections and supported whoever the old boys were - Norman, Mbye, McCullough etc - who don’t threaten his comfortable little arrangement.

He has shown no leadership qualities. In challenging moments either on the field or off, it’s all been about him. Even now. Certainly will be the case with a new coach.

He’s a decent player who needs to be part of a setup where he isn’t expected to be the frontman, and indulged as much as he has been here.

 

[Paddles]

I want to make the finals. But limping into 8th and being bundled out is not much better than finishing 9th. What I want more is a team that can win the comp, or at least be excited about.

What we’ve got now is an uncreative coach with an odd emotional connection to his ‘glory days’ in Brisbane, who has drafted some of his ‘kids’ and recruited a bunch of other old guys serving as roadblocks to real talent. We’ve got the world’s slowest hooker directing the team around, a half so dominant that his 5/8 and the rest of the backline get the ball far less than they should, and Mbye slotted into any position that can serve as a roadblock to players that should be central to the team for the next 5 years.

Sure Hunt is playing very well, but our game plan is so predictable and the strategy of basing everything around him is stupid tactically, and short sighted with a view to developing players that could be part of a comp winning team (Sullivan, Amone, Sloan, Feagais)

Teams know that if they shut down Hunt they shut down the dragons. Our best half all year - the first half against Souths - was notable because it’s one of the only times Amone has been the dominant playmaker with Hunt on the field. Amone was demanding the ball as the ‘half’, calling plays, putting in attacking kicks etc. and we looked awesome.

The current crew are performing at their ceiling, and we might limp into 7th place. If we utilise Sullivan, Amone, Sloan, Ramsay, Lomax and others properly there might be a comp winning team. They’ll have the odd shit game but thats development.

It’s unbelievably stupid to not be playing Sullivan, and almost an insult to give him 1 min. Compare the way Manly have brought Schuster on compared to our efforts with Sullivan. They both came through that SG Ball 2019 cohort.

I want the team to win, but balanced with developing players who are potential superstars (or at least not contorting yourself to find ways to block them - see Bird at fullback, rushing McCullough back into the team, mbye anywhere).

I’ve seen nothing in his judgement or performances that suggest griffin can be anything other than a guy trying to hang on and sneak into 7th with boring and conservative choices, to the detriment of the future.

It’s also not like any of this garbage is new either…

 

[MrRavaLover]

This all makes sense. Surprised it hasnt already happened.

 

[Mojo]

Well hopefully that means there is still some fire in the team. Or is it the final embers?

Where there’s smoke there’s fire - unless someone’s just pissed on it and put it out.

 

[Mojo]

Bird, MBye, Sullivan all kick around 70%, it probably doesnt really matter who it is.. but Sullivan would have been my choice as he practices in NSW Cup and more likely to be our longterm kicker.

But Agree with you, Lomax would be ideal.. he's still the best goalkicking option.. even out of form.. Actually Gus, A.Johns & Fittler all called out on podcasts yesterday that right back in the charity shield.. they were truly bewildered why the coach would move a right foot stepper being played on the left? Flanno mentioned it as well.. Utter madness.. but here we are 3 months later..

I reckon he really dislikes some players and loves others. I’m coming to believe he’s been incredibly lucky in his coaching career and now that he has a challenging task it’s been exposed.

 

[Wolfgang90]

There's a vampire comedy show called 'What we do in the shadows', one of the characters is an energy vampire who lives by draining humans and vampires of their energy by being boring or frustrating... Hook reminds me of this character. He drains the fun out of people.

 

[hewi]

TODAYS AUSTRALIAN


UNDERACHIEVERS DRAW LINE IN THE SAND


Finally, some accountability at St George Illawarra. Same at the Wests Tigers. It wasn’t exactly what we expected, but heads are beginning to roll at the perennial underachievers and not a moment too soon.
They play each other on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium in the final match of Magic Round with the loser likely to be anchored at the bottom of the ladder. The game’s two joint ventures were meant to be powerhouses. Instead, they are powder-puffs and something needs to change.
At least the process has begun. Dragons coach Anthony Griffin dropped the hammer this week on Zac Lomax, a player who has flattered to deceive for years now.
Lomax’s talent has never been in question, but he has become the poster boy for a club that has become synonymous with mediocrity.
The axe should have fallen last year but Lomax survived. Not this time around. Griffin made the tough call and the absence of backlash suggests even Dragons supporters concede this day was long overdue.
Lomax will be back, but he needs to earn it. He needs to get the rubbish out of his game. Free jerseys have been handed out for too long in Wollongong. The Dragons have become soft touches on the field and masters of the soft option off it.
Witness the way they have dragged their heels on Griffin’s future, seemingly reluctant to make a call when even the most ardent supporter of the coach can see the writing is on the wall. The Dragons have lost their past four games by the sum total of 11 points but heroic losses get you anywhere in the NRL.
The sooner they make the call the better for everyone, not least Griffin. A boardroom split by the St George and WIN factions is no excuse. Yes, tough calls are made even tougher but egos need to be buried if the joint venture is to move forward.

 

[Nanadragon]

Whoever wrote this has his facts wrong. We're not the final match of magic round, there's 3 games after ours and the rest of his article is just his opinion.

 

[Draginzaaar]

Whoever wrote this has his facts wrong. We're not the final match of magic round, there's 3 games after ours and the rest of his article is just his opinion.

2 Games after ours. There is only 3 games on Sunday.

 

[Rocket Rod]

Bird, MBye, Sullivan all kick around 70%, it probably doesnt really matter who it is.. but Sullivan would have been my choice as he practices in NSW Cup and more likely to be our longterm kicker.

But Agree with you, Lomax would be ideal.. he's still the best goalkicking option.. even out of form.. Actually Gus, A.Johns & Fittler all called out on podcasts yesterday that right back in the charity shield.. they were truly bewildered why the coach would move a right foot stepper being played on the left? Flanno mentioned it as well.. Utter madness.. but here we are 3 months later..

Even out of form as you say leave him in as the goalkicker. That’s obsurd I’m sorry to say as his goal kicking is too unreliable.
Zac has been overrated from the start I’m afraid. As a kid he was long and lanky and hard to handle by his peers. But amongst first graders it’s a whole new kettle of fish. He has had the odd good game here and there leaping for bombs and no look flick passes hitting the mark(more don’t though) but overall has been disappointing. Too many brain fades. I haven’t seen him sidestep his way to the try line a la Mark Gasnier. Way too slow to be a strike weapon. He needs to reset and work on the fundamentals of centre play and stop thinking he is the ‘gifted’ one.

 

[TheRev]

Even out of form as you say leave him in as the goalkicker. That’s obsurd I’m sorry to say as his goal kicking is too unreliable.

Maybe I should have articulated "If selected in the side" ...then Zac would be my goalkicker.. this tee slump is temporary, he is the guy doing all the extras at training (according to his teammates).. he should be back at 78% at some stage in coming months.

Nobody has shown they can get close to that.. Sullivan is the next choice for the reasons I mentioned (when on the field).. and Bird/MBye is just a worst case scenario.. they might well stab a few lucky ones.. but they don't have the repetition to be anything more than a stop-gap.

 

[Illusion]

Maybe I should have articulated "If selected in the side" ...then Zac would be my goalkicker.. this tee slump is temporary, he is the guy doing all the extras at training (according to his teammates).. he should be back at 78% at some stage in coming months.

Nobody has shown they can get close to that.. Sullivan is the next choice for the reasons I mentioned (when on the field).. and Bird/MBye is just a worst case scenario.. they might well stab a few lucky ones.. but they don't have the repetition to be anything more than a stop-gap.

Really we don't need a goal kicker , we don't score enough tries to worry about it ......

 

[Rocket Rod]

The Dolphins 6 pies 6 goals
Makes it a whole lot easier when they’re converted.
They are smacking the sharks
They play hard and fast and great defence
Oh for the old bennett magic again

 

[ChocOConnor]

I watch the dolphins and their team a bunch of misfits thrown in with a few good players. How the hell can the BOD say they have the best interest of the club at hand after watching the Finn’s play and watch us play.

 

[justadragon]

I watch the dolphins and their team a bunch of misfits thrown in with a few good players. How the hell can the BOD say they have the best interest of the club at hand after watching the Finn’s play and watch us play.

Agree, but if we had those misfits at the Dragons they would play like misfits, the difference is Bennett

 

[Dragon David]

Agree, but if we had those misfits at the Dragons they would play like misfits, the difference is Bennett

Euan Aitken is a player to be reckoned with now under Bennett. If he came back to us with Hook as the coach he would revert back to being an unwanted species.

 

[hewi]

Don’t know if this has been posted else where if so my apologies but sums it all up. Swapping Suli and Lomax has neutered what little attack we had. Threw the baby out with the bath water.

Lomax becomes Griffin's scapegoat but numbers prove the terrible call which triggered ugly slide

A pre-season call has blown up spectacularly for the Dragons.

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