Season 2024 over

[Coffs dragon]

Oldest, slowest & dumbest. We did well to finish 10th with a team of plodders & discard scraps.

Poor Flanno has to contend with the double whammy leadership of Haran & Hunt holding him back like 2 anchors both on & off field.
My God we need a full clean out …..

 

[matPORTS]

Flanno - just take a look at what happened to Madge at the Tigers.

Take control of your own destiny as quickly as possible. Get the deadwood players out and get Haran replaced with someone you trust as soon as possible.

Don't let this be the hill that you die on.

 

[matPORTS]

The one thing I would be saying to Hunt first thing tomorrow morning.

Get on the phone to Mal and Billy and tell them that you are retiring from rep footy. You're not available for the Kangaroos this international season. You've played your last game for Queensland. If you're not willing to do that then don't bother coming back for pre-season.

We need you back on the 1st November for a full off-season prep and your full focus for 2025 needs to be on the club. It's time to give the club some repayment for the $7million+ that it's paid you for not much ROI.

Make no bones about it, Ben Hunt persisting with his rep career would be a selfish decision. It's all about the rep bonuses.

 

[TheRev]

I think Hunt was a 50/50 call being selected for qld this year.. I dont think he would be selected next year unless Grant is injured.. but even then I reckon they will go with Marney.

In other words, I think Hunt will retire from rep footy anyway.. but it would be good if he got on the front foot... tbh I thought his energy when he came back from origin was where the problems started for us..

 

[hewi]

Forget rep football I just don’t want him near our club any longer in any shape or form.

 

[Gareth67]

I intend to ask for a refund for this years membership . Damn those imbecile players who gave us so much hope only to surrender so meekly to their opponents in the final all-important must win matches ! ! !

I do sincerely hope that Flanagan is able to sign a number of players of note that will at the very least form a solid nucleus to build upon in the off-season .

Also as I have said previously in other posts - blood the young brigade next season in particular those 2 big islander boys who represented NSW in the under 20’s SOO .

In other words take a leaf out of the West Tigers book and get the talented youth on the bench at the very least. One only needs to look at the Tigpies Calvin Klein - their five/eighth , a bit nervous his first few games but has come along in leaps and bounds ever since .

And finally get rid of Hunt , the man has not a drop of Dragon blood in him and replace him with another player as captain , one who bleeds red and white . ( J.D.Belin ? )

Someone must bite the bullet and make the hard decisions over the break otherwise next season will only be a repeat of this .

The players owe Flanagan an apology for dropping their loads so embarrassingly in the last few rounds - and no blame should be attached to Shane Flanagan whatsoever as he done his best with a bit and pieces team but unfortunately they fell short of their goal and in so doing have left many fans shattered .

 

[Gardenia]

I intend to ask for a refund for this years membership . Damn those imbecile players who gave us so much hope only to surrender so meekly to their opponents in the final all-important must win matches ! ! !

I do sincerely hope that Flanagan is able to sign a number of players of note that will at the very least form a solid nucleus to build upon in the off-season .

Also as I have said previously in other posts - blood the young brigade next season in particular those 2 big islander boys who represented NSW in the under 20’s SOO .

In other words take a leaf out of the West Tigers book and get the talented youth on the bench at the very least. One only needs to look at the Tigpies Calvin Klein - their five/eighth , a bit nervous his first few games but has come along in leaps and bounds ever since .

And finally get rid Hunt , the man has not a drop of Dragon blood in him and replace him with another player as captain , one who bleeds red and white . ( J.D.Belin ? )

Someone must bite the bullet and make the hard decisions over the break otherwise next season will only be a repeat of this .

The players owe Flanagan an apology for dropping their loads so embarrassingly in the last few rounds - and no blame should be attached to Shane Flanagan whatsoever as he done his best with a bit and pieces team but unfortunately they fell short of their goal and in so doing have left many fans shattered .

Flanno deserves better then 10th or 11th

 

[Gardenia]

It

Yes, looks like season will be over once the Knights beat the Titans this afternoon. Then next week the 8th spot will be either the Knights or the Dolphins whichever team wins when they play each other.

will be Dolphins

 

[Draginzaaar]

Its over YES, I am cashing in my SF ticket. We will know today anyway if Knights beat Titans. our F & A will not allow us to jump Knights or Dolphins who play off next week unless we beat the Raiders by 70-80.

What is Knights and Phins draw? I'll be at the game due to the wife being a Knights fan. But I won't enjoy it.

 

[muzby]

 

[since77]

View attachment 93409

And deep down we all knew that this is exactly what would happen.

 

[Lovemedragons]

The one thing I would be saying to Hunt first thing tomorrow morning.

Get on the phone to Mal and Billy and tell them that you are retiring from rep footy. You're not available for the Kangaroos this international season. You've played your last game for Queensland. If you're not willing to do that then don't bother coming back for pre-season.

We need you back on the 1st November for a full off-season prep and your full focus for 2025 needs to be on the club. It's time to give the club some repayment for the $7million+ that it's paid you for not much ROI.

Make no bones about it, Ben Hunt persisting with his rep career would be a selfish decision. It's all about the rep bonuses.

I think we have had enough of Hunt, pay him out, wear the error of signing him and just pay him out. he has had so many chances to rise, he’s just not capable of what we need.

 

[56to66]

Star trio’s seasons OVER as Roosters reveal extent of injury blows: Casualty Ward

Star trio’s seasons OVER as Roosters reveal extent of injury blows: Casualty Ward

www.foxsports.com.au

Hopefully the Rorters season will over too

 

[Dragon David]

Star trio’s seasons OVER as Roosters reveal extent of injury blows: Casualty Ward

Star trio’s seasons OVER as Roosters reveal extent of injury blows: Casualty Ward

www.foxsports.com.au

Hopefully the Rorters season will over too.

Without Walker, Smith and Radley the Roosters will find it hard to win games in the finals.

There is still one more game of the competition proper to be played next week and the teams in the top 8 would be wary of suffering more injuries/suspensions before the finals. As we know, anything can happen in a game of league.

 

[matPORTS]

I think we have had enough of Hunt, pay him out, wear the error of signing him and just pay him out. he has had so many chances to rise, he’s just not capable of what we need.

I agree.

Don't see any of this being a simple process, and we would need to try and get something out of it in return i.e. a swap deal with O'Sullivan or Katoa from the Dolphins as one scenario. Hell, I'd even take a swap with Keiran Foran at this point in time (couldn't be any worse).

After what happened on Saturday, any positive energy that was built up in me, thinking that the club was heading in the right direction, has been dissolved.

Yes - I thought back in January that we would be good for no more than 9 or 10 wins. We are on 11 with a chance to make it 12 to end the year. But there are clearly still a lot of cracks that will prevent us getting to the 15 wins we would need a year from now to be any chance of achieving a finals berth (and possibly a home final at that).

 

[Old Timer]

Some stats to consider when evaluating our season

2022 Wins 12 Losses 12
2024 Thus far Wins 11 Losses 12

In the games we won in 2022
Ave points scored 21.75 so 1 point every 3.7 minute
Ave points scored against us 13.65 so 1 point every 5.85 minutes

In the games we won in 2024
Ave points scored 28.5 so 1 point every 2.8 minutes
Ave points scored against us 12.9 so 1 point every 6.2 minutes

So we won games by a higher margin but a win by 1 point is worth the same as a win by a 20 points but fair to say there is higher enjoyment in bigger wins.

In the games we lost in 2022
Ave points scored by us 14.85 so 1 point every 5.4 minutes
Ave points scored against us 32.5 so 1 point every 2.5 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses was 19 points per game.

In the games we have lost thus far in 2024
Ave points scored by us 14.1 so 1 point every 5.65 minutes
Ave points scored against us 39 so 1 point every 2.06 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses is now 26 points per game.

So anyone who thinks we are improving needs to understand what the statistics around our losses actually means.

After all, it’s the losses that must be turned around so this year compared to 2022 we scored similar points and conceded more points per game in our losses so that means less time in possession and a greater margin to pull back.

I for the life of me can’t see how that can be a sign of anything other than going backwards.

Now for those that insist on looking at 2023 then IMO we should only look at the games Hook coached of which we lost 8.

Our opposition scored an average of 28 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 2.85 minutes.

We scored an average of 17.25 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 4.63 minutes.

The differential to make up between losses and wins was 11 points per game.

These losses led to Hook being punted yet when you look at the raw numbers in respect of the nature of those losses in 2023 they were far less devastating than those of either 2022 or 2024 and the task to turning things around re semi final footy was in some ways closer.

So IMO in 2024 we have picked some very low hanging fruit to get some wins off a very much easier base than the challenge that now confronts us.

 

[jeffdragon]

Without Walker, Smith and Radley the Roosters will find it hard to win games in the finals.

There is still one more game of the competition proper to be played next week and the teams in the top 8 would be wary of suffering more injuries/suspensions before the finals. As we know, anything can happen in a game of league.

Anything can happen except the Dragons making the 8 and a draw between Knights and Dolphins.

 

[Kolum Kid]

Some stats to consider when evaluating our season

2022 Wins 12 Losses 12
2024 Thus far Wins 11 Losses 12

In the games we won in 2022
Ave points scored 21.75 so 1 point every 3.7 minute
Ave points scored against us 13.65 so 1 point every 5.85 minutes

In the games we won in 2024
Ave points scored 28.5 so 1 point every 2.8 minutes
Ave points scored against us 12.9 so 1 point every 6.2 minutes

So we won games by a higher margin but a win by 1 point is worth the same as a win by a 20 points but fair to say there is higher enjoyment in bigger wins.

In the games we lost in 2022
Ave points scored by us 14.85 so 1 point every 5.4 minutes
Ave points scored against us 32.5 so 1 point every 2.5 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses was 19 points per game.

In the games we have lost thus far in 2024
Ave points scored by us 14.1 so 1 point every 5.65 minutes
Ave points scored against us 39 so 1 point every 2.06 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses is now 26 points per game.

So anyone who thinks we are improving needs to understand what the statistics around our losses actually means.

After all, it’s the losses that must be turned around so this year compared to 2022 we scored similar points and conceded more points per game in our losses so that means less time in possession and a greater margin to pull back.

I for the life of me can’t see how that can be a sign of anything other than going backwards.

Now for those that insist on looking at 2023 then IMO we should only look at the games Hook coached of which we lost 8.

Our opposition scored an average of 28 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 2.85 minutes.

We scored an average of 17.25 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 4.63 minutes.

The differential to make up between losses and wins was 11 points per game.

These losses led to Hook being punted yet when you look at the raw numbers in respect of the nature of those losses in 2023 they were far less devastating than those of either 2022 or 2024 and the task to turning things around re semi final footy was in some ways closer.

So IMO in 2024 we have picked some very low hanging fruit to get some wins off a very much easier base than the challenge that now confronts us.

You can use stats to support any argument you want.
As the saying goes, there are 3 types of lies, "lies, damned lies and statistics"

 

[since77]

Some stats to consider when evaluating our season

2022 Wins 12 Losses 12
2024 Thus far Wins 11 Losses 12

In the games we won in 2022
Ave points scored 21.75 so 1 point every 3.7 minute
Ave points scored against us 13.65 so 1 point every 5.85 minutes

In the games we won in 2024
Ave points scored 28.5 so 1 point every 2.8 minutes
Ave points scored against us 12.9 so 1 point every 6.2 minutes

So we won games by a higher margin but a win by 1 point is worth the same as a win by a 20 points but fair to say there is higher enjoyment in bigger wins.

In the games we lost in 2022
Ave points scored by us 14.85 so 1 point every 5.4 minutes
Ave points scored against us 32.5 so 1 point every 2.5 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses was 19 points per game.

In the games we have lost thus far in 2024
Ave points scored by us 14.1 so 1 point every 5.65 minutes
Ave points scored against us 39 so 1 point every 2.06 minutes
The differential to make up between wins and losses is now 26 points per game.

So anyone who thinks we are improving needs to understand what the statistics around our losses actually means.

After all, it’s the losses that must be turned around so this year compared to 2022 we scored similar points and conceded more points per game in our losses so that means less time in possession and a greater margin to pull back.

I for the life of me can’t see how that can be a sign of anything other than going backwards.

Now for those that insist on looking at 2023 then IMO we should only look at the games Hook coached of which we lost 8.

Our opposition scored an average of 28 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 2.85 minutes.

We scored an average of 17.25 points per game in each of those losses so a point every 4.63 minutes.

The differential to make up between losses and wins was 11 points per game.

These losses led to Hook being punted yet when you look at the raw numbers in respect of the nature of those losses in 2023 they were far less devastating than those of either 2022 or 2024 and the task to turning things around re semi final footy was in some ways closer.

So IMO in 2024 we have picked some very low hanging fruit to get some wins off a very much easier base than the challenge that now confronts us.

Ok lets use some stats.......

Ben Hunt leads the try assists tally over every other halfback.

Ben Hunt leads the NRL in kick metres.

Ben Hunt leads the NRL in kicks.

Ben Hunt leads the NRL in attacking kicks

Ben Hunt leads the NRL in short dropouts.

Ben Hunt is 4th in the NRL in line break involvements

So with all those amazing stats........He's still not a halfback's or a captain's asshole. Stats can be twisted to back whatever argument you want. And if you want to use stats to prefer the Anthony Griffin Dragons over the Flanagan Dragons good luck with that. The Griffin sides were the most putrid and soulless Dragons sides I've ever watched play.....since '77 as my username suggests.

Let me now twist those stats I gathered towards another argument. If Mr Ben Hunt presented his team with so much opportunity as per the above stats - would that not suggest that the shite roster built around him wasn't capable of taking advantage of the opportunities he gave them? Would it not suggest that the available players weren't good enough to convert the myriad of attacking opportunities he provided? Would it not suggest our roster wasn't good enough even with the abundance of opportunities our shitty number 7 cooked up?

I'm just as disappointed and frankly disgusted with how 2024 how fizzled out and the gutless performances of the last 2 weeks but comparing Flanno and Griffin as coaches is like comparing $500 Champagne to Tooheys Red.

2022 and 2023 the issue was both coach and roster and a board doubling down on a decade of mistakes.
2024 - the issue was roster and the continued effects of a losing culture of mediocrity within a core group of players bred by over a decade of neglect. I'm pretty sure Flanno's year 2 and year 3 stats will blow Coke guzzling Griffin's stats out of the water. Let's revisit it then.

 

[Unsainty79]

I'm not so pessimistic toward our season. The coaching staff have had to work with the cattle they've been given and I think all things considered it was a better year than I expected.

There are a number of teams who are significantly better than us; those performances against those sides, namely the Roosters showed that we cannot play a power game against teams with better forward packs - that isn't a criticism of Flanagan and the coaching staff, I think it was admirable that we didn't stray from our style, it's more a comment that they were so, so much better than us. In the ANZAC game we got flogged, but we didn't give up and that is certainly an improvement in culture and attitude.

For 2025, with Holmes, Cook, RCG (maybe) and whoever else comes along the merry go round, I think we are a better team, despite losing Lomax. The Couchman bros, particularly Ryan look real quality players.

The Club are so hamstrung with Ben Hunt, there is no viable alternative and we will be a worse side without him if we cannot sign anyone, but on the flipside of that, I think he's reflective of the old culture under Griffin. Week in, week out he gives the players a gobful, and perhaps deservingly so, but you simply cannot give your team mates a spray and then yourself give up entirely in defence.

With Flanagan and co at the club, I do think there is much more upside than downside, but we are still some way away from being a top 4 side.