Sharks game.

[Minh]

It's not looking good, especially for next week where we have hit a hole and the other mob is white hot. I think over the stretch of the season we can still turn things around, it's not like its round 6 and we a 0 and 6.

 

[Minh]

Dugan to FB, Aitken to centre and Mann/Peter M to the wing. Sadly it also looks like age is catching up to our legendary Flo, lost about 5 yards of pace.....

 

[BLM01]

We started ok.

Better use of the bench may have allowed us to outlast the Sharks.

They have more strike power in the back line. Simple as that. Barba, Holmes, Bird given too much space out wide.

Our mob looks as if it has over trained and is fatigued after 20-30 minutes. May be a conditioning issue.

As for Mary, he is a man manager not a tactician. That is why we hired Demetriou.

Doing an excellent job with the Cutters attack so far. Perhaps he needs to spend a bit more time with FG.

Yes it makes my mind boggle how the reserve grade coach has to also have the time to fix our attack after only arriving in January and work with the 1st garde coach affectively.
If he needs an assistant why not full time like Hornby & Young. Then again why are they full time. What is Hornby's role. Edge defence?..full time?..no wonder we are where we are and have no money.

 

[This Year?]

It's only round 2 and any hopes I had for this season have already been destroyed.

I really feel for the toilers in this team because they deserve better than that.

 

[Redhoopz]

Apart from the errors, we were on top defensively and in the forwards until Mann made that mistake of letting the ball hit him and go out.... that changed the momentum and the sharks got a lucky try and we couldn't recover.

 

[Simon Templar]

Well as has been mentioned we started last year like this and as one of the naysayers we went on a pretty impressive run based on defence but fell short at the business end of the season to bigger teams and a lack of attack. I thought after the initial ten minute onslaught by the Sharks we got momentum but taking the 2 points gave the Sharks the breather they needed. Defence started well but kicks as we all know are hard to defend especially on lucky bounces deflections. After that heads dropped and fundamental mistakes gave us no chance. We still have a chance to match teams defensively with work rate because the team is generally small but we can't hurt many teams with attack. You get the feeling the really big teams - Dogs. Rabbits will roll over the top without having to do much. Teams with really good kicking options ditto.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

It's not looking good, especially for next week where we have hit a hole and the other mob is white hot. I think over the stretch of the season we can still turn things around, it's not like its round 6 and we a 0 and 6.

Trouble is we are behind the eight ball again. Every other team (except Newcastle maybe) is ahead of us, and their team structures and positions are all settled. We are still dithering around trying to figure out what the spine should look like. This is not the players getting it wrong, this is the coach and the management.

 

[Mr Red]

Well as has been mentioned we started last year like this and as one of the naysayers we went on a pretty impressive run based on defence but fell short at the business end of the season to bigger teams and a lack of attack. I thought after the initial ten minute onslaught by the Sharks we got momentum but taking the 2 points gave the Sharks the breather they needed. Defence started well but kicks as we all know are hard to defend especially on lucky bounces deflections. After that heads dropped and fundamental mistakes gave us no chance. We still have a chance to match teams defensively with work rate because the team is generally small but we can't hurt many teams with attack. You get the feeling the really big teams - Dogs. Rabbits will roll over the top without having to do much. Teams with really good kicking options ditto.

a guy goes to the sin bin for 10mins
we then waste around 70 seconds for the goal.
the sharks then responded with the worlds slowest kick-off wasting another 90 seconds... i am surprised the ref didnt call time off...

a little over 2 mins burned already before the sharks man-down are actually needed to defend...

we then lose the ball and give it back to them..

 

[hazzbeen]

a guy goes to the sin bin for 10mins
we then waste around 70 seconds for the goal.
the sharks then responded with the worlds slowest kick-off wasting another 90 seconds... i am surprised the ref didnt call time off...

a little over 2 mins burned already before the sharks man-down are actually needed to defend...

we then lose the ball and give it back to them..

Thats Dragons Footy .....

 

[Cagey Mac]

a guy goes to the sin bin for 10mins
we then waste around 70 seconds for the goal.
the sharks then responded with the worlds slowest kick-off wasting another 90 seconds... i am surprised the ref didnt call time off...

a little over 2 mins burned already before the sharks man-down are actually needed to defend...

we then lose the ball and give it back to them..

It was a pivotal decision Red (even made by a pivot)
If we hadn't taken the shot who knows
I think it was wrong
My hindsight however is superb
Seemed a silly at the time and must have given the Sharks a boost

One thing that did come to mind is that you couldn't rely on either team to run the ball for the length of the field without error
We had trouble too penetrating the line with Marshall's, Cliff Lyons like, crabbing runs needed a Steve Menzies to straighten the attack
I don't know that we can afford Lafai, who will IMO eventually come good, the time to develop in FG.

We need some speed. We have it, thinly spread in other grades but how do they shape up in defence? Time will tell.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

no need to go on about it!:lol::lol: have a good one mate go the saints!(eventually)

Hope so bud,,we can only improve from here

 

[Get2dachopper!]

How about Flanagan at the presa, saying the Dragons didn't offer much? What an insult.

That's gotta be hurting the players. If we have a form reversal this weekend, perhaps we'll need to thank Flanagan.

 

[Blood Shot Eyes]

Dugan to FB, Aitken to centre and Mann/Peter M to the wing. Sadly it also looks like age is catching up to our legendary Flo, lost about 5 yards of pace.....

Early days Minh I know but I tend to agree, Duges should go back to fullback, I said in a previous post that on 2 or 3 occasions early in the match he was in and knocking Fifita over and I think that took a little bit of an edge off him...at fullback he could play an Inglis type role where he doesn't get to involved in the early defensive exchanges...as for Mann the few games I saw him play for the Storm in the centres he looked more comfortable in that position...I think Peter M deserves his spot as does Aitken and with Dugan looking like he may be sidelined for awhile interesting times ahead

 

[giboz71]

How about Flanagan at the presa, saying the Dragons didn't offer much? What an insult.

That's gotta be hurting the players. If we have a form reversal this weekend, perhaps we'll need to thank Flanagan.

Harsh but fair.

 

[Totaldragonfan]

That display was so inept I honestly can't see where their first victory might come. I thought the season predictions for the Dragons were very harsh a few weeks ago - but not now. Very disappointing.....

 

[Vasilevsky]

That display was so inept I honestly can't see where their first victory might come. I thought the season predictions for the Dragons were very harsh a few weeks ago - but not now. Very disappointing.....

When things got so bad with supercoach Price I stopped being disappointed with every loss, seeing as a perfect time to make some big and much needed changes. Ditto for the present. I think long-term that loss has the potential to be far more beneficial than a two point loss to Melbourne in Melbourne after being cheated by the refs.

 

[Dragsters]

We looked good again for the first 20-odd minutes as we did in round 1.

Smashing them in D and threatening at least in A.

Then as in round 1 we just lost control of the game in both aspects.

I have been a fan of reins toughness in D and ability to scoot from dummy half but his kicking is ordinary and those harbour bridge passes with the ball floating end over end killed any momentum that packer and Leesons hard runs and quick play the balls had generated.

For mine this is how our momentum stalled yesterday and as a result and to send a message to the team rein needs to drop to the reggies and learn how to spiral pass!

Havili to start with mcrone on the bench.

I can see no other option.

 

[hazzbeen]

When things got so bad with supercoach Price I stopped being disappointed with every loss, seeing as a perfect time to make some big and much needed changes. Ditto for the present. I think long-term that loss has the potential to be far more beneficial than a two point loss to Melbourne in Melbourne after being cheated by the refs.

X2 ..... We either see a big improvement next game or we will be shot ducks...

 

[Ribs]

Another frustrating game to watch but for different reasons to last week's loss to Melbourne.

Early on, the team was defending well and looking like we were gaining the ascendancy. Then we were playing against 12 men and for reasons unknown, the intensity just dropped off. Dumb decisions, fundamental errors, and generally losing control of the ruck. It seemed like half the team was low on confidence. It can't be just because of a decision to take a shot at goal.

The game plan seemed to be to hit them hard in defence, that's a sound foundation but hardly new. Both sides were hitting hard, but it was only the Sharks who had a plan B.

On the subject of low confidence, I really felt for Kurt Mann out there. The kid looked out of his depth and appears to have something on his mind, but it ain't about playing football.

I think Mann demonstrates the difference between the coaching at the Storm vs what we dish out. In a system like the Storm, where they seem very well drilled and players are comfortable in their roles, they can focus on their job and excel. In a system like ours, where there isn't a lot drilled into the players, all confidence is gone. When we had Bennett, we were well drilled. Players had very set roles and stuck to them, since Bennett left it's been all over the place. Every player seems out of their depth.

 

[West coast dragon]

Hope so bud,,we can only improve from here

too true!but it's looking more and more like duges to full back and Mann to centres after yesterday's debacle which is the way it should be!