Team Against Sharks

[Fingerbang]

Not trying to nitpick, but how do you know King is 1 of the best prospects in the game? Because everyone says so? Have you seen him play regularly to get a gauge on that? I still need to see more of him playing, and uninjured, before I would make a call like that.

 

[giboz71]

Not trying to nitpick, but how do you know King is 1 of the best prospects in the game? Because everyone says so? Have you seen him play regularly to get a gauge on that? I still need to see more of him playing, and uninjured, before I would make a call like that.

Yep, fair call. Base my assessment on reputation really and the rumoured big offer from the Knights. But he certainly has a lot of wraps on him. I did use the term "prospect".

Doesn't change my opinion that our expectations should be high given the personnel available.

 

[Elias1983]

Yep, fair call. Base my assessment on reputation really and the rumoured big offer from the Knights. But he certainly has a lot of wraps on him. I did use the term "prospect".

Doesn't change my opinion that our expectations should be high given the personnel available.

Don't disagree with you mate.

There should be high expectations set for the team but look at the whole picture. There may be some things that make it difficult.

Steve Price in all the press conferences that he attends seems very sure of where the team went wrong and where they do well. He seems very confident which is good.

South sydney have high expectations for crying out loud year in year out. Look how that turns out for them!

 

[Fingerbang]

Doesn't change my opinion that our expectations should be high given the personnel available.

I agree. But new year, new coach, half a dozen new players....my expectations are top 8 for 2012. Top 4....a bonus, and I would be ecstatic.

 

[Reyter]

You have to take into consideration the way bennet played our attack when he was here, it was very structured. It wasn't too flashy and was very simple. The set plays were easier too execute (i.e the sweep play with boyd chiming in) and effective and the grind em down play where you hold the ball and wait for the opposition to make an error. Very simple stuff.


In that regards Hornby did a fantastic job because he did what was required of him and not to mention his defending on the edge of the ruck, he saved dozens of tries by reading the opponents attack and shutting down the play.

Price is trying to change that gradually to take the predictability out of our attack, hornby and the team have to adjust and there is no reason why they won't.

Just needs time.

I agree with most of that. Hornby very rarely plays badly. In the last half of last year the opposition had figured the Dragons out. They need to be more adventurous with the ball now but as has been pointed out many times, Hornby has been with the Dragons a long time and is near the end of his career. Can he adjust? I very much doubt it.

 

[Willow]

Not trying to nitpick, but how do you know King is 1 of the best prospects in the game? Because everyone says so? Have you seen him play regularly to get a gauge on that? I still need to see more of him playing, and uninjured, before I would make a call like that.

That's a fair point. I always considered King to be the future but really needed some more time in first grade. Thought the same about Rein. Now Rein has had that extra time on the field and has improved enormously. Still think King can do it, just needs the run of bad luck to come to an end.

 

[Reyter]

By all means fellow Dragons fan... however if its the focal point of each and every post it can become quite tiresome for the reader...

Besides from a perspective of logic its not going to happen - the Grand Final winning captain and soon to be most capped Dragons player who is in good form and is a leader and is always consistent isnt going to be dropped or benched 5 rounds into the season let alone at all without injury...

Your allowed to voice your opinion no doubt and its been duly noted, its just not going to happen.

If you don't like my opinion, you are welcome to ignore my messages which is precisely what I will do if I don't like your opinions.

Until I see the Dragons playing at a level with which I think they can win the competition or Hornby's ball playing ability and ability to threaten the opposition defence dramatically improves, I will continue to be critical. Sorry if you don't like it but as far as I'm concerned it's your problem, not mine.

 

[Reyter]

What does Hornby have to do with it? He's a halfback, Stanley isn't. Soward isn't. In fact, the only player absent from both games you mentioned (and in no way do I agree that they were the best 2 performances) is Soward.

I have called for Hornby or Soward to make way for Stanley but aside from being a playmaker, given Sowards other abilities, i.e. broken field running and kicking, and given Hornby's ability as a utility player, it seemed logical to call for Hornby to make way for Stanley in the halves.

 

[Reyter]

I can't understand the logic in calling for untried players to replace players who are performing well.
Style was going to be the best fullback since Chang
Cam King was suposedly going to be the youngest imortal in history
Ridding ourselves of Hornby, who except for one diabolical game against the dogs has been exemplary with Style who is reading the game pretty well as a centre is curious and frankly as others have said beggars logic.
Style seems to be fitting in well as a centre..yes? Who is going to replace him if we drop or bench our captain? Who would be a better captain?
Young is reliable and yet to play poorly this year. His role is clearly defined and he's doing an inspirational job.
We lost against the dogs and the Broncs because we started too slow and the latter in particular because several forwards had bad cases of dropsy. Scott has had his head elsewhere and hopefully this will change. Hornby is a terrific player, solid as as rock, creative and has the right to his position as the Red V half and captain.

I think Hornby is a great captain, just not a very good halfback. He is for sure rock-solid, makes few mistakes, misses few tackles and etc but we all know he lacks creativity for a halfback. Let me repeat again; I don't know if Stanley would be better but I want them to give it a try because from what I have seen so far this year, I think the Dragons will be good all year but not seriously challenge for the title.

As for Stanley in the centres, I don't think he has been playing badly (like Hornby) but I don't think he has been playing so well either. As for his replacement, I would go with his brother when he is finally uninjured and when he is injured, Green and Cooper in the centres even though I know they prefer to play on the same side.

 

[MattYg1]

If you don't like my opinion, you are welcome to ignore my messages which is precisely what I will do if I don't like your opinions.

Until I see the Dragons playing at a level with which I think they can win the competition or Hornby's ball playing ability and ability to threaten the opposition defence dramatically improves, I will continue to be critical. Sorry if you don't like it but as far as I'm concerned it's your problem, not mine.

It's a forum not a soapbox, we should be reading everybodies opinion however my only issue with your opinion is not so much that you voice it but you constantly voice it... Not just having a dig at you but rather everybody who does push the same agenda all the time and then we get all threads turning into this exact same debate which I'm sure most on here would agree I hardly ever get involved in...

 

[Reyter]

It's a forum not a soapbox, we should be reading everybodies opinion however my only issue with your opinion is not so much that you voice it but you constantly voice it... Not just having a dig at you but rather everybody who does push the same agenda all the time and then we get all threads turning into this exact same debate which I'm sure most on here would agree I hardly ever get involved in...

As far as I can see, there is only one issue for the Dragons and that is the problem of not having a ball player in the halves. But again, if you don't like it you are free to ignore my comments.

 

[giboz71]

Don't disagree with you mate.

There should be high expectations set for the team but look at the whole picture. There may be some things that make it difficult.

Steve Price in all the press conferences that he attends seems very sure of where the team went wrong and where they do well. He seems very confident which is good.

South sydney have high expectations for crying out loud year in year out. Look how that turns out for them!

Agreed its safer to lower expectations and be "under the radar" as Des Hasler says.

But it doesn't change the fact that 11 of our top 17 have played Origin/Test football in recent years. We also have the NYC Player of the Year from last year. Not even the Broncos or the Storm can boast that roster.

And we really should be benefitting from the systems that Wayne Bennett established the last 3 years, with Price watching close by. That system delivered 2 minor premierships and a premiership. Surely that must count for something?

If we really are only a fringe top 8 team with those resources behind us, either we have some overrated players undeserving of their rep status, or we are being poorly coached.

I want the Dragons to succeed just like everyone else, so I hope neither ends up being true.

 

[Louiethefly]

Props are giving them space and I don't think the backrowers are going bad when they are actually playing in the backrow. Specifically Hornby is struggling in attack and did for all of last year and even before that, Boyd was the main playmaker. Soward isn't a good playmaker but he has other strengths like his broken field running and his kicking. I will be pleasantly surprised if while Fein and King are both out, K. Stanley moves into the halves and Hornby does back to the bench as a utility but I guess they won't do that and will wait until Hornby decides to retire. I don't mean to be too hard on him and I guess if the Dragons had a dominant playmaker at 5/8, Hornby would be a perfect halfback but they don't. Thus, even when the forwards make space, the backline has trouble in troubling the opposition out wide.

I can't remember Boyd ever being a playmaker, he threw the last pass in a set play which was rehearsed thousands of times in training and in games, but even that took him pretty much the whole 2009 season to master. I think he was a link-man in the back line... and a good one, but he was never a play-maker. Infact, I'd go so far as to say it would have been Hornby setting that play up the majority of the time.

As for Hornby not being creative I don't understand what you mean? A halfbacks job includes a lot more than just pulling off the 1% plays, Hornby is a good organiser, a good defender and he leads the team with passion. Perhaps he would seem more "creative" if he started to throw no-look inside balls to B-Moz running full pelt at a hole, but these combinations require time to master.

 

[Bring back choc]

As far as I can see, there is only one issue for the Dragons and that is the problem of not having a ball player in the halves. But again, if you don't like it you are free to ignore my comments.

So the fact soward has more try assists than say... Todd carney, you still dont think he can play ball?
The comeback against the broncos was single handedly performed by our halves.. They seemed to be ball playing to me.

 

[Louiethefly]

So the fact soward has more try assists than say... Todd carney, you still dont think he can play ball?
The comeback against the broncos was single handedly performed by our halves.. They seemed to be ball playing to me.

Exactly. I don't know what people want our halves to do? It's already been said that our attack has improved in 2012, I think the biggest improvement has come with our attack through the middle (which has mainly come off that back of Brett Morris sniffing around the ruck) and our halves taking advantage of that.

If we had Coops and Gaz still playing fit in the centres this year our halves would look a lot more "creative" but because we have been playing people out of position in the centres our attack out wide has suffered.

 

[st.phil]

spot on. I miss Gaz

 

[Petebix]

Prior out, Green in

 

[sheepbender]

Why is Prior out?? This will eff my supercoach..mans gota go..