The Rumours Thread

[BLM01]

So drunken bum Buzz reported it but somehow forgot to tell Flanagan so maybe best Flanagan tell you so you don't quote bullshit from Buzz.

Have a listen.

EXCLUSIVE | Shane Flanagan denies Zac Lomax is free to leave the Dragons

Incoming St George Illawarra Coach Shane Flanagan has denied centre Zac Lomax has been offered the chance to find a new club. It comes amid reports in The Telegraph on Saturday night, that Lomax has informally been given the opportunity to leave the Red V. Flanagan, a member of The Continuous...

www.4bc.com.au

I listened and it confirmed what i was saying so you may have different take. He did not deny it completely either. He just said he was not going anywhere which I have said a few days ago. Flanno gave him a nudge that he has to improve under him and he wants to work him. But if Zac does not want to then he will be free to choose another path. And he did confirm if any players want to go that we are not contributing to any salary if under contract

 

[BLM01]

Never happen
Old timer is on the mark

I agree Zac never wanted to leave. Confirmed by Zac himself.
But words have been spoken about what Flanno wants to do with him and what he has to do to get there so that is the nudge he has to get on the bus.
Yeh I admit the Buzz reporting Flanno told him he is free to leave in hindsight may not have been said like that but as I said "That was well reported"

 

[blacksafake]

Mate, I've been married to the same lady for 36 years and still have never won a debate.

And if you ever do happen to win one it’s just the start of another one

 

[getsmarty]

‘He’s been exposed’: Buzz’s stinging reply to Gus as ‘complete c**p’ claim called out

‘He’s been exposed’: Buzz’s stinging reply to Gus as ‘complete c**p’ claim called out

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[possm]

I anticipate a marked improvement of our NRL team in 2024. With Flanno taking over we finally have a real coach in charge.

The first step will be to hire good fitness staff, then finalize the squad he wants for 2024. Fit players will make such a big difference.

The Hunt affair is the thing to watch. The results of which will make or break the Dragons in 2024. If we can be successful in bring 3 new players for 2024, we will have a great chance of moving up the 2024 ladder into top 8 or even top 4. the players we really need are:

Fullback - V Holmes
Prop - Tino
Left edge forward - D Fifita

We have a good number of talented juniors coming through that can fill position in the halves and outside backs. We have also have some young forwards who have the potential to play first grade.

We need to clear over-paid players from our squad and replace them with proper first grade talent:

Hunt
Bird
Mbye

Sullivan and Sloan must be on relatively low-priced contracts so, it is not urgent to move them on. Time in reserve grade will help them transition to first grade. I believe Herring will be the next halfback given a shot to prove himself in first grade.

 

[hewi]

Would love the 3 players you name to come to us but think we have Buckleys chance of it happening and couldn’t agree more about the other 3 leaving.

 

[kit66]

Next NSW coach emerges as Flanno opens up on disgruntled Dragons duo — Extra Time

Next NSW coach emerges as Flanno opens up on disgruntled Dragons duo — Extra Time

www.foxsports.com.au

Flanagan being reported as wanting to work with Lomax and get more out of him, with fullback an option. Also taking the hard line with Hunt playing out his contract.

I read recently that Lomax is on $800,000.00 a year which is just preposterous and so typical of the mishandling of our roster by buffoons like Mary and Hook. I can't stand Buzz and never bother reading or watching him but the idea of releasing Lomax is a sensible one, I wouldn't pay him half of what he's getting until he showed he was actually worth it. If we want to chase quality like Tino and Fifita then overpaid and underperforming players like Lomax ( the most Error-riddled player in the last 5 years and quickly becoming a 3rd rate goal kicker) should be shown the door to free up some much needed cash.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...t/news-story/29ac9c3601e1348e79f636ad45242a5f

 

[since77]

I read recently that Lomax is on $800,000.00 a year which is just preposterous and so typical of the mishandling of our roster by buffoons like Mary and Hook. I can't stand Buzz and never bother reading or watching him but the idea of releasing Lomax is a sensible one, I wouldn't pay him half of what he's getting until he showed he was actually worth it. If we want to chase quality like Tino and Fifita then overpaid and underperforming players like Lomax ( the most Error-riddled player in the last 5 years and quickly becoming a 3rd rate goal kicker) should be shown the door to free up some much needed cash.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nr...t/news-story/29ac9c3601e1348e79f636ad45242a5f

One more time for the dummies. He’s not on 800k. Not even close.

 

[offiah]

Isn’t closer to $500k this year? And what will it get up to by the end of his contract?

 

[Slippery Morris]

‘He’s been exposed’: Buzz’s stinging reply to Gus as ‘complete c**p’ claim called out

‘He’s been exposed’: Buzz’s stinging reply to Gus as ‘complete c**p’ claim called out

www.foxsports.com.au

So it's been confirmed that Gus and the Dogs have tried to cheat the salary cap "again" on top of tapping up our 2 halves, yet the NRL will just sit there and not produce any fines. Sorry but 1st time you cheat the cap is bad enough but to go again, well that is a sign of a club thinking they are bigger than the game showing a lack of respect. They should be given a huge fine and not allowed to recruit players for at least 2 years. Produce your own and keep what you have for 2 seasons. If you get flogged that is your problem for not following the rules.

When you hear media say crap like the Dogs need Ben Hunt as if Saints don't just says how they have much more of agenda they have for that cheating club to be successful than the other.

I hate Buzz but last night standing up for himself and Chammas as he was treated so poorly by Gus on Monday night, I take my hat of to him. Well done Buzz. Gus just thinks he can do whatever he likes in the NRL. I like how Buzz brought up Gus bringing Hook to Penrith and re-signing him only to then get pi$$ed at the board for bringing Cleary back to the club. Cleary will be a future immortal or greatest ever coach in my opinion. He has a few more GF's coming his way I feel.

 

[Old Timer]

What Lomax is on becomes of little consequence if the new coach can unlock anything further in him and minimise his mistakes.

For years posters in this place have been talking up player after player and then bagging coach after coach for the aforementioned players not proving to be world beaters.

Now in the eyes of some posters we have the right coach but some posters now hedging their bets that the players they previously talked up are in fact not that good and should be moved on.

So it looks like so called good players or players with potential become bad players under bad coaches but our new good coach isn’t that good that he can make previously good players that went backwards back into good players.

Yet somehow amongst all that in the demolition job on previous coaches it was determined that if Bellyache or Robbo came to us they could have turned what we had into top 8 possibly top 4.

It would appear to me that many in here wax and wane depending on their mood at the time.

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

SG Ball Cup Squad 2023 | Illawarra Rugby League

illawarrarugbyleague.com.au

Illawarra rugby league are up to date at least, you can go through SG ball profiles and HMatts

Poor Dylan Egan

 

[ralph18]

What Lomax is on becomes of little consequence if the new coach can unlock anything further in him and minimise his mistakes.

I don't know if it actually works, but some sprint training would be a good start.

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

It would appear to me that many in here wax and wane depending on their mood at the time.

What do you expect? We're Dragons supporters. We can go from depression to euphoria and back again several times, and that's just in the one game.

 

[Old Timer]

In

What do you expect? We're Dragons supporters. We can go from depression to euphoria and back again several times, and that's just in the one game.

in 1 set of 6 in fact

 

[Slippery Morris]

Hey OT, just look at Flanno's record. He turned many players from rocks to diamonds. I cannot recall any going the other way. That is why there is so much optimism. Saints have the juniors and players to succeed but the coaches in the past have failed to bring out the best in them. I think Mary did the better of the 3 as he got some to play for Origin or on the cusp e.g Lomax. He was close to getting a NSW jersey and has gone backwards big time.

We can only hope Flanno has the same success as he did in the past not like the other 3 who have never tasted success. All Flanno needs to do is get the players we have play to their potential and we will come along way to the previous years just like the Panthers did post Hook days.

 

[kit66]

One more time for the dummies. He’s not on 800k. Not even close.

Don't call me a dummy dude, not nice. I'm just repeating what is in the article I attached. If you have evidence to the contrary show us.

Edit; Zero Tackle has Lomax's "reported salary" at $700,000.00 per year for 2023 and 2024. Still way too high for a guy that's never lived up to the hype, a centre with just 3 linebreaks from 15 games this year (he's conceded a lot more than that) and who's kicking at 63%. You want some quality players then sacrifices need to be made.

 

[getsmarty]

Hey OT, just look at Flanno's record. He turned many players from rocks to diamonds. I cannot recall any going the other way. That is why there is so much optimism. Saints have the juniors and players to succeed but the coaches in the past have failed to bring out the best in them. I think Mary did the better of the 3 as he got some to play for Origin or on the cusp e.g Lomax. He was close to getting a NSW jersey and has gone backwards big time.

We can only hope Flanno has the same success as he did in the past not like the other 3 who have never tasted success. All Flanno needs to do is get the players we have play to their potential and we will come along way to the previous years just like the Panthers did post Hook days.

Agree with most of your statement except " I think Mary did the better of the 3 "....

1/. He arguably had the best roster of the 3.... ( we could have had a shot in 2017 ? to do something )

2/. played DeBelin @ 7 and refused to promote youngsters

3/. Signed dud after dud while many solid players left under his watch.

4/. continually changed staff or they left ..what was it around 20 to 30 in his 7 - 8 years

5/. Blame seemed to be apportioned to everyone around him...( See Point 4)

6/. Let many promising players go... were not good enough for 1st grade..eg Robinson LOL...couldn't even get the guys name right

I could go on and on....

A lot of the above lies directly at the feet of the The Board, who allowed this to go on for so long.

It will be a long road back.

 

[Slippery Morris]

I enjoyed watching the Dragons under Mary and had more hope of a win each time they played than the other 2 coaches. When Mary started he had a pretty bad side that were soft, remember Willy Mason's comments? Mary toughened them a bit after that. Where as when Hook joined he had a decent squad but went for cheapies that ended up being duds. We can agree to disagree but if you think Hook or Price was better than Mary at the Dragons so be it. The team is a much bigger mess now that it was post Price and Mary.

 

[getsmarty]

I enjoyed watching the Dragons under Mary and had more hope of a win each time they played than the other 2 coaches. When Mary started he had a pretty bad side that were soft, remember Willy Mason's comments? Mary toughened them a bit after that. Where as when Hook joined he had a decent squad but went for cheapies that ended up being duds. We can agree to disagree but if you think Hook or Price was better than Mary at the Dragons so be it. The team is a much bigger mess now that it was post Price and Mary.

My recollection was slightly different .....

pulling my hair out virtually every game... 1 out running for the first 5 tackles and bomb on 6

Then the field was 5 metres short...otherwise we win...

Followed by we were 85 mins from a GF... which was used non stop for what 3 years....

I am sure there is more, but self preservation kicks in and I have blotted it out of my memory.

Loved the guy as a player....

Unfortunately for me he tarnished his legacy.....

One of the first things Bennett did when he arrived was to show Mary the door....

Speaks volumes.