denis preston
First Grade
- Messages
- 8,757
The Couchmans are only 19 ,way too young and physically immature to handle the NRL grind. RFM, Eisenhuth are stop gaps until the kids mature. Bit different if they were outside backs, but they arnt.
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The Couchmans are only 19 ,way too young and physically immature to handle the NRL grind. RFM, Eisenhuth are stop gaps until the kids mature. Bit different if they were outside backs, but they arnt.
Totally agree Denis. Also last year they played a bit of first grade, which I'm sure they will see again this year, but that was in the team that came 2nd last.
Old mate I'm sorry to say but whether we like it or not , whether it bending the rules they are smarter operators than our lot ...... So if we don't follow we will stay at the bottom of the heap ........
Yes, I guess so. The thing is though Uncle Nick is sly and cunning and is a good salesman/businessman with years of experience selling cars and how his club can bend the rules to suit themselves keeps the smarties who work for him in their cushy jobs.
Benji, James Graham, Aaron Woods
We didn't grow Boyd, Sowy, Fein, Weyman, Saffy, Costigan or Smith though, did we?
None of those play with the Dragons. I'm talking about current players.
Yes, we made some good signings. But, especially in the salary cap era, you need to first develop a core of players and supplement this core with signings that are carefully targeted to address weaknesses. The 2010 premiership was buit on the back of patiently developing first graders form the products of a good late 90s and early 2000s junior rep program (other products that were not around in 2010 were Luke Patten, Luke Bailey, etc.). The point is: to win now you need to start working towards it 10 years ago! Trying to take short cuts only sets you back further.
Given we've just signed Luc I don't see this happening. Unless of course, we decide maybe Fifita is a better option than Su'a and we choose to walk away from those negotiations and go for Fifita. Reportedly, we are still in for Finefeuaki as well, so maybe Flano does want another second rower. But Luc, Fifita and Su'a are all proven good second rowers, so I'm not sure how they'd all fit into the one team. It would be awesome to be in a position where we could use Luc as bench impact though, but that's probably a pipe dream
You asked for the last Dragons players on 360.
'I'd love to stay a Dragon': Su'A denies Bennett links
By Scott Bailey
Updated March 27 2024 - 1:05pm, first published 1:00pm
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Off-contract Jaydn Su'A (centre) insists he is not interested in an NRL tug of war for his services. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)
Off-contract St George Illawarra second-rower Jaydn Su'A insists his main priority is to remain a Dragon, with the Queenslander not holding out to see where Wayne Bennett lands.
Su'A is one of a host of Dragons off contract at the end of this year, and able to be approached by rival clubs since the start of last November.
The former Queensland State of Origin forward has been linked to a move away from the Red V during his three-year deal, but insists he wants to stay under new coach Shane Flanagan.
Negotiations are ongoing between the player's management and the club.
"I'd love to stay because I love the club. It's been a pretty tough two-and-a-bit years and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Su'A told AAP.
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"It's a week-by-week thing. I played s**t the other week (against the Dolphins), so it was bad timing.
"It's just important to be winning games and turning up.
"The club won't lose the player that they want to keep. If I'm that player, then I'm sure I'll be here."
Su'A is confident he will return from a quad strain in time to face Manly in Wollongong on Saturday.
But contract-wise, Bennett could potentially be the joker in the pack for Su'A.
The player had his debut at Brisbane under Bennett in 2016, and Su'A followed the coach to South Sydney midway through 2019.
An Origin debut followed under Bennett in 2020, and the back-rower left the Rabbitohs at the end of 2021 - once the coach was without a club.
The pair remain close, with the 26-year-old leaning on Bennett for advice and the veteran coach last year confirming his interest in linking back up with Su'A.
Bennett will leave the Dolphins after this year but remains hopeful of continuing to coach.
He is sure to be linked to a Rabbitohs return if Jason Demetriou can't turn around the last-placed Bunnies.
But while Su'A knows the lure of Bennett, the Samoa international said he was not holding out to see if his old coach would be in charge of another NRL club next year.
"I've got the ultimate respect for him. He gave me my club debut, my Origin debut," Su'A said.
"I was struggling in Brisbane when he left and he told me to come down and said he would turn me into the player he knew I could be.
"Two years later I was playing in a grand finals, I was playing in Origin. I have a lot of respect for him and I trust him.
"But no one knows what he's going to be doing and I'm definitely not holding my eggs in that basket."
