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The Rumours Thread

Q

qld redvee

Juniors
Messages
1,350
Adolf_Spritzer said:
Can't keep them all. Especially considering we signed the three amigos, the twins and Ramsey all in the past year, can you imagine if we'd let them go instead?
Click to expand...
Adolf
you would probably find if we had the old coach ( he that shall remain nameless ) we probably would have lost a few of these,,,,, cant play your bog average journeymen if you keep above average juniors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
H

Hard Yards

Juniors
Messages
78
This has the potential to be a great redemption story. George's effort against his old ream in the Charity Shield will be worth watching. Hopefully he is able to play injury free football, for the whole season, with continued improvements in match awareness and playing skills, he is very much worth the gamble and effort. With an incentive based contract there is a lot of potential upside. Many doubted Jack Bird would be able to play more than a handful of games last year, so clearly the medical staff know the best way to bring on a players rehab. Good luck to George for 22.
 
AyiosYiorgos

AyiosYiorgos

Coach
Messages
13,647
randomdragon said:
www.illawarramercury.com.au

After receiving club's backing, Anthony Griffin must now complete his Dragons rebuild

"Time will tell if we can get to where we want to be."
www.illawarramercury.com.au www.illawarramercury.com.au

Could someone post please
Click to expand...
While few could have predicted the exact moment the decision to extend Anthony Griffin's contract would be announced, the move itself should come as no surprise.

The Dragons have thrown the keys to the St George Illawarra city to their head coach since he took over.
It's a move that has led to a significant rebuild, the squad completely overhauled and moulded in Griffin's vision.

Freedom in decision making that former coach Paul McGregor was never afforded was handed to the Queenslander the moment he arrived in Wollongong.
Cameron McInnes was allowed to join Cronulla. Matt Dufty was shown the door. Tariq Sims has been told his services will not be required after his contract expires at the end of this year.
All three moves attracted heavy criticism.
Also attracting criticism has been Griffin's recruitment strategy. In McInnes' place came Andrew McCullough.
Josh McGuire joined from the Cowboys. Aaron Woods, George Burgess and Moses Mbye have all arrived this off-season.
There is, of course, a method to the madness.
Griffin is attempting to guide the side through a transition period.
The likes of Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan and Talatau Amone are only just breaking into first grade.
The fastest way to stunt their development is to throw them to the wolves in a losing football team.
The likes of Woods and Mbye are short-term fixes, players used to protect the Dragons young talent as they find their feet and hopefully develop into future stars.
Griffin has also attempted to bulk up the forward pack to provide more punch up front. Francis Molo and Jaydn Su'A shape as crucial to this goal, the pair also likely to challenge existing forwards Josh Kerr and Blake Lawrie.
It's a strategy similar to what the coach used at the Panthers as he ushered through the likes of Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Villiame Kikau.
While he was sacked before the task could be completed, the platform for last year's grand final victory had been set.
The timing of the decision to back Griffin has been questioned, but the 55-year-old deserved the certainty to know he would get the chance to see out his plan.
Given the strategy has been so clearly laid out, it was highly unlikely St George Illawarra officials would abandon the rebuild after just two years.
Unless this season is an absolute disaster, a scenario that is unlikely, Griffin was always going to receive a third year as coach.
Few expect the Dragons to challenge for the premiership this year and that's not what the coach is being judged on.
Instead he'll be judged on how well he transitions this team from also-ran to a contender. The development of the young talent shapes as central to that assessment.
By taking up the one-year option now, St George Illawarra have removed any speculation about Griffin during the season.
They have ensured certainty when attempting to re-sign existing players and attract new recruits.
Not only does Griffin have the full support from the club's hierarchy, he also has the support of his team.
The players have bought into his strategy and have their sights set on a much-improved season.
"What has grown at the Dragons is the culture," Zac Lomax said. "It's really good to be a part of at the moment.
"Hook drives that. As a coach, that's what he's about, giving yourself to the team and we're doing that.
"We're still a bit off in regards to where we want to be in our performances, based on our results last year, but we're getting towards there. Hook's been driving that and the players have started driving that now.
"Time will tell, everyone is sitting first at the moment, so time will tell if we can get to where we want to be."
Lomax is right. Time will tell if Griffin's strategy has been the right one.
The Dragons have given the coach the opportunity to complete his mission. It's up to him to repay that faith.
That starts on Sunday when St George Illawarra's season kicks off with a trial against the Eels.
 
Dragons4me

Dragons4me

Juniors
Messages
1,094
AyiosYiorgos said:
While few could have predicted the exact moment the decision to extend Anthony Griffin's contract would be announced, the move itself should come as no surprise.

The Dragons have thrown the keys to the St George Illawarra city to their head coach since he took over.
It's a move that has led to a significant rebuild, the squad completely overhauled and moulded in Griffin's vision.

Freedom in decision making that former coach Paul McGregor was never afforded was handed to the Queenslander the moment he arrived in Wollongong.
Cameron McInnes was allowed to join Cronulla. Matt Dufty was shown the door. Tariq Sims has been told his services will not be required after his contract expires at the end of this year.
All three moves attracted heavy criticism.
Also attracting criticism has been Griffin's recruitment strategy. In McInnes' place came Andrew McCullough.
Josh McGuire joined from the Cowboys. Aaron Woods, George Burgess and Moses Mbye have all arrived this off-season.
There is, of course, a method to the madness.
Griffin is attempting to guide the side through a transition period.
The likes of Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan and Talatau Amone are only just breaking into first grade.
The fastest way to stunt their development is to throw them to the wolves in a losing football team.
The likes of Woods and Mbye are short-term fixes, players used to protect the Dragons young talent as they find their feet and hopefully develop into future stars.
Griffin has also attempted to bulk up the forward pack to provide more punch up front. Francis Molo and Jaydn Su'A shape as crucial to this goal, the pair also likely to challenge existing forwards Josh Kerr and Blake Lawrie.
It's a strategy similar to what the coach used at the Panthers as he ushered through the likes of Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Villiame Kikau.
While he was sacked before the task could be completed, the platform for last year's grand final victory had been set.
The timing of the decision to back Griffin has been questioned, but the 55-year-old deserved the certainty to know he would get the chance to see out his plan.
Given the strategy has been so clearly laid out, it was highly unlikely St George Illawarra officials would abandon the rebuild after just two years.
Unless this season is an absolute disaster, a scenario that is unlikely, Griffin was always going to receive a third year as coach.
Few expect the Dragons to challenge for the premiership this year and that's not what the coach is being judged on.
Instead he'll be judged on how well he transitions this team from also-ran to a contender. The development of the young talent shapes as central to that assessment.
By taking up the one-year option now, St George Illawarra have removed any speculation about Griffin during the season.
They have ensured certainty when attempting to re-sign existing players and attract new recruits.
Not only does Griffin have the full support from the club's hierarchy, he also has the support of his team.
The players have bought into his strategy and have their sights set on a much-improved season.
"What has grown at the Dragons is the culture," Zac Lomax said. "It's really good to be a part of at the moment.
"Hook drives that. As a coach, that's what he's about, giving yourself to the team and we're doing that.
"We're still a bit off in regards to where we want to be in our performances, based on our results last year, but we're getting towards there. Hook's been driving that and the players have started driving that now.
"Time will tell, everyone is sitting first at the moment, so time will tell if we can get to where we want to be."
Lomax is right. Time will tell if Griffin's strategy has been the right one.
The Dragons have given the coach the opportunity to complete his mission. It's up to him to repay that faith.
That starts on Sunday when St George Illawarra's season kicks off with a trial against the Eels.
Click to expand...
I just want to see an improvement from 2021. That's my hope for 2022. Anything above that will be a bonus.
 
AyiosYiorgos

AyiosYiorgos

Coach
Messages
13,647
randomdragon said:
www.illawarramercury.com.au

Charity Shield a final pitch for Dragons young guns as heavy hitters return

BAPTISM of fire is an over-used term in sporting parlance, but there's no other way to describe Connor...
www.illawarramercury.com.au www.illawarramercury.com.au

Could someone post the article please? Greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
BAPTISM of fire is an over-used term in sporting parlance, but there's no other way to describe Connor Muhleisen's pre-Christmas wrestling match with UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski.

Preseasons are hard enough without mixing it up with the best featherweight to ever grace the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. It was a tough day to be the odd one out.
"We've been doing our wrestle with Alex all preseason and he came to WIN Stadium to do a bit of wrestling with us," Muhleisen said.

"There happened to be an odd number of boys when we looked around so I got chucked with him. He definitely made me work for it. I said to him 'I don't know how you do this for 25 minutes mate, it's bloody hard'.
"You're not going out-wrestle him, he's the champion of the world for a reason. I just had to cop it on the chin and do my best."
Little wonder he didn't find his first taste of NRL action against Parramatta last week too much of a leap, grabbing a try and making a decent fist of time on the paddock.
"Going into the game I just wanted to earn the respect of the boys, make my tackles and bring a bit of energy," he said.
"I didn't want to overplay my hand and I thought I did that pretty well. It was my first real taste against proper NRL players and I felt pretty comfortable. From the first tackle I knew I was sweet and could handle myself and do well."
It was the first time he came on the radar for most fans, but insiders at the club have huge wraps on the 21-year-old who may well crack the NRL at some stage this season given the club's skinny hooking ranks.

Moses Mbye and Josh McGuire have proven adept as fill-in dummy-halves but, as far as genuine No. 9s go, Muhlheisen is number two to Andrew McCullough - at least on paper.
It's not something he's giving too much thought to, with his immediate focus on turning his current train-and-trial deal into a development contract for 2022. Whatever minutes he gets late in Saturday's Charity Shield will be his final pitch to that end.
"It's been a goal since I was born really, like any footballer, but I'm not one to look too far ahead," Muhleisen said.
"I had a bit of a chat with Hook (Anthony Griffin) before that trial and he really just simplifies it for us younger boys. He just gives you a couple of jobs he really wants you to nail down.
"He spoke to me before the trial and said, early in the season, it's just about getting your defence on, making your tackles and hitting the right options.
"That's what my focus was going into the game. I didn't want to overplay my hand and that came from that conversation.
"Macca's done it for a long time and I'm just trying to learn off him at the moment. If I do that and an opportunity comes, hopefully I'm ready to take it with both hands."
Should he crack it, he'll become yet another member of the Steelers class of 2019 having been vice-captain of a team featuring the likes of Jayden Sullivan, Talatau Amone, Mat and Max Feagai, Tyrell Sloan and current Bulldogs centre Aaron Schoup.
"We knew we had a gun team but when you're that age first grade seems so far away and so far out of reach," Muhleisen said.
"It was a very talented group, and we knew at the time, but probably didn't know how much so. When you look back at it, six or our 1-7 have all played NRL now.
"Over the last couple of years seeing Sully, Junior and the Feagai boys playing first grade and handling themselves, it gives you that confidence in your own ability. If those boys can do it then I can do it as well."
Griffin will welcome back a cavalcade of stars in Saturday's Charity Shield, with skipper Ben Hunt heading the list of big guns named for the annual showdown.
Who partners the 32-year-old in round one is the biggest question facing Griffin. With Sullivan sidelined by a hamstring complaint, Amone got first crack against the Eels and is named to partner Hunt against the Rabbitohs.
He will likely enjoy big minutes with veteran halves contender Moses Mbye ruled out of the game with a quad injury. Tariq Sims (calf) is also unavailable, while the club confirmed on Wednesday that Max Feagai will require surgery on a fractured fibula suffered in last week's win over the Eels.
Aaron Woods, Jaydn Su'A, Zac Lomax, Blake Lawrie, Jack de Belin and Jack Bird will also get their first taste of football for the year, the latter named in the back row.
 
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