Trial form cause for concern? Or just teething problems?

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

I have said this on our forum.

the Sharks consistently gain field position and create great opportunities. Problem is they consistently also fail to convert those opportunities and create scoreboard pressure.

that's why the Dragons can get them.

Can and will are two very different things though. I have no doubt it is one of our most winnable and probably a must win game but I wont be putting any money on them lets put it that way.

 

[Crush]

Can and will are two very different things though. I have no doubt it is one of our most winnable and probably a must win game but I wont be putting any money on them lets put it that way.

Sharks are a very average side.
I expect them to beat us comfortably.

 

[Dragonslayer]

https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/02/27/not-good-enough-griffin-knows-hard-work-is-ahead/

Dont know if this has been posted as yet, apologies if so. Some interesting statements in it:

"Griffin praised his team's enterprise in attack, making their own fair share of line breaks, and said it was more useful running into a red-hot attacking side than having a loose scrappy game".

"Griffin wasn't too alarmed but admitted plenty needs to be fixed up in the two weeks before the season proper."

"We have to turn it around quickly. The good part about tonight is we got a real lesson which will make the learning more obvious."

"If we came here and they hadn't have played so well and we got done by six or eight we might have felt a bit better about it but they played brilliant.

"We got a really high-quality attack to pull us apart like they did, that's more valuable than scrambling away and having a loose game and thinking we don't have too much work to do."

"The Dragons still have a decision to make over whether Cody Ramsey, Mikaele Ravalawa or someone else partners Jordan Pereira on the wing in round one while Josh Kerr's move to edge back row was inauspicious, leaving a question over who Tariq Sims' edge partner will be."

"But for the most part, the team is settled and in terms of take-outs from the trial there weren't many questions to be answered, Griffin said."

These last 2 statement are pretty interesting. Seems Periera is the favoured left winger, the battle will he between Cody and Rava for the other.
Add that it seems the Kerr experiment could continue.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

https://www.nrl.com/news/2021/02/27/not-good-enough-griffin-knows-hard-work-is-ahead/

Dont know if this has been posted as yet, apologies if so. Some interesting statements in it:

"Griffin praised his team's enterprise in attack, making their own fair share of line breaks, and said it was more useful running into a red-hot attacking side than having a loose scrappy game".

"Griffin wasn't too alarmed but admitted plenty needs to be fixed up in the two weeks before the season proper."

"We have to turn it around quickly. The good part about tonight is we got a real lesson which will make the learning more obvious."

"If we came here and they hadn't have played so well and we got done by six or eight we might have felt a bit better about it but they played brilliant.

"We got a really high-quality attack to pull us apart like they did, that's more valuable than scrambling away and having a loose game and thinking we don't have too much work to do."

"The Dragons still have a decision to make over whether Cody Ramsey, Mikaele Ravalawa or someone else partners Jordan Pereira on the wing in round one while Josh Kerr's move to edge back row was inauspicious, leaving a question over who Tariq Sims' edge partner will be."

"But for the most part, the team is settled and in terms of take-outs from the trial there weren't many questions to be answered, Griffin said."

These last 2 statement are pretty interesting. Seems Periera is the favoured left winger, the battle will he between Cody and Rava for the other.
Add that it seems the Kerr experiment could continue.

It really makes you wish we could just get an old workhorse like Josh Jackson doesn’t it. I’d take someone with barely any flair at all if they were just a simple tackling machine that was rock solid and ran hard. We really need to plug that gap. Sims will be fine he hasn’t played much.

 

[Evil Emperor Zurg]

I’ve never taken a lot of notice of trial form.

Does anybody remember how we trialled in 2010?

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

I’ve never taken a lot of notice of trial form.

Does anybody remember how we trialled in 2010?

Usually no but a thrashing like this is unheard of and the same defensive mistakes and style from last year was there. Let’s hope they are in the tail end of a heavy training schedule but the signs don’t look good. Few good signs in attack though, Zac is looking better than Mark Gasnier and Cody looks like he’s going to make a line break nearly every touch. Rava looks like a prop.

 

[Dragonslayer]

Usually no but a thrashing like this is unheard of and the same defensive mistakes and style from last year was there. Let’s hope they are in the tail end of a heavy training schedule but the signs don’t look good. Few good signs in attack though, Zac is looking better than Mark Gasnier and Cody looks like he’s going to make a line break nearly every touch. Rava looks like a prop.

Rava looks like a forward, runs like a forward and drops the ball like a forward

 

[BLM01]

Manly get beaten by a bigger margin than we did in a trial from a mediocre side in Tigers
Will Des cop the same flack?

 

[muzby]

I’ve just found a piece of the sky..

Anyone want it?

 

[Craig93]

Faamausili looked quite fit and fast. Could he be an option at 12

 

[muzby]

Faamausili looked quite fit and fast. Could he be an option at 12

At this stage even I’m an option at 12

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

Rava looks like a forward, runs like a forward and drops the ball like a forward

Yeah I'm not completely sold on him yet either. I know it isn't a popular opinion in here but I actually think JP is a better meter eater than him, I feel for JP being stuck outside Aitken for so long. I still think given the choice I would probably choose Rava over JP purely on age and potential but neither has cemented their spot imo.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

Manly get beaten by a bigger margin than we did in a trial from a mediocre side in Tigers
Will Des cop the same flack?

Des was probably using the same get them peaking for round 1 strategy Hook was...

 

[Dragon David]

Manly get beaten by a bigger margin than we did in a trial from a mediocre side in Tigers
Will Des cop the same flack?

Will Manly and the Dragons be fighting it out for the wooden spoon this year? Could be on the cards. Both easy beats this weekend.

But as FDC said, Des and Hook's strategy is getting them to peak for round 1.

 

[Crush]

Manly get beaten by a bigger margin than we did in a trial from a mediocre side in Tigers
Will Des cop the same flack?

No DCE, Jake, Tom, Foran, Walker...
What excuse do we have?

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

No DCE, Jake, Tom, Foran, Walker...
What excuse do we have?

We played our second string halves in Hunt and Norman for a start.

 

[Dragon David]

No DCE, Jake, Tom, Foran, Walker...
What excuse do we have?

Fair enough. Maybe not Manly for the wooden spoon then.

 

[Maddragon99]

I’ve never taken a lot of notice of trial form.

Does anybody remember how we trialled in 2010?

I think it’s easy to fall into the ‘it’s only a trail trap.’ We looked terrible against Souths & I’m legitimately worried, to have any chance of making the 8 we need to get off to hot start.

 

[Forbes Creek Dragons]

I think it’s easy to fall into the ‘it’s only a trail trap.’ We looked terrible against Souths & I’m legitimately worried, to have any chance of making the 8 we need to get off to hot start.

It would have been nice to play our trials in reverse order.

 

[Old Timer]

The teams 1st legitimate hit out after a wretched month or so of multiple blunders.

If this was Hook & Co's 2nd preseason and the team dished this up then more than reason for concern but as it is very early in there tenure and lots of things to be done let's put it down to teething problems.

Don't forget Mc Innes being out would have been a massive blow.

His injury will be felt for weeks to come as Hook tries to work out how to plug a significant hole and with little to no back up 13's at this point in time.