we lost but

[thebigredv]

This is the problem, there is no plan B.

Plan A will keep us off the bottom of the ladder but the real killer is that it looks as though we are in for another long sad season.

 

[dragons girl]

This is the problem, there is no plan B.

There is no plan A either

 

[thebigredv]

There is no plan A either

Plan A is hope the opposition are really bad and then just run hard.

 

[giboz71]

Eels were just way too good. Completely nullified our forwards which put us on the back foot from the first minute. They were up for this game and would have beaten a lot of teams. And Norman was just on fire.

The issue is, we don't have any firepower in the backs when our forwards don't put it on a plate like they did against the Panthers. Too slow and not skillful enough. Aitken was absolutely horrendous.

Still have no idea why McCrone got most of the touches with the limited ball we had. Surely Duges and Widdop need the ball every chance we get. They are the closest things to "weapons" that we have (and I use that term loosely when it comes to the Dragons).

 

[JohnnoMcJohnno]

We lost but I had a really good week at work and was able to pin the ladder on the noticeboard showing Dragons leading the comp.

 

[Belta]

We lost but IMO we never gave up. Everything went wrong. If you take into account, and in no particular order, Packer dropping it on the first tackle on our line and a subsequent try to the eels, later in the game he also passed it to a parra player as we were attacking their line, plus a few other early drops by the big fella,

No result from any kick, one in particular that was a lob kick that Mcrone put up that went about 10 yards and was batted back by MacDonald which ended up on the halfway line. Compared to the eels kick results which nearly all ended up as a dangerous attacking bombs, or a try or a repeat set, or in one case a drop again on tackle 1 near our try line yielding another try from a grubber by Norman.

We had quite a few shit ref calls, the grubber put through that was batted on by an eels player and should have resulted in a 7' tackle restart we ruled to be touched by Nightingale, again the subsequent set of six the eels scored. The penalty for Jennings running into Mcrone, should of been a 7 tackle restart, not a penalty and a subsequent try to the eels.

Our backs defensively were atrocious, can't argue with that, Aitken worst game of his life I'm sure, kid has a huge heart always gives 110 percent. He just doesn't have the awareness or skill other centres in the game have, in the second half he received the ball out wide Radradra raced in, instead of passing it to MacDonald who was in position to receive and run unmarked to the try line, Aitken holds onto the ball, and somehow fumbles it in the tackle and knocks on, a double whammy. Because of the centres poor defense we see MacDonald later in the game come in from his wing a few times when he did not need to, had no confidence in his inside defenders (can't blame him) again allowing a few tries that should not of been scored if they simply numbered up.

Sure the eels played well on the back of all the momentum they had, they have possibly one of the most skilful back lines, the forwards were charging up due to the momentum they had from all the things that went there way we still were in position to come back until late in the game.

Not a good result but there were positive's, MacDonald was strong in attack, JDB and the forwards, bar packer played well..that's about it

 

[possm]

and extended his contract a further 3 years, oh the pain

I wonder how much Aiken's salary is? If it is around 200k, maybe it's OK but he should be moved to Illawarra for second row schooling.

 

[blacksafake]

We lost but IMO we never gave up. Everything went wrong. If you take into account, and in no particular order, Packer dropping it on the first tackle on our line and a subsequent try to the eels, later in the game he also passed it to a parra player as we were attacking their line, plus a few other early drops by the big fella,

No result from any kick, one in particular that was a lob kick that Mcrone put up that went about 10 yards and was batted back by MacDonald which ended up on the halfway line. Compared to the eels kick results which nearly all ended up as a dangerous attacking bombs, or a try or a repeat set, or in one case a drop again on tackle 1 near our try line yielding another try from a grubber by Norman.

We had quite a few shit ref calls, the grubber put through that was batted on by an eels player and should have resulted in a 7' tackle restart we ruled to be touched by Nightingale, again the subsequent set of six the eels scored. The penalty for Jennings running into Mcrone, should of been a 7 tackle restart, not a penalty and a subsequent try to the eels.

Our backs defensively were atrocious, can't argue with that, Aitken worst game of his life I'm sure, kid has a huge heart always gives 110 percent. He just doesn't have the awareness or skill other centres in the game have, in the second half he received the ball out wide Radradra raced in, instead of passing it to MacDonald who was in position to receive and run unmarked to the try line, Aitken holds onto the ball, and somehow fumbles it in the tackle and knocks on, a double whammy. Because of the centres poor defense we see MacDonald later in the game come in from his wing a few times when he did not need to, had no confidence in his inside defenders (can't blame him) again allowing a few tries that should not of been scored if they simply numbered up.

Sure the eels played well on the back of all the momentum they had, they have possibly one of the most skilful back lines, the forwards were charging up due to the momentum they had from all the things that went there way we still were in position to come back until late in the game.

Not a good result but there were positive's, MacDonald was strong in attack, JDB and the forwards, bar packer played well..that's about it

Nowhere near enough positives to come out of that game for me.
Way too many negatives for my liking.I still can't believe L plate could honestly sit in the presser & bring up some positives.No wonder we are sh#t with this attitude.

 

[Belta]

Blacksafsake said; "..still can't believe L plate..could bring up some positives..."

Yep i get that, when I first walked out of WIN Stadium I was searching for a refund so disgusted was I with the drop balls, poor kicks, poor defensive reads, just about everything except the effort. I guess I try to look at positive's, but I agree the coach should have been livid, ie like Griffin after Penriths big loss

 

[Carlton]

I wonder how much Aiken's salary is? If it is around 200k, maybe it's OK but he should be moved to Illawarra for second row schooling.

Its not Aitken's fault but he is not a centre and a lot of fans have been saying this for a long time. People highlight his defence as a deficiency but his attack as a centre is no better. Dugan is criticised for not passing but Aitken takes it to a new level. We have a centre who cannot set up a winger who is dangerous.

 

[SEAT 1A]

He shows a lot of promise. Had a bad game yeah, but that doesn't make him a dud

Agree with you OzDragon.

The club's backed him, is only a kid and played for Country. He has time on his side to rectify that part of his game.

 

[denis preston]

Agree with you OzDragon.

The club's backed him, is only a kid and played for Country. He has time on his side to rectify that part of his game.

Trouble with that is he doesn't improve but still plays in first grade for the season and in the meantime others that should be in his position lose hope and get their managers to look elsewhere. This Aitken / Nightingale love by the coach is similar to the Marketo situation last year and it is doing damage to the side.

 

[SEAT 1A]

Trouble with that is he doesn't improve but still plays in first grade for the season and in the meantime others that should be in his position lose hope and get their managers to look elsewhere. This Aitken / Nightingale love by the coach is similar to the Marketo situation last year and it is doing damage to the side.

Agree somewhat denis preston.

Thought he should have been hooked on Sunday as Mann was on the bench.

You are right about players looking elsewhere and we have lost a few very good players however, sometimes you win and other times you don't, that the club's structure.

 

[Objective View]

We lost but IMO we never gave up. Everything went wrong. If you take into account, and in no particular order, Packer dropping it on the first tackle on our line and a subsequent try to the eels, later in the game he also passed it to a parra player as we were attacking their line, plus a few other early drops by the big fella,

No result from any kick, one in particular that was a lob kick that Mcrone put up that went about 10 yards and was batted back by MacDonald which ended up on the halfway line. Compared to the eels kick results which nearly all ended up as a dangerous attacking bombs, or a try or a repeat set, or in one case a drop again on tackle 1 near our try line yielding another try from a grubber by Norman.

We had quite a few shit ref calls, the grubber put through that was batted on by an eels player and should have resulted in a 7' tackle restart we ruled to be touched by Nightingale, again the subsequent set of six the eels scored. The penalty for Jennings running into Mcrone, should of been a 7 tackle restart, not a penalty and a subsequent try to the eels.

Our backs defensively were atrocious, can't argue with that, Aitken worst game of his life I'm sure, kid has a huge heart always gives 110 percent. He just doesn't have the awareness or skill other centres in the game have, in the second half he received the ball out wide Radradra raced in, instead of passing it to MacDonald who was in position to receive and run unmarked to the try line, Aitken holds onto the ball, and somehow fumbles it in the tackle and knocks on, a double whammy. Because of the centres poor defense we see MacDonald later in the game come in from his wing a few times when he did not need to, had no confidence in his inside defenders (can't blame him) again allowing a few tries that should not of been scored if they simply numbered up.

Sure the eels played well on the back of all the momentum they had, they have possibly one of the most skilful back lines, the forwards were charging up due to the momentum they had from all the things that went there way we still were in position to come back until late in the game.

Not a good result but there were positive's, MacDonald was strong in attack, JDB and the forwards, bar packer played well..that's about it

Thanks Mary.

Straight Shooter

 

[blacksafake]

Agree with you OzDragon.

The club's backed him, is only a kid and played for Country. He has time on his side to rectify that part of his game.

Yea but he doesn't have the coach to do this.

 

[Crush]

We lost but IMO we never gave up. Everything went wrong. If you take into account, and in no particular order, Packer dropping it on the first tackle on our line and a subsequent try to the eels, later in the game he also passed it to a parra player as we were attacking their line, plus a few other early drops by the big fella,

No result from any kick, one in particular that was a lob kick that Mcrone put up that went about 10 yards and was batted back by MacDonald which ended up on the halfway line. Compared to the eels kick results which nearly all ended up as a dangerous attacking bombs, or a try or a repeat set, or in one case a drop again on tackle 1 near our try line yielding another try from a grubber by Norman.

We had quite a few shit ref calls, the grubber put through that was batted on by an eels player and should have resulted in a 7' tackle restart we ruled to be touched by Nightingale, again the subsequent set of six the eels scored. The penalty for Jennings running into Mcrone, should of been a 7 tackle restart, not a penalty and a subsequent try to the eels.

Our backs defensively were atrocious, can't argue with that, Aitken worst game of his life I'm sure, kid has a huge heart always gives 110 percent. He just doesn't have the awareness or skill other centres in the game have, in the second half he received the ball out wide Radradra raced in, instead of passing it to MacDonald who was in position to receive and run unmarked to the try line, Aitken holds onto the ball, and somehow fumbles it in the tackle and knocks on, a double whammy. Because of the centres poor defense we see MacDonald later in the game come in from his wing a few times when he did not need to, had no confidence in his inside defenders (can't blame him) again allowing a few tries that should not of been scored if they simply numbered up.

Sure the eels played well on the back of all the momentum they had, they have possibly one of the most skilful back lines, the forwards were charging up due to the momentum they had from all the things that went there way we still were in position to come back until late in the game.

Not a good result but there were positive's, MacDonald was strong in attack, JDB and the forwards, bar packer played well..that's about it

Solid, well thought out post Belta.
Good to see someone that looks a little deeper instead of just throwing their hands in the air and saying sack the lot of them. Refreshing.

 

[Belta]

Crush said; "...good to see someone that looks a little deeper instead of ...saying sack the lot of them..."

Thanks mate, I honestly feel they tried hard and I'm not advocating the acceptance of mediocrity, which some keep implying I do, and I certainly don't support or agree with all the FG selections, and am certainly critical and have voiced this criticism many times at Mary's refusal to make changes when there is a prolonged period of bad results.

And if I am 'Mary' as OV suggests then Nona makes his long awaited deputy this Sunday, Dufty starts at fullback, Dugan and Milne are the centres and Mann replaces Nightingale on the wing. If this happens call me Mary, otherwise I am and always will be Belta

 

[Dragonslayer]

Agree with you OzDragon.

The club's backed him, is only a kid and played for Country. He has time on his side to rectify that part of his game.

Passing the football, keeping a defensive line and lateral defending are basic fundamentals of a rugby league player learnt from what, u14's? In any case he's coming on 22yrs old and really hasn't developed from his debut in 2015.
Is that McGregor's fault? yes of course it is. In the true sense of the word "coach" means to instruct or mentor and to train (yes has more but that will give the picture). McGregor should have been able to see these deficiencies in Aitkens game and then (as a centre player himself) took him aside and gave him the proper tutelage to correct it. It's obvious this has never happened or (a) he see's nothing wrong with his play (b) Aitken ignores his advice. I'm more leaning on (a) being correct.
Is Aitken at fault? yes he is. Unless he is a total egotist and cannot see any deficiencies in his own game, you would think he would be trying to correct them either at training or even asking for private tuition to address the issues. If he hasn't then really he's only kidding himself.
He has had nearly 2 full years as our permanent centre and hasn't gone on with becoming a dangerous competitor that other teams fear. It only appears now that they have actually worked his game out and are now "coaching" their players on how to play him.
It didn't surprise me that he wasn't included in the emerging Blues squad, even after playing rep footy in the 4 Nations and CvC game last year. They know what he brings to the table and how easy it is to combat him. Not rocket science really.
I like the kid, however, he needs to get away from McGregor asap otherwise his career is going to go from bad to worse. I think Matt Head maybe the only one at present that could be his saviour and teach him to be a centre again or at the very least have him develop into a power forward. If McGregor is sacked, then I'm sure the new coach will address the issues of Aitken post haste and have him back firing and being feared by oppositions, just like we all want him to be.

 

[coast_dragons]

Passing the football, keeping a defensive line and lateral defending are basic fundamentals of a rugby league player learnt from what, u14's? In any case he's coming on 22yrs old and really hasn't developed from his debut in 2015.
Is that McGregor's fault? yes of course it is. In the true sense of the word "coach" means to instruct or mentor and to train (yes has more but that will give the picture). McGregor should have been able to see these deficiencies in Aitkens game and then (as a centre player himself) took him aside and gave him the proper tutelage to correct it. It's obvious this has never happened or (a) he see's nothing wrong with his play (b) Aitken ignores his advice. I'm more leaning on (a) being correct.
Is Aitken at fault? yes he is. Unless he is a total egotist and cannot see any deficiencies in his own game, you would think he would be trying to correct them either at training or even asking for private tuition to address the issues. If he hasn't then really he's only kidding himself.
He has had nearly 2 full years as our permanent centre and hasn't gone on with becoming a dangerous competitor that other teams fear. It only appears now that they have actually worked his game out and are now "coaching" their players on how to play him.
It didn't surprise me that he wasn't included in the emerging Blues squad, even after playing rep footy in the 4 Nations and CvC game last year. They know what he brings to the table and how easy it is to combat him. Not rocket science really.
I like the kid, however, he needs to get away from McGregor asap otherwise his career is going to go from bad to worse. I think Matt Head maybe the only one at present that could be his saviour and teach him to be a centre again or at the very least have him develop into a power forward. If McGregor is sacked, then I'm sure the new coach will address the issues of Aitken post haste and have him back firing and being feared by oppositions, just like we all want him to be.

Well he isn't going anywhere so that point is moot.

He is an honest kid so no he hasn't got an ego.

How do you know he isn't trying to improve his game hell Matt Cooper had some horror games and he learned as he went along.

 

[st.phil]

I didn't really like what I saw tonight. We were abhorrent. Having said that that was the best game of rugby league I have seen Gareth Widdop play in a long, long time. Well played Widdop.

Widdop barely touched the ball pre that try...he seems to go very quiet when we are getting pumped...mccrone got all the touches (which is really f**ked for us)