Week 1 Trial v Cows

[betcats]

How'd harry Armstrong go?

Didnt get to show much. Clarke the best of the young forwards in terms of what he did in the game. Based on size and mobility lemoto just looks like a very high potential guy, tho our middles got fairly pumped. I though Vailalo had a good crack in the middle when he came on, . Based on what I saw and who started and who came on second half Harry is a bit down the pecking order for the edge forwards. Kalani and Clarke started there and both were better imo.

Also the younger hooker is the one to watch. He is small but he held his own defensively was out of the line, a bit like Api actually, up fast and managing to bring guys down with low tackles. Not sure he is Ivans style as he looks like a runner, but he was noticeable when he came on.

 

[Oldpanther86]

Lol at everyone on the forum.

2nd half we've had half nsw cup amd half massey/flegg team on against a cows team which has had 4 or 5 top 17 on the whole half..

And its 18-16...

And our 1st half team was missing probs 4 or so nsw cup guys like eiso patea milky etc so wasnt even our top nsw cup team.

People need to realise its a trial and means nothing..

What I'm getting is the cows didn't beat the clock so we won the moral victory.

 

[hindy111]

Yes. Dearden is my Dally M smokey. Could have a big year. I agree Martin replacement. Big bopper but has speed too.

When a reggie plays first grade they are surrounded by firsts. Tonight was NSW cup and below vs firsts. So its tough going for anyone.

Galvin for me. I think he is going to prove doubters wrong unfortunately

 

[hindy111]

I watched the first half and 10 mins of 2nd. First half Penrith had 27% possession.
If two NRL sides played and saw that in a half you'd expect 30-0

I thought MoiMoi showed class in setting up Mclean.
And quite a few forwards looked good with fast leg speed and mobility.
Edgar made a great tackle but didnt get much ball in attack.
Is J.Mclean 2nd man up if Alamoti is injured? Jenkins is 1st.
If so then backs look think. Im not sure Jesse can make it

 

[Fangs]

Galvin for me. I think he is going to prove doubters wrong unfortunately

20 years old, under 50 games and playing 7 instead of 6. I think he has a few things counting against him. I'd want a solid year from him and a Dogs finals finish.

 

[betcats]

Also regarding the difference in quality of the teams, i suspect part of playing a team that is likely to get pumped would be to see how they react to getting pumped, not on the scoreboard but personally how does each player take it, did they drop their bundle, they did try and step up, did they get vocal and provide some leadership etc You learn more about them as players that way then watching them pump the opposition.

 

[Iamback]

Didnt get to show much. Clarke the best of the young forwards in terms of what he did in the game. Based on size and mobility lemoto just looks like a very high potential guy, tho our middles got fairly pumped. I though Vailalo had a good crack in the middle when he came on, . Based on what I saw and who started and who came on second half Harry is a bit down the pecking order for the edge forwards. Kalani and Clarke started there and both were better imo.

Also the younger hooker is the one to watch. He is small but he held his own defensively was out of the line, a bit like Api actually, up fast and managing to bring guys down with low tackles. Not sure he is Ivans style as he looks like a runner, but he was noticeable when he came on.

Billy Scott is a Kenny version who kicks. That is more Ivan's style

 

[Luke Bowden]

Ivan wouldve know they wouldve got blitzed..

Weve been the best club at bringing juniors through for a very long time...

If it was a terrible idea they wouldnt do it.

It gives them a taste..

Blokes like edgar know now that he needs to spend the year in cup seriously aiming uo in defence.

And a few other fringe guys would get plenty out of it.

The reality is theres probably 4-6 guys that played tonight that will go on to play regular nrl.. and it gives them a taste and the club obviously thinks it isnt a waste to blood them all.. otherwise blokes like patea, eiso, milky etc wouldve played..

Taking anything out of that other than it gave a few guys a taste is all..

I think our nsw cup squad will be very competitive this year and there will be plenty of blokes pushing nrl guys. Which is great.

A taste? You’re talking like this is their first ever game of football. They learnt nothing from this, the squad knows where they are at.
The Cowboys would be equally disappointed in this game.

The reality is, Ivan knows that trial games are a waste of time and he didn’t want to send anyone he might need early in the season.

The club was forced to spend a significant amount of money to achieve nothing.

Does Ivan know what he’s doing - Absolutely
Was it the best thing for our season - Absolutely

would we have been better staying home and playing a Ron Massey Team - Absolutely

 

[Iamback]

Also regarding the difference in quality of the teams, i suspect part of playing a team that is likely to get pumped would be to see how they react to getting pumped, not on the scoreboard but personally how does each player take it, did they drop their bundle, they did try and step up, did they get vocal and provide some leadership etc You learn more about them as players that way then watching them pump the opposition.

There were 11 NRL games, You take out Falls, McLean and the starting pack and you have very few NSW Cups too.

So it was probably seen as a way to test them and they use that to go back to NSW Cup and not be daunted by the jump up in class

 

[mxlegend99]

This never would have happened under Schneider's leadership

Nope. Zero chance we scored 24

 

[Kilkenny]

Also regarding the difference in quality of the teams, i suspect part of playing a team that is likely to get pumped would be to see how they react to getting pumped, not on the scoreboard but personally how does each player take it, did they drop their bundle, they did try and step up, did they get vocal and provide some leadership etc You learn more about them as players that way then watching them pump the opposition.

100%.

The game a terrific learning experience for our younger players and a great experience for the half a dozen RM Cup players who were filling in and not unlikely to get a similar opportunity again.

The reality is , as was obvious before the game, most of this team require a full season in NSW Cup during which we should learn a lot about who potentially could develop into NRL players for us.

Some of the comments around this game and it being a total waste of time I think are very ill informed.

 

[BxTom]

100%.

The game a terrific learning experience for our younger players and a great experience for the half a dozen RM Cup players who were filling in and not unlikely to get a similar opportunity again.

The reality is , as was obvious before the game, most of this team require a full season in NSW Cup during which we should learn a lot about who potentially could develop into NRL players for us.

Some of the comments around this game and it being a total waste of time I think are very ill informed.

Some of our younger players will now understand that when the trainers tell them they need to train harder, listen more and to dig deeper there is a reason for it. Hopefully many of our younger guys use the experience to grow into being better players.

 

[Fangs]

Are we naming a full strength 17 next week? I'm expecting that we do. If that is the case then trials obviously aren't a total waste of time in the eyes of our club.

The trial debate will continue forever. I think Nathan Brown once described them as a waste of time. Both Flanagan and Payten have named strong squads in trials ahead of the Vegas trip.

 

[Chins]

Are we naming a full strength 17 next week? I'm expecting that we do. If that is the case then trials obviously aren't a total waste of time in the eyes of our club.

The trial debate will continue forever. I think Nathan Brown once described them as a waste of time. Both Flanagan and Payten have named strong squads in trials ahead of the Vegas trip.

Vegas the GF for these sides

 

[Fangs]

Vegas the GF for thise sides

It could be their high water mark yes. They might not get to a bigger stage this year.

 

[IcemanCleary]

Nope. Zero chance we scored 24

Yeah we would of got 50

 

[Whino]

NRL scheduled trials, they should of had the Vegas sides play each other

They did last week.
The problem this year is the Dragons obligation to play the Charity Shield.

 

[maple_69]

First half was a write off, couldn’t make much of that, second half you could see what some guys had.

Clarke definitely the standout. Rugged, skill, good wheels, good size. I reckon a full year of Cup and he’s ready to replace Garner/Sorro.

Lemoto, Wigmore, Skipps, Moimoi, Tuaoi all showed a bit but look raw.

I like the look of Murphy, seems an Ivan type, as does Phillips, reliable and hard working guys.

Not a lot to see from Edgar, Crosby, Scott or Armstrong.

I reckon Fonua looks a better second drop vs McLean at this stage.

 

[age.s]

Yeah we would of got 50

Maybe if they played till next century.

 

[mxlegend99]

Yeah we would of got 50

You mean like the Dolphins did against the Titans?

12 points from the best attacking side of 2025 against the worst defensive side of 2025.

Nothing kills a teams attack quicker than putting Brad Schneider on the field.