Trial Game 1 v Knights

[TheRev]

Kade will develop nicely over the next year or two, as his body matures and bulks up his front on defence will improve

I almost think he went too well.. now Cronk and Foran are salivating over the kid... Braith isnt but he sees the opportunity to push his narrative... luckily we atleast have him locked up for a while.

You can put a line through Lawrie, he shouldn't see first grade again

I thought he was more effective than 2025, just moved a bit faster, still managed to get to the ground quick, didnt really get pushed back.. hes definitely down the pecking order but he could definitely be useful later in the season.

Who are your wingers for RD 1 Vegas?

I dont rly care too much.. CT seems to pull up pretty sore so assuming he is up for it...I thought he did enough with his carries to get a spot, and hes the vegas money man.... even though im theoretically not a fan of his.. there arent great options. I'd say Fale or Tu for the other wing, we still have to see the Souths game yet.. we may get a reality check yet, and also need to see if Val is definitely fit...

 

[RufusRex]

All is not well in Gus World
A few players are unhappy.
We may pick up a couple of young OBs but more likely next season.

Hope not Su'A ... aside from being pretty ordinary out there tonight i have heard from people that play(ed) with him that off field may not be the nicest of blokes. They could be spinning shit of course.

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

I almost think he went too well.. now Cronk and Foran are salivating over the kid... Braith isnt but he sees the opportunity to push his narrative... luckily we atleast have him locked up for a while.



I thought he was more effective than 2025, just moved a bit faster, still managed to get to the ground quick, didnt really get pushed back.. hes definitely down the pecking order but he could definitely be useful later in the season.


I dont rly care too much.. CT seems to pull up pretty sore so assuming he is up for it...I thought he did enough with his carries to get a spot, and hes the vegas money man.... even though im theoretically not a fan of his.. there arent great options. I'd say Fale or Tu for the other wing, we still have to see the Souths game yet.. we may get a reality check yet, and also need to see if Val is definitely fit...

The 1st try that Newcastle scored, not sure who the Newcastle player who got the ball away, but from where i was sitting it looked like Reed was the player who was up around the chest and he got shrugged off and then the offload came, is that right, havent seen a reply as yet..
I'll agree that Lawrie's play the balls were very good, but i didn't see that much of an improvement in his hit ups etc..
Yeah im thinking the same CT one wing purely for his 1st or 2nd tackle hit up and then a toss up between Fale and Tu unless they both butcher their chance at Mat Feagai sneaks in, now way Sloan get the spot..

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

All is not well in Gus World
A few players are unhappy.
We may pick up a couple of young OBs but more likely next season.

Hope not Su'A ... aside from being pretty ordinary out there tonight i have heard from people that play(ed) with him that off field may not be the nicest of blokes. They could be spinning shit of course.

what does Su'A have to do with that, i don't get your reply, you talking about O'Neil?

 

[RufusRex]

Jonathan SuA outside back for dogs

 

[TheRev]

The 1st try that Newcastle scored, not sure who the Newcastle player who got the ball away, but from where i was sitting it looked like Reed was the player who was up around the chest and he got shrugged off and then the offload came, is that right

Yah it was him he got pushed off, I mean they rly did run at him a lot lol.. im picturing Kikau and co doing it... was a pretty risky/impressive offload mind you, under his other arm. But yeah he would need a Dyl Egan or someone as a bodyguard, and its still gonna be risky.. you'd only do it if you genuinely think what Reed is bringing through his kicking and playmaking.. is THAT much better than what you get thru Atkinson/Kyle, who are both pretty good defensively... tbf I havent really studied Atkinsons kicking (but im sure we all will be)..

 

[jodragon40]

That was my one reservation with young Reed, no matter what grade your playing opponents target your play makers. He has a bright future and handled himself very well in that post match interview.

I thought his kicking game was very good, his chip and chase late in the game convinces me that he has a good football brain. Personally I would give him a full season in ressies. This allows him to mature more physically and mentally to the rigours of 1sts.

To my eye R Couchman and Sele were are best forwards with special mention to Halangahu and LPT. I thought Lawrie looked a lot fitter and did ok.

Next week will be the real first test of this season and will be a better guide than tonight. However a win is a win and a morale booster for may well be another long season for us.

I dont believe that we are semi finals material this season but 27/28 if we keep the majority of those youngsters already blooded in 1sts last season and this season to come my expectations would be in those years we would have built a competitive top 8 team, if not top 4. Time will tell.

 

[Frank Facer]

There are a number of positives to take from that. Not just Reed. The negatives are things Flanno has been moving to fix. Like Sloan, Feagai. Also sorry to say but Blake Lawrie has nothing. I think these are 3 Flanno wants gone.

I don't know what Griffin, McGregor or many posters on another forum saw in Lawrie. I remember many saying "He tries hard"

• Thought Lawrie was heaps better with his leaner body.. seemed to handle things well.. def will play a role at some stage, not sure how many minutes.
• 
  
• Bit disappointed LKT didnt do more, hes the experienced half there and didnt rly contribute until the final try assist.. but maybe partially because Kade had the whip hand tonight and mostly played right.
• Thought Kerr was alright, u can see his fast play the balls r his strength.. but someone else needs to do first hitups, Sele strong but ofcourse dont want to pin hopes on him staying healthy.

Click to expand...

* I thought Lawrie was the same old Lawrie. Very ineffective. I hope he doesn't see any first grade this year

* Still in no way convinced of King Togia being a regular first grader

* I thought Kerr was as underwhelming as when he was at our club a few years ago.

* I see much more potential in Pasifiki Tonga. I think Pasifiki Tonga just has to get his confidence up to believe he is a first grader. He had strapping on his knee. If he is carrying an injury, that could effect his confidence. If I had to choose between Kerr and Pasifiki Tonga right now, I would be picking Pasifiki Tonga in my 17.

Our wing options are not great ... it is getting to a point of playing Nick int he centres so Val can play on the wing. It is that questionable.

Get on the phone to whoever knocked us back before and ask again.

I don't see Tsougranis as a centre. He looks an out and out backrower to me.

Or Buchanan or Heidke playing in the centres with Holmes on the wing. I know at this stage of his career Holmes has more to offer at centre but if we are stacked for centres but lacking for wingers.......

I thought Holmes was great in the centres last year. If I was coach, there is no way I would be moving him to the wing. Maybe fullback, but not wing. Holmes, along with Gutho was a major reason Tuipulotu was scoring many tries and having a good season last year.

Inject that shit into my veins

Let us know what you thought of Rokko Walker when you get the chance to see the game mate.

Liked what I saw, nowhere near the same level obviously but gave me Similar vibes to a teenage Reece Walsh with the agility and risky ballplaying

Sounds very good. As I said before. I am getting good vibes about Rocko. Is his nickname Rocky?

 

[Frank Facer]

Fletcher Sharpe was very good for Newcastle. I was watching a podcast and someone there said Fletcher Sharpe was the best player on the field. I keep saying I would love for us to sign Fletcher Sharpe to play fullback for us or 5/8. He would make a great halves pairing with Reed.

Reed was the our best player. Pretty good for someone who is yet to play first grade. It is now a matter of when he plays first grade.

 

[Dave03]

Loved kade putting his body on the line over and over again. He didn't take a backward step. He didn't hide in any pockets.

 

[GCRV]

Yah it was him he got pushed off, I mean they rly did run at him a lot lol.. im picturing Kikau and co doing it... was a pretty risky/impressive offload mind you, under his other arm. But yeah he would need a Dyl Egan or someone as a bodyguard, and its still gonna be risky.. you'd only do it if you genuinely think what Reed is bringing through his kicking and playmaking.. is THAT much better than what you get thru Atkinson/Kyle, who are both pretty good defensively... tbf I havent really studied Atkinsons kicking (but im sure we all will be)..

Seemed fine defensively to my untrained eyes. Even the best, veteran halfback is going to get shrugged off from time to time. Looking forward to seeing how he goes in reserve grade. If his defensive is good and the first grade halves are struggling, will he be promoted sooner than anyone thinks?

 

[Mug Fan]

The 1st try that Newcastle scored, not sure who the Newcastle player who got the ball away, but from where i was sitting it looked like Reed was the player who was up around the chest and he got shrugged off and then the offload came, is that right, havent seen a reply as yet..

Yah it was him he got pushed off, I mean they rly did run at him a lot lol.. im picturing Kikau and co doing it... was a pretty risky/impressive offload mind you, under his other arm.

The shrug off is going to happen, the issue was following the ball across field instead of falling back to fill the space.

Knights come back that way and score, if he fills the space he stops the try, all a learning curve

 

[blacksafake]

Kade will develop nicely over the next year or two, as his body matures and bulks up his front on defence will improve, i thought Sele was good, he pushes through through the line every hit up,I'm also a fan of Hutchinson, no prisoner taken with his runs and good leg drive as well, he would have made some good PCM, You can put a line through Lawrie, he shouldn't see first grade again, Sloan is Sloan, again nothing has really improved, lets the ball bounce from a kick off, the try he scored he should have dived, not a one hand put down, he did the same last year i think and lost the ball after the tackler hit his arm, just before that try he scored had another opportunity, just stopped and turned back in, should have gone for it. One thing i like, start of the game we were pegged in our 20 for the first 10 or so minutes, heaps of defence but we handled it and then scored when we had a chance down the other end, all in all considering how many 6's again's Gough blew against us, we did well..
Who are your wingers for RD 1 Vegas?

It’s an issue that’s for sure.
I’m thinking Fale may be suited to wing rather than centre at this stage. The other will be money man as Flanno likes him,likewise Feagai but for me I want Sloans speed but he needs to really work on his finishing.

 

[Dave03]

Kerr does some dumb things but his size is invaluable

 

[Dave03]

One thing I want to see improve is stopping the oppo attacker leg drive. We had good contact st the body but not the legs. Stewart helps heaps in that area.

 

[Justadragon]

One thing I want to see improve is stopping the oppo attacker leg drive. We had good contact st the body but not the legs. Stewart helps heaps in that area.

Agree, I think next week we will see a vastly different version of the Dragons. A bit more game face on to get ready for vegas. Defense with Stewart and some of the others should be vastly improved. Wondering if Reed will get another run after KF and Atkinson have had about 40-50 minutes of game time.

 

[Dragon David]

I was out with my wife and some friends last night and managed to check the fulltime score with us winning so I watched the replay on Kayo. Our guys did well in winning. A fair bit of luck came our way with two intercept tries but we seemed to have control of the match even though we did lose the lead and once momentum came back to us in the last 10 minutes the game was ours. If I didn't go out and watched the game live, I would have said " he we go again" after Kerr knocked on in the first minute of the game. Watching the replay and knowing we had won takes away the stress.

What a bright future Reed has - glad he is signed to the end of 2028. Reed played like he has played first grade for years. Good on him and crossing fingers he will continue in the upward trajectory of improvement this year with plenty of game time in the lower grades. I think 2027 we will see him as our #7 and Atkinson the 5/8th.

Our forwards were energetic and eager and bodes well for back-up with several of them being able to fill in better this year when injuries strike.

Next week will be a bit tougher, but it will be good to see the experienced guys play and hopefully avenge that big loss against the Bunnies in the 3rd last game in 2025.

Go the Mighty Dragons.

 

[redv13]

Crap I missed this. Told you guys Reed was one out of the box.

Who covered the game?

Kid goes good but minimum 12 months of cup won’t be a bad thing for his development

 

[RedVHeartbeat]

I was out with my wife and some friends last night and managed to check the fulltime score with us winning so I watched the replay on Kayo. Our guys did well in winning. A fair bit of luck came our way with two intercept tries but we seemed to have control of the match even though we did lose the lead and once momentum came back to us in the last 10 minutes the game was ours. If I didn't go out and watched the game live, I would have said " he we go again" after Kerr knocked on in the first minute of the game. Watching the replay and knowing we had won takes away the stress.

Nice analysis DD. No Foxtel or Kayo, so hoping NRL site is replaying it.

 

[Edward]

I was out with my wife and some friends last night and managed to check the fulltime score with us winning so I watched the replay on Kayo. Our guys did well in winning. A fair bit of luck came our way with two intercept tries but we seemed to have control of the match even though we did lose the lead and once momentum came back to us in the last 10 minutes the game was ours. If I didn't go out and watched the game live, I would have said " he we go again" after Kerr knocked on in the first minute of the game. Watching the replay and knowing we had won takes away the stress.

What a bright future Reed has - glad he is signed to the end of 2028. Reed played like he has played first grade for years. Good on him and crossing fingers he will continue in the upward trajectory of improvement this year with plenty of game time in the lower grades. I think 2027 we will see him as our #7 and Atkinson the 5/8th.

Our forwards were energetic and eager and bodes well for back-up with several of them being able to fill in better this year when injuries strike.

Next week will be a bit tougher, but it will be good to see the experienced guys play and hopefully avenge that big loss against the Bunnies in the 3rd last game in 2025.

Go the Mighty Dragons.

Reed is rightly getting all the accolades but I thought Ryan Couchman was good. So too Tsugranis and LPT when they came on. Buchanan was also much more dangerous in attack than whoever he replaced and defense looks to have improved. Wasn't bad before but his size/strength meant he was beaten a few times. He's bigger and stronger now.

All the young guys were really good aside from LKT who was just ok. Looked like he was trying to match it with Reed in the first half. Flanno might have told him to calm down, make his tackles and play his normal game at half time which I think he did in the second half.