Eric
Staff
I don't know what's going on with Watsford and Creagh but I'm pretty sure if it was the Rorters, they'd be screaming blue murder and the NRL wouldn't have that particular ref officiating anymore Rorters games.
Round 11 v Panthers Sunday
- Thread starter Mug Fan
- Start date
Dragon David
SGI NSW Cup
It's been the same for years with us and the refs.
kogarahwarrior
SGI Jersey Flegg
There were even games where Tu was 18th man - couldn't even crack the Wahs starting side some weeks.
And yet Flanno still let Finau go.
Dragons Chris
SGI NSW Cup
Did Finau have a fallout with Kyle? That is the only reason I can guess Flanno treated him as he did.
Zen
SGI Jersey Flegg
I don't lament the loss of Finau. Cody Ramsey on the other hand...
Dragons Chris
SGI NSW Cup
I don't either but I lament that there was no one better to replace him and ended up with one significantly worse. Cody was always going to be a gamble with his health situation.
jodragon40
Staff
Well the expected result 1st v 17th came to pass. The winning margin really doesn't matter, I personally selected a 28 point loss we finished with a 22 point loss. So the result and margin to me is inconsequential.
My focus was on if we were competitive. The wet conditions, and ground conditions usually bring the two teams closer together. The Panthers were not at their best but we certainly showed some grit and courage.
To my eye I thought we held our own in the game especially in the forwards, and for about 65 minutes. Those Couchman brothers were once again our best . Toby 16 runs 163m, 67m post contact and Ryan, 15 runs, 136m, 55m post contact. If those boys don't pull on a blues jersey in a few years time Im a bad judge.
The game itself especially the 1st half ended up being a game of inches and what if. CT inches away from opening up the score with the bunker deciding he used his left foot to continue his forward motion, perplexing.
Panthers punish us a short time later when our winger TU poorly positioned didn't bother to challenge the kick and Jenkins scores, very poor defending by TU.
Then Edwards cover tackle stops a try by TU when it appeared his was favourite to score in the corner.
Then another poor piece of defending by TU and Jenkins scores his 2nd. 12 zip, not a true reflection of the game at that time.
Then probably the most controversial decision of the whole round. A brilliant peice of individual play by Cook saw a chip/chase then a 2nd kick at a ball that was not in full possession of Too at the time and he scores a memorable individual try, or that's what the majority of us watching believed. Once again the bunker intervenes and denies the try and penalises Cook, incredible.
The second half it looked like the Panthers were just doing enough to keep their margin and Papalilli scores 18 zip, everyone believes the floodgates are about to open but the Dragons showed fight.
A good try by the money man who manages to get the ball down with 3 Panthers on him gave us some glimmer of hope. But we ran out of steam after that try and a further 2 cleverly executed attacking structures by the Panthers put both Too and the Garner untouched over to our now non existent left edge defence. 28 - 6.
The score flattered the Panthers but to be very honest they never ever were in top gear but we played our part in that as did their off the field issues during the week.
Our completion rate let us down again 76% v 85% Panthers. You must at least matched them in that stat to make you competitive. Otherwise we matched the Panthers in every other stat. Special mention to Cook 60 tackles, tried his heart out.
Unfortunately we just don't have a halves and backline that can create opportunities and we lack speed but the team doesn't lack fight or courage as we witnessed last night.
It won't be any easier next week against the high flying Wahs who put the Broncos to the sword. A very real possibility of being 0 - 11.
My focus was on if we were competitive. The wet conditions, and ground conditions usually bring the two teams closer together. The Panthers were not at their best but we certainly showed some grit and courage.
To my eye I thought we held our own in the game especially in the forwards, and for about 65 minutes. Those Couchman brothers were once again our best . Toby 16 runs 163m, 67m post contact and Ryan, 15 runs, 136m, 55m post contact. If those boys don't pull on a blues jersey in a few years time Im a bad judge.
The game itself especially the 1st half ended up being a game of inches and what if. CT inches away from opening up the score with the bunker deciding he used his left foot to continue his forward motion, perplexing.
Panthers punish us a short time later when our winger TU poorly positioned didn't bother to challenge the kick and Jenkins scores, very poor defending by TU.
Then Edwards cover tackle stops a try by TU when it appeared his was favourite to score in the corner.
Then another poor piece of defending by TU and Jenkins scores his 2nd. 12 zip, not a true reflection of the game at that time.
Then probably the most controversial decision of the whole round. A brilliant peice of individual play by Cook saw a chip/chase then a 2nd kick at a ball that was not in full possession of Too at the time and he scores a memorable individual try, or that's what the majority of us watching believed. Once again the bunker intervenes and denies the try and penalises Cook, incredible.
The second half it looked like the Panthers were just doing enough to keep their margin and Papalilli scores 18 zip, everyone believes the floodgates are about to open but the Dragons showed fight.
A good try by the money man who manages to get the ball down with 3 Panthers on him gave us some glimmer of hope. But we ran out of steam after that try and a further 2 cleverly executed attacking structures by the Panthers put both Too and the Garner untouched over to our now non existent left edge defence. 28 - 6.
The score flattered the Panthers but to be very honest they never ever were in top gear but we played our part in that as did their off the field issues during the week.
Our completion rate let us down again 76% v 85% Panthers. You must at least matched them in that stat to make you competitive. Otherwise we matched the Panthers in every other stat. Special mention to Cook 60 tackles, tried his heart out.
Unfortunately we just don't have a halves and backline that can create opportunities and we lack speed but the team doesn't lack fight or courage as we witnessed last night.
It won't be any easier next week against the high flying Wahs who put the Broncos to the sword. A very real possibility of being 0 - 11.
really was a sackable offence
RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
Agree. Also on the edge he is less likely to use his ability to jump into receiver on occasions, similar to what JDB did for us. He is a career lock for mine with the promising Daniel Meafou, the only other forward with the same ability, being capable of putting pressure on Hamish for his spot imho.
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RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
His best game for us and on his milestone 250th. We will have Jacob Liddle back in the spot he made his own before Cookies arrival muddied the waters. Now two yrs older hopefully not two yrs slower/less agile or with less stamina given he will be back playing big mins.
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RedVHeartbeat
SGI NSW Cup
...and they did Deano. Already spoken about the Couchies, Loko a decent starting debut took the ball up strongly and did his share of defense in his 35 mins. Not as many rms as last game off the bench tho. Hamish with his usual vital contributions, tho prefer he was back in the middle, while Dylan prob had his best game for us, doubled his tackle count from last week and made some strong carries.
jodragon40
Staff
Im worried about that injury, some players never fully recover from a grade 3 hamstring tear or as good as they were. Time will tell but we do need another 9 just in case
dragonheart
SGI Jersey Flegg
Would like to know how many tries in 2026 are scored through our outside backs compared to middles.
When you see Toby and Ryan with Hamish Dylan Cookie bust their guts only to stand behind the posts after another easy try and dumb play from the backs, it must hurt them big time.
When you see Toby and Ryan with Hamish Dylan Cookie bust their guts only to stand behind the posts after another easy try and dumb play from the backs, it must hurt them big time.
Justadragon
SGI NSW Cup
In 2016 the Knights hold the record for the worst team in the NRL 1 win and 1 Draw. That is still a way away for us but we def's have the wooden spoon wrapped up. The most sad thing will be the forwards will be known as one of the worst teams in the history of the Dragons, and that would surely hurt.
dragonheart
SGI Jersey Flegg
And its wrong for the forwards to be remembered like that, we all know we have a team of 2 halves ..........forwards 8/10 ......... backs 2/10
Justadragon
SGI NSW Cup
I would say that is being gracious to our backs !!!!
Mug Fan
SGI NSW Cup
Dainel Saifiti, Jacob Saifiti and Mitch Barnett made their debuts that year
jodragon40
Staff
They turned out to be ok. Life wasn't meant to be easy, sometimes you have to have pain and failure before becoming successful especially in sport.
Brisbane Broncos got the spoon in 2020. Couple of leans years. They bounced back pretty well once they cleaned the joint out. Let’s hope that’s us from say 2028 onwards.
With the new signings coming in next year, hopefully a few more, trimming the excess fat at the end of this season. Look at the difference with the Couchman boys. Throw in Stewart, Egan etc etc
Haas and Carrigan on that team...