jodragon40
Staff
A halves conundrum, Tyrell Sloan and veteran forwards: Five burning questions
After an "odd" recruitment campaign, how will the Dragons perform in 2022?
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Interesting
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jodragon40
Staff
It is d year for Griffin
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
Which part if it do you find especially interesting?A halves conundrum, Tyrell Sloan and veteran forwards: Five burning questions
After an "odd" recruitment campaign, how will the Dragons perform in 2022?
For me:
Who plays in the halves?
Four players simply won't fit into two - or maybe three if the Dragons opt to run a bench utility - spots.
Ben Hunt is the veteran and captain of the club, so he will quite obviously line up in the halves for the Dragons, but who lines up alongside him is anyone's guess.
Jayden Sullivan and Talatau Amone are the new kids on the block and impressed massively when Hunt was out injured at the back end of last year. Sullivan might have done it from hooker, but Dragons fans got a glimpse of the future with Sloan, Amone and Sullivan all on the field at the same time.
The signing of Moses Mbye complicates things though - and some would probably say unnecessarily so.
The bottom line is that Sullivan is the star of the show. He was the next big thing when he led the Illawarra Steelers - with Amone and Sloan in the team - to the SG Ball Cup in 2019, winning a grand final against a Manly team which featured Josh Schuster and Ben Trbojevic, just to name a few.
Sullivan should be the starter, with Amone coming off the bench. His game style will complement Hunt's perfectly in this instance, and he has the talent to make it in first grade, while his defence is more than up to scratch, which he proved when playing at hooker during the final rounds of 2021.
Mbye is out of the question. He is fourth in line. As for Sullivan or Amone starting in the halves with Hunt, it's a good question. I think Amone is a better 5/8 even if Sullivan is a better all-round player. But Sullivan may work in combo with Hunt better. I don't mean to say Sullivan is better, just that he might be. Too early to say.
Eric
Staff
I was also surprised it took so long to upgrade Sloan.
GCRV
SGI NSW Cup
I'm so sick of hearing about the 'controversial' signings of Burgess and Woods. It was an area we lacked in last year. 2 players in that position came onto the market for cheap. The coach believes he can get 2 good years out of each. They were logical signings.
Mbye on the other confuses me as well.
Mbye on the other confuses me as well.
RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
What does 'd year' mean?
RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
If they both end up in the NSW Cup for most of the year, signing them may be 'controversial'.
jodragon40
Staff
D day so I used d year either perform and make top 8 or out you go
jodragon40
Staff
The part about the ageing forwards he recruited and what he has in mind for our halves combination
Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
I found that interesting too.
Chris M
SGI NSW Cup
Sullivan 5/8 and Amone fullback is another option. If Sloan doesn't cut it, and think he will. I don't know if Amone has ever played fullback but he has all the prerequisites of a good fullback.
Chris M
SGI NSW Cup
Mbye will be the back up hooker. Not sure there will be a place for him in the best 17 but he'll be the first called up in the event of injury or suspension which happens to someone almost every week. As long as Wests Tigers are picking up a large part of his salary, he could be a very shrewd investment.
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Eric
Staff
If the sky falls, Griffin will end up looking like an idiot as well. There are uncountable hypothetical events that could take place. Coach can only base his recruitment decisions on what's available and what he thinks is likely to happen. If the team is playing well and winning without them, that will be great news. If there are no injuries or suspensions meaning the depth isn't a factor, that will also be great news. Coach seems to think the chances of that happening are low and personally, I agree with him.
RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
Yeah but there's a much higher chance of Woods and Burgess being poor signings than there is of the sky falling.
jodragon40
Staff
I agree there is nothing more incentive than to be written off as a has been, too old, cant hack it, too injury prone etc the first 6 rounds will tell us if the signings were a stroke of genius or a gamble gone bad. Im hoping a stroke of genius
Eric
Staff
ok. They are both on minimal money. We can't expect them to be the best props in the comp. We can only expect value for money out of them. A little extra would be very welcome.
RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
Ok. I'm just saying maybe it would've been better taking a punt on young players yet to play in the NRL. As it's a gamble whatever way you look at it.
Eric
Staff
Ooookkkk. I'm just saying maybe the coach wanted success this year, not the possibility of it in 3 years.
GCRV
SGI NSW Cup
I agree with
Eric. These two are only 29 and 30. There is no reason at all why the club couldn't get at least two good years out of both. Enough time to scour the earth for long-term replacements. Even if not realistic, St George Illawarra has to aim to be competitive every year. No 'rebuilding'.
RedV01
SGI NSW Cup
I agree with
Even if not realistic, St George Illawarra has to aim to be competitive every year. No 'rebuilding'.
ok. I agree. Just saying if they spend the year in the NSW Cup, it'll be a bigger mistake than investing in youth would have been. Even if they never kicked on.