Recruitment & Retention 2027

RedV01

RedV01

SGI NSW Cup
GCRV said:
Gutho goes okay though I said early last week, centre is definitely not his position. Dragons coaches sometimes come across as being so stupid. Anyway, the problem is:
1. The game has sped up so much. Now he is too slow to be a fullback.
2. He was being asked by Flanno to be the main playmaker and fullback to cover up for the halves at the time lack of playmaking ability.
3. Might be able to get away with a slowish fullback if the wingers were very fast. But most of the time Gutho has had CT and Feagai as wingers. I'm not saying those 2 are very bad but they are slow for wingers.

As for Metcalf, it's a hard one. It'll be a bitter pill for Reed to swallow if Metcalf is signed for 3 years let alone longer. It will inspire him to pack his bags and wouldn't surprise me if it comes back to bite the Dragons badly.
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Some truth to all of that.
  1. He struggled in the second half of last year too. But the new rules have exacerbated the problem. No doubt.
  2. True
  3. Sloan is very fast but yeah, as with #1. Slow wingers have exacerbated the problem.
No decent halfback is going to sign for a year or two. So either give up on Reed after 2 games playing inside the worst 1~5 in NRL history or back him. If I was deciding, I'd back him for a while yet. I'd back him for several more weeks at least. As for having Metcalf play 5/8; Sign him long term on big money to play out of position? Not a good idea.

Actually even to forget about Atkinson and LKT and if Ah Kee leaves, there is Hammoud in the lower grades. He hasn't stood out as much as Reed in the lower grades but that dude just keeps getting better. Wouldn't surprise me to see him become a very good first grade 5/8 when he's 22 or 23. He's 20 now.

No, this team needs 2~5. This has to be the priority.
 
Inverted63

Inverted63

SGI Junior League
Dragons Chris said:
Recruit Metcalf to play 5/8? Can he do that? Does that mean giving up on Atkinson? I know most have given up on LKT though I certainly haven't.
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I haven’t given up on LKT yet either, although he is playing well below what I think is his ceiling and well below what we would need from him on an ongoing basis. I’m hoping that we land a decent coach and his form improves dramatically, but time will tell on both of those fronts.

Every club needs quality halves to steer the team around, get the ball to where it needs to be and convert opportunities into points. Clubs also need depth in the halves to cover for injury and absence. I don’t think any combination of our existing halves quite provide what the team needs. I also don’t think we have quite enough depth in the halves. So we should be recruiting at least one half of quality.

If we were to end up with Reed at 7 and Metcalf at 6, Atkinson could still contribute either at 1 or maybe even at 9. Maybe Metcalf is just what we need - his form at the Wahs was very impressive prior to injury. But his injury history is a worry.
 
Dragons Chris

Dragons Chris

SGI NSW Cup
Gippsy said:
Harris-tavita is apparently looking for a 12 month deal. Would help Reed into first grade and send a postive message to him.
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For one year, that should work but has Dan Atkinson been that bad? I thought he played quite well in the first 2 or 3 rounds. LKT could probably go back and work on his game for a year in reserve grade but Dan Atkinson is too old for that.
 
D

dragonheart

SGI Jersey Flegg
When a team has no belief in winning and no confidence like this one, everyone is under the microscope and most will not look good. ....... Dean says he is trying to do that, but he has been around bad set ups too long and maybe a strong contributor especially as defence coach. This is why the sooner we completely revamp the whole set up the better. This rot has to stop.
 
D

Dragon David

SGI NSW Cup
Dave03 said:
Sen rumour Hynes to Perth & Metcalf to the Sharks.
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If the SEN rumour is correct Dave03, then I can see Metcalf going back to the Sharks where he started and join Fonua-Blake who he has played with at the Warriors and the Shire is probably a place that he will want to spend his time with his partner and baby even if we offer more. That's if the other rumour that Hynes ends up with the Perth Bears.
 
D

dragonheart

SGI Jersey Flegg
Adding Connor Watson and Brodie Croft is an interesting one because of age and how long they could sign for. Once again we are in that dilemma of age like Gutho and Holmes especially, but they have both been around good club systems unlike some of the others we buy. We will still need experienced heads after losing Sua and Cookie. I dont mind these 2 and Kade should appreciate a Brodie type to assist his learning. .........now for a couple of speedsters and a very good man management coach from outside.
 
TheRev

TheRev

SGI NSW Cup
Even though we've struggled, I think all this experience will help accelerate Kade in years to come.. give him an idea where he needs to get too defensively.. and NSW Cup should become easier for him as he goes.. also a good place to get confidence back.

I do hope he gets a few tries and try assists in games to come just to show what he can do, felt a bit let down by teammates in his debut game.. shoulda had 12pts and who knows how we go if we take a lead instead of defending instead.

Just sux a bit we have got such a tough run to come next, penrith defensively will be tough to score points fullstop.. and the warriors scare me with their power & energy too...
 
J

Justadragon

SGI NSW Cup
RedV01 said:
Which halfback do you think will sign for 1 or 2 years? Only possibility is a loan halfback for a year before he goes to PNG.

No. Need to back Reed. Simple as that. You put Metcalf in our backline and he'd struggle badly. Nothing against Metcalf. It's just he's going to want a long-term deal unless he comes on a one year loan before going to PNG. Judging by last game, not sure Metcalf's defence is any better than Reed's. For a halfback, often marking up against Ponga, Reeds defensive stats were quite good.

I can see this thing with Metcalf being similar to the Gutherson situation. I was coping it from almost everyone, in the main board and in PMs about my opposition to signing Gutherson. Now where are all these gurus telling what an idiot I am?
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From what is going around maybe Brodie Croft :)
 
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