Round 4 vs Parramatta

[RedV01]

I think jodragon40 is right. I looked at some of the remaining backrowers you didn't mention. There are some exceptions and a backrow of Bird and Gosiewski is the smallest but not by a lot. A few teams with one just over 100kg and one just under. Similar to Bird and Gosiewski. Blake Lawrie isn't really that small for a prop either but other props around his size like Tapine at Canberra and Thompson at Bullgrubs are very mobile for props and can pass as well. I don't think the problem is Bird, Gosiewski or Lawrie but starting all three along with a backrower at lock is outright stupid.

Isn't that what everyone says? No problem with any of those little forwards. Only a problem with starting the game with all 3.

 

[Eric]

Isn't that what everyone says? No problem with any of those little forwards. Only a problem with starting the game with all 3.

Maybe. I don't read every post. The one I replied to was comparing the size of the backrowers. Ours aren't that small compared to a few other teams but the pack including the interchange seems much smaller unless all three of Burgess, Woods and Molo are in the 17 and only at most two of Bird, Jackson Ford, Gosiewski and Lawrie are in the 17.

 

[GCRV]

Didn't see this coming but I'm glad there is accountability. But the forwards deserve accountability for last week as well. Though I'd prefer Bird go back to the bench as a utility and Amone or Sloan get another chance before Sullivan is back.

Parramatta Eels vs St George Illawarra Dragons at 6.15pm at CommBank Stadium​

St George Illawarra Dragons team: ​

1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Moses Mbye 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jack Gosiewski 13. Tariq Sims 14. Jack de Belin 15. Josh Kerr 16. Jackson Ford 17. Aaron Woods 21. Andrew McCullough 24. George Burgess

Players cut: 18. Tautau Moga 19. Poasa Faamausili 20. Daniel Alvaro 22. Jaiyden Hunt 23. Jonathon Reuben

Late Mail: Dragons coach Anthony Griffin is expected to axe young guns Tyrell Sloan and Talatau Amone, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The report claims Sloan will be left out of the 17 completely with Moses Mbye replacing him at fullback, while Amone will move to the bench and Jack Bird will shift to the halves. It comes as veteran hooker Andrew McCullough is tipped to return from an elbow injury at hooker.

 

[Eric]

Didn't see this coming but I'm glad there is accountability. But the forwards deserve accountability for last week as well. Though I'd prefer Bird go back to the bench as a utility and Amone or Sloan get another chance before Sullivan is back.

Parramatta Eels vs St George Illawarra Dragons at 6.15pm at CommBank Stadium​

St George Illawarra Dragons team: ​

1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Moses Mbye 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jack Gosiewski 13. Tariq Sims 14. Jack de Belin 15. Josh Kerr 16. Jackson Ford 17. Aaron Woods 21. Andrew McCullough 24. George Burgess

Players cut: 18. Tautau Moga 19. Poasa Faamausili 20. Daniel Alvaro 22. Jaiyden Hunt 23. Jonathon Reuben

Late Mail: Dragons coach Anthony Griffin is expected to axe young guns Tyrell Sloan and Talatau Amone, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The report claims Sloan will be left out of the 17 completely with Moses Mbye replacing him at fullback, while Amone will move to the bench and Jack Bird will shift to the halves. It comes as veteran hooker Andrew McCullough is tipped to return from an elbow injury at hooker.

Accountability is good but it looks like the coach is going to go with the forwards named. The only change will be McCullough into hooker, Mbye fullback and Sloan a week to remember how to run in the the NSW Cup.

---

Tyrell Sloan under threat at St George Illawarra Dragons​

The Dragons are considering a major change to their spine ahead of Sunday’s match while Manly have brought in an exciting teen.​

St George Illawarra are considering a surprise shake-up to their starting side which could see Moses Mbye switched to fullback. The Dragons are hoping veteran Andrew McCullough has recovered in time from an elbow injury to take his place at hooker. If he does that could mean a dramatic rejigging of the Dragons’ side which would leave youngster Tyrell Sloan in the firing line as the Dragons try and reignite their season. “Andrew looks like he might be right,” coach Anthony Griffin said. “He had a good day on Thursday. We’re hopeful he will be right.”

Mbye played the opening two games off the interchange bench before starting at hooker in place of the injured McCullough last week. He spent time in the off-season training at fullback. St George Illawarra will also welcome back Aaron Woods from a hamstring injury to play the Eels. Fellow prop George Burgess has missed selection and instead will play NSW Cup against the Eels on Sunday afternoon.

“George is going to play,” Griffin said. “He will play NSW Cup. He didn’t play last week. The guys above him have been good for three weeks. We need to get some minutes into him. He will play 50 minutes in the NSW Cup.” The Dragons head into the match having lost their past two games including a poor performance against the Sharks last week. “Our focus is on ourselves,” Griffin said. “Improving what we did last week our first two weeks of the season but we were disappointed with what we did last week. “(The Eels) are very good. Particularly against Melbourne. They put 28 on Melbourne. That’s really hard to do.”

---

So Burgess won't come into the 17. I fear out little forwards are going to get run over in the first 20min and the game will be over. I say if JDB doesn't start, it's almost certain.

 

[Chris M]

Accountability is good but it looks like the coach is going to go with the forwards named. The only change will be McCullough into hooker, Mbye fullback and Sloan a week to remember how to run in the the NSW Cup.

---

Tyrell Sloan under threat at St George Illawarra Dragons​

The Dragons are considering a major change to their spine ahead of Sunday’s match while Manly have brought in an exciting teen.​

St George Illawarra are considering a surprise shake-up to their starting side which could see Moses Mbye switched to fullback. The Dragons are hoping veteran Andrew McCullough has recovered in time from an elbow injury to take his place at hooker. If he does that could mean a dramatic rejigging of the Dragons’ side which would leave youngster Tyrell Sloan in the firing line as the Dragons try and reignite their season. “Andrew looks like he might be right,” coach Anthony Griffin said. “He had a good day on Thursday. We’re hopeful he will be right.”

Mbye played the opening two games off the interchange bench before starting at hooker in place of the injured McCullough last week. He spent time in the off-season training at fullback. St George Illawarra will also welcome back Aaron Woods from a hamstring injury to play the Eels. Fellow prop George Burgess has missed selection and instead will play NSW Cup against the Eels on Sunday afternoon.

“George is going to play,” Griffin said. “He will play NSW Cup. He didn’t play last week. The guys above him have been good for three weeks. We need to get some minutes into him. He will play 50 minutes in the NSW Cup.” The Dragons head into the match having lost their past two games including a poor performance against the Sharks last week. “Our focus is on ourselves,” Griffin said. “Improving what we did last week our first two weeks of the season but we were disappointed with what we did last week. “(The Eels) are very good. Particularly against Melbourne. They put 28 on Melbourne. That’s really hard to do.”

---

So Burgess won't come into the 17. I fear out little forwards are going to get run over in the first 20min and the game will be over. I say if JDB doesn't start, it's almost certain.

Sloan has had one bad game and two good games. I think this is wrong. Surely Amone must be the one in the firing line. Mbye at 5/8, Sloan at fullback.

 

[RedV01]

Dragons drop young guns Sloan and Amone for Eels clash​

St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin is set to axe a couple of the game’s brightest stars from the starting side for the Dragons’ clash with Parramatta on Sunday night.​

The selection shock will see Griffin turn to his senior players as the Dragons look to avoid three losses on the trot, axing fullback Tyrell Sloan and five-eighth Talatau Amone for the match against the Eels.

The Herald has been told by sources with knowledge of the situation that Sloan has been dropped from the team altogether in favour of recruit Moses Mbye, who will play fullback for the Dragons for the first time this season.

Mbye had been named at hooker but veteran rake Andrew McCullough, who was named on an extended bench, is expected to return to from an elbow injury into the starting side.

The other contentious change is the relegation of Amone to the bench to allow Jack Bird to partner skipper Ben Hunt in a new-look halves combination.

The Herald understands the reason Sloan has been dropped is to allow the 19-year-old time to develop certain aspects of his game.

While Sloan has been an attacking threat in his eight NRL games, the Dragons believe he needs to improve his work off the ball.

Amone, who showed last year just how dangerous he can be with ball in hand, has been kept quiet in 2022, producing just one line-break assist and one try assist in the first three rounds.

---

Both need a kick up the backside after the pathetic display last week where they were the two worst players on the field. But I would've been in favour of giving them a week to make amends until Sullivan is fit.

 

[Chris M]

Dragons drop young guns Sloan and Amone for Eels clash​

St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin is set to axe a couple of the game’s brightest stars from the starting side for the Dragons’ clash with Parramatta on Sunday night.​

The selection shock will see Griffin turn to his senior players as the Dragons look to avoid three losses on the trot, axing fullback Tyrell Sloan and five-eighth Talatau Amone for the match against the Eels.

The Herald has been told by sources with knowledge of the situation that Sloan has been dropped from the team altogether in favour of recruit Moses Mbye, who will play fullback for the Dragons for the first time this season.

Mbye had been named at hooker but veteran rake Andrew McCullough, who was named on an extended bench, is expected to return to from an elbow injury into the starting side.

The other contentious change is the relegation of Amone to the bench to allow Jack Bird to partner skipper Ben Hunt in a new-look halves combination.

The Herald understands the reason Sloan has been dropped is to allow the 19-year-old time to develop certain aspects of his game.

While Sloan has been an attacking threat in his eight NRL games, the Dragons believe he needs to improve his work off the ball.

Amone, who showed last year just how dangerous he can be with ball in hand, has been kept quiet in 2022, producing just one line-break assist and one try assist in the first three rounds.

---

Both need a kick up the backside after the pathetic display last week where they were the two worst players on the field. But I would've been in favour of giving them a week to make amends until Sullivan is fit.

I'm just confused as to why those two would have to take the fall but no forwards. The entire forward pack but Molo and (of course) Jack de Belin were fuking terrible last week. And Molo wasn't great. de Belin did all he possibly could in the minutes the coach confined him to.

 

[jodragon40]

I like that starting prop and interchange rotation but if all are fit in 2 weeks when McGuire comes back, I think Lawrie, judging by form shown so far this year, will be the one to make way.

Agree

 

[jodragon40]

I don't think Bird is a coach favourite. I think he's on his way out. To be honest, I was hoping/thinking Bird would be similar to that Pommy second rower at Canberra two seasons back (not the one still there, the one who left with some bad blood between him and the front office). In three games so far this season, that has far from proved to be the case. And I mean that in a bad way. Bird had been a forward weak link in all 3 games. He has done good things in every game but look at his stats. Pretty poor. Against the Shonkies he ran into a half gap in the second half and made about 20 run metres. If not for that, his run metres would have been absolutely atrocious.

They have history hence he is a starter rightly or wrongly every week

 

[jodragon40]

Accountability is good but it looks like the coach is going to go with the forwards named. The only change will be McCullough into hooker, Mbye fullback and Sloan a week to remember how to run in the the NSW Cup.

---

Tyrell Sloan under threat at St George Illawarra Dragons​

The Dragons are considering a major change to their spine ahead of Sunday’s match while Manly have brought in an exciting teen.​

St George Illawarra are considering a surprise shake-up to their starting side which could see Moses Mbye switched to fullback. The Dragons are hoping veteran Andrew McCullough has recovered in time from an elbow injury to take his place at hooker. If he does that could mean a dramatic rejigging of the Dragons’ side which would leave youngster Tyrell Sloan in the firing line as the Dragons try and reignite their season. “Andrew looks like he might be right,” coach Anthony Griffin said. “He had a good day on Thursday. We’re hopeful he will be right.”

Mbye played the opening two games off the interchange bench before starting at hooker in place of the injured McCullough last week. He spent time in the off-season training at fullback. St George Illawarra will also welcome back Aaron Woods from a hamstring injury to play the Eels. Fellow prop George Burgess has missed selection and instead will play NSW Cup against the Eels on Sunday afternoon.

“George is going to play,” Griffin said. “He will play NSW Cup. He didn’t play last week. The guys above him have been good for three weeks. We need to get some minutes into him. He will play 50 minutes in the NSW Cup.” The Dragons head into the match having lost their past two games including a poor performance against the Sharks last week. “Our focus is on ourselves,” Griffin said. “Improving what we did last week our first two weeks of the season but we were disappointed with what we did last week. “(The Eels) are very good. Particularly against Melbourne. They put 28 on Melbourne. That’s really hard to do.”

---

So Burgess won't come into the 17. I fear out little forwards are going to get run over in the first 20min and the game will be over. I say if JDB doesn't start, it's almost certain.

Agree

 

[Eric]

Sloan has had one bad game and two good games. I think this is wrong. Surely Amone must be the one in the firing line. Mbye at 5/8, Sloan at fullback.

That makes sense to me as well. Mbye is a natural replacement for one of them. But while Sullivan and Ramsey are out, only replacing one of them seems logical to me.

 

[Eric]

First the positives.

• Feagai didn't blow his chance. He looked strong and a real handful for the opposition.
• That was Suli's best game for the Dragons. Made several strong runs.
• Molo was good.

That's all I can think of.........

As for the negatives.

• Shonkies played really well against us in the rain last week as well. There is something to be said for only playing as well as the opposition lets you.
• Once again, the go-forward was really bad for most of the night.
• Need some speed in the backline. I presume Ramsey will get a chance at fullback next week if fit. That will help.
• Lawrie doesn't make metres, seemingly can't pass and hardly puts fear into the opposition with his defence. He needs a spell in the NSW Cup and learn to pass.
• Defence was poor. Not so much missing tackles like last week where various players hung an arm out for the Shonkies forward to go straight through but this time by lack of communication or coordination with players around opening up gaps for their smaller, faster players to run through.
• The way their forwards make so many more metres than ours really exacerbates the above problem.

What can we do going forward?

• Need a bigger starting pack! No Bird or Gosiewski starting in the forwards. I don't know if Griffin is trying to pull off some kind of "coaching master-stroke" but it seems we have the players but he won't pick them. Pretty much everyone thinks the backrow should be 11. Sims, 12. Su'A, 13. JDB.
• Next week we'll get a chance to see how we go without Lawrie. Obviously the NSW Cup team isn't going great but I'd like to see M. Molo or J. Hunt get a chance. So a prop rotation of Woods, F. Molo, Burgess, M.Molo/J.Hunt. With 4 big props we'll need a few smaller tackling machines on the bench so with 2 props, Bird and Gosiewski.

 

[Eric]

Matty Johns slams Dragons’ surprise call after Eels thrashing​

St George Illawarra were thrashed by Parramatta and a surprising selection call raised the eyebrows of many including Matty Johns.​

Matty Johns has labelled St George Illawarra’s decision to drop young gun Tyrell Sloan at the last minute for their game against Parramatta as “insanity”.
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin raised eyebrows when Sloan was omitted for the must-win clash on Sunday and forced to play in reserve grade instead.

The fullback’s exclusion triggered a reshuffle of the backline, with Moses Mbye switching to fullback and Jack Bird to five-eighth as Andrew McCullough returned from injury at hooker. It was a dramatic rejigging of the Dragons backline that paid no dividends whatsoever against the Eels as Mbye was all at sea at fullback.

Parramatta dominated, running in eight tries to claim a 48-14 win that consolidated their spot in the top four early in the season. Johns was dumbfounded when asked what me made of the Dragons’ decision to drop Sloan for the Round 4 game. “Insanity,” he described the call on Fox League’s Sunday Night with Matty Johns. “Could not believe it. He’s going to be a superstar. I could not believe it. I thought he must have had an injury.

---

I wouldn't go so far as to call it "insanity". He looked like he wasn't even trying against the Shonkies. But after Ramsey was ruled out, I think that should have gotten him a reprieve. Mbye is a poor fullback. Is there a spot for Mbye in the 17? I'd have Bird on the bench as a utility and Mbye not in the 17.

 

[jodragon40]

First the positives.

• Feagai didn't blow his chance. He looked strong and a real handful for the opposition.
• That was Suli's best game for the Dragons. Made several strong runs.
• Molo was good.

That's all I can think of.........

As for the negatives.

• Shonkies played really well against us in the rain last week as well. There is something to be said for only playing as well as the opposition lets you.
• Once again, the go-forward was really bad for most of the night.
• Need some speed in the backline. I presume Ramsey will get a chance at fullback next week if fit. That will help.
• Lawrie doesn't make metres, seemingly can't pass and hardly puts fear into the opposition with his defence. He needs a spell in the NSW Cup and learn to pass.
• Defence was poor. Not so much missing tackles like last week where various players hung an arm out for the Shonkies forward to go straight through but this time by lack of communication or coordination with players around opening up gaps for their smaller, faster players to run through.
• The way their forwards make so many more metres than ours really exacerbates the above problem.

What can we do going forward?

• Need a bigger starting pack! No Bird or Gosiewski starting in the forwards. I don't know if Griffin is trying to pull off some kind of "coaching master-stroke" but it seems we have the players but he won't pick them. Pretty much everyone thinks the backrow should be 11. Sims, 12. Su'A, 13. JDB.
• Next week we'll get a chance to see how we go without Lawrie. Obviously the NSW Cup team isn't going great but I'd like to see M. Molo or J. Hunt get a chance. So a prop rotation of Woods, F. Molo, Burgess, M.Molo/J.Hunt. With 4 big props we'll need a few smaller tackling machines on the bench so with 2 props, Bird and Gosiewski.

Makes sense, personally Sloan straight back in at fullback. I have found that there is no better medicine for a young player touted to be the next big thing than to unexpectedly drop them. Ramsay back on the wing. Starting pack spot on. Mbye back to bench replacing McCullough who will have his work cut out keeping Cook quiet. Be looking forward to the edge battle where this game will be won Sua & Sims v Murray & Arrow in my humble opinion. Sua will lift against his old team. Lawrie has had his last chance .Suli ran for 175m 2nd only to Rav his post tackle metres made our forwards look like teddy bears 75m next was Molo. Suli is coming good. Bird was awful missing every 3rd tackle he made you can't as a team carry players missing every 3rd tackle. You need more JDB who didn't miss a tackle. I once again question openly the coaches use of our best forward JDB only 47 mins for a player who can play the 80, something not right there. Forward hit up well those stats are embarrassing Lawrie 3 for 23m Sims Molo 12 each. You need your forwards consistently making 10 hit ups a game for 100m until then God help us.

 

[GCRV]

Matty Johns slams Dragons’ surprise call after Eels thrashing​

St George Illawarra were thrashed by Parramatta and a surprising selection call raised the eyebrows of many including Matty Johns.​

Matty Johns has labelled St George Illawarra’s decision to drop young gun Tyrell Sloan at the last minute for their game against Parramatta as “insanity”.
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin raised eyebrows when Sloan was omitted for the must-win clash on Sunday and forced to play in reserve grade instead.

The fullback’s exclusion triggered a reshuffle of the backline, with Moses Mbye switching to fullback and Jack Bird to five-eighth as Andrew McCullough returned from injury at hooker. It was a dramatic rejigging of the Dragons backline that paid no dividends whatsoever against the Eels as Mbye was all at sea at fullback.

Parramatta dominated, running in eight tries to claim a 48-14 win that consolidated their spot in the top four early in the season. Johns was dumbfounded when asked what me made of the Dragons’ decision to drop Sloan for the Round 4 game. “Insanity,” he described the call on Fox League’s Sunday Night with Matty Johns. “Could not believe it. He’s going to be a superstar. I could not believe it. I thought he must have had an injury.

---

I wouldn't go so far as to call it "insanity". He looked like he wasn't even trying against the Shonkies. But after Ramsey was ruled out, I think that should have gotten him a reprieve. Mbye is a poor fullback. Is there a spot for Mbye in the 17? I'd have Bird on the bench as a utility and Mbye not in the 17.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it was a quick decision after one bad game. Now we know Mbye isn't a fullback.

 

[Morgan]

First the positives.

• Feagai didn't blow his chance. He looked strong and a real handful for the opposition.
• That was Suli's best game for the Dragons. Made several strong runs.
• Molo was good.

That's all I can think of.........

As for the negatives.

• Shonkies played really well against us in the rain last week as well. There is something to be said for only playing as well as the opposition lets you.
• Once again, the go-forward was really bad for most of the night.
• Need some speed in the backline. I presume Ramsey will get a chance at fullback next week if fit. That will help.
• Lawrie doesn't make metres, seemingly can't pass and hardly puts fear into the opposition with his defence. He needs a spell in the NSW Cup and learn to pass.
• Defence was poor. Not so much missing tackles like last week where various players hung an arm out for the Shonkies forward to go straight through but this time by lack of communication or coordination with players around opening up gaps for their smaller, faster players to run through.
• The way their forwards make so many more metres than ours really exacerbates the above problem.

What can we do going forward?

• Need a bigger starting pack! No Bird or Gosiewski starting in the forwards. I don't know if Griffin is trying to pull off some kind of "coaching master-stroke" but it seems we have the players but he won't pick them. Pretty much everyone thinks the backrow should be 11. Sims, 12. Su'A, 13. JDB.
• Next week we'll get a chance to see how we go without Lawrie. Obviously the NSW Cup team isn't going great but I'd like to see M. Molo or J. Hunt get a chance. So a prop rotation of Woods, F. Molo, Burgess, M.Molo/J.Hunt. With 4 big props we'll need a few smaller tackling machines on the bench so with 2 props, Bird and Gosiewski.

On another thread someone said what I was thinking as far as negatives go.

• If Lomax keeps flick passing and messing it up more often then getting it right, he may need a spell in the NSW Cup as well! Not saying he should cease doing it but needs to be far more selective. Sometimes he flick passes when a standard pass would work fine.

 

[Morgan]

Makes sense, personally Sloan straight back in at fullback. I have found that there is no better medicine for a young player touted to be the next big thing than to unexpectedly drop them. Ramsay back on the wing. Starting pack spot on. Mbye back to bench replacing McCullough who will have his work cut out keeping Cook quiet. Be looking forward to the edge battle where this game will be won Sua & Sims v Murray & Arrow in my humble opinion. Sua will lift against his old team. Lawrie has had his last chance .Suli ran for 175m 2nd only to Rav his post tackle metres made our forwards look like teddy bears 75m next was Molo. Suli is coming good. Bird was awful missing every 3rd tackle he made you can't as a team carry players missing every 3rd tackle. You need more JDB who didn't miss a tackle. I once again question openly the coaches use of our best forward JDB only 47 mins for a player who can play the 80, something not right there. Forward hit up well those stats are embarrassing Lawrie 3 for 23m Sims Molo 12 each. You need your forwards consistently making 10 hit ups a game for 100m until then God help us.

What to do with Bird? Dropped?

 

[jodragon40]

What to do with Bird? Dropped?

I watched him very carefully last night in my view he is carrying too much weight hence his inability to play a full 80 minutes tired players miss tackles he missed 8 last night including 3 in a row. Bench time for him and use him exclusively where possible as back rower rotation replacement. So my bench would be Bird Burgess Mbye and Gosiewski. He scores points for us so must be in the 17 in my view.

 

[Chris M]

I watched him very carefully last night in my view he is carrying too much weight hence his inability to play a full 80 minutes tired players miss tackles he missed 8 last night including 3 in a row. Bench time for him and use him exclusively where possible as back rower rotation replacement. So my bench would be Bird Burgess Mbye and Gosiewski. He scores points for us so must be in the 17 in my view.

Absolutely! But both Mbye and Bird on the bench? Not so sure about that.

 

[RedV01]

I watched him very carefully last night in my view he is carrying too much weight hence his inability to play a full 80 minutes tired players miss tackles he missed 8 last night including 3 in a row. Bench time for him and use him exclusively where possible as back rower rotation replacement. So my bench would be Bird Burgess Mbye and Gosiewski. He scores points for us so must be in the 17 in my view.

I like the look of that bench. So Woods, Molo, Sims, Su'a, de Belin starting? Lawrie and Kerr dropped?