St George Illawarra in 2023

[Chris M]

Worst fears in the pre-season are coming true. Only one or two other teams, now only one, being an absolute rabble saving Dragons from the spoon.

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16. DRAGONS (of 17)​

Last week’s rank: 14th (down two spots)

Analysis: Were it not for the toothless Tigers, the Dragons could very well be anchored to the bottom of the power rankings in light of their horror 40-8 loss to arch rivals the Sharks. Skipper Ben Hunt’s post match spray pretty much summed up the Dragons’ insipid performance against Cronulla. Defence has been an issue under Anthony Griffin and the pressure on the coach has only intensified after they missed 46 tackles in the seven tries to two rout. Tyrell Sloan struggled for involvement at fullback, while the time has come to get Talatau Amone back in the halves to give Ben Hunt some assistance. The decision to play Jack Bird off the bench was a poor one and he is playing frustrated after constantly changing positions under Griffin. It doesn’t get any easier against the wounded Dolphins coming off a loss to the Broncos in Round 5.

 

[Illusion]

Worst fears in the pre-season are coming true. Only one or two other teams, now only one, being an absolute rabble saving Dragons from the spoon.

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16. DRAGONS (of 17)​

Last week’s rank: 14th (down two spots)

Analysis: Were it not for the toothless Tigers, the Dragons could very well be anchored to the bottom of the power rankings in light of their horror 40-8 loss to arch rivals the Sharks. Skipper Ben Hunt’s post match spray pretty much summed up the Dragons’ insipid performance against Cronulla. Defence has been an issue under Anthony Griffin and the pressure on the coach has only intensified after they missed 46 tackles in the seven tries to two rout. Tyrell Sloan struggled for involvement at fullback, while the time has come to get Talatau Amone back in the halves to give Ben Hunt some assistance. The decision to play Jack Bird off the bench was a poor one and he is playing frustrated after constantly changing positions under Griffin. It doesn’t get any easier against the wounded Dolphins coming off a loss to the Broncos in Round 5.

I still think the Tigers will come good ......

 

[Morgan]

yet again, in the news for all the wrong reasons. Seriously, what will it take to get the club to act on Hook? He needs to go yesterday! I'm sorry it didn't work out for him. I really wanted it to but alas...... Now every man and his dog can see he has to go.

Suli’s ‘brutally honest’ Comments​

The Dragons’ culture is again under fire after centre Moses Suli’s comments that he didn’t want to be at the club when he made the switch form the Manly Sea Eagles. Two of Suli’s former Manly teammates Viliame Fifita and Alec Tuitavake recently joined the Dragons in a swap deal that sent Aaron Woods to the Sea Eagles.

‘I love the club’: Dragons star Moses Suli explains startling press conference reveal that caused stir

‘I love the club’: Dragons star explains startling press conference reveal that caused stir

www.foxsports.com.au

 

[RedV01]

yet again, in the news for all the wrong reasons. Seriously, what will it take to get the club to act on Hook? He needs to go yesterday! I'm sorry it didn't work out for him. I really wanted it to but alas...... Now every man and his dog can see he has to go.

Suli’s ‘brutally honest’ Comments​

The Dragons’ culture is again under fire after centre Moses Suli’s comments that he didn’t want to be at the club when he made the switch form the Manly Sea Eagles. Two of Suli’s former Manly teammates Viliame Fifita and Alec Tuitavake recently joined the Dragons in a swap deal that sent Aaron Woods to the Sea Eagles.

‘I love the club’: Dragons star Moses Suli explains startling press conference reveal that caused stir

‘I love the club’: Dragons star explains startling press conference reveal that caused stir

www.foxsports.com.au

Hopefully a new coach will be "brutally honest" with Suli and send him back to the NSW Cup for as long as he remains at the club.

 

[RedV01]

I still think the Tigers will come good ......

God I hope not or the spoon is almost assured.

 

[DragonsTragic]

Hopefully a new coach will be "brutally honest" with Suli and send him back to the NSW Cup for as long as he remains at the club.

Maybe it's time to pull out the Ivan Cleary bus and tell staff, players and administrators that it's time to decide if they are on or off, because supporters have had a gut full. Then someone needs to decide pretty bloody quickly who is going to drive it.

 

[Illusion]

Maybe it's time to pull out the Ivan Cleary bus and tell staff, players and administrators that it's time to decide if they are on or off, because supporters have had a gut full. Then someone needs to decide pretty bloody quickly who is going to drive it.

I'll drive it and take the whole board with them ......

 

[RedV01]

Maybe it's time to pull out the Ivan Cleary bus and tell staff, players and administrators that it's time to decide if they are on or off, because supporters have had a gut full. Then someone needs to decide pretty bloody quickly who is going to drive it.

100% agree!

 

[Eric]

Maybe it's time to pull out the Ivan Cleary bus and tell staff, players and administrators that it's time to decide if they are on or off, because supporters have had a gut full. Then someone needs to decide pretty bloody quickly who is going to drive it.

I think that's not only a good idea but required to get this bus back on the road.

 

[Edward]

Maybe it's time to pull out the Ivan Cleary bus and tell staff, players and administrators that it's time to decide if they are on or off, because supporters have had a gut full. Then someone needs to decide pretty bloody quickly who is going to drive it.

Griffin has driven the bus into a telegraph pole.

 

[jodragon40]

I think that's not only a good idea but required to get this bus back on the road.

I mentioned previously that one of the biggest issues to overcome in any business private, public in footballing, in any other business is that it is extremely difficult to find anyone in a position of authority that will stand up and admit that they made a mistake. You will usually find these people hiding under the boardroom table.

 

[Eric]

Average age of 2023 NRL teams​

Wests Tigers	24.46
Gold Coast	24.77
Manly	24.9
Canterbury	25.1
Brisbane	25.31
Newcastle	25.81
Penrith	25.82
St George Illawarra	25.95
Roosters	26.05
South Sydney	26.09
Melbourne	26.09
Canberra	26.13
Warriors	26.17
Dolphins	26.22
Parramatta	26.45
Nth Qld	26.54
Cronulla	26.57

 

[jodragon40]

Average age of 2023 NRL teams​

Wests Tigers	24.46
Gold Coast	24.77
Manly	24.9
Canterbury	25.1
Brisbane	25.31
Newcastle	25.81
Penrith	25.82
St George Illawarra	25.95
Roosters	26.05
South Sydney	26.09
Melbourne	26.09
Canberra	26.13
Warriors	26.17
Dolphins	26.22
Parramatta	26.45
Nth Qld	26.54
Cronulla	26.57

Is there also a table that averages out ability?

 

[RedV01]

Is there also a table that averages out ability?

Our crew is ok for ability. Lomax, De Belin, Sloan, Hunt all very talented.

 

[Morgan]

How many times has theta club been in this situation over the last 20 years? Coach under pressure, needs to win this weekend, and wins. So it goes on for some more weeks until pressure is on for another win, and wins. So we just go round and round without going anywhere really.

 

[Chris M]

12. DRAGONS​

Last week’s rank: 16th (up four spots)
Analysis: The Jekyll and Hyde Dragons backed up their 40-8 thrashing by the Sharks with a stunning form reversal in their 38-12 win over the Dolphins. It is very hard to get a form guide on the Dragons and they were helped by facing an undermanned Dolphins side, but they showed there is enough talent and enterprise in attack when they get their defence right. Ben Hunt continues to play well every week and Talatau Amone was solid in his return. Tyrell Sloan was much more involved against the Dolphins and Zac Lomax looked dangerous on the edge. Anthony Griffin may not be the preferred coach going forward, but his side showed what they are capable of when they make their tackles. With the Titans and Raiders in the next fortnight the Dragons can catapult themselves back into the top eight.

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De Belin makes a huge difference in defence and attack. Why doesn't the media ever give him credit? Is it due to reasons other than rugby league?

 

[jodragon40]

12. DRAGONS​

Last week’s rank: 16th (up four spots)
Analysis: The Jekyll and Hyde Dragons backed up their 40-8 thrashing by the Sharks with a stunning form reversal in their 38-12 win over the Dolphins. It is very hard to get a form guide on the Dragons and they were helped by facing an undermanned Dolphins side, but they showed there is enough talent and enterprise in attack when they get their defence right. Ben Hunt continues to play well every week and Talatau Amone was solid in his return. Tyrell Sloan was much more involved against the Dolphins and Zac Lomax looked dangerous on the edge. Anthony Griffin may not be the preferred coach going forward, but his side showed what they are capable of when they make their tackles. With the Titans and Raiders in the next fortnight the Dragons can catapult themselves back into the top eight.

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De Belin makes a huge difference in defence and attack. Why doesn't the media ever give him credit? Is it due to reasons other than rugby league?

It would appear so

 

[Chris M]

It would appear so

As long as he keeps playing well it shouldn't matter but at the same time, it'd be nice to see a few Dragons players get rewarded if they are playing well. If he were playing for the Rorters, they'd be talking about him.

 

[jodragon40]

As long as he keeps playing well it shouldn't matter but at the same time, it'd be nice to see a few Dragons players get rewarded if they are playing well. If he were playing for the Rorters, they'd be talking about him.

As long as he continues to play well and help us win I'll be happy

 

[Chris M]

I just read this. Sounds right.

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There’s five key appointments the struggling clubs simply can’t afford to get wrong.

1. A strong head coach
2. A sharp chief executive
3. An experienced general manager of football
4. A top operator in the recruitment space and
5. A forward-thinking head of high performance

At present the Dragons don't have 1, 2, 3 and I don't know about 4 and 5.