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Joined July 2017
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Dragons tragic.
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For many years I have watched Dragon’s sides play well below their ability, instructed and trained by coaches who seemingly had no clue. I will happily support a half decent team that is hard to beat, even if their premiership chances are virtually nil.
Sufferball: How the Dragons are turning pain into pleasure under Shane Flanagan
I’d have Tigers above Eels as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse second half performance than what Parra showed in Darwin.
NRL Power Rankings: Round 7 - Dolphins, Dragons finals bound? Knights a non-event, Parra on the precipice
I’m sorry to see him go. On his day a genuinely good player. Last years game against Canberra showed what he is capable of – Lomax and Ravalawa between them started the fight back and came close to winning it on their own, with only lacklustre support from the rest of the side.
Your last paragraph is an apt summation – he is one of the few genuinely good players in the side. Having an extra $800k to spend is pointless at the Dragons – good players like Dearden, Manu, Fonua-Blake, Wellsby have made it clear they simply aren’t interested. I’d say we are no hope of even having a preliminary chat with Walters or Kenny. So given all that, and an inability to attract anyone except other clubs discards, surely you’re better off hanging on to the good players you already have?
Dragons have dodged a bullet by letting Lomax go early – but only if they box clever to replace him
Looks about right to me.
NRL Power Rankings: Round 1 - Small sample size but major concerns at a few clubs, Flanno back in style at Dragons
That could work.
Parra start the Carty Party to power past Dogs as 'broken' Foxx trots off with suspected AC joint
Dragons had a pretty light pack in 2023, and we’re not really flush with big middle forwards in 2024 either. We did pick up Raymond Faitala Mariner from the Dogs, and he had a very good game yesterday. Not sure why he was so on the nose at the Dogs. And we’re not giving him back for a Mann or a Hutcho.
Parra start the Carty Party to power past Dogs as 'broken' Foxx trots off with suspected AC joint
That was my first thought too. I copped a lot of racial & religious slurs growing up, never bothered me, but God help me if I ever used the F word within ear-shot of Mum.
Nevertheless it’s a racial slur, it’s unacceptable these days, and rightly or wrongly the players have some influence on the behaviour of some members of the general public. The NRL has to act.
'NRL better deal with this s--t', says Latrell: Mam accuses Leniu of 'monkey' racial slur as Roosters outmuscle Broncos
I hate that whole adage thing and consider it a load of bollocks. St George lost 4 grand finals in the 1990’s, didn’t finally win until 11 years after the last GF loss. Canterbury and the Warriors have lost 2 GF’s, Raiders one, none of these sides have really challenged since losing. On the flip side West Tigers came out of nowhere to win in 2005, ditto Cowboys in 2014. Cronulla hadn’t played in a grand final for years until 2016. Losing a Grand Final is neither a pre-requisite nor a guarantee for success, what’s more important is keeping a successful playing and coaching squad together, which Brisbane have mostly done.
You have to lose a GF to win one but salary cap squeeze means Broncos simply don't have the cattle to go all the way
Plenty to think about here, but I reckon the only big call is Raiders as spoon recipients. Their forwards are still good, they look to have a few good young players coming through, and they’ll win enough home games in the misery of a Canberra Winter to get off the bottom of the ladder. Who will be below them? Well the Bookies have Dragons and Tigers as equal spoon favourites. Canterbury’s utility strategy is bewildering and could seriously misfire. Newcastle & Gold Coast could revert to type and make a run to the bottom. Dolphins could run out of players. The field is wide open.
Fearless 2024 NRL predictions: Blues' revenge, Storm star wins Dally M, Knights miss finals despite Ponga
Bit harsh on Ted Danson. I thought he was excellent in The Good Place, in fact the whole cast was pretty stellar. Which got me looking at the Titans assistant coaches Lenihan, Monaghan and Brett White and which in turn had me lowering my expectations a bit. Agree pretty much on all the rest.
NRL Premiership Pressure Gauge: Which teams are most under the pump to get their hands on trophy in 2024
My burning hatred of Roosters, Storm, and Broncos is why I never win the office tipping competition.
Predicting the 2024 NRL season - Panthers' era over, Dragons to get spoon, Cowboys rising - and the stars under most pressure
I’ve always liked Sezer as a player and I hope he goes well. But he was always more solid than spectacular, and I’m still trying to work out if that’s what the Tigpies need. He was a decent field goal kicker in his prime, so there is that I suppose, if games go down to the wire.
Seze the Day: How the current Tigers 7 is looking to make his mark before marquee man Luai arrives
Reading this I came away thinking that Joe Schmidt is not much of a coach, he’s too old, behind the times and yesterday’s man. Except he’s not. He’s an extremely well credentialed coach with an impressive record in a number of countries. If he can get Australia moving in the right direction after the Jones fiasco, that would be achievement enough. Based on his record (but not this article) I’m sure he can.
COMMENT: In trading Greatest Showman for 'boring' and 'pragmatic' Sleepy Joe, RA gambling with game's future
From last season’s bottom 4 sides, one has made big roster changes, two have got new premiership winning coaches, and one has a new head office. I’m interested to see which strategy results in the most improvement.
NRL 2024 ladder predictions: The wooden spoon candidates - Tigers favourites for hat-trick but a new 'contender' emerges
OK, I wasn’t expecting that.
NRL 2024 ladder predictions: The wooden spoon candidates - Tigers favourites for hat-trick but a new 'contender' emerges
The non-signing of Volkman isn’t a disaster for St George. It would only have been a disaster had the contract been registered. As it is they’ve dodged a bullet. In any case I hope the NRL investigate the Warriors over this. It looks like an attempt to dodge their responsibilities to a player who was injured whilst under their care.
2024 NRL Transfer Centre: Souths land Super League half, three-team trade confirmed
Great analysis! My takeaways from this is that all joint ventures are less than the sum of their parts, that maybe there is a case for re-instating North Sydney, and poor old Cumberland have a lot of catching up to do.
Across the eras of rugby league: V'landys-ball, premiership thefts, field goals and the NRL’s all-time power rankings
Back in the bad old days, Poppa Clay used to occasionally wear headgear when playing for St George. I presume it was to protect his last remaining hairs. He’s about the only bloke I can remember from that era who wore headgear, but there must have been others.
I’d also like to give special mention to Mal Meninga’s arm guard, Brent Tate’s Neck brace, and the pillow Jack deBelin had strapped to his hip in 2018. They’re not headgear but they were arguably more noticeable on the field.
You can leave your hat on: Listing some of the top rugby league players who donned the headgear
This is a really tough assignment. But I do have a few thoughts. Based on the Roosters selections, longevity and loyalty aren’t the only reasons for being encapsulated in stone, impact is important. So for St George, I’d have Frank Facer, Norm Provan, Ken Kearney and Wayne Bennett. I know Brisbane have first claim on Bennett but he made such a difference as coach. Ken Kearney isn’t as well remembered as some of the other St George greats but he was captain-coach at the start of their 11 premiership run, and he will save the sculptor time by not needing to carve out any teeth.
I’d also like to include Dallas Donnelly in the Wests group, provided they can find a lump of rock big enough.
Whose faces would be etched in stone on your NRL club’s Mt Rushmore?
Great article, makes a lot of sense. It pretty much confirms my very unscientific appraisal that no one was better than Viv Richards, that Kohli and de Villiers are almost as good, and that Australia has had no better one-day batting exponent than Michael Bevan. Plenty of big names that I thought would be there and aren’t though, like Imzamam and the Waugh brothers, which just goes to show it’s best not to rely on my faulty memory.
Paper giants? - how to rank the best ever ODI batsmen
Wow. Lots of great players to choose from. I’d have Freddie Jones in front of Krilich for hooker, because he was just such a tough, hard player. I reckon O’Connor was a better centre than winger so I’ve got him in the centres in place of Jamie Lyon. And I’d have Russell Gartner on the wing in place of O’Connor because I’ve seen a lot of electrifying wingers and Gartner was as electrifying as any of them. But these are preferences based on my recollections and probably faulty memories. So I’ll defer to your scholarship, I can’t really argue against any of your selections.
Eight-time premiers: Who makes Manly’s greatest-ever team of grand-final winners?
So . . . he’s very staunch, and was a fastidious trainer. Hard not to get excited really.
'Thank f--k': Why RA's new chairman has brought 'hope at last' - and won't be scared of tough calls
Buy Tom Dearden to make Ben Hunt happy? That’s got to be just about the stupidest reason to hire someone I’ve ever heard. Ben Hunt is 33, and he will be gone one way or another in two years in any case. What are we going to do then? Buy someone to make Tom Dearden happy? If Sloane or Lomax is unhappy, do we buy them someone too?
Personally I think the Dragons have little hope of getting Dearden. It would not be in Dearden’s best interests and the Cowboys would be stupid to let him go. But either way the Dragons need to stop basing decisions on what is best for Ben Hunt.
'Got the world at his feet': Flanagan sets sights on Maroons playmaker to help keep Hunt a happy Dragon
Always fun reading these articles. But let’s face it, our press and sports writers would have blamed the toss or the pitch in no less scathing terms, had the result gone the other way.
'India still best 50 overs team in the world': Former star blames 'sandpaper pitch' and toss of the coin for World Cup loss
Two good sides, one epitomising hard but fair play, the other pulling out all stops and not averse to a bit of foul play to get the result. I’m picturing Bill Harrigan reffing the first half with the Heroes going out to a handy lead; but then Barry Gomersall takes over officiating in the second half and ensures the Villains get the win.
Heroes versus villains: An NRL showdown of nice guys up against the nasty mongrels