Hi Mary,

I have been in and off the dump Arthur wagon a few times now, but am not 100% sure if that is the right option still. As has been mentioned, has he got the best out of the roster he has, or is this the best he can do with said roster? That is the tough question that I am not sure can be answered.

We are definitely lacking that game breaking player though, and until we get one I think we won’t do much better. Turbo, Teddy, Papa, those players take those games like Saturday night and turn them in their teamd favour. Joey Manu is the available player that would help, but can we afford him? Other than that the squad is good. Dylan Brown is starting to show what he can do and we saw what Mahoney was capable of earlier in the year. We probably play this Saturday if he isn’t injured. Maybe another big body impact player in the bench too, we lose a bit when Junior and RCG go off, and Lane and Matto aren’t middles.

What I would like to see is a change in the assistant coaches. Kidwell needs to go as defensive coach. Ex Parra players like Cayless and Burt are highly regarded. Give Arthur the final year of his contract at this stage, but give him more help. If no improvement through next year look at a new head coach.

On behalf of Parra fans I say thank you Nat 😁

Agree completely. He will be welcomed into the team if he wants to be there, that is how they operate. I also think he would have been better served going to the Olympics and experiencing the Boomer camp. Obviously his advisers thought otherwise, which is disappointing.

Contrast that to Exum. He has no contract at the moment and has really struggled with injury and could very easily have opted out to “work on his game”. But he made it very clear that he wanted to be part of the team, and now it could be his play in the Olympics that earns him that contract. He stood up when it mattered and played quite well.

Thybulle was outstanding through the tournament. Against USA, he was marking Durant a lot. Sure Durant still hit a lot of shots, but Thybulle made things hard for him, which is about all you can do against someone of that talent.

I found myself questioning the inclusion of Delly quite a bit during the tournament, particularly him starting games as you have mentioned, but I am glad he was part of the team and got that medal. He deserved it.

And what else can be said about Mills? Absolutely fantastic. He was smothered against the USA, and unfortunately our next options in the likes of Ingles didn’t have their best game. Patty got named in the team of the tournament, which says a lot. He has been picked up by a genuine championship contender in the New Jersey Nets, which is great for him. But most importantly it is his humility and team first mentality that impresses. His interview after the game was great, giving mention to those that came before him and praising his team mates.

Mahoney is a Queenslander 😢 Brailey could be a shot too depending on his development.

The NSWRL cannot suspend him from NRL games though. The NRL already hit him with the same punishment as they did Arrow. Now the NSWRL have effectively stripped him of his match payment for SOO3. There is not much else they could have done other than rub him out of future years, which I think they pretty much have.

Yeah you are probably right. If there was someone available that was proven and worth chasing now, then I would be happy to. But with the lack of options, he survives until the end of season review. I just don’t see where the change will come from between now and then for things to improve.

Yeah, the lack of points against the Roosters is a massive concern. It was the opposite to the Raiders game though, in that they went side to side too much without earning the right too. Very frustrating to watch.

The cupboard definitely looks bare in the way of coaches, but it looks like change is needed one way or another.

Sorry Mary, but Arthur is done in my opinion. I used to be a massive fan and defend him, but he is still living off getting the club through the salary club drama. That was years ago, more needs to be delivered now.

It is one thing to get the team into the top four consistently (although that looks gone this year), but if they keep going out in straight sets in the finals the question is can he take us to the next level. Whatever he is doing isn’t working. The team should be building towards the finals, but once again the team is fading when it matters.

The most frustrating thing for me is he doesn’t seem to have a plan B when things are going south. I don’t know if is a genuine lack of ideas, or he is too proud to change his plans, or what it is. The Raiders game was a prime example. They bashed us through the middle, but we persisted with that all game, with very little variation. A message should have went down to the team to change things up. Sure, it was only a 2 point loss, but it should have been a win.

And his selections and bench rotations often don’t make sense. Again, against Canberra, he takes Mahoney off with 10 to go and we are still in the game and puts Will Smith into hooker. All whilst Jakob Arthur is having a shocker of a game, but stays on the field. His continued selection baffles me, as does the continued use of Lane as a bash up middle.

I don’t like to be so negative about my team, but this is how I see it. I am thankful for Arthur bringing us back from multiple spoons and the salary cap drama. But I don’t see him as the one to take us to the next level. That said, I am not sure who is available and a better option, other then Flanagan, but I am unsure if I like that idea.

DP Schaefer has put it much better than I have below. Essentially the fact no other club can pick up Vaughan for the remainder of the season means he is in effect serving his punishment now. Making him serve it next year doubles it.

Yes I know that, but the Dragons are an NRL entity. An injury and a State imposed punishment are not related to the NRL. As I said, if he was suspended for 1 game the Dragons wouldn’t have sacked him IMO.

Nope, he is serving his punishment now. If he wasn’t suspended for 8 weeks, but only 1 game like the rest of his team mates, he would likely be suiting up for the Dragon this weekend. What you are suggesting is punishing him twice for one indiscretion. You cannot compare him to Roberts being in quarantine or Staggs being injured, as they are not NRL punishments, so they aren’t being punished twice.

I forgot Souths. I don’t like the whole “pride of the league” garbage the fans carry on about, but I do like Cam Murray……

This is a hard one for me. If (When? 😢 ) my Eels get knocked out there isn’t a lot left for me. As a local of Penrith who has lived here my whole life, I just can’t follow the Panthers, especially, as you have mentioned, given so many of there supporters act as though it is a given for them. I have been raised to hate Manly, Roosters have had enough recent success and Melbourne are Melbourne.

There are things I like about these teams too though. I am a big fan of Liam Martin, and would love him at Parra, as well as Luai and To’o. Melbourne are getting herder to dislike given players like Cheese, Paps, Hynes etc. Manly have the Turbos and The Roosters have the Morris factor.

I really don’t know to be honest…..

On your first point, the bunker is often watching different footage to us, so clearing offside before we see a replay isn’t necessarily an issue. Clearing Brown was an issue though!

Agreed, just because he didn’t actually touch the ball or the Canberra player, doesn’t mean he didn’t impact the play. That was the definition of a “howler”. I was watching it live cursing Brown, as it was the second kick in a row where he was in front of the kicker. Could not believe the try was awarded.

Nah, the last shot the bunker showed clearly showed that he grounded it before his foot went into touch. As Vossy said, that is what the bunker was brought in for. It all shouldn’t have mattered though, Brown was clearly offside, I have no idea how it was missed, especially when they seemed to go back and have another look at it.

Cleary then Hughes. Then a bit of a gap to Reynolds and DCE pretty much tied for 3rd. Then there is a gap in class/consistency to the likes of Moses. When you actually look at the teams though, top quality 7s are very few and far between. There are a few young guys though who obviously can improve a lot.

Exactly. The Dragons may have sacked him, but the 8 game ban effectively stops anyone else from picking him up this year. So once the season is over, his punishment is served IMO. Next year he starts fresh with the Bulldogs, or whoever signs him.

Given the current Panthers squad is stacked with young local juniors or those brought to the club at a very young age, and that fixing the development systems was a major goal of Gus, I think it is fair to say the current success has his fingerprints all over it. Yes, the players, coaches, staff etc are all playing a major role, but it is hard to imagine them being in this position if Gould didn’t go back to the club.

As for the Pangai signing, I hope it works out well for the Bulldogs, but I am not convinced (yet) that this is the massive signing it is being made out to be. If he finds consistency and is willing to keep working hard, he will be a great signing, but he is still a bit hot and cold as a player.

I tend to agree. If Luai runs the team and May is just there to run the ball when needed, Penrith is a stronger side with Burton in the centres. Will ne interesting though, I don’t really rate May.

If Turbo stays fit they are probably the most likely to challenge the top two, but I still think, all else equal, Melbourne and Penrith are on their own at the top. Many, Souths and Parra can match it with those two on their day, but the difference is they all need to be at their absolute best to do that.

Exactly how I saw it. I was screaming knock on at the TV, but on replay it looked ok. Queensland did a Queensland on NSW, and they weren’t ready for it. That is on Fittler/Brandy etc/senior players.

Moses should have been more involved in the first half yes, but the play constantly went to the left and wighton ran the ball too much.

Moses did not have his best game with the ball, but the loss is not on him. The forwards didn’t dominate and Teddy tried too hard. Queensland were just better when it mattered.

Well at least it was a close game!

Teddy overplayed his hand too much tonight, he is much better either as a support player in the middle, it a player wider when spreading it. Too much short side play in the first half and wighton butchered a couple. Moses was way too quiet in the first half too, needed to get his hands on the ball more, but he did defend well and had some good kicks.

Second half should have ran over them but too many bash plays when attacking Queensland’s line, should have played more footy.

Then the decision to go for penalty goal was mind boggling.

Anyway, a series win is a series win.