It could be a long year for Dragons fans

Last year all the Soward lovers were blaming Hornby for our poor attack or losing Boyd. Now they are turning their attention to Fien. I agree that Hornby and Fien were or are not good enough, but Soward is our biggest liablity in attack. I bet most of you Saints fans didn't work out for yourselves why Gasnier never got back to his best when he came back from Union. The reason was because he was playing outside Soward. Soward would/will not go to the line and create room for his runners. But because the media never spelt this out in capital letters to the public most Saints sans never worked it out for themselves. Soward played on our right side, but it was our left side of Hornby, Creagh, Coops Morris and Boyd chiming in that was our strong point. The only other play we had was the barge over.

I will repete that we are going to finish in the bottom 4. Our biggest problems are our halfbck, 5/8 and Fullback. If we were to have the likes of Cherry, Foran and B Stewart in those positions then we would be totally different team and make the semi's. Soward is scared. Watch how Thurston, Cherry and Foran go to the line and draw and commit defenders before passing to their runners. Soward will not go anywhere near the opposition. Soward won't even throw a dummy and go himself, like Thurston and Cherry do, because he is affraid of getting hit. Our attack will not improve properly until we get rid of Soward. We also need a couple of hard, tough classy forward who oppositon players don't want to play against us. I don't think opposition teams fear playing against us in any which way. Anyway all of you Soward lovers you have another year to watch him and see for yourself that he is SCARED.

If Cameron King can play at 6 he would be great as he has so much potential. He played in the Australian Schoolboys Team and winning Man of Series award 2009. As a hooker I am not sure if he has the speed but at least he would have a good passing game but then again the same can be said for Nathan Fiend.

I think that's all a bit harsh on St George. It was 33 degrees and humid. Both teams kept dropping the ball. The Storm could have scored any number of times at the start of the game, instead, Slater dropped it cold, twice. I think that kind of heat frys their brains as well as their bodies. RL is not a summer sport and it was unfair to both teams really.

I do not know those players well enough but what I am saying he has to develop someone in either position unless he keeps Fiend where he is and that means he would have to improve greatly.

Exactly. Cummins shows potential at fullback. He's played juniors as a fullback. He is a fullback. Not a five eighth. Chase Stanley isn't that far fetched. But he's more of a stop-gap solution than a permanent one. I doubt he could handle the pressure of being the club's five eighth as opposed to someone who can cover at five eighth. Vidot though is ridiculous. No hope in hell would he play 6

Thanks Big time Fair call on 7th/8th position. I think Cameron King did enough to deserve a spot at 6 and Jamie can work out of 7.Leaving Mitch Rien 60/70 min on feild. With Fien the utility reserve.

Thanks Bazzio Yes , that certain stupidity still is sick in my throat. .

Yep and then Melbourne dropped the ball over the line later in the same game and another stupid decision was made on the field - by B Harrigan.

As I had said earlier we need someone with speed and a good pass. Chase Stanley, Daniel Vidot may be worth a look at. Also this Evander Cummins shows great potential as a fullback so he may be worth a go. The end result the coach needs a 1/2 back or 5/8 time to develop. So put the most experienced at 1/2 and develop the 5/8 for the future. Perhaps even Joshua Drinkwater as he will have more time to think at 5/8.

Dragons won't threaten for the premiership, but they did enough to suggest they will be one of the teams fighting for 7th and 8th. It was not that poor a performance and they probably did not deserve to go down by 20 points. That shows why Storm will probably only drop a few games this year, they take their opportunities. Dragons made some crucial errors and Storm made them pay. Dragons attack looked quite good in patches, and will only improve. We have seen the last few years young halfbacks thrown into the frey and surviving, and playing well. Drinkwater is worth a crack. Fien just doesn't offer enough. He has been good for the Dragons, but I would hate to see Rein or King dropped so he can come off the bench at hooker. Fien should be playing for the Cutters covering injuries.

Who would you play at five eighth if Soward is halfback

...or a brain snap by a certain J. Ainscough. (sorry for bringing that up)

It is absolutely ridiculous to sack a coach so early in the season. He has been given a job to do with the players that he has and must be given a chance to do so. His main problem is his halves combination. Like so many other coaches who have gone through the same problem. If he fails to address the ½ back position there will no doubt be many more calling for his resignation. If that happens then they will need to step up Steve Folkes who may be able to do the job admirably.

In the short term Fien is probably the better option of the two. He is a former rep player and a seasoned first grader. He had a bad game yesterday, but by and large he is a class act. The thing is, he's not going to be there next year, so by playing him at halfback, the Dragons will be starting from square one 2 years in a row. Play Drinkwater now and expect mistakes, expect poor passes, poor fifth tackle options and missed tackles. But also expect him to become a better player for it, and expect him to build a formidable partnership with Jamie Soward for 2014 and beyond. Price's dilemma is probably that if he bloods the young fella and he doesn't set the world on fire, Drinkwater will be crucified by the Dragons faithful, and be worse off for the experience. That's understandable. Think back to Matthew Head. Should Price blood Drinkwater, the Dragons fans need to learn to be patient with him, just in case he's not a Cherry-Evans or a Reynolds.

The Dragons were tanking? That's one I've never heard before. Whatever gets you through the night mate. Read my post properly because you clearly didn't. In no way did I condone the stupid mistakes made. I just said that they are the easiest ones to fix. The Dragons attack needs work there's no doubt. But precision in attack comes with time. It's round one. The Dragons aren't going to come out and use every set play they practiced in the off-season. The Dragons have almost a completely new spine. Beale, Soward, Rein and Fien (at halfback) simply haven't played enough footy together to be able to execute those plays effectively and with precision. Compare that to Cronk, Slater, Smith and Widdop, who have been the Storm's spine for the last 2 years (and Cronk, Smith and Slater who have spent the best part of 10 years playing together for club, state and country).

Dragons bottom four new coach need apply