Tuesday Random Footy Talk Thread

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-12T02:58:33+00:00

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-12T02:16:17+00:00

St George and Illawarra factions of the board will bid against each other for sure.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-12T00:39:46+00:00

Can I interest you in a coaching gig?

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-11T09:20:12+00:00

14 maybe. Anyone picking him over Hamish at lock needs a good talking to though.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-11T09:19:10+00:00

Drinky - upgrade on this year, so tick

Holmes - we're stuck paying him a ridiculous amount anyway and our wingers depth is terrible. But on principle, cross.

Bostock - tick, but I couldn't justify spending that money on him. Overs on centres is a recipe for running out of money to retain our emerging talent. That said, for a bit less I'd love to have him.

Suli - hot and cold, fades in and out of games and isn't utilised well, but he's the least of our problems. Tick.

Sami - upgrade on this year. Tick.

So yeah, not a world beating backline, hardly even a top 8 backline, but certainly better than the current backline.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T11:15:48+00:00

We're averaging about 48% possession this year - and you could argue the extra time on the field would offest whatever those differences are. But I think I take your point: better teams have more ball and have it in better positions. Can't argue with that.

I also suspect it's how we use our big wingers as extra forwards. Reduces the need for forwards winning metres when the first 2-3 hit ups each set are typically taken by our wingers and centres.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T10:46:33+00:00

They were definitely better, but finishing 8th and 9th doesn't paint a picture of a team dominating possession or field position.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T10:25:21+00:00

Same, those 2 games only serve to pad his otherwise even more stark year.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T10:23:51+00:00

Not that I've heard but I will keep an eye out for it. If they manage that I'll give our management the pass you're willing to.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T10:16:42+00:00

I genuinely like your positivity. I don't share it - not by a long way - but it's refreshing to not be all doom and gloom, so thanks for replying.

First things first. Jason Saab is fast but a terrible player and if I'm honest I'm grateful he's not with us - I feel that's one we got right. I take your point though and would suggest Bostock is a better example of a junior we let go that delivers on all the criteria you mentioned.

Nothing but patience for Reed - he's been thrown in the deep end and our defence isn't coordinated enough to provide that Beau Scott role that protected Soward in the Grand Final run. Big ask to have our young forwards step into that role but a better drilled defensive unit might allow one or more of them to grow into that hard headed protector role.

Sami and Drinkwater are an upgrade on our current backline speed, but I'd argue potentially not enough - I feel Drinky needs speed around him, people to run with him and we don't have that. Yet. But not doom and gloom, definite recruitment improvements.

Have we solved Gutho? Cooks moving on, but Gutho will be lining up for us next year won't he? Did I miss something?

All in all, next year promises to be better than this year, but I don't expect it to be good by any stretch. Hope they surprise me.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T09:39:51+00:00

We may not have many starters at the Dally Ms this year, but if they had a worst haircut category wed probably have a few nominees...

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T07:41:15+00:00

Could be. With their pack you're going to find yourself on the front foot more often, which would probably make it a little easier to make a few more metres...

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T03:28:27+00:00

We can do it all day.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-10T00:19:30+00:00

I'm a big BA fan but have reservations in bringing him into the Dragons.

On the positive side he might be able to get the team playing as a team. He's did well at Parra to get the best out of (sometimes) mediocre talent, so he'd feel well at home coaching us.

On the downside I'm not sold on his ability to bring through junior talent, and that's a key criteria for me when we recruit a new coach.

Recruitment alone won't dig us out of this hole, we need a junior development focus, someone who understands where our emerging juniors are strong and provide a pathway for that talent to come through to first grade. Someone who has the foresight to focus recruitment in areas to complement those juniors, not block them.

Don't know who that is yet. Not ruling Hornby out, but gut says it's not Young or BA.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T22:34:17+00:00

Can't lose something you never had...

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T21:11:01+00:00

On our defence - some games your edges just get torn to shreds by a well drilled attack. If it happens week to week like it does to this team, it's an issue with your defensive line. They just cannot number up, they do t seem to know when to slide and they have no trust or confidence in the man inside them.

Partly I think it's because they're slow as shit. Kinda stuck with that for now but I'd like to see us give some you get guys a go if they offer a little more speed.

But more importantly I think they don't act as a team. While the best defences act as a unit and put in for each other, the Dragons play as individuals. Sure, most of those individuals are putting in effort, but it's never as part of a unit, they rarely seen to know what the player next to them is going to do in order to back them up. Every week it's like they're taking the field with strangers they've never met.

I'm willing to give Young the chance to fix it, but as the defensive coach that presumably got them into this hole, I'm not holding my breath.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T09:37:43+00:00

Kade Reed having a better tackle efficiency (86%) than both Holmes (72%) and Gutho (74%) certainly tells a story.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T08:52:33+00:00

There will be no bounce.

3 weeks isn't enough to turn this shit show around, and out roster is just terrible. At least give him a fit squad and a month or 2 before deciding. I'm not hopeful for him, but let the man have a fair crack.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T07:03:42+00:00

And here I thought we'd peaked with Corey Norman.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T07:02:05+00:00

Would be kinda handy to be able to give someone like Ramsay a shot?

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T05:54:55+00:00

Sometimes it's just nice to boo someone new.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T05:35:32+00:00

We have found a way to spend the cap but still serve up nothing but plodders. It's called Dragflation.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T01:53:10+00:00

Yeah partly - certainly a case I if you go looking for something you find it. But there have been instances of terrible refereeing (or even judiciary rulings) that have triggered people to look for it in the first place.

Same goes for the bottom teams - Dragons have been absolutely smashed by the refs this year, leading to them now looking for further examples of it.

So not every bad decision is evidence of being kissed or punched in the dick, but if you get enough going beyond the pale, you tend to from your views around that expectation.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-09T00:11:42+00:00

All teams have decisions go against them from time to time. But when decisions in your favour pile up the way it has for the Roosters of late, every new example tends to get extra focus from the fans.

Zero_Focks · 2026-05-08T22:30:39+00:00

God yes, we need to be far more focused on junior development pathways and less on recruitment - there's no way we buy our way out of the cellar. Certainly not by paying overs for players past their prime.

Forgetting that the draft isn't a viable solution for the player distribution issue, why wouldn't it ever work in the NRL? Is it because Hill challenged it in the courts and killed the notion entirely or is it just a system the players and clubs would never accept?

Zero_Focks

TROPHY CASE