Screw you Lomax

The panel reviews our golden point loss to the Eels

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
The story telling the Mad Dragon.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
That's my mother off my side.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
But you were four fans, certain nuttiest ducts with full
the Dragon's pride, with the.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
Shining toys, that history a favorite podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
That's how we come.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Dragon Stop that Dragon's Bad Dragons, that's a.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Cary the Mad Dragons trouble.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Dragon Man's up.

Speaker 5 (01:04):
We'll get a Dragons fans and welcome to the Matt
Dragons podcast. Brought to you by Complete Warehouse Solutions, a
family owned and operated business with more than one hundred
years of combined experience. Japanese team are more than pleased
to assist in your Sydney warehouse refurbishment or fit our
project based on Collins Drive in legul Aurura.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Get in touch with the team on four to five,
seven one nine three zero. Well I said all.

Speaker 5 (01:33):
Last week we would beat Melbourne and even lose to Power.
I didn't want to be right, but the results did
not surprise or shock me one bit. I was far
more nervous against the Yields than I was for the
Storm game. We have been more consistent than ever under
Shame Plan.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Again.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
The gap between our best worth is fast up to point.

Speaker 5 (02:00):
Our best and our worst is big up that it
was under Griffin, Mary or Price. Now our best might
be better than it was under those three coaches, but
I think our worse the worst, is as bad as
it has ever been. It will be a roller coaster
of season where you will never know which version of

(02:24):
our team will show up. We're likely we'll lose a
home to the Titans next week and then show up
and beat manly at Fortress Brookvale.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
It wasn't so much a fortress today. I'm sure has
Man will take the.

Speaker 5 (02:37):
Week option of blaming it all on Sudden, But let's
see if he surprises me.

Speaker 6 (02:43):
That's down, down, He's a muge. He's muge, all right.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
This is probably be the shortest Heroes and Villains I've
ever done, And this one's entitled What have the Greeks
Ever Given Us? Which will probably give you an idea
as to who I'm going after. What in the actual
hell was that twelve points up and we're losing golden
point to a field goal from the one bastard we
didn't want to get it? How much did Para play

(03:44):
something for that performance? I wonder didn't get a call?

Speaker 3 (03:47):
Right?

Speaker 2 (03:48):
All bloody game? Now, Badger didn't do much better. She
costs us to try ruling Slain was out. It was
simultaneous at absolute worst. Gutho was great. Forwards were all right.
But the biggest disappointment, as has been the case all
year so far, is Lachlan Elias, the Greek god of
sweet Fa. Now I can I can see why South

(04:10):
got rid of him. He's the most third rate halfback
I've ever ever seen? Can we send you back to
red Favus? Seriously, he's done nothing so far this year
and doesn't even look close to doing anything. As I said,
it's going to be a short one this week because
I'm way too pissed off to say much so. King
Garthos the hero and Ilias, the Greek god of sweet

(04:33):
Fa is the villain, along with Satan Badger. Back to you,
Donnie in the central missionary position.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, well, and I'm not very sweet. That was kind
of bitter.

Speaker 5 (04:47):
Let's introduce the panel that we've got on tonight. It's
basically a reserve grade line up. Pretty much nobody that
was scheduled to come along is on tonight, so we've
had to call up a lot of late inclusions.

Speaker 1 (05:01):
Has been has been the other first graders in the
team and.

Speaker 5 (05:05):
Coming off the reserves bench, we've got Jesse William and
after Billy the kid suffered an unfortunate cinder Smosa's injury
in the war, We've have a call in our names
me and Bennie O'Brien.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
Welcome, Welcome, Benny like call up mate, Thanks for the
nswer in the court.

Speaker 7 (05:23):
Oh good mate, all good out at one jumping on
and every now and together. I'm a busy man these days,
but I always got a bit of time for you, mate.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
Oh beautful.

Speaker 8 (05:31):
I love you too, mate, Someone.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Us do.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
All Billy's Billy is out more than bloody. How am
I Sally? He's absolutely hopeless. That kid.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Mid mid teen, probably.

Speaker 9 (05:55):
About Tony hasn't been on at all.

Speaker 1 (05:59):
He was he was another late Lates dragging all right down.

Speaker 5 (06:04):
This week our Mad Dragons Vodcast Player of the Year.
Our three votes. I don't think this will come as
any surprise to anybody. That went to Clinton Gatherson. It
was unanimous across the eleven panel members, every single person
giving the three votes to Clint Gatherson. Our two votes
went to Toby Teufman. That one was pretty clear as well,

(06:26):
and then the one vote. There were other players that
got vote, so pretty much anybody they could have ended
up as the one vote for the Mad Dragon vodcast panel,
but finishing third overall in the voting was Valentine Homes.
All right, moving into some moments of the map, I'll

(06:49):
go to you is Jesse Jesse there?

Speaker 9 (06:52):
No, it's only a bit of technical coorshes.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
Jesse's having some grammars.

Speaker 2 (06:57):
I think he's here just on audio.

Speaker 5 (07:00):
Yeah, he's dropped off altogether. Now he's yeah, these disappeared
and we'll go to go to U Lamb. So multi
cultural round, we'll bring this up. So this is the
the Dragons sort of going through their their heritage. One
that surprised me a bit was that we had four
players with German heritage. It got me they have a

(07:25):
German team fear at full strength in a World Cup,
because I'm sure there's other good players in our camp
with with some heritage.

Speaker 9 (07:32):
What do you reckon, Iran, it's pretty good reaching over
the Germany. Wow, that is surprising, which I did not
see coming at all.

Speaker 5 (07:43):
So both both the Kaufman brothers Tommy Tommy Eisenhoo and
David klamor Or with with German heritage that's.

Speaker 9 (07:51):
And Tom Arsenhof as well, and that was scond one
that immed. So you've got the Ryan twins, so the
Couchman's Couchman twins sorry Tom and David Klemer or have
German heritage. And I don't know who's the other one

(08:13):
that has German heritage you said, far from parently.

Speaker 7 (08:17):
I think it's probably I think it's the who twins
the couchman probably all the ones that don't he just
said two minutes it goes good. Yeah, the ones of
the graphic right there. So yeah, the lines, yeah, claim.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
Up a couple of breaks in there too.

Speaker 9 (08:39):
But ilias which should be shipped back to Redfern. He
was absolutely shipped for us.

Speaker 5 (08:47):
We've got a few questions to be earlier with thought
I might bite my tongue for the time being on
on that that little comic.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
But O go to you, Benny. Did do you think
we could make multi cultural round.

Speaker 5 (09:01):
A bigger doodle at our club? Or is there there
are too many theme rounds already?

Speaker 8 (09:07):
I think, mate, Like it's just my opinion, but I
think a lot.

Speaker 7 (09:10):
Of a lot of people right on their heritage and stuff,
and like I think we're all Aussies.

Speaker 8 (09:17):
And yeah'd be proud of your heritage, but I don't
really know.

Speaker 7 (09:20):
What it's got to do with with rugby league week
in and week out, you know, Like I think any
any player from anywhere it should be blessed to be
able to play in the NRL and to make a
big deal of it.

Speaker 8 (09:30):
It doesn't sit well with me. I think we need
to just get back to.

Speaker 7 (09:33):
Playing football and start worrying about all these you know,
we're probably half the half the rounds in the comper
you know, women's in league round and multicultural round, Indigenous round.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
Like it's just getting till you mate, Let's just play
footy eight.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
What we need. What we need is a stop stuffing around.
That's what we need.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
We need a winning round.

Speaker 7 (09:58):
We need.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
We need more than one.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
We have one.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
I would have said something else if you're run a
little bit later, but there's probably still a kiddy is
watching it.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
So yeah, I do agree with with you, Beny to
an extent.

Speaker 5 (10:17):
I have often thought though the like you look at
the you know, the Aura region, but there's there's a
lot of talk about.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
Wanting to engage with with that and George area, and
if you look at the demographics of that area.

Speaker 5 (10:33):
You know, I wonder if there's any value in looking
at some sort of Chinese inspired sort of design for
a jersey. Breds are very important coloring Chinese culture. The
dragon is very important. Surely we're the perfect club to
be able to engage that community. And that's that's a
big part of that. Of who lives in that and

(10:54):
George area. I know at the moment they don't.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
Rugby league.

Speaker 8 (10:59):
I'm sure a lot about his players will appreciate that. Donny, Well, it's.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Bring it's about bringing new fans to the club. Who
gives us about it?

Speaker 7 (11:09):
That's where I don't agree with it that, like you said,
it's about bringing fans to football.

Speaker 8 (11:13):
It's not about you know, this is all marketing. It's
all marketing and media.

Speaker 7 (11:17):
It's got it's got fun, all to do with the
game of rugby league in its pure essence. This is
all marketing and media. It's just like the same with
the jerseys. Like if we brought every single jersey that
they bring out every year for all these different rounds,
everyone will be bloody broke, you know, And that's all
it is. It's just sales and marketing and media. That's
what I don't like about it. Just let's just stick

(11:39):
to football, you know.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
Like I am what I am bloody broke because of
that exactly. That's it.

Speaker 7 (11:47):
That's it, all right.

Speaker 5 (11:50):
Well, we've we've lost fifty for the night, so we've
we're down too.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
We don't have any left on the bench. We're hard
up against it for the rest of the show.

Speaker 5 (12:05):
So the Dragons, for the first time in a while,
went in one of seventeen as named on Tuesday, but
the Eagles made a peculiar change an hour before kickoff
with prop slash lote Charlie Geimer.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
They're going to dummy half with Riley Smith reverting to
the bench.

Speaker 8 (12:22):
Can you make any.

Speaker 7 (12:23):
Sense of this to me?

Speaker 2 (12:27):
Honestly, No, I'm a I'm at a complete lass. I
can't I can't work half the shit out sometimes.

Speaker 5 (12:38):
Yeah, it was don't left grain time. It didn't seem
to hurt him too much. I think there was one
poor part that he threw from dumbing and half and and.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
That was about it.

Speaker 5 (12:47):
I guess they would try to tighten up that middle
third defensively in the early going. I don't know why
why anyone would be scared about our boards going through
the middle third of the field though.

Speaker 1 (12:58):
We don't do that, so it seemed kind of redundant.

Speaker 2 (13:02):
But what probably would have if he'd been given a
bit more bloody t time And what's what's important if
you're only going to give him bloody nineteen minutes.

Speaker 1 (13:13):
I think that's that's a very very fair question. With
regards to blocker made, I don't know. I don't think
there's no point.

Speaker 5 (13:22):
There's no point in blocker unless he playing fifty plus
minutes ill.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
Frand doesn't know how to use his buddy bench. We've
we've already seen that the last just in the last
four rounds of lane. He's got no fucking idea.

Speaker 5 (13:38):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's it's again, the biggest thing
for me with the bench is that that he seems
to go in with a plan as to how he's
going to use the use the bench, and that's it.
It doesn't alter it regards with regard to what's going
on in the game.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Like look at Jacob Little fiftieth minute, fiftieth minute, every.

Speaker 10 (13:58):
Single game that's been Jacob comes on. He doesn't alter
that plan on what's happening out on the field.

Speaker 5 (14:05):
He doesn't look around and Jesus starting to get tied
through the middle of the field. Maybe now would be
a good time to inject Jacob Little. It's just looks
at his what it's only forty seven minutes gone. We've
better hold him back for another few minutes and fiftieth
minute every game that's when.

Speaker 1 (14:19):
He comes home. Like it just doesn't there's no.

Speaker 8 (14:23):
It's done, especially in a game like yesterday.

Speaker 7 (14:25):
Like Little in all the games this season, as soon
as Little's come onto the field, he's created things.

Speaker 8 (14:31):
He's been faster around the ruck, his service has been quicker.

Speaker 7 (14:34):
He's been scooting, creating opportunities, fresh legs, targeting slow forwards.
But why aren't they bringing him on in fifteen minutes
before halftime and giving him a crack. Just just go
out fifteen minutes, play as hard as you can and
get Cook a little bit of a breather.

Speaker 8 (14:47):
You know, I get Cook off.

Speaker 7 (14:47):
He's a co captain, you know, have a little debrief
with the coach and the coaching staff. Put Little on
and just let him go crazy for fifteen minutes before halftime, Like,
I don't know why they're not doing it, or let
him open the second half. You know what I mean
get on the front foot early. Like we know Little
is a sort of player that can create things out
and nothing, and we're not utilizing him at all. It's
just fucking stupid. I don't know why we're doing it.

Speaker 9 (15:10):
Yeah, can I jump in and say something, Tommy Goma, Yeah,
I grove the rest of the panel the benches, yes,
said was absolutely absolutely bonkers. I don't know why stan
fan and can Yeah. I agree with the jack with Thedell.
He should be brought on with like like for half

(15:33):
the game or within like fifteen to twenty or thirty
minutes before halftime and even full time. He should be
should be our starting hook up.

Speaker 5 (15:47):
Yeah, yeah, I think there's well I don't know about started,
but I actually really liked Benny's idea.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
You know, ten, fifteen, even five minutes before.

Speaker 5 (15:59):
Half time is getting getting on to help tell him
to go on for the last five minutes of the
half and have three runs every time there's a quick
play the ball.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
I want you to go.

Speaker 5 (16:08):
I want you to test them out and around that
that middle third, test out there a defender, make them
have to close down that space, like, give him, give
him a task to go out there and absolutely try
and tear him apart, and that last five minutes before
the break, because Big Team says it all the time,
last five minutes before half the one. We can see

(16:28):
tries all the time because like we've got the tea,
you can teams exploit that.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
Why are we doing the same thing back? Yeah, silly.

Speaker 8 (16:40):
It was like you said, Flat again has his interchange
plan and doesn't.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
Deviate from it. It's silly because you've.

Speaker 7 (16:45):
Got to adapt to the game and you've got to
utilize your bench. And you look at the Tendrith all
the top teams, they utilize their bench. Melbourne especially like
they'll read the game, I'll see what's going on, you know,
interject players as they're needed, not necessarily via a plan.
And I think we're definitely worse off for it. So
the way funding and utilizes interchange.

Speaker 8 (17:05):
It's just not working. We you know, uh, what else
gonna say, Well.

Speaker 5 (17:15):
We'll try and get back to the agenda or go
go to you have man, let's take it off with
Clint Garthton. We've started a positive This Blake as a
paid unanimously voted by the panel as our best me personally.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
I had him for three votes and I didn't want
to give anybody else a vote. I thought he deserved
all six talk us through his performance and what he
tried to do for the team.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
H Well, I mean he he's good to he tries
for a start, so I mean he can give him,
give him the six months, yes for that. But look,
he is very safe under the under the highball, like
Tyroll Slane. A fallback might be a better option for
us in attack, but every time a bomb goes up

(18:02):
with Torrelson at fallback, I get nervous. I don't get
that with government. He's safe as a house under the eyeball.
Did not drop a single one, I don't think yesterday.
And he's got that sort of bit of a bit
of mongrel about him, like he loves getting getting excited.
He clearly clearly loves a team. Couldn't quite sort of

(18:27):
get us up yesterday, but yeah it was good. And
get a couple of tries against his old his old mob,
even though I didn't come, didn't come. Yeah, Look, he's
definitely a later. He deserves a captaincy, although I think
his right to captain's challenges should be stripped from him immediately.

Speaker 5 (18:51):
Yeah, that's that's the next question, I'll go to you
with that with that lamb before the like o though,
well he hadn't making game. He's the man responsible for
our captains jowling for the last two weeks. He's lost
it inside the opening ten minutes with awful challenges that
he seems an emotional guy up. Do we need to

(19:14):
give the power of the captain's challenge to a player
that's a little bit more calm and level headed?

Speaker 9 (19:19):
Do you think yes? Because yeah, as we're all seeing
to know, Clint Grafson is not the best captain challenge
has even coming from paramount. He's never had a good
record of then a single captain stones right to go
their way, to go his way. So yeah, often we

(19:40):
should offlate someone else like Chuck de Ballan or Damian.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
I don't think nick.

Speaker 5 (19:49):
I do think we need a fact checker on that
stap that he's never got a single one right in
his entire career.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
I don't think that's correct, but I did.

Speaker 5 (19:57):
I did see last week that he has had the
worst record of any any captain in the in the NRL,
so that well, I think he has got some right.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
He has traditionally not been not been very good at it.

Speaker 5 (20:10):
That was a poor, poor challenge, and there was a
couple of other opportunities where it would they nice to
have one where there was a questionable call that went
against us.

Speaker 9 (20:19):
But we'll get out on Dave Middleton of the panel
to search up Chesse.

Speaker 8 (20:26):
Jesse.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
Jesse's the middow is he Jenny either knows scenes or
he doesn't.

Speaker 5 (20:36):
I don't.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
I don't know whether he's really the.

Speaker 5 (20:40):
That the meadow that's got his finger on the pulse
for the third cod but we'll see he goes. I
think one of the Jesse that said that he had.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
The worst in the league.

Speaker 5 (20:51):
All right, I want to I want to talk about
offlines first private The try to came after multiple uploads
in the one play, one from Debellum and then one
from Homes. Do you think the Dragon should be looking
to create more step in phase play or is it
too risky and we should only be looking to do

(21:12):
that in the attacking area. I was saying a for years, mate,
that we need all second phase play. You know, we
don't have the forwards to just create meters up the
middle like you were saying earlier.

Speaker 7 (21:23):
You know, we don't have those sort of forwards that
consistently make fifteen to twenty meters and bust through the line,
you know, so we've got to rely on second phase
play to make meters. Like you look at our average set,
that'll be thirty five to fifty meters if we're lucky.

Speaker 8 (21:41):
That's not enough.

Speaker 7 (21:42):
So that second phase play, even if it's an extra
fifteen or twenty meters over a set like that puts
us into a kicking position, you know, an attacking kicking positions.

Speaker 8 (21:51):
So I think it's crucial for our team.

Speaker 7 (21:54):
Plus, you know, like we've got speed out wide, so
why don't utilize it, you know, and we have players
like and they can get an offload. Clamor should be
good for an offload. You know, he's the biggest, tall
rangy even Couchman.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
You know.

Speaker 7 (22:06):
Like, like I said, they're not the sort of battering
ram forwards that other teams have. So we have to
look at at you know, hitting spins, breaking the line,
looking for offloads, second phase play, go wider off the ruck,
getting away from the middle, getting away from the markers.

Speaker 8 (22:22):
Yeah, we've got to utilize those.

Speaker 7 (22:24):
Parts of our game, and you know it's going to
pay dividends. But We've got to do it consistently. You know,
this is the whole thing, and we don't we do it.
We do it for sections or one player or do
it and others won't. But yeah, we have to make
it part.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
Of our game. I think, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5 (22:40):
Peter b Adds in there in the in the College
is they played better unstructured and when they throw the.

Speaker 1 (22:47):
Ball around, they're a lot less predictable. So he's agreeing
with that.

Speaker 5 (22:54):
With what you said there, Bennie, I totally agree as well.
I think there needs to be a lot more emphasis
on trying to create some second phase play. Sticking with
the offload theme, has Man Toby Kaufman had three offloads
in this game. He was the only player with multiple
offloads another seventy minute performance in the middle. Do we

(23:16):
need more Toby Kaufman's or do we need a different
type of player to compliment the work that he's doing.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
We need to clone Couchman about three or four times.
I think we are not getting enough offloads and that's
absolutely killing our attackers. There's absolutely no second phase beyond
what he does, So no, absolutely we need we need
to clone him about a thousand times.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
Yeah, yeah, I love Toby Kaufman. I think he's a
fantastic player, but I think.

Speaker 5 (23:54):
We need somebody like he needs that high work rate player,
but he's not an impact player. As Benny's pointed out
just before. I think we need that that impact player.
David Klammer used to be that kind of player him, right,
Wool is big enough to be that sort of player.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
But again, neither of them quite measuring up to that
that requirement.

Speaker 8 (24:17):
I don't think, yeah, paint hard.

Speaker 7 (24:23):
I can see Loco becoming that, you know that that
I think that we need to get him into the
phrase somehow, Like I don't think that he's like he's
still a bit young but imature, but I think the
only way he's going to get first grade experience is
paying first grade. And I think it's it's almost time
to start bringing him in and start blooding.

Speaker 1 (24:40):
Him in first grade. I really think it's it's time.

Speaker 7 (24:43):
You know, Clemar, I don't know he's he doesn't really
offer that much to me, like he's doing a job.

Speaker 8 (24:50):
But same with Gula.

Speaker 7 (24:51):
Gula hasn't been anywhere near as good as I would
have liked him to, you know, but I get it
he's on that sort of forward. He's not an impact forward,
but we need an impact forward and I think like
I was going to be the one to do it
for us. So I don't know if Planning is not
starting to starting to bring him in, because yeah, he's
doing well in reserve grade and he's big enough and
strong enough and yeah, good enough.

Speaker 8 (25:11):
So I don't know why he's not at the cracked.

Speaker 9 (25:15):
And Laurie, I don't see him been in tim much longer.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
Well you're not.

Speaker 5 (25:19):
You're not paying planning again though you you you wouldn't
have had Blake Laurie and the team to him with.
So just because you don't do it, it doesn't necessarily
mean shame. Flannagan doesn't blockers.

Speaker 7 (25:34):
Blockers, not unlike any of our other forwards.

Speaker 8 (25:36):
He does a job. That's it. That's all I thought
to do, is they go and then do a job.
And I've said it a hundred thousand times.

Speaker 7 (25:42):
Anybody who says the blocker ship has no idea about football,
because I don't see all the work the blocker does
off the football. And yeah, unless you actually go to
games and watch all the work that he does, Yeah,
it's hard to comment on someone that blocker because yeah,
I was.

Speaker 9 (25:58):
Going to say, Benny, I was going to say, he's
a good defender attacker. On the other hand, he's not
so good at it.

Speaker 7 (26:06):
Yeah, but he's not that much worse than any of
our other forwards.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
He doesn't.

Speaker 7 (26:10):
He doesn't make six meters less than any of our
other forwards on a run. All that forwards are averaging
eight to ten meters a run. No one's up around
fifteen twenty meters a run. He could probably run it
a bit more, but if he does a shitload of
work defensively. He does a shitload of work off the ball.
Every time there's a kick, he's the one chasing and
putting pressure on the kicker. You know, that's his job.

(26:32):
So he's doing a lot of meters. I reckon if
you put a tracker on blocker, he would be doing
a shit ton of meters off the ball. He'd be
doing more meters off the ball than what he would
on the ball. And it's all part of the game.
It's all putting pressure on the kicker, it's all slowing
down the defense, it's getting in their face, putting pressure on.
He does a lot of that work, and everyone puts
shit on him because they don't see him making five

(26:53):
hit ups and making three hundred meters, but he's doing
a shitload of work.

Speaker 5 (26:57):
I'll tell you if any like everyone love them Tobe
Kautrin and what he's doing at the moment, I see
a lot of Blocker in what Tobe Cauprin.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
Does, Like I've seen him running a lot of those
decoy runs.

Speaker 5 (27:08):
I see him making those extra efforts in plays, And
I think I think Blocker's had had a fair bit
to do with his development because his work rate is
quite similar to what Blake Laurie does out there. You
know a lot of off the wall stuff that goes unnoticed.
And yeah, Toby seems to get the plauds for him, Yeah,

(27:31):
but Blocker did as well. Three four, five years ago.
He was he was the fresh one, he was the
new blood. He was everyone was excited about it. Block
has just had a bad couple of years.

Speaker 8 (27:40):
Like I still adamant that he had a bad preseason
two years ago.

Speaker 7 (27:44):
He came in injured off an injury last season and
he just hasn't been able to get back to peak fitness.

Speaker 8 (27:50):
And with Blocker, he relies on his fitness.

Speaker 7 (27:53):
Like I met Blocker, it would have been probably two
two and a half years ago.

Speaker 8 (27:57):
In the preseason. I've played around.

Speaker 7 (28:00):
To golf and he was playing on the same course
and he was half the size that he is, and
he's playing weight half the size, So he bulks up
massively to make weight to play the season, you know.

Speaker 1 (28:13):
And his fitness is affected by that.

Speaker 7 (28:15):
So if he's four or five six kilos off his
playing weight when the season starts, he's never going to
get that back on. You are never going to put
on five or six kilos during a playing season. So
if you come in underweight at the start of the season,
your seasons pretty much gone for a player like Blocker.
So you know, like it's it's so hard, Like a
lot of these players they've got diet, they've got training,
they got external factors, they've got sickness, they've got all

(28:37):
this stuff they've got to deal with in the preseason
coming in. So if they're if they're underweight or they're
carrying an injury, it's almost the season gone for them.
So all these people were right in his mouf staying
he's fat and unfit and all this sort of stuff,
like you's.

Speaker 8 (28:49):
Got no idea, You really don't, you know, but anyway,
that's my rant about Blocker.

Speaker 7 (28:54):
I think blockers for the club. He bleeds red and white.
He's an absolute clubman. He's through it with the fans.
He does a shit ton of work, and anybody writing him, lugh,
go give yourself an upper cut because you have no
idea about football.

Speaker 2 (29:07):
Looking right at Islam, yeah.

Speaker 5 (29:15):
That I think people look at Blocker and that they
see his his sort of natural body shape and they
go while he's fat and he's unfit, but he's never failed,
never once, never wants in his entire career. As he
fathers King File tests, gods like Jaden Sewer fail at
Drift about every year Blake Glory comes in. He passes
the skinnings with flying colors every single year. Last week

(29:38):
he played seventy minutes in the middle of the fool
and came off and wouldn't have blown out a candle
in reserve right now. I know that's a lower level,
but it's seventy minutes in the middle of the park.

Speaker 1 (29:48):
He's through the mountain of work.

Speaker 10 (29:49):
He made by fifteen more tackles than the bloke that
made the second most tackles for the team.

Speaker 1 (29:55):
Like, he is not unfit. It is absolute horseship for people.

Speaker 5 (29:59):
To say that he's It's just not true. He'd be
one of the fittest blokes in the in the club.
Like everyone talked about winning that that five k run
up the hill, Blocker was like four or fifth all
the Dragons players. If everyone thirty, of all the young
fucking twenty one year olds that that are running up
that hill, Blocker beat most of them up there. There
was only a couple of guys that were fitter than

(30:21):
him in that five k run. Like, he's not unfit.
It's just not It's just not true.

Speaker 7 (30:27):
Yeah, But that's the thing that that's the thing that
coaches look at.

Speaker 3 (30:30):
You know.

Speaker 7 (30:31):
Everyone puts it on Flann again for keep for keeping
on picking Blocker, But Blocker puts in so much work
and to a coach that means a lot, you know
what I mean, Like and what what really do we
have a lot of form forwards that are gonna really
get it over Blocker, Like is Goola that really that
much better? Is clamor really that much better? Like Couchman? Yeah,
Catchman does a ship later work too. But like he said, Donnie,

(30:53):
he's not too dissimilar to Blocker.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Himself.

Speaker 8 (30:55):
He's probably a little bit bigger and a little bit.

Speaker 7 (30:57):
Fitter, but not by not by a lot, know, like
Catchman's doing seventy sixty seventy minutes, and yeah, Blocker is
not really that far behind him.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
I don't know why to keep.

Speaker 8 (31:08):
Writing block her off.

Speaker 7 (31:10):
You know, if he was really that ship flanning and
wouldn't be picking him, he would have been dropped.

Speaker 1 (31:15):
Yeah, well, I mean he he was dropped.

Speaker 5 (31:18):
He went back to reserve grade and was the man
of the match, like he was the beef player in
the reserve grade team the week that he went back there.
But everyone but we lost that game. That's the only
game that we've lost, and that was Blocker's fault. Like
he played seventy minutes in the middle of the field.
He's only one guy like this hater's gonna hate, you know. Yeah, yeah,

(31:42):
I have to prove that I was right that Jesse
is not our David Midleton. He has he has put
this up. He says, I don't know the exact percentages.
Definitely not David Milton, but have heard on the ABC
that cut is the worst in the NRL with challenges.

Speaker 1 (32:02):
Definitely not David Middleman. There at their scoop.

Speaker 9 (32:06):
That's gone. All right, that's gone. Yeah, there's still not
the best that captain strangers for.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
No, he's he's He's definitely not. He's one of the
worst in the and uh yeah, maybe something that that
Flanner another thing that Flanner needs to look at the
eels first. Dry actually read it quite well.

Speaker 5 (32:32):
But missus the tackle on Ami, I see a lot
of things suggesting that that Suley should be dropped. Was
this a forgivable moment? Were there other lapses? What were
your overall thought thoughts on Suli's game?

Speaker 7 (32:47):
Yeah, SU's s he's been off this season for me,
I don't know what it is. Both surely and so
are under is really underperforming in my eyes?

Speaker 1 (32:56):
You know, you look at their.

Speaker 7 (32:57):
Form two three ago, like polar opposites from what we're
getting at the moment. Like, yeah, I don't know what's
going on with him. I don't know whether he's uncomfortable
or not fit or carrying an injury. But he's just
he's not foreign at all, not in comparison to what
we know he can do. You know, he used to

(33:17):
be a player that could break a game open, you know,
and put massive shots on busts the line, you know,
score trials, he's just not doing it.

Speaker 8 (33:25):
I don't know what's going on with him, So yeah, I.

Speaker 7 (33:28):
Don't know whether he it's because he doesn't have confidence
of the people inside and outside of him. But yeah,
the problem with Sully is he second guesses to himself
for even a split second, and he just doesn't have
the lateral movement or the speed to adapt quick enough.
So yeah, I think that's a lot of the problem
with at the moment. So whether he's unfit or he's
carrying an injury, something's.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Not right with him.

Speaker 5 (33:51):
We've got to Frank in the comments. The problem isn't
there attack, it's our defense. He can't have fully and
slowing together and then just dropping slow and conceding too
many leaders.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
So a few other.

Speaker 1 (34:02):
Thoughts he's he's chucked in there as well. But yeah,
I think you touched on a pretty pertinent point there, Benny.

Speaker 5 (34:10):
With regards to Suli, it's not just his defense, Like
we know, we know, defense is not his strength. I
don't think we're getting enough out of him on the pack.
He's not He's not the tackle bucker that he once was.
I think he had maybe two tackle Graves in that game.
And he's a guy that the tributing double figures when
it comes to tackle busts, and he's he's.

Speaker 1 (34:29):
Not He's not doing that doesn't seem like the same
the same SOULI he once was.

Speaker 5 (34:33):
He comes in and takes it up and gets tackled,
makes okay, leaders his stats look okay, but he's not
breaking the line.

Speaker 7 (34:38):
He's not breaking tackles, even though, like I don't know,
I can't remember the name of the winger that was
on his side, but every time Souy run and that
winger was just running up and jamming him and just
shutting down before he even could do anything at all,
and he almost looked easy to tackle. So that's why
I just don't understand if he's coming under strength, a
bit overweight, or he's just not fit, but he's not

(35:01):
performing like we know he can.

Speaker 8 (35:03):
Some's not right.

Speaker 5 (35:06):
Yeah, all right, uh, we're up to okay, So actually
I might might bringing this one up. So we're going
to do a little bit of an ounce that's on
the the Christian tuopulotu try so just got some steel shots.
So this is the debt up right from the beginning.

(35:27):
You can see that the Dragons Dragons, he's sort of
fans right across the entire field. And what I want
to want you to to sort of pick up on
here is how the distance there is between where Damien
Cook is right over on the extreme right hand side
and our first receiver. There is no Dragons player in

(35:49):
between Damian Cook and lachland Us. It's it's a it's
a long, it's it's a wide pass. And you can
see what happens with this perfect pass from Damien Cook
throws that part, and there are there are seven eels,
that's seven eels players that are between the lachlan Leus

(36:11):
is outside seven eels players, there's only three Dragons players,
which means.

Speaker 1 (36:15):
That there have to be faith wider so.

Speaker 5 (36:19):
That the way that this is set up, it's set
up right from this birth path from Damien Cook.

Speaker 1 (36:24):
It's an absolute beauty.

Speaker 5 (36:26):
And the width of lockey Elias is another thing that's
you know, people saying he didn't do anything, this might
be a minor thing, but.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
It's it's where you're positioning yourself on the field. This
is it is a pretty good play.

Speaker 5 (36:40):
While he doesn't have a big influence from this point forward,
and what that leads to is you can see a
massive overlap that the Dragons and create like you'd have.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
To work hard to screw it up. From here.

Speaker 5 (36:53):
Again, we've got six players to their three. It's a
six on three. You almost cannot not from this situation.
And we've also got a number of options that come
from this shape. With Luciano Leleu that drops off on
the inside to try and catch out any lazy Eels defenders,
there aren't any. They get across and they close down

(37:15):
that space so they don't go with that option. We've
got Valentine Homes that is running the undersline looking to
go between Panaseni and Zach Lomax that holds up Panasini momentarily.
And we've got the double fullback option Tyrrel Sloane coming
from the other side of the field to get involved
in this attacking shape. And we've got two fullback options

(37:37):
for Kyle Flannagan to choose from. We might have made
this an easier try if he went to Sloan, but
decides to go with Clint Gatherson.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
Now the Eel's actually defended this play.

Speaker 5 (37:48):
Really well, So if we go to the next slide,
Pintosseni slides off homes pretty pretty nicely.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
He gets across, gets that pressure on.

Speaker 5 (37:57):
Clint Gartherson, and you see Zach Lomas, he's actually in
a pretty good.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
Position to have a decent shot at Christian two a
lot two.

Speaker 5 (38:04):
It really was, you know, a good bit of play
too at who's got enough space between him and the
sideline that lomac Cart used the sideline as an expert
defender and he's too big and strong carrys lomaxx over
the try line.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
But it was pretty well handled with it by the earls.

Speaker 5 (38:19):
But some great great lead up work from the from
the Dragons. What were your thoughts on on this try?

Speaker 1 (38:24):
Has Man.

Speaker 2 (38:27):
Well probably made it a little bit harder than it
really should have been. To me, honestly, the few of
the points that you just raised would have preferred to
a lot. Did you just turn around and you know,
whack low Macs across the head or something. But you know,
because he's Dragon's player alread, he's got probably six years

(38:47):
for that. The problem that we've got is so many
of our tries are scored out wide that I mean,
unless you've got an absolute sharp shoot up, you know,
as we've already seen this year. You can score more
tries than the opposition still lose.

Speaker 5 (39:08):
Well, I mean to be fair, Valle Homes kicked five
from five in this game. He is a bit of
a sharpooner and he kicks this one from the side line.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
You know, there's more sort of referring to the from
Sales game. But yeah, he didn't, he didn't have his best.
A couple of games did but he's not going to
do that.

Speaker 4 (39:35):
Well.

Speaker 2 (39:35):
Yeah, so yeah, we need to score case of the
plast It's that simple.

Speaker 3 (39:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
Again, I don't think goal kicking is really the issue.

Speaker 5 (39:44):
I think val Holmes had a he had a couple
of couple of average games where he struggled a bit,
but he's at eighty eighty five percent sick or he's
one of the best goal kickers in the competition. I
think people get get caught up on the fact that
he he had one bad day and that cost us
a game, and they think that that's going to be
the new norm.

Speaker 1 (40:05):
I don't think it is. He barely missed one in
the trials. He wasn't that good in round one.

Speaker 5 (40:11):
He wasn't he was awful in round two, but he
keeped five from five, including this one from the from
the touch line never looked like missing.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
And you know, I don't think goalkicking is a big
issue for us.

Speaker 5 (40:23):
But in any case, so we've gone through, we've gone
through pretty much most of the moments that that I
want to go through, and that there are there are
a few moments in that last half.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
An hour of the game that I that I do
want to address.

Speaker 5 (40:37):
But I think what most Dragons fans want an answer
to the main question that everybody has is in that
last half an hour, what went wrong? And I might
might have everyone on this question to get your your
thoughts in terms of what what was it that went
wrong for the Dragons?

Speaker 1 (40:57):
What did we do wrong in that last half an hour?
I started, you lem.

Speaker 9 (41:03):
Just a lack and consistency of the of the ball
front against Peramens. And yeah, there's not really too much
to say because I'm still scarred after yesterday.

Speaker 5 (41:19):
Yeah, yeah, then you've got you got any thought in
terms of what the Dragon's You're wrong in that last
half hour?

Speaker 7 (41:26):
Yeah? Mate, no one stood up, No one stood up
and took control of the game. No one stood up
and asked the game the Flannagan's gone on board all
this experience.

Speaker 1 (41:34):
Where is it?

Speaker 7 (41:36):
You know what I mean, who's who's standing up and
taking control and you know, working to a field position,
setting up plays, asking a field goal, you know when,
But it wasn't the last half an hour, Like when
we're at twenty to twenty eight.

Speaker 8 (41:50):
We should have we should have added that game. We
should have put the foot down.

Speaker 7 (41:53):
Yeah, so that would have been half an hour ago
we led twenty one. Yeah, it's just we This is
the whole problem, Like we can't defend a lead. We're
not strong enough defensively to defend a lead. Like I
think everyone is getting a misconception. You know that we've
got this super super solid defense, like we've got strong
line defense, but they shouldn't be in a position to

(42:13):
keep attacking our line, you know, set after set after
set after set. Everyone, every team's going to get tired
when you're doing that much defending close to your line.
So we need to be icing games earlier. We can't
leave it to the last ten minutes. We can't leave
it to a field goal.

Speaker 8 (42:28):
And this is the problem.

Speaker 7 (42:29):
Like Gutho's not Gutho's trying hard, but he's not standing
up in the moments that he needs to stand up
and take control of the game. Our hearts are not
experienced enough to stand up and ice a game. Like
as much as I don't like Hunt, he probably would
have asked. He would have asked this house game, and
he would advice that game yesterday. Cook even yo, Cook's

(42:50):
been brought on for his leadership, But where where is
he creating those moments like when when Little comes on?

Speaker 1 (42:55):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 8 (42:56):
Like twenty minutes ago, Little comes, I scoots.

Speaker 7 (42:58):
Out of dummy half times out of tenny score and
a try gets this on the front foot, gets this
momentum back.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
You know Cook's not doing that, So I should Little be.

Speaker 8 (43:07):
Coming on earlier, so you know what I mean, Like
Sloan was off. You know, Sloane did nothing. Like Sloane's
biggest asset is his attack. But I don't see him
coming in through the middle.

Speaker 7 (43:18):
I don't see him running off guys like Debelon or
trying to run off the forwards for a second phase play.
In attack, he doesn't need to be on the sideline,
especially outside Saula. He's not going to get any fucking
ball anyway, So why is he not coming into the middle,
even if he's running off Gutha or running you know,
running off.

Speaker 8 (43:34):
Sewel or like get away from Suli.

Speaker 7 (43:36):
You know Suy's never going to pass you the ball,
So get in, take some scoots, do some work, you know,
Like we're not utilizing our strengths in attack. Everyone's saying
we've got great attack, but we don't because we're not
icing games. We're not icing games in the crucial parts
where we need to get in front and just put
the foot.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
Down and drive that last nail in and hammer.

Speaker 8 (43:54):
But we're not doing it.

Speaker 7 (43:56):
And for all the experience we've brought, who's standing up,
who's taking a troll?

Speaker 1 (44:01):
Because no one is, And that's why we're losing these
tight games.

Speaker 9 (44:05):
Yeah, I want someone to other thing about. Necessarily, he's
a boarhog. It gets hugging the boy, not passing it
out to slum even when we have a chance like
I have.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
That's not new though, was it?

Speaker 5 (44:20):
Loone most has never had a strong passing game. If
you want the winger to get the ball, you don't
pass it to Sui.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
You go straight to the winger. So that's the only
way he gets the ball. It's not a passer and
most centers aren't.

Speaker 5 (44:35):
Like I think people have this this idea in their
head that centers set up their wingers and it doesn't
happen very often that when the wingers score, it's usually
because it's a fake ball across the face of the center.

Speaker 1 (44:48):
If you're passing to the center, you want the center
to score.

Speaker 5 (44:50):
To try sore ball players, if they want the ball
to go to Sloan, if they get usual speed to
get on the outside.

Speaker 1 (44:58):
They need to go straight to him. We can't be
going through y Emosa sourly and expecting that to work out.

Speaker 7 (45:04):
But sorry, so they're not even kicking for Sloan. We
have no We have no attacking kicks at all. I've
never I haven't seen a chip and chase. I haven't
seen a grubber through.

Speaker 1 (45:17):
I haven't.

Speaker 7 (45:17):
All we are getting is midfield bombs. Firstly because we're
normally his ship field position to have an attacking kick.
But even when we're getting close to the line with
the halves.

Speaker 8 (45:27):
Are just not making the right decisions. They're not playing
to our strengths. Like why are they not kicking for
slow slone? Is that quick?

Speaker 1 (45:34):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (45:35):
If he knows the kicks coming. He's fast enough and
ranging enough to get there before ninety nine percent players,
But we're not utilizing that.

Speaker 8 (45:42):
Why not? You know we're a lying with christ and
Turploo to.

Speaker 7 (45:46):
Be a barging rim and just run over the top
of everyone, Like you know, we're not kicking for Suli.
We're not kicking for our taller players. We're not putting
grubbers through for our fast players to run through like
we're not. We're not contesting, we're not putting pressure on
the fullback. So how are we going to core points?

Speaker 8 (46:00):
And this is what I'm saying. We need somebody to
stand up and take control of the game in these moments.

Speaker 7 (46:05):
And they're not.

Speaker 5 (46:08):
Yeah, they got the comment on the screen there from
Hummed Dib going to that point there, Bennie, there have
to be more variety in the kicking game. We rarely
see planning and put kicks in in general play. Teams
know that it's always going to be Illius and allows
them to get pressure on him. But I think the
first part of his comment there that there needs to
be more variety in the kicking game. It's always the

(46:29):
same shifts and again people used to criticize Ben Hunt
for always doing the same type of kick. Well, Ben's
not there anymore and we're still doing exactly the same kicking.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
So maybe maybe maybe.

Speaker 10 (46:46):
Was it hard or was it the coaching? Exactly what
I'm starting to get to with it as man, last
last thirty minutes. You've got anything to add to what
Bennie and Liam have already said.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
No, I think they pretty much show Governor. I just
want to go back to the point Ben. I think
you raise this so with Local and Elius and he's
just doing He's basically doing the the exact same ship
that Ben hunted. The only difference I'm seeing between Hunt
and the Ilias is a few hundred grand a season.

(47:21):
He's kicking is exactly the fucking same. Yeah, yeah, midfield bombs,
haven't haven't bloody worked for us for the last ten years?
Why are we still doing that?

Speaker 8 (47:33):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (47:34):
Where's the kicking behind the line, where's the bloody you know,
just something different.

Speaker 9 (47:41):
I'm going the early crack here.

Speaker 1 (47:43):
Boys.

Speaker 9 (47:44):
Well, guys, I will not be supposed if the club
turns down and says Lachlan Elliots can not working for us,
there's the door. We'll look for someone else.

Speaker 5 (47:56):
Yeah, there's No, there's no indertaking of that. I meant
again that your personal opinion. It's not something that you've
got information on or that is likely to happen. It's
just something that you know, you've seen what's happened in
this game, and you decide to line up and sink
the boot in. I don't think that there's any any

(48:17):
indication that that's at all on the cards right now
in terms of white thoughts and that last half an hour.
I'll go to a couple of other panel members that
have put comments in. I'll start with big Teas. We
played dumb football. We played dumb football. We just and
we closed up shop. We got that twenty to eight lead,
and instead of going, let's let's keep the foot on

(48:40):
the throat, let's put more pressure on, let's go for
the jugular, let's win this game by fifty.

Speaker 1 (48:46):
Let's absolutely absolutely do a number on the eels. We're
on top, we're flying, and we're going through their middle.

Speaker 6 (48:54):
Easy.

Speaker 10 (48:55):
Let's continue playing football and let's put a big score
on them.

Speaker 1 (48:58):
Instead of doing that, shut up shop completely.

Speaker 5 (49:02):
They decided to defend a twelve point lead for half
an hour, play conservative football, go back into their shell,
and as Jesse could.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
Points out, we aren't a good enough team to defend
that that lead.

Speaker 5 (49:15):
We're not good We're not a good enough team to
shut up shop with half an hour to go on
a twelve point lead.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
We're not the twenty ten Dragons.

Speaker 5 (49:23):
We're just not the twenty ten Dragons used to do
that that tactic all the time, get a lead and
then just defend the shit out of it.

Speaker 1 (49:30):
This twenty twenty five version of the Dragons is not
good enough to do that. We've got to have a
different attitude and we've got to go on with it now.

Speaker 5 (49:38):
I think you know, both those those pat members that
aren't on to night, DG. T and Jesse got at
one hundred percent right. We closed up shop and we
stopped playing footing, and we got got our pants ball down.

Speaker 9 (49:51):
Yes, spells like coach just gave up on this season already.
And I'll get the spirit.

Speaker 1 (49:58):
Yes, I think that's a ship Land like given up
on the season. And he doesn't give it up on
the season. He's trying to defend the lead. Like he's
trying he gets to it.

Speaker 10 (50:07):
We get that twelve point lead, it's not giving up
to try and defend a lead, like.

Speaker 5 (50:12):
He's still trying to win the game. He just wants
to He doesn't care if we win by one point,
to win by fifty. But that's not giving up on
the not giving up on the season, though, is it.
If he was giving up on the season, he would
have lock and Tonger in the side. He would have
been our laughter in the side. We would just have

(50:32):
a team full of expe and he'd be you know,
he'd be throwing course into the win. The fact that
he's leaving some of these experienced guys out there suggests
that he still still wants to win games in this season.
He still thinks for actually chance of going deep into finals.
And you know, I don't I think the exact opposite
of what you just said. There's no way in the
world that he's given up on this season just because

(50:55):
we've we've lost the game to power out.

Speaker 7 (51:00):
I don't think coaching, to be honest, I think it's
complacency within the playing group, you know, like they're not
putting the foot down, Like how did they get twelve
points in front by playing experimental in football? By throwing
the ball around, by trying to create opportunities. But then
we get in front and they just they pull back,

(51:20):
they go back to you know, just just simple simple
hit ups and you know, midfield bombs.

Speaker 8 (51:26):
Like I don't think it's coaching.

Speaker 7 (51:28):
I think it's the players, and I think it's it's
the leadership playing group saying, you know, right, let's take
it easy to our boys, let's defend the lead. I
don't see Flannagan as that sort of coach, Like Flanagan
is pretty brutal, like if he has a chance to
go for the juggler, he's going to go for the juggler.
Like that's the kind of coach and the kind of
guy he is. So I don't think it's that. I
think it's the playing group themselves out there. They're just

(51:48):
either getting lazy or they're getting overconfident or getting complacent
and before they know, the oppositions up their asses and
chasing them down and taking a lead and winning games.

Speaker 8 (51:58):
So I think it's the actual playing group out there there.

Speaker 7 (52:00):
They're just like I said, they're either get lazy or
complacent and and they just like, we can't defend the lead.
We've got to we've got to score more points, Like
we got the top point by scoring fucking points, Why stop?

Speaker 1 (52:12):
Why stop doing that? We we've we've we've lost the
winners of the raffle.

Speaker 5 (52:17):
In the comments were Back blames the Board of Directors
and Matt Hazla blames Ben Hamn and yep, come on,
come on, all right, lem We've got a bit of
a rules based question now. So I suppose our tradition
is that we we do to throw those to to you,

(52:39):
Lamb despite back your understanding of the rules appears rudimentary
at best.

Speaker 1 (52:44):
But the penalty that put put.

Speaker 5 (52:48):
Us in front with the goal line drop out going
out on the fall? What was were your thoughts on
this ruling? And can you explain how Suton came up
kang this conclude?

Speaker 9 (53:01):
So don'tald, I'll explain what the rule is first. So
I'm going up here because I was just so step
So the goal the goal line drop out occurs when
the defending player last touches the ball before it goes
the ball line to touch the defending player accidentally re fridges.

Speaker 5 (53:24):
Well, we know when a goal line dropout occurs, but
with the goal line dropout, why was that deemed a
penalty instead of the players.

Speaker 9 (53:33):
They didn't go to ten.

Speaker 8 (53:35):
It's the ten.

Speaker 9 (53:39):
Yeah, I'm baffled about that because the penalty only occurs
when it's when it goes short of the ten, So
I don't know what the hell the referee was thinking.

Speaker 2 (53:51):
So what was it a penalty because it went out
on the fall.

Speaker 9 (53:55):
So if it goes down on the floor, it's also
a penalty as well. I've forgot to mention that it.

Speaker 11 (54:00):
Goes This is this is my issue with with with
your understanding of some of the rules, because the new
rule came in two years ago that it can go
out on the fall if it's if they're trying for
a short dropout, it goes out from the full, it's
not a penalty to play the.

Speaker 1 (54:15):
Ball, So that's that's the rule.

Speaker 5 (54:18):
The ruling that that Suton came up with was saying
that it wasn't a contestable kick, which yeah, I think
I think that's absolute ship because if a player goes
for the short dropout and it goes one meter forward,
so that's not contestable. But he's trying to make it contestable,

(54:39):
he's just fucked it up, so they make but exactly
the same thing happened there in that one with with Hawkins.
He was trying to make that a contestable dropout. He
was trying to go for a short dropout that you
know Lomacal comes through and compete for it and try
and get the ball back whenever we stuffed it up

(55:00):
exactly the famous ninety defender these ones, and they say
that's to play the ball. So I think the Eagles,
we're done it there. And ultimately maybe we were done
it because we took the two points. If we hadn't
got to play the ball and ten leaguers out, maybe
we score a try and go on to win the game.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
And I don't agree with the ruling that that something
came up with there.

Speaker 9 (55:24):
Yeah, I don't like it. I've done it. Yeah, I'm
back for this. Who are like the rest of you guys,
the referees is completely fucked it up.

Speaker 2 (55:34):
Well, I was much.

Speaker 7 (55:38):
I understand the reasoning behind it, and it's more about
the spirit of the game thing. Like I think it's
it's like how I can't remember who I pedalized for
saying that a player was off side.

Speaker 1 (55:50):
When he wasn't.

Speaker 8 (55:50):
Like, I can't remember what it was. It was in
another game. It wasn't one of ours.

Speaker 7 (55:54):
But I think it's this whole spirit of the game thing,
because if, yeah, if you got thirty seconds to go
and it's you're leading by two points or whatever, and
you just blatant to kick the ball out on the
field of the field to waste time, you can get
penalized for that as it's not in the spirit of
the game.

Speaker 8 (56:12):
You know, you should give the opposition, not every chance,
but you should make it fair.

Speaker 7 (56:16):
So I think that was the ruling behind it, that
he kicked it out on purpose to waste time.

Speaker 1 (56:23):
Or whatever it was.

Speaker 7 (56:23):
So I think that that was the reasoning behind it.
So there must be something the referees are cracking down
on at the moment. His whole spirit of the game thing.
That's the only reason that I can find behind it.
So yeah, by the rule game, but I don't think
it was really wind.

Speaker 8 (56:41):
I think he just miskicked it.

Speaker 5 (56:42):
So yeah, Well, John Muller says that the kick was
way out, nobody had a chance of contesting. It was
play out, But there have been fifty of them that
way out that nobody had a chance of contesting, and
they just call it a play the ball because he's
trying to make it death. But then he just stucked
it up every other time they've rewarded poor execution, which

(57:05):
again I don't know why the hell you want to
reward poor execution, but that's the rule as it stands.
And you know, I think it should have been a
dragon to play the ball.

Speaker 2 (57:14):
And that's do is they all say anything about intent?
I don't think you could say anything about intent.

Speaker 1 (57:24):
I don't don't, I'm not sure.

Speaker 5 (57:25):
But that's all they've been interpreted so far, is that
if they're intending to for it to be a contestable kick,
because there's ones that don't go ten meters at all,
well they're not contestable, but they're trying to make them
go just the ten.

Speaker 1 (57:43):
Meters so then get it back.

Speaker 8 (57:46):
So then, but this is the thing, right, it's all interpretation.

Speaker 7 (57:48):
This is all how the referee has interpretated it, and
he's making a call.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
Right or wrong. You've got to go by it.

Speaker 7 (57:55):
But how is it any different to a referee just saying, oh, no,
rock infringem for what you know, six again, rockingfinderan six again?
Like the referees just making it up.

Speaker 10 (58:05):
He could.

Speaker 1 (58:06):
There's no evidence.

Speaker 7 (58:07):
Behind any of it, So you know what I mean,
it's a thing that pisses me off about the referees
and how much control they have over the game, the
stuff that might not necessarily be warranted, you know, like
how many repeats sets the paramount again and on the
weekend first ship? What what fucking rock infringement? You know
what I mean?

Speaker 8 (58:24):
Where's the accountability for the referees.

Speaker 7 (58:26):
They could literally just pull out a six again rocking
fringement at any time they like for any particular reason.
They don't have to justify it.

Speaker 1 (58:34):
They don't have to prove it. You know, teams can
get a roll on.

Speaker 7 (58:37):
And I'm not saying that that necessarily happened in our game,
but you see it so many times.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
And.

Speaker 5 (58:46):
If you live into the coms of the referee though,
you do get an indication af to what it is
that they're looking for. So they'll play rocking fringement, hand
on the ball or rocking fringement slowly, so they'll add
additional things to the rock infringement call on the run
as they're doing it, so they are justifying it to

(59:07):
their coach. So it's the referees coach that will review
that and say, well, there wasn't a hand on the ball,
so why are you giving a rock infrinement penalty hand
on the ball when that didn't happen. So it's up
to the referees coach to then hold the referee accountable
and that that is happening behind closed doors.

Speaker 1 (59:22):
We just don't get to see that. But it's still
totally out of the discretion of a referee.

Speaker 5 (59:27):
You know, everything's at the discretion of the referee, though
it has been since nineteen hundred and eight.

Speaker 7 (59:34):
Yeah, well that's but that's I'm saying, like, as long
as they're accountable and you can justify the calls they make,
they're fair enough.

Speaker 1 (59:40):
And I think that that call was justified.

Speaker 7 (59:43):
That the yeah, yeah, with no intention, uncontestable kick, I
think that was justified in his eyes. And I said,
how has it any different to the.

Speaker 1 (59:52):
Six again rock infringement calls?

Speaker 5 (59:54):
Yeah, I think it's closed. I think you know, if
it don't thirty or forty meters and go down on
the pall, there's.

Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Definitely not a contextual kick. But it went twenty. He
had a lot of.

Speaker 5 (01:00:05):
Height on it was I think he was clearly trying
to put it up for Lomax to chase through to
a point where you know there's gonna be left dragons.
There's gonna be a lot of dragons on that ten
meter line. But if you get it back twenty and
get Lomacs through the traffic there, it's gonna be a
one on one context.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
I think that's exactly what he was trying to do.
I think it was the wrong call.

Speaker 5 (01:00:25):
It was poorly executed, and I think that either the
way the rule is interpreted that it should have been
a play the ball, and I think he got it wrong,
but I think it was it was very poorly executed
because it went out on the full one miles. So again, yeah,
maybe you don't want to reward him when he executes

(01:00:46):
it that poorly. Another rules based question and has been
kind of already touched on this, but I might go
to you for this one. Benny tyrol Sloan scores in
the wrner, which would have given Homes a chance to
wrap up the game from the guideline, but ruled to

(01:01:07):
have simultaneously hit the sideline and grounded at the same time.

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
And did the bunker get this ruling correct or did
they screws.

Speaker 7 (01:01:16):
That's a that's a hard way. I guess it's by
the rules of the game. He was out and you
know like it's it's yeah, you're talking and talking to
bes Dick, you know, or a blade of grass. And
if they awarded the paramatta, fans are blowing up. If
they don't award it, we're blowing up. It is what
it is, mate, Like it just goes to showing the

(01:01:38):
modern game. You if you're going to score a try,
fucking make sure of it, as simple as that, you know. Yeah, anyway,
we didn't get the right we didn't get the right call,
not that we didn't get the right call, but it
didn't go our way in.

Speaker 8 (01:01:52):
That particular instance. And that's that's footy. That's the way
it goes.

Speaker 3 (01:01:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
I think this is one where where a.

Speaker 5 (01:02:00):
Lot of fans I don't know the rule. Jesse's saying
that it should have been benefit of the doubt decision to.

Speaker 1 (01:02:07):
The first any more.

Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
Jesse, you idiots, yeah, are saying it was with simultaneous.

Speaker 5 (01:02:14):
That the rule is that when it's sideline and try
line simultaneous, the rule is he's out.

Speaker 1 (01:02:20):
The referee got the core correct.

Speaker 5 (01:02:23):
Unfortunately it was simultaneous, and you know that one that
one gets taken off as it was was a correct call.

Speaker 1 (01:02:31):
But it goes against us.

Speaker 5 (01:02:33):
Yeah, all right, well I must day on Tyrol Sloan
has been because he is another one that's copying it left,
right and center from fans with three hour erars in
the match, as well as not not being able to
finish and ice that that that try. Is the criticism warranted?

(01:02:53):
Should we be looking for an actual winger in our
squad or would you be persisting with Sloan.

Speaker 2 (01:03:03):
Look, I've got a couple of different different ideas on this.

Speaker 12 (01:03:06):
So part of me wants to sort of, you know,
keep keep going with him, you know, so sort of
see what happens. But part of me wants to stick
him at full back, which is his natural position, but
gathers an in at five eighth and fucking get rid
of flannel, which will which will never happen.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
It will never happen. Man's coach, I can do you
that right now. The only way we're having a different
five eight is if Flannagan gets injured or suspended. He's
not He's not getting dropped. But look, if we if
we can't put him at full back, absolutely leave him
on the wing. He's the only speed that we've got.

(01:03:53):
We have absolutely no feed outside of him. Whatsoever we
need him.

Speaker 5 (01:03:57):
But if you're replacing him, which somebody likes, the only
thing now, who is I would say, almost as quick
as Sloan?

Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
If not, he's not as quick as No way, you know,
I reckon, I don't think he is. I don't reckon there.
He's not on Sloan's level.

Speaker 1 (01:04:18):
Yeah again I think doesn't actually Winger finished that right.

Speaker 7 (01:04:26):
To be honest, he's not that fast. He just is
rangy and tall and can can break a line. But
the problem is the problem is with Sloan is we're
not utilizing it. Firstly, we've got him playing out of position,
which which is Secondly, we've got him outside of sorely.
Like I said earlier, like Sloan, we need to play

(01:04:47):
to his strengths. If he if he's going to be
in the.

Speaker 8 (01:04:49):
Side, we need to utilize him to the utmost best
of our ability.

Speaker 1 (01:04:53):
And we're not.

Speaker 8 (01:04:54):
And that's why he's getting caught out.

Speaker 7 (01:04:56):
He's getting caught out defensively, he's getting caught out in
an attack because we're not utilizing him. We're not using
him for what he's good at. And this is the
whole thing. We know that he's a defensive liability, you know,
I don't know. I honestly thought Sloane was going to
have a cracker season this year and he should be
playing better than he is. But I think the reason

(01:05:17):
that he's not playing as good as he is because
we're not using him right. Yeah, but he shouldn't be
on the field. He should go back through Edgies. If
we're not going to utilize him, put someone else in
there because he is too much.

Speaker 1 (01:05:30):
Of a liability.

Speaker 7 (01:05:31):
I love I love Sloane, and I think he's brilliant
and he's got all the potential in the world. But
if he's not going to fire and we're not going
to use him right, then he shouldn't be on the
field because he is a liability.

Speaker 3 (01:05:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:05:44):
I think we've sort of tried a couple of times.

Speaker 5 (01:05:46):
We saw him that announcements the two of four to
try where he was in there at that second fullback,
but it's not going to him. They're not they're not
actually utilizing him when he goes across and he makes
that effort to be in those positions, they're still not
giving him that opportunity to joe what he can do
in that that sort of situation. Yeah, he's done. I've
seen there a few times, but he never gets the wall.

(01:06:08):
So what's the what's the bloody point?

Speaker 1 (01:06:11):
Exactly?

Speaker 2 (01:06:13):
All right?

Speaker 5 (01:06:13):
A huge moment where Jack Debellin was penalized for a
crush attack on.

Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
Lamb to allow the Eels to level the score.

Speaker 5 (01:06:22):
Are you surprised to villain has escaped the wrath of
the Match Review committee for this moment?

Speaker 9 (01:06:28):
Well, I say, yes, he's lucky to escape from the
crush attackle there was like really enough again it I
don't know why the param that Els was blown up
about it. Yeah, there was really enoughing in it.

Speaker 5 (01:06:46):
I think it was kind of minor, but I think
that's that's a penalty every day of the week. Unfortunately,
there was pressure on the back of the head.

Speaker 1 (01:06:52):
It was minimal.

Speaker 5 (01:06:55):
I was worried that he might might get suspended because
it's Jack Debellum and they loved tobrupt Jack out every
chance they get, so I was I was surprised that
he he didn't get charged for it, but it was
it was pretty minimal.

Speaker 1 (01:07:11):
The pressure.

Speaker 5 (01:07:13):
The pressure, it wouldn't have bruised a great but you know,
that's the game that we've got at the moment. With
that sort of thing is a penalty and and can
help design a match. Huge moment, Another big moment, Benny.
We've heard Hathman and Liam sort of give their thoughts
on Lachlan Elias Golden Point extra time Shanks went out

(01:07:36):
on the pool, causing the Dragons fans to call for
his head demanded he dropped a reserve grade for the
remainder of his contract. Do you feel like he costs
that game, isn't up to an all standard or is
his mistake den to other factors?

Speaker 1 (01:07:50):
And you know, would would you would you forgive him
at all for that?

Speaker 7 (01:07:55):
I think he was a factor of us losing that game,
but I don't think it was that particular incident. Like
I said at twenty eight, that's when the halves should
have stood up and nailed that game, not not with
you know, a minute to go in Golden Point.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
Like, but yeah, I think.

Speaker 7 (01:08:10):
Elis is copping a bad rap. Like yeah, he's not,
you know, playing absolutely out of his skin. But he's
he's he has improved a lot since the first game.
He's getting better, He's the defense has been on point
for most part. You know, he's done a lot of
work defensively. I still think that him and Flanning and
are not comfortable and not working together. I think there's

(01:08:32):
some issues with that with the hookers and the halves
that need to be hind out.

Speaker 8 (01:08:38):
Gatho and the halves need to be hroned out.

Speaker 7 (01:08:40):
It's just going to take time, you know, like like
God or not, We're stuck with Ilias for the rest
of the season unless there's an injury or a suspension.
So everyone needs to get off his back and starts
supporting the bloke and getting around him.

Speaker 8 (01:08:51):
And he's not actually that bad of a half.

Speaker 7 (01:08:54):
You know, He's got all the skills, like he's he's
got a good short kicking game, he's got a good
chip and chase, he's you know, he he can buy them.

Speaker 8 (01:09:00):
He can't kick for field position.

Speaker 7 (01:09:02):
But I think a lot of what he's doing is
he's trying to lock into Flannagan's game plan, which isn't
really his natural brand of footing. You know, I think
this is this is a big part of why he's
not performing. I think Flannagan Coyle's the same, like Cole's
not playing his natural game of foot either. He's trying
to stick to Shane's game plan and I don't think
Shane's game plan works for either either of our halves,

(01:09:24):
to be honest, And you know, we need to just
play a natural brand of footing, and neither of our
halves are doing it, you know, like our guys out
wide are playing the natural brand of footing and our
hookers are playing the natural brand of footing.

Speaker 1 (01:09:37):
But I've seemed to be so constricted for some reason.

Speaker 8 (01:09:39):
I don't know why.

Speaker 7 (01:09:40):
So yeah, like obviously the shank out on the floor
was unfortunate, but you know, where's where's Valholme standing up
in that moment, Where's Gotho standing up.

Speaker 8 (01:09:50):
In that moment? Where's anybody else that could have done anything?

Speaker 10 (01:09:57):
You're looking looking for someone dumby Half. That's the reason
why he chanked it out on the fall. There was
no one at dumby Half. The dummy out that Jacob
Little got tackled with the ball, plays the.

Speaker 5 (01:10:09):
Ball, there's no one there and they dive in there,
throw a speculator around the ilias. That means he's under
all sorts of pressure, and that's why he kicks it
out on the fall because there was no one at
dumby Half.

Speaker 1 (01:10:20):
It's not Locklan Ilius's fault exactly right.

Speaker 5 (01:10:24):
There are so many other players around, there's so much
experience in the side, as Benny points out, and everyone
want wants to tear Lochlan Ilius's heart out because he
puts it out on the fall like there's no one
that feels worse than Lachlan Ilios. But there was a
lot of dummy half for that play, in that situation,
in that moment when we needed it, there was no

(01:10:44):
one there, and that's why he was under pressure and
that's why he puts it out on the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:10:49):
I think the comments around Ilius have been horrible. I
don't think he had some good moments.

Speaker 5 (01:10:57):
He got as a repeat set late in the game
that again gave it to that gave it to the
penalty to put it in front. He was the one
that got that got the goal line dropout, steps off
the left ribbles, running behind, gets the repeat set.

Speaker 10 (01:11:11):
We get the penalty on the back of that. From
the kick out on the ball, we go up by two.
But no one remembers that moment. They remember the moment
where he kicks it out on the ball, which wasn't
wasn't even his fault. It was the fact that we
didn't have a dummy half, Like I think everybody everybody wanted.

Speaker 7 (01:11:29):
To want him hung grawl and court it, and I
think it's I think it's a bit much. Yeah, I
think the Dragons fans really need to start taking a
look at themselves.

Speaker 3 (01:11:37):
You know, like.

Speaker 7 (01:11:40):
Everyone just jumps on the bandwagon and just slags off
players like Locker and at the moment it's ilious and
you know Sloan like everyone, they just jump on the
bandwagon and just start ragging on these players, you know,
like they wouldn't be in first grade if they weren't
decent players.

Speaker 8 (01:11:55):
Eliast wouldn't be playing first grade if he wasn't a
decent half. You know, I think we've got to as
the point in these blugs and you.

Speaker 7 (01:12:02):
Know, getting behind them, you know, like why are they
going to want to perform with the fucking fans have
just ripping the ship out of them every time they
make a mistake, especially because you know, half the people
putting ship on them probably never played a game of
footing in their fucked lives and would the last two
minutes playing first day foot I think that pisses me off.
But anyway, yeah, kick going at least you do a
good mate.

Speaker 8 (01:12:23):
I'm behind you.

Speaker 7 (01:12:23):
So yeah, you do, you go out and play your
best game, mate, that's all you can do. That's I'm like,
I'm not the biggest Billie fan.

Speaker 1 (01:12:32):
I wouldn't have had him in.

Speaker 7 (01:12:35):
It's the best that we've got at the moment. So
I yet behind him.

Speaker 1 (01:12:38):
And yeah, I think the point, the point from Gary
McGregor was a good one.

Speaker 5 (01:12:43):
Think four to six weeks for half the jill I've
gone said six to eight, like it takes time for
new combinations to wall. We've got a lot of new
combinations in his side that are trying to find their way.
And you know, this was a misstep certainly against you
say they looked the right.

Speaker 1 (01:12:59):
Last the week before against Melbourne.

Speaker 5 (01:13:01):
There wan't too many people complaining them about the halves,
were they? But we lose by one point the paramount
and and all of a sudden, you know, it's throw
the baby out with the bathroom wall to start again.

Speaker 7 (01:13:15):
We've got a lot of okay, you get a crack,
but but he's a totally different style half than than
what early is his. So obviously that's stop what Flannagan's
looking for, and this is what everyone needs to remember,
like the coach is picking the sides, and it doesn't
matter how much you.

Speaker 1 (01:13:31):
Jump up and down and carry on saying elius is
that and block us this?

Speaker 7 (01:13:34):
And like Flannagan's picking the best seventeen players that he
thinks are there to go out and do the job
that he wants them to do. So obviously he's got
faith in the halves to go out and do what
he wants them to do. So we've just got to
start getting behind these guys. Like, I don't know, it
just pisses me off that our fans are some of
the worst in the game. I swear to God, just

(01:13:54):
a bunch.

Speaker 8 (01:13:55):
Of win Well.

Speaker 9 (01:13:57):
I was going to say, Ben, there's been reports coming
out now after press conference yesterday by coach saying there
might be some changes in the team this coming week.

Speaker 7 (01:14:11):
How before, No, I can't see it, mate, I can't
see flannagain changing too much. You know, Like, yeah, underperformed,
not one or two players, the whole team underperform, just

(01:14:31):
like the whole thing had an absolute blinder against Melbourne.
You know, like, how do you how do you drop
a player after the Melbourne game? How do you drop
a player after after yesterday's efforts. You know, like everybody
played average football, you know, like you can't just it
wasn't one player that lost us that game yesterday. You know,

(01:14:52):
if Flat again knows that he's not going to make
any changes, I don't think you should.

Speaker 11 (01:14:57):
Yeah, we'll get We'll get the force that unforced changers
in a minute, Scoop, you've jumped ahead in the agenda
a little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:15:04):
We've got only a couple of questions to go. We'll
start with news and rumors.

Speaker 5 (01:15:08):
Hasman Benny actually brought up the name and we spoke
last week though about Newcastle having some interest in signing
Liking King Toggia, but with Dylan Brown's signing with Newcastle
it was mentioned in the New South Bellest Cup coverage.
But the Eagles are another club that has expressed interest
in the Dragons preserved Grade five eight thoughts on this.

Speaker 2 (01:15:32):
I only have one thought on that, and that's the
Paramatta should fuck off a play for us. I don't
want to see him playing for anyone else.

Speaker 10 (01:15:47):
Again, like we've got we've got to use him otherwise
he's going to leave.

Speaker 5 (01:15:51):
Like quite quite honestly, if if Liken King Toggia isn't
a better option than the Locklin Lilias or cor Flanagan,
then he's gonna struggle getting a gig at any other
club as well.

Speaker 1 (01:16:04):
So is he better than those two? And if he is,
why isn't he playing first break right now?

Speaker 2 (01:16:11):
Because his natural position is five eight And Flano is
not going to drop his son for anyone. He wouldn't
drop his son for Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1 (01:16:21):
And they're a lawss a problem.

Speaker 5 (01:16:23):
We're never winning a fault with Cole flanneg at five alk,
no club, no club is winning a cold with col
flannag at five. Alke said, if what you said is true,
the chained Flanagan should be sacked tomorrow.

Speaker 7 (01:16:38):
You know this is the thing everyone everyone's putting ship
on Ilias.

Speaker 8 (01:16:42):
Why is no one able to crack at Kyle.

Speaker 2 (01:16:45):
Again, don't worry about that, Benny.

Speaker 7 (01:16:49):
Kyle is the one that's underperforming. Ilius has gone out
and doing his job like yeah, he's not set the
world on fire but flooding and is He's not delivering
anything at all. He's got no kicking, he's poor defensively,
he's not attacking like he's He's scored a couple of
flute tries, where he busted through the line, But anybody
could have scored those tries. If anyone's underperforming in the harves,

(01:17:10):
it's flunny again, not ily is.

Speaker 2 (01:17:12):
I mean people were defending Flanagan last year saying, you know,
hunts buddy holding him back? Well, yeah, in the games.
What's what's their excuse for him this year? Is exactly
he doesn't have there and he's done absolutely fuck all.

Speaker 5 (01:17:28):
Anyway, that argument always made me laugh that Ben Hunt
was somehow holding that whole Planagan back.

Speaker 1 (01:17:38):
Different of the fucking field.

Speaker 5 (01:17:41):
Paul Flugin's played one hundred games, he's played twenty for
the Dragons.

Speaker 1 (01:17:44):
What about another eighty who was holding back then?

Speaker 3 (01:17:47):
Ben?

Speaker 5 (01:17:48):
There was always harship that argument that Dragons fans said
that Ben Hunt was holding him back and he was
going to be somehow magically a great player with a
state of origin international quality player gone just I don't know,
ludicrous all I have fourth and unforced changes, liamb You

(01:18:10):
sort of mentioned that there might be some changes, So
let's dig down and see which ones we think there
might be. No suspensions and no known injury, so there's
no force changes that I know of at this stage.
Certainly some calls for changes to the side after losing
to the last place fields.

Speaker 1 (01:18:29):
We've talked about Sully.

Speaker 5 (01:18:30):
And Sloan already, and I don't think many on the
panel think that they're going to be dropped. So let's
talk about two others mentioned by fans in the wake
of the loss. I will start with Luciano le Lua
for you, LIAMB. I'm not sure if I can can
pinpoint a moment or a stat that is leading to loot,
copying it from fans, but edge forward only played forty

(01:18:53):
nine minutes, had just seven runs, made nineteen tackles.

Speaker 1 (01:18:57):
Is his position in the team tenuous? Yeah?

Speaker 9 (01:19:03):
I didn't really see Matroflucin Lui Lailo yesterday, don't I
in the wrong game And I saw you.

Speaker 1 (01:19:18):
Played brilliant when he was on the field.

Speaker 9 (01:19:21):
Yeah, I didn't really see from Luton lut like, I don't.
I just I don't know. But I did hear there
was going to be some changes in the forwards. But
I don't know what players Flannel is singling singling dropping
for this week. That might be some changes.

Speaker 8 (01:19:43):
Fine, we don't.

Speaker 5 (01:19:46):
We don't have any control over. This is a fan
base podcast. This is all about what your opinion, So
give the what would you do?

Speaker 2 (01:19:55):
May?

Speaker 9 (01:19:55):
I would trump Lake Glory and bringing like a pacifica
Tongka for his debut, blood him against the Titans, and
I just want to give like Kentuckyo a crack and
maybe move locked in elliots to the bench and take
some of the pressure off him and take a little
hooker and cookie. I don't know him somewhere else in

(01:20:19):
the team, but otherwise I don't really I don't know
what's going to happen.

Speaker 13 (01:20:25):
Oh I'm glad you like coated piano. Don't you wantiano?

Speaker 5 (01:20:38):
Because I know you gave him that gave him, gave
him the one one one point the three two one,
So you obviously don't agree with that with with some
of the fans that are that are calling to him
to be dropped.

Speaker 7 (01:20:50):
Out of blind While he was on the field, like
he no no real bad defensive missus, he was putting
shots on, he.

Speaker 8 (01:20:57):
Was running hard.

Speaker 1 (01:20:57):
I think he played better than fucking silly and Siliconbine.

Speaker 7 (01:21:01):
He made some brilliant tackles, like he was just shutting
and shutting them down, and he was in everything in that.

Speaker 5 (01:21:07):
First sort of forty to fifty minutes so I think
he played really, really well. He's played a lot better
than ours the last few weeks.

Speaker 8 (01:21:13):
He really stood up in that game.

Speaker 7 (01:21:14):
I don't know what it was, but he just seemed
to be in everything. He's just having a real red
hot crack and I love seeing players do that. So
I think he was standing up a lot of time
that other players weren't.

Speaker 1 (01:21:29):
For me, there was something we talked about earlier.

Speaker 5 (01:21:32):
We talked about offloads, and one guy that I always
remember having a great offloading game, he's literally law.

Speaker 1 (01:21:41):
He just doesn't need to do that anymore. Like where
is that gone? Has that been coached out of him?

Speaker 2 (01:21:48):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:21:48):
I don't think so.

Speaker 7 (01:21:49):
I think it's well, it's hard to do either that
or he has no confidence in the wingers outside him,
you know. But in saying that too, like Lucha is
a bit like Lomak's. You know, when his past his work,
they're brilliant. When they don't, everyone just ripsh it out
of him. So, you know, like the old classic Lomacs
clicked past you know when it when it worked, it

(01:22:09):
was it didn't.

Speaker 1 (01:22:11):
You know, he was the worst trick in the world.

Speaker 7 (01:22:13):
So I think literally a lot of his offloads are
like that Luci, I can get a bit excited and
throw things that aren't necessarily there. So yeah, I think
maybe flanning And has said, look, just rain it back
a little bit, just do your work, make your meters,
which seems to be the theme for.

Speaker 8 (01:22:26):
The whole team, to be honest, Like, I think Flannet's
very much right.

Speaker 7 (01:22:30):
I just go out, just make meters, make your tackles,
don't try anything too expansive. Leave the expansive stuff to
the gutho and you know whatever. But yeah, I think
that seems to be a bit of a theme because
even souorly Sua, they're not They're not playing their natural
brand of foot either. It's like our outside sort of
their second rowers and centers, they're not as expansive as

(01:22:51):
what they should be or could be, you know, or
what they are, you know, like in comparison to the
last few years, like you said that, the offloads go
on from Luci, Sue is the same, Saul is the same.
Like yeah, so I don't know whether it's coaching or not,
but I think paid really well, yeah, sports, well.

Speaker 5 (01:23:14):
We're we're going to move on from Lucchi the other obvious.
Probably more obvious one is is Blake Laurie again again
in the team. It's unclear what impact he was expected
to have on the contest. In nineteen minutes, I'll give
give my two cents worth after I let you answer,
has Man, But do you think Laurie should remain aside?

Speaker 1 (01:23:38):
And if so, is that the role that he's been
given by Flo A role at suiting?

Speaker 2 (01:23:46):
I was hoping you do. I thought you both. I mean, look, look,
Blake Lowry has got a lot of doubt as I
was one of them. I gave him a lot of
shit last year, but I'll stop that now. Yeah no,

(01:24:07):
I absolutely want him there, but as I said earlier,
he's not being used correctly. Nineteen minutes. It doesn't matter
who you have, they're not going to do. You're not
going to do much. He needs to get he needs
to get more game time. It's pretty much as simple
as that. As to his as to his role, well,

(01:24:30):
he's not on the field long enough for me to
figure out what his role is. Yeah, yeah, no, I
definitely want him there, but I want him there for longer.

Speaker 9 (01:24:44):
May I don't For me, I'm going.

Speaker 1 (01:24:48):
To shock a lot of a lot of people and
agree with Scoop on this.

Speaker 5 (01:24:54):
I think if you if you're using block up for
twenty minutes or les, yes, what is the point?

Speaker 7 (01:25:01):
Like?

Speaker 1 (01:25:02):
He is not an impact player. He's not a guy
that's going to come on and impact the contest in
twenty minutes.

Speaker 5 (01:25:07):
He's the guy that works his freaking ass off. He
is a high volume kind of player. He's a guy
that will have a lot of carries, You'll run a
lot of decoys, You'll make a lot of tackles in
whatever time you give him out on the field.

Speaker 10 (01:25:21):
But in twenty minutes, I just can't see what impact
he's going to have on the contest.

Speaker 5 (01:25:26):
And I think a guy like Lock Okonda given that
sort of twenty minutes, he's a guy that can come
on in twenty minutes and actually have some sort of impact.

Speaker 1 (01:25:33):
He can bend the line.

Speaker 5 (01:25:34):
He can have like five or six carries in that
twenty minute time of fraym and make seventy or eighty
meters and bend the back of the defensive line. He's
again good defensively, will make his tackles, He'll.

Speaker 3 (01:25:48):
Do his job.

Speaker 5 (01:25:48):
But I think he's the kind of guy but his
size in that short put space of time is likely
to fill that role better than what.

Speaker 1 (01:25:57):
Blake Glory can.

Speaker 5 (01:25:58):
If the twenty minute role is what Planigan is looking
more for Blake Laurie, I think he's looking at the
role blower.

Speaker 1 (01:26:05):
I think Laurie is a guy that is.

Speaker 5 (01:26:07):
Going to be perfect to come in if something happens
to you, God forbid something happens to it, Toby.

Speaker 1 (01:26:12):
Couchman or a Jack Debellum.

Speaker 5 (01:26:14):
I think that's the role that Blake Laura can come
in and then film the side. But this twenty minute
off the bench roll, I don't think that's the blocker.
I'd like to see Lato get a crack of that.
There'd be a perfect player for that that twenty minute role,
impact play. He's creek, he's aggressive, he's got that mongrel

(01:26:34):
in him. He can, yeah, bust of the line, create stuff.
I'd like to say that I do get a crack
at that sort of role. But like you said, Donnie,
that's that's not blocker. Blocker is a workhorse.

Speaker 7 (01:26:42):
He needs that sort of you know, forty to sixty
minutes of just hard work. That's where he's utilized. He's
not you to ask as an impact player off the bench.

Speaker 1 (01:26:50):
It's just like him. Yeah, yeah, Well, unfortunately that's out.
That's about all we've got to long for tonight.

Speaker 5 (01:26:58):
There is a lot of questions I wanted to get
to in the comments, but I want to probably keep
these shows sort of under that era and a half
buck is as much as possible. And didn't get a
chance to talk about lower grade duringy of that sort
of stuff. But it struck yourselves in Dragons fans. It's
going to be a wild ride for the foreseable future.
I don't see any reason to expect consistency in twenty

(01:27:21):
twenty five. Will we win next week? Maybe we win
by fifty, Maybe we grind out a gritty one point
win at home. Maybe we lose in Golden Point again,
maybe we lose by fifty. Nothing, nothing should come as
as a frise. The opponent doesn't matter. We will either

(01:27:42):
win regardless of how good the opposition is, or will
lose regardless of how bad the opposition is. That is
the Dragon's way. It might be frustrating, but there will
be some fun, enjoyable moments along the road. And if
you managed to snake enough wings to my phones, and
I know, I know that we can beat absolutely anyone

(01:28:07):
only I die.

Speaker 1 (01:28:09):
If you want to believe in something, maybe not tell
brads change gos hair tails her.

Speaker 2 (01:28:19):
She wears it on her.

Speaker 14 (01:28:21):
See that's my tail. Tails off the winds and jun
don't be tony and the and people will deliver very fast.
If not against will be yelling out jects. The Bad
Jagging Podcast musics, the Programatomie Navigating Wings, then rabbit.

Speaker 1 (01:28:41):
Holes in the lad doesn't be, will be?

Speaker 4 (01:28:44):
And so what do speak?

Speaker 1 (01:28:45):
The tails are bad? Daggon vodcast dot good by Tea