Game Day: Dragons v Manly [Round 19, 2022]

[Chunkytuna]

Kick long and frequently to turn them around and make them come out of their own end. Fast kick chase game and leadership is required here. Our halves have to take control totally in this. Let's see if we get it ???

I agree the halves need to control this game - and that worries me with DCE. He’s just as likely to put the headless chicken act on instead of calmly leading our depleted troops around the park. I hope I’m wrong but he has form. Let’s see a real leadership performance Daly, when the chips are down and your club needs you to step up.

 

[manly al]

Can "t see Des splitting up the D C E and Foz halves combo . Either Weekes or Walker to 9 and for continuity , looks like Weekes to start at 9 . Good points , speed of the mark and general speed , good support player , sure that his passing game from 9 can be crisp . Unknown , obviously coping with the ruck work load . Ben turbo should go O K , back line intact , some good attacking plays in recent weeks . Need a big effort from the bench and hope that Schuster gets a lot more game time . Still a quality Manly side to compete , if they can control the ruck, defence holds up and get a good completion rate going , why can "t they win

 

[Ranga]

This is a great opportunity for us to make a statement. Without our defensive middle and at Kogarah, we win and we can ride that momentum into September.

Look at the Panthers last week - they rested 7 of their best - but when it mattered they performed without any excuses and got the result.

As old mate Brad used to say, “we’ll win this”.

Manly by 10.

 

[The Wheel]

I am 10 minutes from the Ground and there is no sign of sun

The grey sky is consumed by rain clouds

and there are bursts of heavy rain that stop and start again

Evening forecast predicted 14 C with rain

You going to the game Bozo? Need to bring your Manly passion for the boys!

 

[BOZO]

You going to the game Bozo? Need to bring your Manly passion for the boys!

You going to the game Bozo? Need to bring your Manly passion for the boys!

I will be there feathered friend supporting our Manly boys

I will be walking in enemy territory

Through the wind and the rain

With passion and hope in my heart

That we win today and live up to our Legendary clubs high standards

and honour it as the Greatest club of all !!!

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Weekes is certain for the 17 because the club has made a point of publicising his debut. But Bully or KDL could still come in at the last minute, for whatever reason. Stay tuned.

 

[Brisbane Tragic]

There are positives to come from every challenging situation that arises

The positive to come out of the missing defensive workload from Jake , Davey and Croker
Is the opportunity for all our forwards not be be reliant on others but to be focused on the extra defensive demands required of them .

Des's player rotation will also play a important role in the heavy draining weather conditions

agreed but gee we are in trouble with our three trojan defenders out

 

[Woodsie]

What a bunch of hand wringing nervous wee Jessie's you lot are ... we are playing the dragQueens for goodness sake .. Valley United B Grade could flog them.

We have the troops to do the job ... Manly by 6 .

Congrats and best wishes to Weekes ... RIP IN MANLY.

 

[BOZO]

agreed but gee we are in trouble with our three trojan defenders out

The biggest casualty of any team is not the loss of a few players but the loss of passion and heart by the players that run on to the field on game day

We play with heart and passion and we build the trojan resilience required as a team to win the game

 

[mickqld]

Hasn't helped that the media decides this week to come out and lay into the goons players, coaching and generally the club. It's as if the media want to gee them up to perform seeing it's Manly. Hardly any media talk of our performance last week , most shows barely mentioned the score let alone actually talk and analyse our games. Only if we lose do they spruik up how great our opposition were.

 

[Eagle 1]

What a bunch of hand wringing nervous wee Jessie's you lot are ... we are playing the dragQueens for goodness sake .. Valley United B Grade could flog them.

We have the troops to do the job ... Manly by 6 .

Congrats and best wishes to Weekes ... RIP IN MANLY.

100% spot on, they are very sus defending their line, and having their two battering rams out Suli and that Fijian winger takes most of their fire power out. Only Lomax to contend with, and he has more off days than on days.... Manly by 14.

 

[Rosko]

Backs to the wall job tonight! Best form of defense is attack

That is definitely our game plan. Just try to outscore them, we have no defensive forwards left...

 

[davohan123]

That is definitely our game plan. Just try to outscore them, we have no defensive forwards left...

33-26 scoreline could be.

I thinking our backline and 6/7 are far superior but as you said our defensive line is shot so for us to win I think we have to make it shoot out type of game you score we score.

Our attack can get the dragons it's as you said the other end of the ground where I think we will struggle.

 

[dowdz]

What's the weather like down there?

 

[Will on the hill]

Good news is Dragons prefer to play around teams, other than JDB their forward pack are mostly plodders. Suli has been their most reliable attacking weapon so not unhappy he will miss his revenge game. Lomax will setup his winger with a flick pass but he will also throw 3 into the grandstand. Very winnable game.

 

[XV-1]

Is Des playing favourites by not selecting Foran to play 5/8th?

Schuster if fully fit or Weekes can then play 5/8th.

 

[47MVEagle]

I reckon Des swaps Weekes with Walker before kick off.

No point in disrupting the DCE-Foran halves combo when Walker & Weekes can share the dummy half duties.

 

[47MVEagle]

Toff & Keppie to switch also.

 Maybe Burbo to swap with Schuster too...

 

[SeaEagleRock8]

Maybe Burbo to swap with Schuster too...

Burbo has only ever started once, it was against the Tigers and he played 80 minutes.
Also he is ... a Trbojevic! Meaning regardless of talent or experience Des knows he'll get 100% out of him.
So if Schu is to start, it probably won't be in place of Burbo.

 

[Snake]

I have grave concerns about tonight.

I was worried when Jake went down and then Croker sent me into a complete spin.

Regardless of which team takes the field tonight, in any combination, it will not have the two most critical pieces to the ruck puzzle.

Tonight is not solely about whether a player (be it Weekes) misses a tackle or not. It’s not about how many tackles someone makes...

It comes down to the effectiveness of certain tackles at certain stages of the match, in certain field position.

Our ‘fill in’ 9 might complete every tackle they’re assigned to and miss none all night. But it could be the tackle that allows an opposition forward to find their front, play the ball quickly and expose our edge off a fast ruck for a try. It could be the soft tackle on play three of a set that allows the next two rucks to explode, before the opposition kick on the front foot and earn a repeat set, thus fatiguing our forwards.

That’s the thing about Jake and Frog...it’s not the number of tackles or missed tackles that really matter. It’s their ability to stop the opposition from (a) making yards, and (b) playing off quick play-the-balls. How do they do it? They dominate tackles at important stages of the game, to stop momentum. That’s where they’ll be sorely missed tonight.