2023 NRL Round 4 Cronulla Sutherland Sharks vs. St George Illawarra Dragons @ Jubilee Stadium Sunday 26th March @ 6:15pm

Sharkfox

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Gonna get shot down for this, but i still wish we could sign a gun centre for the left edge, and move Talakai back to bench
Not only does he provide impact but also provides cover for backline if necessary.
Williams offers nothing imo.
Talakai left edge back row, Wilton bench, give Atkinson a shot at left centre, Williams and Graham reserves. Turn Kaufusi into a starting Prop, have Mcinnis, Hunt, Uele, Wilton as bench impact
 

Sharkfox

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Wouldn't Talakai be better as impact from the bench?
He would, but rather have him running lines and doing more hit ups since Moylan loves passing to his back rower. He can offload, pass and kick also
May as well drop Teig off at Penrith now if that's your plan.
They can have Graham back now😄
atkinson struggles defensively and is a midget, thats a death sentence for him
Most emerging players will have defensive issues, still need to give them time in top grade to build their game, gel and form combinations with players around them in top grade. Whether Atkinson or Iro, i'd say theyd stand up if given the opportunity, and we have a good group of players to lead or guide them
 

snowman

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He would, but rather have him running lines and doing more hit ups since Moylan loves passing to his back rower. He can offload, pass and kick also

They can have Graham back now😄

Most emerging players will have defensive issues, still need to give them time in top grade to build their game, gel and form combinations with players around them in top grade. Whether Atkinson or Iro, i'd say theyd stand up if given the opportunity, and we have a good group of players to lead or guide them
ok, but moving talakai from the centres because he cant defend, for 2 people who are severly worse than him is just stupid
 

Sharkfox

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ok, but moving talakai from the centres because he cant defend, for 2 people who are severly worse than him is just stupid
For me its not so much moving him because of his defense, i just think he'd be utilised more and be more of a weapon in the backrow. He's hard to put down, can offload, pass, kick, he can put on big hits and be a nightmare for the opposition's 6 or 7 in offense and defense.

I like Wilton, always rated him, but i would rather keep Talakai on that left edge, who can offer more with a passing game and offloads, and would also draw in more defenders.
Need one backrower on the bench as back up and also for mobility in the middle. I think Wilton brings impact, and can do alot of work in the middle, he has done it before. Right now we have all middles on the bench, props and locks

I also dont think Wilton leaves sharks if he was moved to the bench, looks like most players want to stay and love or believe in whats being built and planned for the club and culture. If he left to penrith or another top team he would still be put on the bench and used as an impact player like a sorenson
 

bort

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ok, but moving talakai from the centres because he cant defend, for 2 people who are severly worse than him is just stupid
But imagine if instead of being in reserve grade for a reason they just miraculously became awesome because we played them in first grade?

That is basically the train of thought I think half of the 'what about this guy from reserve grade' suggestions follow.

Hazleton scored two tries on the weekend, maybe we could try him on the wing? Can score tries and good height for a kick target. Could work, who knows.
 

HaroldBishop

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But imagine if instead of being in reserve grade for a reason they just miraculously became awesome because we played them in first grade?

That is basically the train of thought I think half of the 'what about this guy from reserve grade' suggestions follow.

Hazleton scored two tries on the weekend, maybe we could try him on the wing? Can score tries and good height for a kick target. Could work, who knows.
Yeah but could they possibly be any worse?
 

Gards

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Good win, glad to get it as really wasn't sure what to expect this game and I was happy to see improvement in individuals and the team as a whole especially in that second half. Perhaps our boys finally got the rocket they needed as they played with alot more enthusiasm and aggression against the Drags across the park

Which leads me to think have they been under motivated (not in terms of wanting to win but in terms of putting in the hard yards) or just underdone in general? Perhaps a bit of both.

I'm not getting too carried away though, it's one game and against the sort of team we regularly trounced last season as well. I think the Dragons tried to outdo our crappiness and in the process scared us straight!

Can just imagine that half time talk - so you shits wanna be another Dragons do you? Dale looking around the sheds - **** that **** boyz! (Nicho is too beautiful to swear or lose his temper so I used Dale instead, I imagine he has a good shed game)

The Drags are basically uncoached at this point and it's a stark reminder of how truly bad things can get (and have been for us in the past) when your club is in disorder. They are fortunate their fans still make the effort to turn out for them. Nothing short of a boardroom clean out and a top tier coach is going to turn them around anytime soon.

Perhaps the Tigers can lend them one of the 20 coaches they have on their roster? Oh wait, I said top tier didn't I....

While I feel my recent criticisms of our coaching staff were fair and remain valid and it will take more than a solitary win to completely win me back over (circa early 2022) it certainly went some ways to restoring the faith.

Let's back it up next week and build this season up to what we all hope it can and could be - things are always better when our footy team is winning and 2 from 4 is no disaster. We aren't the only top team which has been having some struggles.

Let us also get on top of those challenges before they do because there certainly is no shortage of contenders this season and it looks as though we are going to have to overcome and face more strong competitive teams than we did last year if the early season form guide is anything to go on.

It may well end up that the Dragons & the Tigers are the only "easy" games - every other team is showing some sort of potential even if they are not consistent (we aren't either)

The big teams are going to bounce back at some point almost certainly but that doesn't necessarily mean that all the other teams in the top 10 are going to fall off a cliff so we need to be on our game each and every week but have enough left over in the tank at the business end of the season to give a second half dragons performance for 80 mins 3-4 weeks running.

Gunna be a tough season I thinks but a cracker of one - I hope we can rise up to the occasion in the big games.
 

Sharkfox

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But imagine if instead of being in reserve grade for a reason they just miraculously became awesome because we played them in first grade?

That is basically the train of thought I think half of the 'what about this guy from reserve grade' suggestions follow.

Hazleton scored two tries on the weekend, maybe we could try him on the wing? Can score tries and good height for a kick target. Could work, who knows.
Its not like you're just giving anyone a shot, you would pick players who play/have played in the position, that have potential and are next in line. Iro nsw cup player of the year last season, has potential, must've been doing something right playing left centre. Had a few errors in his top grade debut playing on the wing, but overall improved as the game went on and had a solid perfomance. Atkinson stood out for italy in the world cup playing left centre, was a stand out in our trials even while switching positions during game, has potential. They can learn and adapt to top grade defensive systems, they could improve and play better in those systems with the experienced players and coaching staff around them.
 

bort

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Its not like you're just giving anyone a shot, you would pick players who play/have played in the position, that have potential and are next in line. Iro nsw cup player of the year last season, has potential, must've been doing something right playing left centre. Had a few errors in his top grade debut playing on the wing, but overall improved as the game went on and had a solid perfomance. Atkinson stood out for italy in the world cup playing left centre, was a stand out in our trials even while switching positions during game, has potential. They can learn and adapt to top grade defensive systems, they could improve and play better in those systems with the experienced players and coaching staff around them.
Yeah look you argue it fine and I don’t think you’re wrong, those guys are obvious candidate for a run. My objection is more I personally think it’s trying to fix a problem we don’t have.

I don’t think Iro centre Talakai 17 is better than Talakai at centre and Williams/Graham/Hazelton in 17
I definitely don’t think benching Wilton is worth it
 
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