Hopes And Expectations For 2011

[snowman]

millington will be playing with the bulldogs next year

 

[ABshark]

You're missing a few names there hitman... Pritchard, Eastwood, J. Morris, Fui, Hindmarsh- that's just off the top of my head.

 

[hitman124]

Pritchard hasnt played well since he demanded a release for french rugby in 08. Hindmarsh is over the hill, so is Fui.

I know what your saying mate, I just dont rate any of those players.

 

[ABshark]

They're all better than Millington, Morris, Vave and a couple of others you mentioned.

 

[hitman124]

Vave`s gonna make you eat your words in a few months time.

 

[slide rule]

you have a really good point about depth, and that we are lacking, as rugby league is such a physically demanding game, injuries can make you or break you. But I am still under my "blissfully ignorant only been watching league for 3 seasons hat" and This is the way I see it.


I will give you an example


Sharks Players- Gallen, Topou, Smith, Millington, Douglas, Snowden, Vave, Gardner,Graham,Best, Morris,

To me looks better than,

Wests- Marshall, Farrah, Ellis, Lawrence, Lote.

Parramatta-Hayne, Tim Mannah, Hayne, Hayne and he isnt even fit.

Titans- Prince,Bird, Friend, and old hacks who if they were going to win a comp would have won it already.

Bulldogs- Ennis,Idris and Tolman are the only good players I can think think of.




The only teams with better players than us are Souths, Storm, and as much as I hate to say it, the goons.



I know there may be many flaws in my point of view right here, but its just what I believe.

That's a nice piece of creative writing hitman.

Actually, it's probably more that you are being economical with the truth.

 

[A.Snowden]

The more and more i think about our chances this season, i really think we can make the 8, we will be very unlucky not to i reckon!

 

[Fitzy2513]

If the halves are consistent we win at least half our games = 26 points which means we are in or close to the 8. If they are not, we'll be having the same discussions this time next year.

 

[gosharkies]

If the halves are consistent we win at least half our games = 26 points which means we are in or close to the 8. If they are not, we'll be having the same discussions this time next year.

i think we will improve on last year cause of our improved backline and bench and will make the top 8 regardless if kelly or smith has a great year or not and if one them does have a great year a top 4 finish is possible

 

[Lumpy]

There is no reason why we can't make the 8 or even the 4. Look at what we did with our team in 08. We may not have Noddy but our forward pack is just as good as that one was, as are our outside backs. If Gards can reproduce his good work from last season, we could be looking good and top 4 is not out of the question.

 

[stormshark]

If only we had 13 Paul Gallens:gal:! Sigh....Backline good? I think some of you guys have short memories!

 

[Fitzy2513]

i think we will improve on last year cause of our improved backline and bench and will make the top 8 regardless if kelly or smith has a great year or not and if one them does have a great year a top 4 finish is possible

I didn't say anything about our halves having a great year, I said "consistent year".
To break it down - forwards going over the advantage, getting quick play the balls and winning the ruck, means halves have time to set up the plays and our outside men. Which HOPEFULLY equates to trys. Simple game really. Now we know that our pigs will go forward, hence, the comment "if our halves are consistent ..". If our halves are consistent we should win at least half our games.

 

[sharky94]

hope- no injuries no offeild drama an stable financial position
expecation make the 8
hope- Anthony topou comes back to his best hard running attack an jeremy smith has no premireship hangover

 

[squiddy]

There is no reason why we can't make the 8 or even the 4. .

I honestly dont know how we will fare this year - I hope to see some improvement but I'm not making any rash declarations .

Where I think we will see BIG improvement , which will ultimately benefit us down the line , is the off field operations . Expect changes, positive changes to happen...

 

[IronShark]

I honestly dont know how we will fare this year - I hope to see some improvement but I'm not making any rash declarations .

Where I think we will see BIG improvement , which will ultimately benefit us down the line , is the off field operations . Expect changes, positive changes to happen...

Good point mate, I think you have hit the nail on the head there. What happens off the field this year is probably way more important than anything that might happen on the field, in the long term.

As for the performance of the team, alot of people seem to be very hung up on the ability of our halves. Whilst it would be great to have a gun half or five-eight, I wouldn't write us off on that issues alone.

After all, the Dragons won the premiership with a combination of Soward and Hornby - hardly a combination that set the world on fire. They played no-frills, high percentage football and simply relied on the weight of possession to get them home.

On the other hand, where did the Cowboys finish, with the "brilliance" of Thurston behind them?

 

[hitman124]

The wisest shark of them all, great post mate.

 

[samshark]

Good point mate, I think you have hit the nail on the head there. What happens off the field this year is probably way more important than anything that might happen on the field, in the long term.

As for the performance of the team, alot of people seem to be very hung up on the ability of our halves. Whilst it would be great to have a gun half or five-eight, I wouldn't write us off on that issues alone.

After all, the Dragons won the premiership with a combination of Soward and Hornby - hardly a combination that set the world on fire. They played no-frills, high percentage football and simply relied on the weight of possession to get them home.

On the other hand, where did the Cowboys finish, with the "brilliance" of Thurston behind them?

No frills?? thats a bit harsh. Love him or hate him Soward has been one of the best players in the NRL the last two years and Hornby is a very good player full stop. Those two guys can take a lot of credit for the dragons success.

 

[goodbyepenrithhellosharks]

while my expectations are not that high, my confidence is,Im thinking we will do ok. My hopes are that many long term supporters ( unlike myself ) will have plenty to cheer about and be proud of, after doing it tough for quite a while

 

[Bundy Shark]

No frills?? thats a bit harsh. Love him or hate him Soward has been one of the best players in the NRL the last two years and Hornby is a very good player full stop. Those two guys can take a lot of credit for the dragons success.

sorry samshark, you lost me once you said "one of the best players in the NRL the last two years"

soward is one of the best in the NRL over the last 2 yrs for
1) kicking long
2) kicking to open space
3) kick metres gained

i can be a smart arse & say all the other things he is one of the best for, eg,
1) being a speed bump
2) wooping it up in the 70min mark of games when he knows the dragons will win
etc etc etc

 

[CrazyMatt]

Hopes and expectations aye? hmm

Well like every Shark fan I hope we will win the comp, but realistically I think the best we can hope for is 7th or 8th. I think the top 8 is just out of our reach this year, looking at our roster compared to the other teams. I would be content with a 9th or a 10th place finish to build on into 2012.