The Dragons have choked again......?

Question

No dumb answers if you are not Australian.

Am a big supporter, they get so far, then lose it. Any theories as to why they do this repeatedly?

Answer 1

My main thought would have to be behind the scenes issues. I'm talking boardroom problems, Johnny Raper shooting off at the mouth and possibly lack of proper player bonding. In reality, the dragons have a very good team. If teams were as good as they looked on paper, Penrith would be winning premierships left, right and centre. So my theory is that there isnt enough comradeship in that club. It happened to Penrith when Shane Richardson left for South Sydney.

In conclusion, it probably isnt the team's fault. It is the management.

Thanks.

Answer 2

Why r u so pessimistic??? The Dragons WILL win the comp this year

Every player just needs to say to themselves ..."I think i can, i think i can".

oh and brown needs to be sacked. He has absolutely NO respect from his players at all

Answer 3

Yeah i know what you mean, the Dragons were in a five

game losing streak, but i just saw them thrash the

Wests Tigers at Oki Stadium. Mark Gasner played great in a MUST WIN game. Brett Morris played well too.

For sure It's been a hard month and it was good to see

them put it together for this game. They are ensured a

top eight spot and hopefully they can build on the

performance of this win.

Let's hope they beat the Sharks at Win Stadium.

Answer 4

what a sorry bunch of losers you Illawarra  fans are your team is no good you sent league back 10 years when you left Aussie stadium for Kogarah

Just like the storm kicked your butt in 1999 but hey one thing you can look forward to every week is all the tipsters and sports tab will have you as favourites AGAIN

Answer 5

Yes I know what you mean. Its hard to say what it really is as they have such a good team, they play well together as a hole team. But its hard to say really what causes them to lose, suppose its one of them things that all teams go through. Would love to see them win the grand final this year as they really deserve it.

Answer 6

Could it be that St George are stuck in the thinking that allowed them to win 11 premierships in a row.  (1956 - 1966) [1] [2].  This was in a time when there were unlimited tackles.  Today it is limited to 6 tackles.

Back in those days, if you played for St George, you played for Australia.  St George was able to recruit the top players, and keep them at the club, there was no salary cap, and most players had a job to give them money.  St George possibly would have compensated them somewhat for playing anyhow.

This mentality may still be at the club, ie, get the best players we can get and we will win.  Things like,

1) are the players selfish and not team players?

2) do the players what to help the club and not just their career?

3) does the player fit in with the clubs culture (a dig at Souths)?

do not seem to matter when selecting players to play for the club, they appear to expect the good players to be able to play with others.

There are cases where the good players will gel as a team, and this is generally shown in international, state of origin, and city-country matches.  They are different, as you do not have to keep the team for 26 weeks or more (if you get in the finals).  Different coaching methods are needed as well.  Another thing is, you do not need to train the players in these matches the basics, like catch a ball, how to pass, etc, although they do get trained to hone these skills.

It appears every year, the Dragons are expecting only a few players to actually play well and win the games for them.  This is evident when at the start of seasons they say things like,

1) Barrett will be able to win it for us this year,

2) We should be able to have some players in State of Origin this year,

I cannot think of other things they have said over the years, except that Gasniers resigning means he will be the saviour for the club when Barrett goes to England.