Dragons Season Thread - 2019/20 aka Year 1 of the new 5 Year Plan

by **RiscaGame** Wed 08 Jan 2020, 2:56 pm

First topic message reminder :

Because it seemingly hit his head. I understand why he did it, as they were slowing us down a fair bit and not getting penalised, but it needs to be a few more angles than the clip I have seen.

by **BigGee** Sun 28 Mar 2021, 3:47 pm

Well I am not much of a fan of moral victories, but you would have to say, if there ever was such a thing, Edinburgh have just won one.

Fabulous effort in that second half with the team they had out. There are some good young kids in that side.

I think the Drags lost it when the Hewitt try was disallowed for the foot in touch, they hardly look like scoring again after that. They had looked so good in the first 30 mins but the bubble just burst at that point.

by **RiscaGame** Sun 28 Mar 2021, 4:38 pm

Crazy pair of halves. Dean Ryan has some big thinking to do, for the Northampton game next week.

Makes me wonder whether he might start the same side again, save for Roberts probably back for Dixon.

Good second half for Edinburgh, but to be pointless for a half isn’t good from Dragons POV.

by **RiscaGame** Sun 28 Mar 2021, 4:41 pm

BigGee wrote:Well I am not much of a fan of moral victories, but you would have to say, if there ever was such a thing, Edinburgh have just won one.

Fabulous effort in that second half with the team they had out. There are some good young kids in that side.

I think the Drags lost it when the Hewitt try was disallowed for the foot in touch, they hardly look like scoring again after that. They had looked so good in the first 30 mins but the bubble just burst at that point.

Yeah, it was a bit of a momentum killer. I would definitely say it’s a moral victory for Edinburgh there.

by Luckless Pedestrian Mon 29 Mar 2021, 12:02 pm

Shiel was excellent off the bench for Edinburgh.

by **RiscaGame** Mon 29 Mar 2021, 1:44 pm

He was indeed. I think Richie Rees was right to point out though, that the unstructured nature of the game suited him and Kinghorn.

by **RiscaGame** Tue 30 Mar 2021, 1:32 pm

Rodney Parade looks ok again, from the strategic pictures Dragons have released. Forecast dry all week, so no excuses for the fleet footed Dragons on Sat.

by mikey_dragon Wed 31 Mar 2021, 9:34 pm

Really poor result tbh. Someone needs to be fired. Some senior player need to stand up and be counted, or exit (Moriarty).

by mikey_dragon Wed 31 Mar 2021, 9:36 pm

BigGee wrote:I think the Drags lost it when the Hewitt try was disallowed for the foot in touch, they hardly look like scoring again after that. They had looked so good in the first 30 mins but the bubble just burst at that point.

There's been a few occasions where just started well and then didn't do anything. Something quite clearly not right.

There hasn't been any news, so I wonder if Screech is staying. Be good to finally have Rowlands in next season.

by **RiscaGame** Wed 31 Mar 2021, 11:33 pm

There has been enough news, in that Ryan has said Screech’s head is turned. That’s as good as a confirmation really.

I think Moriarty has played fine, considering he is coming back from injury recently. I think he played better than Wainwright last week, for example.

I also don’t see how you think something isn’t right? We’ve actually had a go past few weeks, so there’s probably something fairly right within the squad. Even players like Fairbrother have mentioned how something has changed.

They didn’t kick on v Edinburgh, as they got a bit giddy by chasing a 45 point winning margin. Can’t really blame them there. They were on a hiding to nothing. If they had stuck to their principles, they would’ve at least got a BP.

Whilst we had our internationals back, they still have to reintegrate themselves into our patterns. Probably slightly distracted from lifting the Six Nations trophy the night before too.

by mikey_dragon Thu 01 Apr 2021, 1:09 am

I haven’t read anything like that. I must have missed it. I don’t think it was mentioned on here that he was certainly leaving either.

Moriarty is disinterested in playing for Dragons and has been from day one. We have better back-row players who actually seem to take pride in playing for the jersey. Would disagree as I think Wainwright played better and is noticeably enthusiastic. His form dipped earlier in the season but he looks a lot better now.
Obviously I would prefer if Ross decided that he wants to play for us, but it’s been 3 years sooo.... I know I’m not the only one who has this opinion.

Well, at first we improved under Dean Ryan. We were pretty bad mind so I don’t see how it could have got worse. I think we have a decent enough team, yet we just lost 8 on the bounce. I’m quite pessimistic anyway, naturally, so maybe I see it differently to others. I think other teams would have put Edinburgh to the sword, putting 40-50 on them if something big was riding on it. I remember us being comfortable against Ospreys, Benetton and Zebre too and we just had phases where we switched off. The defence leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, and with that in mind I can’t excuse ‘the occasion’ for us faltering against Edinburgh. It’s a common theme and it’s disappointing.

by **RiscaGame** Thu 01 Apr 2021, 8:43 am

I see your point. Tbh, I wasn't happy about last week really, in that we didn't score a point for 50 minutes. The 8 on the bounce really frustrated me too, especially the first two derbies around Christmas, where we didn't really fire a shot. I guess I am just trying to be positive ahead of this weekend Wink

. That'll be a pretty accurate reflection of where we are, assuming Northampton come in loaded.

That's the article about Screech. It's a massive shame for me.

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/19173352.matthew-screech-set-swap-dragons-cardiff/

by mikey_dragon Thu 01 Apr 2021, 9:33 am

Now that you mention it, I think I have seen that article before, or one similar. It is disappointing to lose Hill and now Screech. At least we’re getting Rowlands and Ben Carter has stepped up well - they’ll be after him soon as well. If Maksymiw isn’t injured then he should probably be featuring for us more often, seeing as the article also states we aren’t looking to recruit at 2nd row.

by **RiscaGame** Fri 02 Apr 2021, 3:10 pm

Dragons: J Williams; J Holmes, A Owen, J Roberts, A Hewitt; S Davies, R Williams (captain); G Bateman, E Dee, L Fairbrother, J Davies, M Screech, A Wainwright, H Keddie, R Moriarty.

Replacements: T Davies, J Reynolds, L Brown, B Carter, D Baker, G Bertranou, E Lloyd, N Tompkins.

Northampton: H Mallinder; O Sleightholme, F Dingwall, R Hutchinson, T Naiyaravoro; J Grayson, A Mitchell; N Auterac, M Haywood, E Painter, A Moon, A Coles, N Isiekwe, JJ Tonks, T Harrison (captain).
Replacements: S Matavesi, A Waller, O Heffernan, L Bean, S Adendorff, H Taylor, A Tuala, T Collins.

Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)

Shame for Brok to miss out with a hammy twinge. Otherwise it’s probably as expected.

Interesting to loan a hooker from Scarlets and not use Rhys Lawrence.

by WELL-PAST-IT Sun 04 Apr 2021, 11:56 am

I couldn't see the game but it sounds a cracker. Glad to see Saints showing some resilience at last, a month ago they would have caved in and Dragons would have won by a decent margin.

What is it with the teams these days, have defence coaches all been put in lockdown isolation or something, the lowest aggregate score yesterday was 45 points, but most games running into the 70s and 80s. Fantastic to watch but defence coaches must be just a little concerned to say the least.

by **RiscaGame** Sun 04 Apr 2021, 12:46 pm

It was a good game, not that it makes it easier Wink

Not sure what happened yesterday. Defence hasn’t been too bad for Dragons recently. I guess both sides will have an uncomfortable review tomorrow or Tuesday. I thought the biggest problem was how Dragons attacked 13 men though. That was very poor.

by WELL-PAST-IT Mon 05 Apr 2021, 9:37 am

I have just watched the limited highlights and it looks to be a superb game, Dragons seemed to score most of their points through structured play, pulling Saints defence into places it did not want to be and leaving space out wide. Never knew Roberts had such a gentle touch with his boot.

Saints on the other hand seemed to score most of their points from moves starting in their half, Naiyaravoro is a massive handful when he is in the mood he was Saturday, virtually impossible to stop him breaking the gain line. Just how quick is Mitchell?

It is difficult to judge how next week will go as Quins put out a very weakened side, but 8 tries against any side is not sniffed at.

by mikey_dragon Tue 06 Apr 2021, 1:24 pm

It’s not often our backs get an armchair ride. Speed of ruck ball made that happen. Saints were without Lawes, Ribbans, Isiekwe, Ludlam, Ratuniyarawa, Biggar and Proctor; so quite significant. Somehow we still lost it, gee wiz.

Has Tompkins ever made a tackle? Genuine question. It’s clear to see why Owen has replaced him.

by **RiscaGame** Tue 06 Apr 2021, 5:15 pm

It is frustrating, but then our first choice (or near enough) has been walloped by Saints 2s previously. As I’ve said on another post, I don’t think we were helped by some of the selections. I certainly don’t see the value in Tompkins, as it stands.

I don’t think our defence is overly great, even if it was praised against Glasgow and Edinburgh (possibly). We scramble very well, but the organisation is fairly poor (in my opinion).

by mikey_dragon Tue 06 Apr 2021, 5:23 pm

Yeah I think the organisation is poor. The forwards seem to struggle with making a tackle and then getting back to re-form for defence - that’s how their 9 exploited the gap created by that and scored a good individual try.

by Guest Thu 08 Apr 2021, 12:44 pm

Nick Tompkins has gone back to Sarries then. I don’t think many of us will be that sad at the news. Didn’t really do much and seems to have regressed a bit. Whether that’s a sign of poor coaching at the dragons or him being over hyped in the first place, I don’t know. But I’m inclined to think it’s the latter. Surrounded by the talent at Sarries perhaps it was easier for him to shine, but I didn’t see him standout really for the Dragons at all from memory.

by mikey_dragon Thu 08 Apr 2021, 1:18 pm

Not sad at that news at all. If that frees up some money then I hope we spend it more wisely. PS as far as i know he couldn't get into the Sarries first team.

In other (sad) news, Ashton as a knee ligament injury and requires surgery.

by **RiscaGame** Thu 08 Apr 2021, 1:26 pm

Bulking up hasn't helped Tompkins, in my opinion. I don't think his issues around defence can be blamed on us either, but there does seem to be a bit of chat on social media that he has regressed since being with us.

Awful news about Hewitt. I didn't anticipate it being that bad. I thought it would rule him out for a while, but not for the rest of the year.

by Oakdene Thu 08 Apr 2021, 1:42 pm

RiscaGame wrote:Bulking up hasn't helped Tompkins, in my opinion. I don't think his issues around defence can be blamed on us either, but there does seem to be a bit of chat on social media that he has regressed since being with us.

Awful news about Hewitt. I didn't anticipate it being that bad. I thought it would rule him out for a while, but not for the rest of the year.

TBF is defensive issues were clear for all to see against Ireland in last years 6N.

by **RiscaGame** Thu 08 Apr 2021, 2:10 pm

Yeah agree. Plus the intercept he threw against France was before us. Pesky Dragons Wink

by Luckless Pedestrian Fri 09 Apr 2021, 3:35 pm

RiscaGame wrote:Bulking up hasn't helped Tompkins, in my opinion.

I remember O'Driscoll having a similar lull which coincided with him being asked to bulk up, I'm sure he's written about it. They stopped the programme, and his form returned. I'm not saying it's all down to Tompkins bulking up, or that he's in the same league as O'Driscoll, I just thought it was interesting.

by **RiscaGame** Fri 09 Apr 2021, 6:00 pm

Think Pivac will rethink it now, to be honest. Wonder if Saracens will tell him to revert back to his “natural” weight anyway. Expect they will.

by Luckless Pedestrian Mon 26 Apr 2021, 10:10 am

If it wasn't for the softness of some of the tries we conceded, that would have been an excellent performance against the Scarlets. We look so sharp with ball in hand, almost unrecognisable from earlier in the season (and previous seasons). Something's definitely clicked. We did it with a barely functioning lineout as well.

by LordDowlais Mon 26 Apr 2021, 10:28 am

The Oracle wrote:Nick Tompkins has gone back to Sarries then. I don’t think many of us will be that sad at the news. Didn’t really do much and seems to have regressed a bit. Whether that’s a sign of poor coaching at the dragons or him being over hyped in the first place, I don’t know. But I’m inclined to think it’s the latter. Surrounded by the talent at Sarries perhaps it was easier for him to shine, but I didn’t see him standout really for the Dragons at all from memory.

Well seeing as you have Aneurin Owen who is by all accounts a much better player already, with a massive future ahead of him, I do not think having Tompkins hanging around was good for the region. Tompkins never really kicked on from that game against Italy, and has not really been up to the task since.

by Luckless Pedestrian Mon 26 Apr 2021, 10:44 am

I do hope Tompkins regains form though, he was very good for Wales last season, he made things happen.

by **RiscaGame** Mon 26 Apr 2021, 10:51 am

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:If it wasn't for the softness of some of the tries we conceded, that would have been an excellent performance against the Scarlets. We look so sharp with ball in hand, almost unrecognisable from earlier in the season (and previous seasons). Something's definitely clicked. We did it with a barely functioning lineout as well.

I know our defensive record isn't great, but at least we had an excuse yesterday with a winger at 13 laughing

Was very happy with it. Been dying to see Babos again and he made a pretty handy impact. I have to admit to being worried about Coleman starting for us, but he was solid in the scrum. Lineout was a little strange, but I guess it was all the new combinations (backrow aside) in part.

Thankfully Davies managed to find his kicking boots too, after a wobbly start. It's a shame we have to wait two weeks now, for the next game.

by mikey_dragon Mon 26 Apr 2021, 9:16 pm

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:If it wasn't for the softness of some of the tries we conceded, that would have been an excellent performance against the Scarlets. We look so sharp with ball in hand, almost unrecognisable from earlier in the season (and previous seasons). Something's definitely clicked. We did it with a barely functioning lineout as well.

Defence was certainly optional at times. That was a makehift midifeld but the pace out wide from Rosser, Holmes, Dyer and Williams seemed to be the difference. That and our phase play seemed to be a lot better than it has previously. Ben Carter was good, I wasn't impressed with our hooker though, actually thought he was a winger when I first spotted him.

So, what's the reaction over on Scarlet fever? Wink

by Luckless Pedestrian Tue 27 Apr 2021, 10:13 am

In fairness, they're probably saying it's a Mickey Mouse cup, and they're not really wrong about that.

Rio Dyer is rapid. His break in the first half was ridiculous.

by Guest Tue 27 Apr 2021, 10:33 am

mikey_dragon wrote:
Luckless Pedestrian wrote:If it wasn't for the softness of some of the tries we conceded, that would have been an excellent performance against the Scarlets. We look so sharp with ball in hand, almost unrecognisable from earlier in the season (and previous seasons). Something's definitely clicked. We did it with a barely functioning lineout as well.

Defence was certainly optional at times. That was a makehift midifeld but the pace out wide from Rosser, Holmes, Dyer and Williams seemed to be the difference. That and our phase play seemed to be a lot better than it has previously. Ben Carter was good, I wasn't impressed with our hooker though, actually thought he was a winger when I first spotted him.

So, what's the reaction over on Scarlet fever?

I thought he was a youngster as I hadn't heard the name really, but he's 26! Came from the Scarlets on loan. Maybe why he wasn't great as he wanted to help his original side out Wink

by **RiscaGame** Tue 27 Apr 2021, 10:57 am

It’s a strange loan really. He did ok against Glasgow, I thought. Like I’ve said previously, I would probably have approached the Ospreys for a loan of a hooker, but there we go Very Happy

by **RiscaGame** Tue 27 Apr 2021, 10:59 am

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:In fairness, they're probably saying it's a Mickey Mouse cup, and they're not really wrong about that.

Rio Dyer is rapid. His break in the first half was ridiculous.

Yeah, he is. I like him a lot. A bit raw, but he’s got a lot of good about him already. Hewitt was pretty similar and is now a very key player for us. Hopefully Dyer can be similar. I haven’t looked, but Dyer’s tries to games ratio can’t be too bad, as he seems to have scored when he gets the chance from memory (Ospreys etc).

Edit. It’s just shy of a try every other game. I would’ve expected it to be a bit more than that.

by Luckless Pedestrian Tue 27 Apr 2021, 11:32 am

It's a good sign when a player that doesn't start that many games is up to speed straightaway, no pun intended.

by Guest Tue 27 Apr 2021, 2:55 pm

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:It's a good sign when a player that doesn't start that many games is up to speed straightaway, no pun intended.

Jeez, I nearly reported your post for the quality of that pun! Very Happy

You might have copped a lengthy ban Very Happy

by Luckless Pedestrian Tue 27 Apr 2021, 3:06 pm

by **RiscaGame** Fri 07 May 2021, 12:58 pm

Interesting side for Sunday. Both have gone strong. Dragons pretty much first choice from players available, bar 1, 2 and 15 (I would say). Cardiff probably a bit more 1.5s? Referee for a derby a neutral one laughing

Cardiff Blues: H Amos; J Harries, O Lane, M Llewellyn, J Adams; B Thomas, J Hill; R Carre, K Myhill (captain), D Lewis, S Davies, C Hill, J Turnbull, O Robinson, S Moore.

Replacements: K Dacey, B Thyer, W Davies-King, T Williams, J Ratti, E Bevan, J Evans, W Halaholo.

Dragons: I Davies; J Holmes, A Owen, J Roberts, R Dyer; S Davies, G Bertanou; J Reynolds, T Davies, L Brown, J Davies, M Screech, R Moriarty (captain), T Basham, A Wainwright.

Replacements: R Lawrence, G Bateman, C Coleman, B Carter, H Keddie, D Babos, J Lewis, J Dixon.

Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

by **RiscaGame** Fri 07 May 2021, 1:00 pm

There could be a case for saying Reynolds may overtake Bateman though, with Bateman’s recent defensive issues.

by mikey_dragon Fri 07 May 2021, 1:11 pm

Joe Davies can't be first choice, he's such a limited player. I would prefer the other Joe to get a good run of games there. You could also argue that Carter is establishing himself as first pick, if he hasn't done so already. Surprising to not see Hibbard involved, he's clearly rated so why not... Back-row, well we tend to be good there whoever we put out so yeah sure.

A mixed team from Cardiff like last week, I think Dai is using this to just try out a few guys. Are we not taking it seriously? We started off well so we probably should.

by **RiscaGame** Fri 07 May 2021, 3:01 pm

I haven’t looked at team sheets, but Davies seems to be the one getting picked constantly. I want Ryan to play Carter more.

Hibbard is injured and done for the season, I think. Fracture in his arm/hand I think??

by PhilBB Mon 10 May 2021, 9:55 am

I'd be pretty worried if I was a Dragons fan, having seen yesterday's game. Ryan's gameplan seems to be to send up runners on good angles from the 9, but such good angles that there's no 'pod' behind the carrier in order to clear out. Hence, getting turned over is just easy.

Other than that attacking idea, as soon as the ball reaches Sam Davies then all momentum ceases and all patterns disintegrate. He has no gain line attacking threat or sufficient passing game to beat defences.

There's next to no front row depth and the best back row the Dragons have was picked off by a Cardiff team missing it's four best back row players.

by **RiscaGame** Mon 10 May 2021, 11:30 am

PhilBB wrote:I'd be pretty worried if I was a Dragons fan, having seen yesterday's game. Ryan's gameplan seems to be to send up runners on good angles from the 9, but such good angles that there's no 'pod' behind the carrier in order to clear out. Hence, getting turned over is just easy.

Other than that attacking idea, as soon as the ball reaches Sam Davies then all momentum ceases and all patterns disintegrate. He has no gain line attacking threat or sufficient passing game to beat defences.

There's next to no front row depth and the best back row the Dragons have was picked off by a Cardiff team missing it's four best back row players.

There must be an element of a mental block. But if we had a decent goalkicker, we would've won yesterday. Even ignoring the penalty miss from 50 odd, that he should never have taken on, the other kick missed was a bad miss.

I do agree on the runners running unsupported. It does annoy me. I was pretty annoyed at his interview, where he was talking about playing at tempo. I didn't think we did as such. I thought Bertranou was quite slow, especially when we had a two men advantage.

by PhilBB Mon 10 May 2021, 11:59 am

RiscaGame wrote:
PhilBB wrote:I'd be pretty worried if I was a Dragons fan, having seen yesterday's game. Ryan's gameplan seems to be to send up runners on good angles from the 9, but such good angles that there's no 'pod' behind the carrier in order to clear out. Hence, getting turned over is just easy.

Other than that attacking idea, as soon as the ball reaches Sam Davies then all momentum ceases and all patterns disintegrate. He has no gain line attacking threat or sufficient passing game to beat defences.

There's next to no front row depth and the best back row the Dragons have was picked off by a Cardiff team missing it's four best back row players.

There must be an element of a mental block. But if we had a decent goalkicker, we would've won yesterday. Even ignoring the penalty miss from 50 odd, that he should never have taken on, the other kick missed was a bad miss.

I do agree on the runners running unsupported. It does annoy me. I was pretty annoyed at his interview, where he was talking about playing at tempo. I didn't think we did as such. I thought Bertranou was quite slow, especially when we had a two men advantage.

The first bad miss was very early in the game so who knows what would have happened had it been successful. It would surely have altered the way Cardiff played, for starters.

by **RiscaGame** Mon 10 May 2021, 12:33 pm

Yeah, fair play. I suppose it is a bit of a simplistic view. More another frustration of mine really.

by mikey_dragon Mon 10 May 2021, 2:53 pm

We're playing better in attack than we have for years. There is pace to the game, where as before we were just too slow and generating slow ball constantly. The one-up runners was a bit of a concern and not just in this game, it's poor we didn't rectify that nor adapt at the driving lineout. Perhaps if we attacked closer to the ruck whilst giving the impression we're going to attack the wider channel, it might rectify it. Good that we're involving our wingers more, Dyer and Holmes have beaten the most defenders in the competition.

I've also alluded to Sam Davies' erratic play many times, and it's concerning that we don't seem to be recruiting there when there seems to be an abundance of WQ fly-halves here and there. I thought Bertrano's passing was very good, I think it's higher quality than Rhodri's. I get the impression GB might be a short-term signing anyway if his weird tweets are anything to go by. Our front-row depth is better than it's been but we still need to recruit there as well if we want to challenge for the top 4. It's probably better than Cardiff's just about. Carre and Lewis were below average at the scrum again. Adamson was very much in favour of Cardiff at the scrum and breakdown in the opening 20, even Blue-eyed Shanklin couldn't believe it at times, it wasn't the case as the game went on but we didn't come back from it. Poor from us and the officials.

by PhilBB Mon 10 May 2021, 3:21 pm

mikey_dragon wrote:We're playing better in attack than we have for years. There is pace to the game, where as before we were just too slow and generating slow ball constantly. The one-up runners was a bit of a concern and not just in this game, it's poor we didn't rectify that nor adapt at the driving lineout. Perhaps if we attacked closer to the ruck whilst giving the impression we're going to attack the wider channel, it might rectify it. Good that we're involving our wingers more, Dyer and Holmes have beaten the most defenders in the competition.

I've also alluded to Sam Davies' erratic play many times, and it's concerning that we don't seem to be recruiting there when there seems to be an abundance of WQ fly-halves here and there. I thought Bertrano's passing was very good, I think it's higher quality than Rhodri's. I get the impression GB might be a short-term signing anyway if his weird tweets are anything to go by. Our front-row depth is better than it's been but we still need to recruit there as well if we want to challenge for the top 4. It's probably better than Cardiff's just about. Carre and Lewis were below average at the scrum again. Adamson was very much in favour of Cardiff at the scrum and breakdown in the opening 20, even Blue-eyed Shanklin couldn't believe it at times, it wasn't the case as the game went on but we didn't come back from it. Poor from us and the officials.

The Dragons tried to attack via the line out but failed each time. This is an area that Cardiff are traditionally crap at and where the Dragons have always had an advantage, but not yesterday.

It's an epic thought to claim the Dragons front row depth is better than Cardiff's. On what planet could anybody sanely think that when Baywatch has just been given another year and the loose head stock consists of Bateman (who has done nothing) and the octogenarian Harris? Come on now, don't be silly. Cardiff's scrum had the upper hand all game yesterday.

Still, best to blame the ref when your scrum is marching backwards......

by mikey_dragon Thu 13 May 2021, 2:01 pm

Bertrano and Baker have extended their stays, Screech confirmed as leaving for Cardiff. Wonder if there is any chance of getting a LH and 10 from another region, or does the 'poaching' only go one way Very Happy

.

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu 13 May 2021, 2:24 pm

We signed Screech from the Blues in the first place, and Cory Hill for that matter. I don't really know what you're getting at!

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