Dragons

T

TIGER

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How do you beat them?
I've seen sides try to beat them at their own game by trying to complete sets, kick chase and defend and be patient but they come undone because the Dragons just do it better. I've seen sides take them on by playing an attacking style and throw the ball around but the Dragons D is too solid and they end up turning over too much ball and pay the price. And i've seen a combo of both but they just can't keep it up for 80 min.
This Dragons team mentally beats you, they force opposition to change their game and force mistakes because they have run out of ideas on how to score points against them.
I don't think i've seen a team mentally break down their opponent like the Dragons do and if i was Ricky Stuart and the selectors i'd pick them 1 to 17 for the Blues side. (all the eligible ones of course).
 
Pay off Hayne to friggin blow his whistle when there is a blantsnt knees in the back when he is only 3 metres away .
Seriously , If the health of our team keeps improving, they can beat those Dragqueens in front of their home crowd in 3 weeks time.
 
They are so much better than most teams in this comp its not funny.

There are a couple who will trouble them - Melbourne, Brisbane and on our day us.

It just depends which Tigers side turns up on the day.

Credit where its due though they have been the best side through the season proper for the past two years and again this year. They are a fantastic defensive side.
 
Patience will beat them . Some need to remember they have never had any major injuries over the last few years and if anyone of note is injured they play teams that can't beat them . Cronulla showed everyone how to do it a few weeks ago Dominate them in the forwards and good kicking game . They are beatable and I would say we are 1 of 3 teams that can beat them . Broncos and Storm are the others .
 
Even played quite a few reserve graders today, so they are unlikely to be weak during SOO time. Seriously good game plan required to give them a run for their money. If Sheens has one he should keep it quiet until the semis, as you'l only get one go at it.
 
Freak they are good, Even with some of the stars out and the injuries throughout todays game they still dominated an OK cowboys team.
 
Gotta throw them off their gameplan. They are very, very structured. If the Tigers can play an attacking style of footy that leaves them guessing then we WILL win.
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They might be 'good' but they're so boring to watch.
Put me to sleep two weeks in a row.
Soward is a b!@^&$
Tagive is a beast and Kyle Stanley is a good up & comer.

Bronx Goodwin = SOFT
 
That will be amazing if that happens this year Captain….although I say that every year and the Raiders always get them.
 
The Dragons give you nothing and execute very well. You can't give them any cheap points, and you must execute every chance you create in order to beat them. That said they'll drop a few games during the origin period, but they'll definitely be there in the final 4 again this year. I think the Storm will knock them off in the finals though.
 
@Aladinsane said:
Pay off Hayne to friggin blow his whistle when there is a blantsnt knees in the back when he is only 3 metres away .
Seriously , If the health of our team keeps improving, they can beat those Dragqueens in front of their home crowd in 3 weeks time.
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Or pack a scrum with WT feed when Darius Boyd fails to touch the ball with his foot when playing the ball.

Your point is valid - last time we played them we could have won with a bit of luck. We can beat them next time we play them. Hammer them at the advantage line and play Benji razzle-dazzle in the backs.
 
We have to play our own game and really aim up in defence. If our defence is olid it gives us the platform to throw the ball around and imo noone in the comp can contain us.

However and this was highlighed in the Broncos game if we drop off for just one second and give them a sniff they will tear us apart and it just steam rolls. The Bunnies game is still our best all round performance we aimed up tired the big men out and hit them when they are going backwards.
 
I agree with Sabre, I feel you have to really attack them and go after them.
Also I think if you can be aggressive in D and get in their faces, they will start to make errors.

Remember Canberra have done it to them the last few years, back in 2009 the Dragons were cruising through the season and then Canberra completely threw them off the boil by being aggressive at them, I remember Josh Miller getting stuck into them and then Jeremy Smith not long afterwards started a fight at the play the ball 10m out while in possession. They ended up losing the game and the Dragons season fell apart afterwards.

I also think about last years prelim, we were ultra aggressive in defence, we had them under all sorts of pressure and there were signs of panic from them until they levelled up, went back to plan A while we lost steam after 2 straight grueling finals.
 
That performance from Miller should be studied and replicated before the Dragons match by Ellis, Dwyer Fifita…

That was a heroic performance that took the dragons completely by surprise and did throw them off their game plan. Their forwards were looking sideways whilst running the ball up as Miller was stalking and executing them at will. He was ultra aggresive and ultra hard that game. A superb performance.

We have some good hard hitters who need to stand up. I have no doubt that they will.
 
No dummy half runs for starters, as there'll be no cheap metres available there.

Spread the ball to the pigs and have them commit their defenders and look for the second phase play.

Make no mistake, they will be hard to beat but there's no reason why we can't.
 
@Cultured Bogan said:
No dummy half runs for starters, as there'll be no cheap metres available there.

Spread the ball to the pigs and have them commit their defenders and look for the second phase play.

Make no mistake, they will be hard to beat but there's no reason why we can't.
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My only issue with spreading the ball to the pigs(by that comment I assuming you mean playing them one off the 1st reciever) That with Saints defensive line speed I would doubt you would get over the advantage line . Something I think would be effective against Saints would be switches off play( say hitting Marshall one side of the ruck and him switching back to Lui or Farah on the other side of ruck and hitting an inside runner Dwyer , Ellis or Fulton and try and create second phase to MacKinnon off that It would create room up the middle of the ruck especially when there big forwards tire) and running big forwards short side particularly at Gasnier . He does not seem to like being targetted one on one with big forwards . On the defensive side of things straight line of defence and whatever you do DON"T rush up on Soward and make him run . Totally agree on this point CB we are one side in the comp that can beat them especially if our defence is on song .
 
You actually beat them with your defence. If you actually watch the Dragons attack, they don't question teams as much as say ourselves. It is a heap of second man plays all before the line. In saying that, they aim to score 3 tries and then back their defence.

Keep them under two tries whilst also maintaining your discipline and not conceding penalty goals. You obviously need to aim to score 2+ tries which is difficult, but there are some teams who can do. These would include ourselves, Melbourne, Brisbane and a Campese included Canberra.

Defences like the Dragons are beaten by random skill, not set plays.
 
I agree with other posts here that very little to no dummy half running, second phase play to make them think twice about rushing up off the line, and our forwards need to dominate early with tough controlled aggression. Controlled being the key. Dropped ball, poor discipline and not numbering up in defence will bring us undone.
 
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