Dragons Season Thread - 2018/19 - aka Year 2 of the 3 Year Plan

[Guest]

First topic message reminder :

So we made it to the end of the 2017/18 season.  We've seen/endured the first year of Bernard Jackman's plan.  I think most of us have been through a rollercoaster of emotions, similar to previous seasons but perhaps even more so this season given the new injection of life and investment into the Dragons.  First there was the hope - the new coaches, some new players, the new pitch, new chairman, new cash injection.  Then we started to stumble - it's all down to the new coach and getting used to the new systems, we said.  Then came the face plant and the realisation that this trend was going to carry on for the whole season - a couple of wins in the league, a few in Europe, a lot of spankings, not many losing bonus points.  Very poor return.  The hope turned to despair and BJ's methods were being questioned.  Then the hope comes again with the announcement of new signings ('stellar' signings, compared to previous years!) and the assurance that the 1st year of the plan was always going to be difficult and that year 2 would be the one to judge BJ on.....  

So.......on to year 2 (2018/19).  Where are we?  What are our expectations (realistically)?  What's the best team we can put out on paper and how competitive will it be?  For a number of years we've been stuffed in the league so seem to try to get some solace from a decent showing in the Euro 2nd tier comp.  However, should we forget about Europe and try to put all of our focus on the league?  I think so.

Transfers - we've lost more than we've gained, although the quality of the transfers in could/should be better than those leaving.  But I'm worried we'll be thin on the ground when the inevitable injuries hit.

Players In: = 14
Jordan Williams from England Bristol Bears
Rhodri Williams from England Bristol Bears
Ross Moriarty from England Gloucester
Rhodri Davies from England Rotherham Titans
Richard Hibbard from England Gloucester
Huw Taylor from England Worcester Warriors
Josh Lewis from England Bath
Ryan Bevington from England Bristol Bears
Aaron Jarvis from France Clermont
Dafydd Howells from Wales Ospreys
Tiaan Loots from Wales RGC 1404
Jacob Botica from Wales RGC 1404
Rhys Lawrence from England Ealing Trailfinders
Brandon Nansen from France

Players Out: - =21
Sarel Pretorius to South Africa Southern Kings
Phil Price to Wales Scarlets
Scott Andrews to Wales Neath
Luke Garrett to Wales Neath
Adam Hughes retired
Pat Howard to England Ealing Trailfinders
Rhys Buckley to Wales Bargoed
Barney Nightingale to Wales Bargoed
Keagan Bale to Wales Bargoed
Angus O'Brien to Wales Scarlets
Nicky Thomas to Wales Scarlets (return from short-term loan)
Dorian Jones to France Angoulême
Charlie Davies to England Northampton Saints
Lloyd Lewis to Wales Pontypool
Sam Beard to New Zealand Canterbury
Sam Hobbs released
Thomas Davies released
Liam Belcher released
Ashley Sweet released
Robson Blake released
Carl Meyer released

I'll try to update the Ins and Outs as we go.

[munkian]

Rested maybe ? Carrying a knock ?

They should announce squad once they know whose fit.

Henson being fit is most important for us I think, calm steadying hand

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Looks like Ollie Griffiths is going to start:


“Ollie will be part of our squad and that’s a great boost, he is such a dynamic ball carrier,” said (Bernard) Jackman.

“Against Treviso we need people who can get us over the gain line and get their hands free in contact, he is exceptional at that.

“He only played 11 games for us last year but I think back to the Ulster game [at Rodney Parade] when he was sensational.

“Ollie is such a good player that we just feel it is better to start him and let him go, because he looks after himself so well and is the consummate professional.

“Even though it’s hard to play your first competitive game like that, we feel it is worth the risk of getting him straight in.

“We know that he is a game-changer and obviously we want to win, so will get as many game-changers on the field as we can.”


http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/16603487.griffiths-back-to-boost-dragons-for-pro14-opener/

[mikey_dragon]

I saw some supporters saying Knoyle sped the game up in comparison to Williams.

That is good for the age grade players. I was impressed by that.

Not what I seen, but Gavin Henson did speed things up when he came on and that was with the awful passes he was getting from Knoyle. Gav also put in some good tackles!

[mikey_dragon]

Always a risk chucking a player back in but he’s a young guy and should give a decent hour of rugby. I think we’re better at chucking them back in than the Wales coaching staff anyway.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Knoyle's passing wasn't good. There were no shockers, but they were all sort of looped. Dan Babos should give him lessons.

[Stone Motif]

Looks like Ollie Griffiths is going to start:


“Ollie will be part of our squad and that’s a great boost, he is such a dynamic ball carrier,” said (Bernard) Jackman.

“Against Treviso we need people who can get us over the gain line and get their hands free in contact, he is exceptional at that.

“He only played 11 games for us last year but I think back to the Ulster game [at Rodney Parade] when he was sensational.

“Ollie is such a good player that we just feel it is better to start him and let him go, because he looks after himself so well and is the consummate professional.

“Even though it’s hard to play your first competitive game like that, we feel it is worth the risk of getting him straight in.

“We know that he is a game-changer and obviously we want to win, so will get as many game-changers on the field as we can.”


http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/16603487.griffiths-back-to-boost-dragons-for-pro14-opener/

Lewis Evans article suggests it's Griffiths, Wainwright and Evans with Evans at 6. Surely that's Griffiths 7 Wainwright 8 in that case.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

You'd think so. They've played Griffiths at 8 before, but I think that was to accommodate Benjamin.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Ollie Griffiths at number eight.

Dragons (v Benetton Rugby): Jordan Williams, Dafydd Howells, Tyler Morgan, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos, Gavin Henson, Rhodri Williams; Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard, Leon Brown, Brandon Nansen, Cory Hill (c), Lewis Evans, Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Huw Taylor, Tavis Knoyle, Josh Lewis, Adam Warren

[Stone Motif]

Ollie Griffiths at number eight.

Dragons (v Benetton Rugby): Jordan Williams, Dafydd Howells, Tyler Morgan, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos, Gavin Henson, Rhodri Williams; Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard, Leon Brown, Brandon Nansen, Cory Hill (c), Lewis Evans, Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Brok Harris, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Huw Taylor, Tavis Knoyle, Josh Lewis, Adam Warren

Fair enough. Both can shift but still think on balance I'd have had Griffiths in his best position

[Luckless Pedestrian]

You have to say that's a much stronger side than anything we could have put out last season. It's walk the walk time for Jackman now.

[Stone Motif]

You have to say that's a much stronger side than anything we could have put out last season. It's walk the walk time for Jackman now.

Had the same thought. That's a combative and talented pack for once

[Luckless Pedestrian]

With arguably a stronger front row to come off the bench.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Benetton: Jayden Hayward; Ratuva Tavuyara, Tommaso Benvenuti, Alberto Sgarbi, Monty Ioane; Tommaso Allan, Tito Tebaldi; Federico Zani, Hame Faiva, Tiziano Pasquali, Alessandro Zanni, Dean Budd (capt), Abraham Steyn, Sebastian Negri, Marco Barbini.

Replacements: Engjel Makelara, Derrick Appiah, Simone Ferrari, Marco Fuser, Federico Ruzza, Marco Lazzaroni, Giorgio Bronzini, Tommaso Iannone.

Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)

Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (IRFU), Simon Rees (WRU)

TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Plenty of Test players there for Benetton, and that Ioane was excellent last season.

[RiscaGame]

Two strong sides. It is a game we need to win, but I can only see a nervy, ugly win at best.

Happy with the majority of the team. I think I would prefer Brok over Bevington and certainly Dee over Hibbard. I would probably like Grifftihs at 7 and Amos at 15 too, but there we go. I hope Super Gav has a good game.

[Stone Motif]

Clancy. FFS.

[mikey_dragon]

Knoyle's passing wasn't good. There were no shockers, but they were all sort of looped. Dan Babos should give him lessons.

Traveling through the air that slowly sort of makes them all shockers. I’m sure Babos or Davies could give him lessons but if he’s been around since 2009 and is still this bad then....

[mikey_dragon]

Unbelievable start then. Somehow the coach thinks Moriarty will come in and fix everything.... Bye bye Jackman!

[Guest]

Argus posters pulling no punches! Yikes! All with the knives out for Jackman, and deservedly so perhaps. Any decent coaches available at the moment?!

[Stone Motif]

Still, at least the A side gave their Ospreys equivalents a shoeing:

http://www.ospreysrugby.com/News/Article/52808

[RiscaGame]

3/5 good results for the Prem sides too. Every cloud.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

The positives from Saturday:

1) We got a bonus point

2) They didn't

That's it.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

How many knock ons in the second half though. There must have been half a dozen in a ten-minute spell. That's going to kill momentum for any side. And then it transpires that they didn't do much contact work in training

[mikey_dragon]

Really, the head coach thought contact training was unnecessary? That’s the cherry on top surely.

[mikey_dragon]

Still, at least the A side gave their Ospreys equivalents a shoeing:

http://www.ospreysrugby.com/News/Article/52808

A good blend of youth and experience, with most if not all of them being pro players. A bit of common sense finally.

[munkian]

Dee has to start next week, has to. Cudd should be somewhere in the 23 too.

And for the love of God play Amos at 15 and move Williams to the wing.

There wasn't even a scoreboard at the ground either, had to keep checking twitter- didn't realise we were that close in score towards the end, made not taking the 3 points even more frustrating.

Jackson will be working on his CV soon.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

It's really poor that there was no scoreboard, and it didn't help that the PA wasn't very loud. I struggled to hear what the announcer was saying.

[munkian]

Had the same rubbish from the stewards not letting us use the Bisley bar/toilets. Have the same argument every year with a jobsworth then they magically let us in the next game.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

It's the portaloos for us!

[mikey_dragon]

Not sure about Cudd in the 23, as that gives us three open-sides in the squad which I don't think is necessary - this is assuming that the back-row is Ross, Wainright, Griffiths. How did Shanks go at 6 last week?

[munkian]

Not sure about Cudd in the 23, as that gives us three open-sides in the squad which I don't think is necessary - this is assuming that the back-row is Ross, Wainright, Griffiths. How did Shanks go at 6 last week?

Meh as usual, Griffiths was everywhere, remember at one point he made about 3 tackles in under 10 seconds, he's not an 8 though.

[Stone Motif]

Not sure about Cudd in the 23, as that gives us three open-sides in the squad which I don't think is necessary - this is assuming that the back-row is Ross, Wainright, Griffiths. How did Shanks go at 6 last week?

Meh as usual, Griffiths was everywhere, remember at one point he made about 3 tackles in under 10 seconds, he's not an 8 though.

Evans made more tackles than Griffiths according to ESPN. Missed one less too. Both made similar yards per carry though Griffiths naturally had more at no 8.

[munkian]

Not sure about Cudd in the 23, as that gives us three open-sides in the squad which I don't think is necessary - this is assuming that the back-row is Ross, Wainright, Griffiths. How did Shanks go at 6 last week?

Meh as usual, Griffiths was everywhere, remember at one point he made about 3 tackles in under 10 seconds, he's not an 8 though.

Evans made more tackles than Griffiths according to ESPN. Missed one less too. Both made similar yards per carry though Griffiths naturally had more at no 8.

Maybe I just noticed him more because of the scrum cap. There was a point though where he tackled one player then leapt up and tackled the next, hell of on engine on him.

[Stone Motif]

Not sure about Cudd in the 23, as that gives us three open-sides in the squad which I don't think is necessary - this is assuming that the back-row is Ross, Wainright, Griffiths. How did Shanks go at 6 last week?

Meh as usual, Griffiths was everywhere, remember at one point he made about 3 tackles in under 10 seconds, he's not an 8 though.

Evans made more tackles than Griffiths according to ESPN. Missed one less too. Both made similar yards per carry though Griffiths naturally had more at no 8.

Maybe I just noticed him more because of the scrum cap. There was a point though where he tackled one player then leapt up and tackled the next, hell of on engine on him.

He's a machine, no doubt. Needs chance to play in his best position though, still don't get the logic of playing Griffiths 8 Wainwright 7. Did they mix up through the match? Even more impressive carrying stats from Wainwright if not, head and shoulders above the rest

[munkian]

I was on the North stand with my head in my hands for most of it so didn't get the best view. I was sober too which didn't help - may re-watch on Prem sports once I've had a few.

[Guest]

I think that sums up what it is to be a Dragons fan perfectly, Munkian. Needing to get pi$$ed to watch the replay!

Agree with most people’s comments that Griffiths at 7 is much better. I guess Jackman is in a conundrum and is trying to get the best players on the pitch at the same time. Someone is going to miss out though when Moriaty is starting. A nice position to be in with squad depth but it needs to be managed well, which I’m not sure Jackman is up to based on the evidence of previous man management faux pas.

[Stone Motif]

I think that sums up what it is to be a Dragons fan perfectly, Munkian. Needing to get pi$$ed to watch the replay!

Agree with most people’s comments that Griffiths at 7 is much better. I guess Jackman is in a conundrum and is trying to get the best players on the pitch at the same time. Someone is going to miss out though when Moriaty is starting. A nice position to be in with squad depth but it needs to be managed well, which I’m not sure Jackman is up to based on the evidence of previous man management faux pas.

Not sure where the conundrum is they were both on the pitch. One is an awesome seven and the other a rangy fast athlete.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Moriarty 8, Griffiths 7, Wainwright 6. That'll be it, won't it?

[RiscaGame]

It is certainly my preference.

I would have Cudd on the bench, as with Nansen in the squad we theoretically have 6 cover. Though I am a bit of a Benjamin fan too.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

They might alternate Cudd and Benjamin on the bench depending on the opposition. But it would be a shame if Benjamin ends up out in the cold again, especially after he played himself into the ground last season.

[munkian]

Is Keddie back soon ? He's probably our best option at 8, especially if Moriarty is away with Wales.

[RiscaGame]

I don't think so. That's why I didn't include him for now.

[munkian]

I don't think so. That's why I didn't include him for now.

Aye, fair enough, I'm sure I saw his name pop up for one of the premiership teams but could well be wrong.

[Guest]

I think that sums up what it is to be a Dragons fan perfectly, Munkian. Needing to get pi$$ed to watch the replay!

Agree with most people’s comments that Griffiths at 7 is much better. I guess Jackman is in a conundrum and is trying to get the best players on the pitch at the same time. Someone is going to miss out though when Moriaty is starting. A nice position to be in with squad depth but it needs to be managed well, which I’m not sure Jackman is up to based on the evidence of previous man management faux pas.

Not sure where the conundrum is they were both on the pitch. One is an awesome seven and the other a rangy fast athlete.

Sorry, thought you were advocating Evans as being superior (and therefore worthy of a starting spot) based on the stats you provided. So I meant with Moriaty likely at 8 someone out of Griffiths, Wainright and Evans would miss out. It would be Evans to miss out for me, even though as you say he had the better stats the other night.

[Stone Motif]

I'd have Moriarty 6 Wainwright 8 Griffiths 7, though not sure who that leaves us bringing on as a sub with any impact.

[Stone Motif]

I think that sums up what it is to be a Dragons fan perfectly, Munkian. Needing to get pi$$ed to watch the replay!

Agree with most people’s comments that Griffiths at 7 is much better. I guess Jackman is in a conundrum and is trying to get the best players on the pitch at the same time. Someone is going to miss out though when Moriaty is starting. A nice position to be in with squad depth but it needs to be managed well, which I’m not sure Jackman is up to based on the evidence of previous man management faux pas.

Not sure where the conundrum is they were both on the pitch. One is an awesome seven and the other a rangy fast athlete.

Sorry, thought you were advocating Evans as being superior (and therefore worthy of a starting spot) based on the stats you provided. So I meant with Moriaty likely at 8 someone out of Griffiths, Wainright and Evans would miss out. It would be Evans to miss out for me, even though as you say he had the better stats the other night.

Evans isn't quick enough to play eight or seven any more, but I can see the value of him as a squad six to tackle and throw some weight into rucks. Moriarty won't be with us for large chunks of the season. Anyway yeah comment was more about playing an 8 at 7 and a 7 at 8 being he problem rather than who plays 6.

[Stone Motif]

Is Keddie back soon ? He's probably our best option at 8, especially if Moriarty is away with Wales.

I think Wainwright's overtaken him tbh.

[munkian]

Is Keddie back soon ? He's probably our best option at 8, especially if Moriarty is away with Wales.

I think Wainwright's overtaken him tbh.

Early days yet. If he gets a run of fitness it will be a tidy battle for places.

[Stone Motif]

Is Keddie back soon ? He's probably our best option at 8, especially if Moriarty is away with Wales.

I think Wainwright's overtaken him tbh.

Early days yet. If  he gets a run of fitness it will be a tidy battle for places.

My doubts about Keddie is whether he's carried his power into senior rugby. Lots of players fail at this once the field levels and their opponents are more physically mature. Wainwright just seems to have more of the Taulupe about him.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Dragons (v Isuzu Southern Kings): Jordan Williams, Dafydd Howells, Tyler Morgan, Jack Dixon, Hallam Amos, Josh Lewis, Rhodri Williams; Brok Harris, Elliot Dee, Leon Brown, Matthew Screech, Cory Hill (c), Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths, Ross Moriarty

Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Ryan Bevington, Lloyd Fairbrother, Brandon Nansen, Huw Taylor, Tavis Knoyle, Arwel Robson, Adam Warren

Kings: Y Penxe, M Makase, H Klassen, B Klassen, B Basson, M Banda, R van Rooyen, J Forwood, M Willemse (c), L Pupuma, S Oelofse, B De Wee, S De Wit, M Burger, A Ntsila.

Replacements: A Van Rooyen, S Ferreira, L Mguca, J-C Astle, R Lerm, G Masimla, M Du Toit, U Beyers.

http://www.dragonsrugby.wales/News/Article/52869

Arwel Robson on the bench - Henson injured.

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