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Dragons think they are contenders

The_Ref said:
Newport Gwent Dragons think they are contenders in this season's Magners League.

http://itvwales.wordpress.com/2010/...agons-are-contenders-says-captain-tom-willis/

Their captain Tom Willis has said it. Alright so they've made the Heineken Cup this year but will they really challenge in the Magners? I'm not so sure...
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Do they have the players to do this? ... I freely admit I know next to nothing about the Magners League, but want to up my knowledge this season ... who are the front runners? ... the Ospreys are the reigning champs, right? ... Cardiff Blues have a lot of players that I recognise ... Leinster and Munster both look strong ...

Sorry, I don't want to hijack your thread, but being a newbie to this league, just thought I'd ask
 
Don't mention Leinster! They're playing Saracens and I'm not very confident about beating them.
 
No reason why the Dragona can't challenge for the playoffs but ultimatley they dont have the depth in talent that the Big 4 have. Injuries will affect the Dragons more than the Ospreys, Blues, Munster and Lenster
 
bristol-iain said:
No reason why the Dragona can't challenge for the playoffs but ultimatley they dont have the depth in talent that the Big 4 have. Injuries will affect the Dragons more than the Ospreys, Blues, Munster and Lenster
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Took the words out of my mouth,
Dragons are getting better, and are challenging further and further up the table.
 
Olyy said:
Took the words out of my mouth,
Dragons are getting better, and are challenging further and further up the table.
Click to expand...

The Dragons played Saracens last season and beat us by 1 point
 
I feel that if the Blues have injuries again this season then we will be struggling. Dragons can make the play offs because they have some good talent, and at the moment they are not getting a look in with Wales so you never know.
 
Thanks everyone ... hopefully I can get some TV coverage here in Canada ... If not, i'll just have to rely on you for the results :)
 
Shaggy said:
Do they have the players to do this? ... I freely admit I know next to nothing about the Magners League, but want to up my knowledge this season ... who are the front runners? ... the Ospreys are the reigning champs, right? ... Cardiff Blues have a lot of players that I recognise ... Leinster and Munster both look strong ...

Sorry, I don't want to hijack your thread, but being a newbie to this league, just thought I'd ask
Click to expand...

Generally you can expect Munster or Leinster to be there or thereabouts, same for the Ospreys and Blues, though Glasgow and Edinburgh have pushed on a hell of a lot over the past few seasons too. Dragons tend to get viewed as the '4th placed' Welsh region, though they had a cracking season last year! They weren't far off making the play offs last season (if they'd beaten the Ospreys away in their last league game they;d have made the play offs I think), so not sure why The_Ref is writing them off already. They took a very strong Ospreys side apart at Rodney Parade, and did the same to a strong Munster side not long afterwards! They dont have the same kind of money that the Ospreys have to work with, but Paul Turner has done a superb job to mould his young team into something which could easily make the play offs imo.
Here's some cracking stuff from them last season:
Aled Brew Try:


Martyn Thomas:


JasonTovey:
 
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i don't see it. They'll be better than Connacht, the two I-talian teams, maybe Ediburgh, maybe Scarlets.

Ulster look very strong this year and won't be missing many to Internationals
 
Thingimubob said:
Generally you can expect Munster or Leinster to be there or thereabouts, same for the Ospreys and Blues, though Glasgow and Edinburgh have pushed on a hell of a lot over the past few seasons too. Dragons tend to get viewed as the '4th placed' Welsh region, though they had a cracking season last year! They weren't far off making the play offs last season (if they'd beaten the Ospreys away in their last league game they;d have made the play offs I think), so not sure why The_Ref is writing them off already. They took a very strong Ospreys side apart at Rodney Parade, and did the same to a strong Munster side not long afterwards! They dont have the same kind of money that the Ospreys have to work with, but Paul Turner has done a superb job to mould his young team into something which could easily make the play offs imo.
Here's some cracking stuff from them last season:
Aled Brew Try:


Martyn Thomas:


JasonTovey:
Click to expand...


Thanks for that Thingimubob, some great footage there, particularly that drop goal from Tovey ... I'm not usually a fan of the drop goal, but to kick one from that far out was pretty special ... perhaps he'll be in the Welsh international side in the near future
 
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I don't see why the Dragons can't make the Play-Offs. It's a shame Wayne Evans try against Leinster isn't on YouTube, because that was one of the most stunning pieces of free-flowing Rugby I saw last season, if not ever. Will Harries also seems like a great find, and should almost definatly add to his first cap he got against the All Blacks in June. He scored something like seen tries in ten games end of last season, and having only played a handful of games ended the Dragons' top try scorer and around third in the league- An amazing stat.
 
No doubt the Dragons will do better this season again, if they can stay injury free, who knows.
They have quite a few young guys who are steadily improving, as well as some good signings.

Some good Will Harries clips, including playing for Wales 7's.
 
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durbutter said:
i don't see it. They'll be better than Connacht, the two I-talian teams, maybe Ediburgh, maybe Scarlets.

Ulster look very strong this year and won't be missing many to Internationals
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Ferris, Wallace, Trimble, Best and Court will all be on enforced breaks. It may not sound much but there's a bit of a drop off when Ferris and Trimble go especially and they're the players our team looks to.

We also lack a top 10/a top goal kicker.

What we most crucially lack, and what holds most relevance to the Dragons, is we lack that killer instinct and the experience of winning. I'm not going to talk down the Dragons, they did us over twice last year, but I think they lack that experience of being up there too. Young sides tend to be more prone to mistakes as well. So I'm going to be slightly dubious. WC year or no, its still a big ask and I suspect Dragons will finish in the same position again, there or there abouts but not actually there. Which would still be a bloody good season for them imo.

So, both of Dragons and Ulster COULD do it. But I'm not going to hold my breath.
 
Peat said:
Ferris, Wallace, Trimble, Best and Court will all be on enforced breaks. It may not sound much but there's a bit of a drop off when Ferris and Trimble go especially and they're the players our team looks to.

We also lack a top 10/a top goal kicker.

What we most crucially lack, and what holds most relevance to the Dragons, is we lack that killer instinct and the experience of winning. I'm not going to talk down the Dragons, they did us over twice last year, but I think they lack that experience of being up there too. Young sides tend to be more prone to mistakes as well. So I'm going to be slightly dubious. WC year or no, its still a big ask and I suspect Dragons will finish in the same position again, there or there abouts but not actually there. Which would still be a bloody good season for them imo.

So, both of Dragons and Ulster COULD do it. But I'm not going to hold my breath.
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Well the transfer of Pienaar will solve all goal kicking problems. Some massive signings in the pack with the addition of Johann Muller, Pedrie Wannenberg and Tim Barker. They now have massive depth in the pack, a world class 9, options at 10 and some really talented young guys coming through in the outside backs. so i would'nt be worried about the Irish squad players.



One of the best teams in the league on paper when at full strength!!
 
durbutter said:
Well the transfer of Pienaar will solve all goal kicking problems. Some massive signings in the pack with the addition of Johann Muller, Pedrie Wannenberg and Tim Barker. They now have massive depth in the pack, a world class 9, options at 10 and some really talented young guys coming through in the outside backs. so i would'nt be worried about the Irish squad players.



One of the best teams in the league on paper when at full strength!!
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It might. It should. I'll believe it when I see it. Schicofske was meant to sort the kicking, had a great kicking stat down south but didn't do it. Similarly, with three Boks in the pack, we shouldn't miss Ferris so much... but again I'll believe it when I see it!

And the options at 10 are dumb and dumber, can't tackle and won't tackle...

It looks passing fair on paper, but my eyes demand more evidence than that!
 
Dragons played some of the best rugby in the ML last season. They were the surprise team of the season and Turner rightly got coach of the year award.

I don't see them making the playoffs though. I can see them finish 6th at best. Ulster and Munster have strengthened alot. Cardiff have strengthened. Ospreys and Leinster have squads full of quality players so it'll be hard for Dragons to overtake them. Injuries come into play too throughout the season thats why the teams with the most strength in dept have the best chance.
 

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