Gus 'guarantee' after disastrous Dragons run

1 year ago 75

Phil Gould doesn't cognize who volition triumph this year's NRL premiership, but helium tin warrant 1 happening - the Dragons won't get the woody spoon.

The embattled merger nine is good and genuinely successful the gun, arsenic is the manager Anthony Griffin, whose occupation is astatine hazard if the Red V can't amended connected past year's showing.

Griffin was brought successful 2 years agone and tasked with arresting a mediocre decennary connected the field, which has reaped lone 5 finals games since St George Illawarra won the contention successful 2010.

Instead the squad has finished 11th and 12th connected the ladder, and punters are backing the Dragons to decorativeness person to 17th than archetypal again this year.

Gould, though, won't person a barroom of that argument.

"They are a cardinal to 1 to tally last. They volition not runs last," Gould told Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

"Their roster's acold amended than that. There is nary accidental the Dragons are moving last, zero. The endowment level is excessively good.

"Whether they scope their imaginable - and they haven't reached their imaginable implicit the past fewer years - it remains to beryllium seen.

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"They whitethorn good get it close this year, I don't know, but they volition not tally last.

"They've had immoderate atrocious headlines and immoderate mediocre proceedings results... proceedings results mean perfectly nothing.

"I'll warrant you the Dragons volition not tally past successful this competition. There are a batch worse teams than the Dragons successful this competition."

Gould blasts 'greatest abomination' successful game's history

On Wednesday, Dragons skipper Ben Hunt fired up erstwhile the proposition was enactment to him the squad could tally last.

"We're not getting the woody spoon," Hunt said.

"I deliberation we're a genuine finals team. We request to be."

St George Illawarra collected the rubric successful 2010 nether supercoach Wayne Bennett, but the nine has mostly struggled to replicate that signifier since.

The Red V reached finals successful 2011, 2015, and 2018, but ne'er made it further than the 2nd week of the post-season.

The nine has ne'er finished a play successful past place, since merging successful 1999.

Having had the bye successful circular one, the Dragons footwear disconnected their 2023 play against Gold Coast connected Sunday.

They've had to contend with a fig of unfavourable headlines successful caller months, including police charges against Talatau Amone and a teammate dust-up betwixt Mikaele Ravalawa and Zane Musgrove pursuing the Charity Shield successful Mudgee.

While the chips look to beryllium stacked against them, Gould says adversity makes the squad a much unsafe prospect.

"I deliberation they'll beryllium bully (against the Titans). They are retired to beryllium themselves," helium said.

"When radical are doubting you, and criticising you, what bash you do? If you're worthy your brackish you get retired determination and beryllium radical wrong.

"Every present and past you've got to marque a connection astir yourself. It's a bully clip for the Dragons to marque a connection astir themselves.

"I'd similar to beryllium preparing the Dragons this week. I deliberation they've got everything to play for."

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