Dragons an ideal Titans’ foe

Q: Do you think footy fans expected to see St George Illawarra Dragons take on the Gold Coast Titans in Toowoomba and do they have a big enough fan base here?

Madolyn Peters: I must admit I had my heart set on another Queensland team so I was a little bit surprised to find out the Titans would be taking on the Dragons.

However, after seeing the amount of Dragons fans comment on The Chronicle’s Facebook page about the game and getting to chat to some of the passionate fans, I can see this game being a huge success.

I think it’s great to have a Sydney club here, and an iconic one at that.

I have heard they have a huge footprint, particularly out in the regions, which stems from back when the NRL was the New South Wales League.

I have a feeling there could be a pretty even sea of Dragons and Titans fans cheering on their teams at Clive Berghofer Stadium in March next year.

Glen McCullough: I suggested on this page last week the Dragons would prove an ideal drawcard if they were to face the Titans in Toowoomba next year.

And following this week’s news they’ll be in town I’m now more convinced the match-up is a beauty.

Many St George supporters you can expect to turn up to the game are a long way removed from the club’s glory days but few clubs carry an aura of the mighty Saints.

Q: What do you think of David Warner’s suggestion to this summer’s Ashes Test umpires that they take a soft approach to sledging and intimidation from players and allowing them a “long leash”?

MP: If you think of other sports like AFL, NRL or even soccer I’m sure there would be a few choice words thrown around behind the umpires/referees backs.

I guess it’s harder to get away with it in cricket.

It is the gentleman's’ game however these guys aren’t playing for sheep stations so I believe the umpires could let it slide, I’m not sure about allowing them a “long leash” though.

GM: He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you’ve got to hand it to Davey — he’s never short of a good quote or two.

His latest offering for umpires to allow players a bit more some aggro, sledging and intimidatory freedom during the Ashes series brought an interesting response.

It’s been met with a barrage of sledging from his critics.

But love him, or hate him, Warner is onto something here and the timing of his comments is perfect in the all-important pre-Ashes publicity drive.

The traditionalists will “tut-tut” his urgings, but he has at least got people talking about cricket and the upcoming Ashes battle.

Cricket needs all the help it can get when it comes to media exposure and you can always rely on people like Warner, Kevin Pieterson or whoever to grab a headline when it’s most needed.

Remember the Michael Clarke, Mitch Johnson and Jimmy Anderson incident during the last Ashes Test played at the Gabba where Pup told the England tail-ender to face up and get ready for a broken arm?

The media had a field day with that on-field spat which seemingly had the entire nation talking about cricket with everyone wanting to chip in with their two-bobs worth.

The public bye-and-large thrives on controversy and like it or not it’s the lifeblood of all high profile sport.