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Bulldogs Debate Page

We need to look at the players potentially ready for NRL next season.

Middles- recruitment Thompson and Latu. Developed- Underhill and Jones.

Secondrowers - Developed - Smith, Spinks, Readon.

Halves/utilities - Woods, O'Neill, Tia. Galvin

On issue this season is when we have injuries/suspensions in the second row middles like Curran and Hayes need to fill in.

If Hayward is going to be starting hooker, is Marhoney happy to come off the bench or play reserve grade when he could be an NRL starter elsewhere.?

Marhoney is on a pretty good wage, seems like Sexton's manager is trying to get him more money.

If Galvin is a factor in other players moving on, it is because of the salary cap.

If Marhoney leaves the issue of bench hooker or depth at hooker is something that we need to work on.
 
Hounddog said:
We need to look at the players potentially ready for NRL next season.

Middles- recruitment Thompson and Latu. Developed- Underhill and Jones.

Secondrowers - Developed - Smith, Spinks, Readon.

Halves/utilities - Woods, O'Neill, Tia. Galvin

On issue this season is when we have injuries/suspensions in the second row middles like Curran and Hayes need to fill in.

If Hayward is going to be starting hooker, is Marhoney happy to come off the bench or play reserve grade when he could be an NRL starter elsewhere.?

Marhoney is on a pretty good wage, seems like Sexton's manager is trying to get him more money.

If Galvin is a factor in other players moving on, it is because of the salary cap.

If Marhoney leaves the issue of bench hooker or depth at hooker is something that we need to work on.
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We need more Curran type signings. Players that play middle and edge well. Or at least juniors in that position.

Hayward is a certainty to take the hooker position in the next two years. No oroblem either another one if our many halves being made into a backup hooked for him.

My point is we need to continue to bring through and sign mobile forwards and running halves. Then make them into what us needed.
 
This phase is making space in the top 30 for young locally developed players. And signing good players which strengthen the squad.

To be a premiership contender, low error rate,, discipline and execution are critical. When we think a locally developed kid is better on the key requirements the decision is obvious.

Hayward/Marhoney or O'Neill/Woods/Sexton.

O'Neill and Woods haven't done it at NRL level yet, Galvin has done more of it than Sexton and good coaching should improve his discipline and execution.
 
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Health Mason carved at 6 for the Tigers.

Reminds me of a very young Mitch Moses or JT. A pure running 5/8 with more speed than JT, will not have the playmaking skills of JT at that age or the kicking game of Moses.

But one thing stands out with Mason, he is a competitor, far more than Moses or JT at that age.

Mason is a great fit for Benji's coaching, Galvin is a great fit for Cirro.

This time next year we will wonder what all the fuss was about.
 
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Sutton ref for the Parra game expect the usual stop / start affair with Sutton explaining penalties for obscure rules that no one has heard of, in great detail. Good chance that many of the 6-agains and penalties are against us and are line ball.

I think that Kiraz is the key to this game our chances of winning are much higher if he plays and plays to his usual standard.

IMO, in the wet, Hughes for Morrin on the bench, go for more size.

In dry conditions Hughes to start for DSF, Galvin replacing Morrin on the bench. If the game is a tight intense contest and both sides are fatigued, Galvin off the bench could win it for us in the last 20.

Big crowd, King, Critter, Mann and Kiraz back in the side should give us the edge.

Marhoney needs to make fewer errors, Cirro should hook him after the first unforced error. High completions, kick chase, defend well should be enough to win, perhaps with Galvin icing the game in the last 20.

Even better would be us leading by 16 with 10 minutes to go, we put Galvin on and the margin blows out to 28. It might be a tight low scoring game for the first 60 minutes, but Parra might run out of steam.

Big game, beating the Lemons is always enjoyable. Losing to them is like your favourite pet dying.
 
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Woods playing halfback in reserve grade.

Anyone who gets to the game early and watches reserve grade, please post your impressions.
 
Seems like Cirro is going to try Galvin in multiple positions.

Some of those positions might even surprise us, but playing other positions is good experience for a young half.

According to Gus, Sexton had a great training session this week. Around 50% of our side know that they have to train and play well to keep their position. The other 50% generally train and play well regardless.

I would not underestimate the impact of 2-3 short turnarounds on our last performance or how important Critter and King are in big games.

I agree with the Kennel podcast guys, both Parra centres are weak defenders. We might also shade them in the forwards and in fitness at the back end.

We just need 49/51 from Sutton or no worse than 46/54, 50/50 or better would be winning the lottery.
 
Hounddog said:
Woods playing halfback in reserve grade.

Anyone who gets to the game early and watches reserve grade, please post your impressions.
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I'll be there and planning to go earlier than my usual 5mins before NRL kickoff.
Most likely see the second half of cup, so I'll report what i see.
 
The future for me Galvin /Sexton 6 and 7 move Burto to another position .
Hayward to hooker , seems Mahoney will be leaving for bigger pay . Don't blame him .
Galvin I think will come off the bench on Monday . How Cirro uses him we will see .
It will be a media frenzy on the sideline .
 
Zoz2025 said:
The future for me Galvin /Sexton 6 and 7 move Burto to another position .
Hayward to hooker , seems Mahoney will be leaving for bigger pay . Don't blame him .
Galvin I think will come off the bench on Monday . How Cirro uses him we will see .
It will be a media frenzy on the sideline .
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My thoughts are similar, but probably Galvin 6, Woods 7 when Woods is ready.

Getting Woods ready seems to be a high priority for the club.

Until Woods is ready Galvin can play Lock, or perhaps for as long as Burton stays.

We should expect that some of our players will get big money offers from other clubs. Some of the expansion sides will pay a premium for experienced players in key positions.

Burto is contracted to 2027, I hope that we extend him, but we may face some high bids elsewhere.

If we need to pay Woods, Galvin and Hayward big bucks to keep them, that might make keeping other players hard.

If you saw Cirro's latest presser, he is finding it hard to say goodbye to players who are leaving. The comments might have been about Morrin.

Morrin would be a great guy to train with, a great guy to play with and a great guy to coach. You know that he is going to give it 100%, every minute he is on the field.

But if Morrin stayed with us for less money, then he also plays fewer NRL minutes. Unless we have a lot of injuries he might not get many opportunities at the Dogs in 2026. I think that he will add something important to the Titans.

If we think about what happened to Penrith over the last 5 seasons, they kept their key players for as long as possible and kept producing new NRL players.

We will get raided, but probably not to the same extent.
 
That first half from Newcastle was the worst 40 mins I have seen from a side all season.

How is the coach keeping his job?

When in doubt fewer passes, and just run harder.

Ponga has thrown some really dumb passes.

Knights have a winger playing in the centres who can't defend or attack.

Surely there are better centres in reserve grade.

Manly have made plenty of mistakes, ordinary game.

Watching this game is like going to the dentist.
 
Looks like the Newcastle coach is reading this thread.

Game might be worth watching now.
 
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Fins, Warriors, Raiders, Storm and Dogs definite premiership contenders.

Broncos, Roosters and Panthers have the cattle to be dangerous if they finish top 8.

A few other teams an outside chance.

Out of all the other teams Fins worry me the most, even more than the Storm. Well balanced side, size, pace, skill, variety and execution in attack. At their best, a hard edge, energy and workrate in defence.

The Dragons weren't even that bad, the Fins could do that to most teams in the comp.

Similar against us, we were bad, but the Fins really put us away.

We definitely need to improve to match the Fins and Storm in attack and to match bigger packs in wet conditions or big games.

Anyone thinking that we don't need Galvin is dreaming, Galvin might not be enough.

Get our defence and intensity back on and fight to stay on top of the table, that is the best chance of staying top 4.

We will lose the odd game, but try to avoid back-to-back losses. Do that, and the other teams will take enough points off each other to ensure that we finish top 4.

We need to improve our attack, but only in time for the semis. Just get the job done against Parra, mainly with defence, completions, kicking game and early ball to our centres at their end.
 
Hounddog said:
Fins, Warriors, Raiders, Storm and Dogs definite premiership contenders.

Broncos, Roosters and Panthers have the cattle to be dangerous if they finish top 8.

A few other teams an outside chance.

Out of all the other teams Fins worry me the most, even more than the Storm. Well balanced side, size, pace, skill, variety and execution in attack. At their best, a hard edge, energy and workrate in defence.

The Dragons weren't even that bad, the Fins could do that to most teams in the comp.

Similar against us, we were bad, but the Fins really put us away.

We definitely need to improve to match the Fins and Storm in attack and to match bigger packs in wet conditions or big games.

Anyone thinking that we don't need Galvin is dreaming, Galvin might not be enough.

Get our defence and intensity back on and fight to stay on top of the table, that is the best chance of staying top 4.

We will lose the odd game, but try to avoid back-to-back losses. Do that, and the other teams will take enough points off each other to ensure that we finish top 4.

We need to improve our attack, but only in time for the semis. Just get the job done against Parra, mainly with defence, completions, kicking game and early ball to our centres at their end.
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Fins are the dark horse . They are getting their you know what together now .
Warriors will be in the 4 this year . Not sure if they can win it .
Sharks premiership window looks like it has shut . Their home ground not the fortress it once was .
Broncos are only winning when the media starts bagging them.
Top 4 teams Wahs, Raiders , Storm and Dogs . Winner will come from them .
Panthers and Fins dark horses .
 
I'm not sold on the Broncos until I see them win a tough 80 minute contest against a physical side like the Warriors or Raiders.

Looked to me like a few of the Broncos trys against the Tits were from forward passes.

Tits are not a great defensive side.

Dogs need to find a couple more gears to win it, we are in with a shot.

Sharks are very lucky to have one premiership. I have some questions about that win.
 
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Can anyone tell me what the go is with byes. Some teams have had 2 some 1 and the faiders are yet to have one. One really cocked up system.
 
Great win, good debut from Galvin.

I still think that the sin bin was BS, Moses to win an academy award.
 
No injuries or suspensions, very professional win.

Best 80 minute performance for sometime.

High completions, good execution, good defence, gave Parra nothing in the second half.
 
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