Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

Sign Up Now!

Bulldogs Debate Page

While I rate DCE, other clubs like the Cows, Fins and Dragons need him more than we do.

Possibly might be better than Sexton at the business end of the season,

We have 4 guys who can play halfback, Sexton, O'Neill, Hayward and Woods.

Hayward was impressive running the ball, against Parra. I know that there is a lot more to his passing and kicking than we have seen at NRL level so far, just starting out conservative.

Woods doesn't seem to be playing in any grade at present. I expected him to start in Flegg then progress to reserve grade. Might be an injury/ rehab issue, or we are keeping him on ice for now.

I still expect to see him in reserve grade this year.

Sexton, Hayward and O'Neill can handle NRL this year all 3 are good enough.

At fullback we have Tracey and Cochrane who I rate. But Cochrane is back in Flegg. We could sign another fullback because Tracey can play multiple positions and a change there might improve our attack,
 
It is almost worth it for that reason, but it might cost us O'Neill or Woods.

Almost worth it if we think we can win the comp in 2026, but I am not confident about that, with DCE deciding later in the season it might depend on how we go.

There are 4 general possibilities.
1) DCE wants to go somewhere where he can win a comp - top 4 are probably out, Dogs, Souths and Roosters most likely contenders.
2) DCE wants the challenge on rebuilding or building a club.
3) DCE wants to make the most money possible.
4) DCE wants to move to QLD.

If it is just 2) or 3) Dragons and Eels are int the frame.

But considering 4) in addition Cows and Fins are in the frame.

Unless he wants to be fairly sure of winning a comp Fins are the most likely, he is originally from that area.

So I don’t think we can bid top dollar, our best chance is looking like a definite premiership contender in 2026.

If it happens it is because Gus and Cirro think it is the right move.

I agree on Burto and Kiks, but part of that was the conditions, a lack of go forward and Hayward stepping into a new role.

I think that we can improve without Burto and Kiks, but it will never be as good as having them in the side.
 
Great to be underdog in a game for a change coming off a tough grinding game.

On paper they seem to have us covered.

DSF and Morrin only got around 17 and 11 minutes, that is a sign that Cirro thinks that they need to improve.

Good game to try Todd, we need a bit more in attack and defence and a bit more go forward.

No overly confident, but I think that we are still a chance.
 
Marki said:
I think Kikau's presence with and without the ball is what we missed the most.

Dont think Burton would have made much difference. Maybe more height on the kicks but doubt we create any more chances in attack. We played very conservatively and basically were looking for Parra to fold like a deck of cards. Credit to them, they didnt....but still lost. Hahaha.

The next few weeks will be important as we are forced to come out of our shells and find new attacking moves. We cant jist rely on a Burton kick to a corner and try to force errors in opposition. This is ok as a base method to win games but it needs to be part of an arsenal of attacking options. Otherwise we will become canon fodder again come finals.

Kudos to Tracey who lifted in this game.

I dont think we can win a premiership with this spine tho so its up to Gus and CC to find the right players to get us there. These guys will give us finals taste but we need alot more to be a contender.
Click to expand...
Always too harsh a marker on Burto… past two years he has created as many opportunities as any half in a side that relies on both halves and not a billion dollar man… ie Hunt, Moses, Cleary….

Him and Kiks building quite a combo on both sides of the ball…

With Burto there it frees up 7exy a little more… though I expect Bails role this week to include a little more kicking…

I won’t write our chances off just yet… Too 4 finish is possible… if everyone is fit and firing from their we are a chance…
 
Hounddog said:
Dogs fans always cheer loudly for the team playing the Eels.

I rarely concede that an opposition player deserves a premiership, but Tommy Turbo is one guy in that category.

The last ones were Wayne Pearce, and Matty Bowen.
Click to expand...
When Tommy makes it though 25 games in a season twice, I’ll afford him that compliment…
 
Marki said:
I thought Sexton was good, particularly when he dug into the line before finding Tracey on a left to right play.

He definitely does this better than Burton.

I even thought Howard did ok at 5/8th and will get better in the coming weeks. Played the inside ball abit too much. Hutch would have show and go and made some half breaks.

But overall i think the team is way too conservative with alot of 1 out running.

Its ok against weak teams but will he found out against decent opposition.

Sharks game will beca real test.
Luckily we've banked the 6 points already and are ahead of programme.
Click to expand...
Just one comment praising a player that doesn’t result in bashing Burto would be cool… TK is a sweet echo chamber for your opinions… but you’re amongst better company here…
 
We don't have any elite big middle like Tino, Hass or AFB.

Hughes is the closest thing we have, King, Curran and Hayes good support for a big middle or two.

We are attempting to develop a good big middle DSF, Armone and Zyron are the latest attempt at that.

Todd should develop into a rep class lock and Underhill should eventually be similar to Hughes.

We lacked go forward against Parra. When Burto is in the side he can put up long accurate high kicks with lots of hang time which help cover for a lack of yards,

Burto and Moses are the best at this, and it is noticeable when either one is out of their side.

Aside from Burto and Kiks we are missing Kiraz and Hughes, because they can provide more go forward.

No easy fixes for this against the Sharks, but I think Todd can add a bit in attack.

We need to work on halves hitting hard running second rowers Sexton-Preston and Hayward-Curran. We might get limited opportunities at their end so execution is important.

Necessity is the mother of invention, we need to find something to win this game.
 
Hounddog said:
Great to be underdog in a game for a change coming off a tough grinding game.

On paper they seem to have us covered.

DSF and Morrin only got around 17 and 11 minutes, that is a sign that Cirro thinks that they need to improve.

Good game to try Todd, we need a bit more in attack and defence and a bit more go forward.

No overly confident, but I think that we are still a chance.
Click to expand...

I think we are little to no chance. But if we can defend well enough we could just pull off an upset.

It’s a good game to stick with the same team. Because the defensive effort against Parra was awesome. I wouldn’t be looking to debut anybody in this game.
 
We are still short a huge prop. I’m assuming we will develop one. But would love to have signed May. Gus mentioned that he had signed him on his podcast but wouldn’t tell what happened after that. We really could have used him or Uko.

Thompson will be awesome for us next year. But he will need plenty of help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top