After just falling short in 2009, losing to the Parramatta Eels in the semi-final, it looked like the boys from Belmore would be primed for a big 2010 season and going one step further with a grand final appearance.

Their talented roster that was assembled the previous season was mostly maintained. They brought in flyer Steve Turner from the Melbourne Storm, and handy utilities Dene Halatau from the West Tigers and Blake Green from the Cronulla Sharks to strengthen their already deep roster.

Hazem by the Bulls

Going into the 2010 season, the Bulldogs had lost two key players in Kiwi forward Greg Eastwood and club legend Hazem El Masri. When you look at the stats ‘El Magic’ achieved, you can see how important he has been to success of the club in his 14-season tenure with the club. He set club records for most first grade games (317), most points in a season, (342 -2004) most tries for the club (159), and most points for the club (2,418).

At the start of the 2010 season, many believed that Canterbury had not been reliant on El Masri and predicted that they would be the ‘team to beat’ in 2010. They were installed as heavy favourites to beat the Knights in their first game of the season, with Newcastle behind the eight-ball after a terrible pre-season involving a drugs scandal linking players Danny Wicks and Chris Houston and the withdrawal of key players Kurt Gidley and Adam MacDougall through injuries.

Knight to forget

The Knights charged all over their highly fancied opposition. Unfortunately, a late surge by the Bulldogs was not enough and the Novocastrians headed back to the Hunter with the points after a surprising 20-16 upset. The post-El-Masri era was signaled with one of the worst goal kicking displays by the team in decades. Michael Ennis, who took over the goal kicking duties for 2010, had a terrible night in horrific conditions, missing all four conversions.

Still in the box

The Bulldogs continued their poor form throughout the first five rounds of the season managing to win only one, a 12-try rout of the Roosters, 60-14 in Round Three. With a handy two-game win streak under their belt and heading in the right direction on the table, ‘the Dishlickers’ could not stop being hounded about rumours circulating that star prop Ben Hannant wanted out of his contract so he could head back home to Brisbane.

On the field the Dogs couldn’t get it together. By Round 15, their season was looking like one to forget. They took a five-game losing streak up north and went down in a one-point loss (24-25) to the Gold Coast Titans. It was their sixth defeat on the trot. Heading into Round 16 they only had the Storm below them on 10 points, tied with the North Queensland Cowboys

NB: The Bulldogs were 0-5 in games that a field-goal was converted, all five losses came in their six-game losing streak.

Sniffing out some wins

With their slim chances of making the finals all but over, the Bulldogs played their better football towards the end of the season. They finishing much better than they started, six of their nine wins coming in the last eleven rounds and included a gutsy 30-24 upset of Manly at Brookvale in the last round.

Saluting ‘the General’ and ‘Noddy’

The Dogs saw two of their experienced players retire at season’s end. Playmaker Brett Kimmorley left the game after a stellar 307 first-grade game career. He was instrumental in the teams’ success in 2009 and played through much adversity and most notably horrific injuries in 2010. Their fullback and experienced campaigner Luke Patten ended his 10-year stint in the Blue and White, heading over to the UK to finish his career with Super League outfit, the Salford City Reds. After debuting for the Illawarra Steelers in 1998, ‘The General’ played 225 games for the club, scoring 82 four-pointers in the process.

The ‘new’ Baa-ba?

The Bulldogs didn’t have much to cheer about but they had a couple of season highlights. Young gun Ben Barba had a great first full year in the top grade. In 21 games, the Toyota Cup graduate scored a club-high 15 tries for the year, most of which were coming off the bench. Barba had the opposition at his fingertips, which reminded Dogs fans from the 80’s and 90’s of another under-sided star Terry ‘Baa’ Lamb who had the same effect.

Ever reliable forward and club captain Andrew Ryan was solid as a rock. ‘Bobcat’ played in all of the Dogs’ 24 games and scored eight tries. Blockbusting centre Jamal Idris was selected to play for NSW in the State of Origin. Idris impressed in limited time in Game One, scoring a late consolation, but was axed for the remainder of the series.

Changing of the guard

With the big departures of Kimmorley, Patten and Hannant as well as a handful of fringe first graders leaving, namely Yileen Gordon and Tim Winitana departing for the Panthers and Blake Green heading over to the UK, the Dogs went on a signing spree similar to what they did in 2008 when they brought the likes of Morris etc to the club. They snared dynamic Storm prop Aiden Tolman, to substitute Hannant, replaced the experience of Kimmorley with the youth and spark of former junior teammates, Manly halfback Trent Hodkinson and Eels utility Kris Keating. They also strengthened the back of the pack with Kiwi international Frank Pritchard and Sharkies hard worker Grant Millington. They also added a couple of young backs who were struggling to crack first grade in their old club in the Eels’ Johnathon Wright and the Dragons’ Michael Lett.

Depth Chart:

Props:

Starters: Aiden Tolman, Michael Hodgson
Depth: Ryan Tandy, Chris Armit, Mickey Paea, Sam Kasiano, Martin Taupau

Once Ben Hannant made it known that he wanted to return home to Brisbane, the savvy Bulldogs went hard after Storm prop Aiden Tolman, recognising that the Storm would have to shed some players to get them back under the salary cap. The Dogs signed the 22-year-old to a three year deal allowing Hannant to leave the club for the Broncos.

Tolman began his NRL career with the Storm in 2008 after impressive in a handful of games with their Toyota Cup squad and had been in their top grade side since. He played in the Storm’s grand final victory over the Eels in 2009, and started 2010 with a bang producing career-best form in the early rounds. Unfortunately for the young big man, he succumbed to a knee injury which ruled out any chance for him to represent New South Wales at Origin.

Tolman has a great tackle to missed tackle ratio. In 2010, Tolman made 489 tackles (25.7 per game) and missing only 16.

He will now be looking to replicate that form for his new club and also impress the watchful eyes of new New South Wales coach Ricky Stuart.

Michael Hodgson will be looking for an injury-free 2011. Hodgson went down with a knee injury in their round three loss to the Dragons. He is highly respected at the club and will no doubt put his hand up to fill the void left by Hannant.

Hooker:

Starter: Michael Ennis
Bench: Kris Keating, Dene Halatau, Joel Romelo

With the departure of veterans Kimmorley and Patten, there is one Bulldog that will need to take his leadership to the next level and that’s hooker Michael Ennis.

Ennis had a frustrating start to the season. In the season-opening match against the Knights, he had one of his worst games, spectacularly missed all four conversions and was placed on report for a careless high tackle in the four-point loss.

In the Round Six clash against the Wests Tigers, it proved to be the battle for the New South Wales hooker position. Ennis dominated the match, outplaying Robbie Farah scoring two tries in a resounding 24-4 win. With the display Ennis locked down the number nine Blues jersey for the season. ‘Ennis the Menace’ took plenty of criticism after the crucial penalty he conceded in the final State of Origin match which led to the winning try and giving the Maroons the season sweep.

Overall Ennis had an up and down season. Ennis had a hand in 13 of the Dogs tries, assisting in 10 and scoring three. He made 575 tackles (27.4 per game) but also led with penalties conceded (10) and made 84 missed tackles.

He will have to take some of the workload off the halves and generate quality fifth tackle options as Kimmorley had done in the past couple of seasons. With Robbie Farah playing great football in the later part of the season, Ennis needs to prove his doubters wrong and that prove he is the best option for the Blues at the hooker spot for 2011 and beyond.

Second Rowers:

Starters: Andrew Ryan, Frank Pritchard
Depth: Greg Eastwood, Grant Millington, Brad Morrin, Tim Browne, Corey Payne

2010 was a very disappointing season for ‘the Berries’ and one player that can hold his head high is captain Andrew Ryan. The captain led by example on and off the field. Off the field, the Dubbo junior was given the 2010 Ken Stephen Medal for outstanding contribution to the community. On the field, he was the only Canterbury player to play all 24 games last year, scoring eight tries, his best output since 2004 when he crossed for a career-best 13. He also made a team-high 267 runs, totaling 1963 metres including 10 line-breaks.

The Bulldogs brought in two Kiwi international backrowers for 2011. Frank ‘the Tank’ Pritchard comes over from the Panthers after signing a three-year contract. His size and strength will boost an already mobile forward pack. The Dogs welcomed back Greg Eastwood, who left the Dogs in 2009 heading over to the U.K. Super League. He only lasted one injury-plagued season and has returned back to Belmore. Unfortunately for the Kiwi, he will need to have surgery on both his wrists and will miss up to the first ten weeks of the season. Both Brad Morrin and ex-Shark Grant Millington will be looking to gain extra minutes whilst Eastwood is recovering,

Lock:

Starter: David Stagg
Depth: Gary Warburton, Brad Morrin

The tackling machine David Stagg will again lock down the scrum for the Dogs in 2011. You could say that the 27-year old is arguably the best tackler in the NRL. Stagg was third in the NRL in tackles made with 960 just behind Hindmarsh (999) and Friend (990), but his average of 43.6 was the highest in the NRL and he only missed 31 compared to Hindmarsh and Friend with 59 and 79 respectively. Even with such impressive numbers, Stagg has found it hard to crack the Queensland State of Origin squad with Nate Myles’ breakout season and with the return of Dallas Johnson to the NRL after signing with North Queensland, it will be even harder.

Halfback:

Starter: Trent Hodkinson
Depth: Ben Barba

The Bulldogs have brought in Manly halfback Trent Hodkinson on a three-year contract to replace Brett Kimmorley at the halfback role. Hodkinson displayed some great form in his first season in the NRL. His ability to run at the line caused headaches for the opposition. The rookie started the season scoring three tries in his first six matches, including a try on debut in Round Two against his former club, Parramatta. He became an integral part of the Eagles team for 2010, playing in every match. His excellent play was rewarded with selection to represent City Origin against Country. Canterbury hope that he can continue to impress and improve his game. He will be working along side Kimmorley, who has taken up the assistant coach job to Kevin Moore. This will benefit Hodkinson to develop his skills and hopefully push himself into New South Wales calculations in the near future.

Five-Eighth:

Starter: Ben Roberts
Depth: Kris Keating, Ben Barba

Ben Roberts will be looking to get back to the career-best form of 2009 and create a dynamic partnership with new recruit Hodkinson. The 25-year-old managed to play only 13 games. Roberts injured his ankle in the win over the Broncos in Round Seven and missed the following 11 matches. The Bulldogs probably prefer to have Kiwi international in their side as the Dogs had only won three of the 11 matches they played without Roberts in 2010. It seemed as though the absence of Roberts really affected their left side attack. His ability to throw the long cutout pass in both directions was really missed, especially on the left side, where they were so dangerous in 2009. Both Josh Morris and Bryson Goodwin’s try scoring numbers were significantly down in 2010 and could well be to the extensive time Roberts spent on the sidelines. Roberts is looking for a fresh start and hoping he can get back to the 2008 form. If he struggles, then he will have Kris Keating and Ben Barba eager to be given a chance in the halves.

Wingers:

Starters: Steve Turner, Bryson Goodwin
Depth: Heka Nanai, Michael Lett, Junior Tia-Kilifi

Steve Turner and Bryson Goodwin had disappointing seasons by their standards in 2010. Turner was signed after featuring in a talented Storm team for the past six seasons. The Penrith junior is a prolific try scorer, including a career high haul of 18 tries in 2006 but has been on a decline since, only managing eight tries in 2010. ‘Turn-style’ might just benefit from Jamal Idris’ return to the centres. Bryson Goodwin scored 20 tries in 2009 but only managed six in 2010. Although he did take over the goalkicking duties in Round Two and put up a Hazem-like percentage, converting 81 per cent of all goals. With Luke Patten departing, one of the two may have to fill the void at the back. This would create a spot for either Heka Nanai, Junior Tia-Kilifi or new recruit Michael Lett.

Centres:

Starters: Jamal Idris, Josh Morris
Depth: Shane Neumann, Johnathon Wright, Daniel Rauvicava

Josh Morris’ 2010 season had a similar fate to his left side partner Bryson Goodwin. The Kiama junior scored a respectable 14 tries in 2010 but it was well down from his 22 tries in 2009. Jamal Idris got his first taste of representative football in 2010. He was called up to Country Origin and later New South Wales, scoring a try on debut. Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore floated the idea of playing the 194cm, 114kg beast in the back-row, but with the depth in the position in 2011, he will be back on the right flank. It’s a formidable pairing mixing blistering speed of Morris with the size and strength of Idris, but both players will need to control the ball better. They both combined to make 63 errors in 2010.

Fullback:

Starter: ?
Depth: Bryson Goodwin, Steve Turner, Ben Barba

There are a few names that have been tossed up to replace Luke Patten at the back. Both wingers, Bryson Goodwin and Steve Turner have the skills and experience of playing alongside Patten. Although Ben Barba’s name has been brought up in wearing the number one jersey. The 21-year-old, known as the ‘X-Factor’ was in scintillating form for the Dogs last year. His ability to come off the bench and change the flow of the game won him numerous admirers. He possess a rear attribute in being able to score from anywhere on the park – a pre-requisite in becoming a star fullback. On the otherside of the coin, there are some concerns in his game, mainly his defence.

Let’s put his tackling into perspective. Barba missed 70 tackles in 1100 minutes of play in 2010. Dragons five-eighth Jamie Soward, who is known as one of the poor tacklers in the league, played nearly 1000 more minutes than Barba in 2010 and managed to miss 71 tackles. The opposition will no doubt target him in their game plans. The Dogs surrendered an NRL high 26 tries off kicks and Barba would surrender plenty of reach in the air, only standing 174 centimetres tall, which is quite short by NRL standards at any position let alone fullback. This could spell disaster for not only the Bulldogs but for Barba’s confidence if they put him in the position this season. Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart tried a three-game experiment having 177cm Albert Kelly at the back, but the youngster was targeted heavily by opposition teams, forcing him to make 12 errors and missed 13 tackles during a five game stint in the top grade.

Looking ahead

In a great move by management, the Bulldogs will be returning to their spiritual home, Belmore Oval in 2011 after the federal government gave a $5 million grant to refurbish their old home ground as their training facilities.

Canterbury need to make sure they play with high intensity for the full 80 minutes. A big difference between the 2009 and 2010 Canterbury sides was their defense in the first half. The 2010 side conceded 313 points (71 more than they scored) in the first 40 minutes.

They have a group of young talented players to rival any club and have arguably bought the best out of all the NRL clubs in 2011. The Bulldogs forward pack looks strong but a handful of them are coming off injury-plagued seasons. The loss of Eastwood is unfortunate for the Bulldogs. Frank Pritchard’s injury history is rather concerning as well. The Bulldogs boast an impressive and skillful backline. They have speed to burn with the likes of Turner, Morris and Barba. Kevin Moore and Bulldog fans will salivate at the thought of having Barba and Kris Keating coming off the bench creating havoc around tired opposition.

However, the loss of Patten and Kimmorley will be a massive void – 588 first grade games of experience. Gone. They addressed their needs in the halfback position with Hodkinson, filled the void at the back internally and have signed significant depth in the forwards, especially in the back row.

If they can gel as they did in 2009, then the Bulldogs could well be playing deep into September.