It’s an all-or-nothing year for Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore. On the last year of his contract, the unceremonious ousting of Ivan Henjak will certainly have Kevvy on his toes.
And in literal terms, he’ll be taking on season 2011 with a team of heavyweights. Ben Hannant might have headed back to Queensland, but in his place the Doggies have bought in a ridiculously hefty foursome: prospective NRL regular Grant Millington, Frank ‘the Tank’ Pritchard, promising young prop Aiden Tolman and Greg Eastwood, the man who inspired a million weight-related jokes.
It’s a seriously beefed up Bulldogs outfit, and no doubt there will be more bite in their pack this year, to back up Michael Ennis and his special brand of menace around the ruck.
The difficulty will be the big shoes that new recruit Trent Hodkinson will have to fill on the field. While Luke ‘General’ Patten is finding his feet in the English Super League, Canterbury have lost their other little general, Brett Kimmorley. Noddy brought a wealth of experience with him, and it will be hard for Hodkinson to match his on-field authority, even with Noddy working with the club as a halves coach. It remains to be seen whether Kris Keating can stake a claim to a spot in the halves alongside him or whether Ben Roberts will make it his own.
The loss of Noddy means added pressure and responsibility on hooker Michael Ennis to look beyond his own game and direct the attack; look for him to struggle a little as he adapts to the power shift.
There is no shortage of wingers or three-quarters at Belmore: even if giant Jamal Idris is moved to the back row, the Dogs have brought in Michael Lett and Jonathan Wright to back up players like Bryson Goodwin, Josh Morris and Steve Turner.
X-Factor: Ben Barba has shown flashes of sheer brilliance for the past two years, and his unique skill with the ball in hand even earned him the nickname: “the X-factor”. As always, the question mark over him isn’t his talent, but his ability to use it consistently. If he can, Barba has all the makings of a superstar.
Main man: Like his fellow old-school forward Michael Hodgson, Andrew Ryan is the hard-working, stand-up heart of the Canterbury club. Seemingly immune to scandal and to age, Ryan will need to be the voice of experience for the club’s new recruits, especially their promising new forwards.
Homeground: ANZ Stadium (40,000)
Coach: Kevin Moore
Season 2010: 13th (P24, W9, L15, -45pts)
2011 squad: Chris Armit, Ben Barba, Tim Browne, Greg Eastwood, Michael Ennis, Jake Foster, Bryson Goodwin, Dene Halatau, Michael Hodgson, Trent Hodkinson, Jamal Idris, Sam Kasiano, Kris Keating, Michael Lett, Grant Millington, Josh Morris, Mickey Paea, Corey Payne, Frank Pritchard, Ben Roberts, Joel Romelo, Andrew Ryan, David Stagg, Ryan Tandy, Martin Tapau, Junior Tia-Kilifi, Aiden Tolman, Steve Turner, Gary Warburton, Johnathan Wright.
Ins: Aiden Tolman, Frank Pritchard, Grant Millington, Greg Eastwood, Jonathan Wright, Kris Keating, Michael Lett, Trent Hodkinson,
Outs: Ben Hannant, Nathan Massey, Daniel Harrison, Luke Patten, Brett Kimmorley, Blake Green, Tim Winitana, Yileen Gordon, Ratu Tagive
Predicted 2011 finish: 14th
Jay
Guest
OneHD knows their rugby league lol. 14th? So you think they will go worse than last year? Dogs will make the 8 this year easily, they have no weaknesses across the park and as apposed to last year, have a lot of depth. The major problem last year was Roberts getting injured and no mongrel in the forward pack. This year there is Keating and Roberts fighting for the position they lacked most(5/8), and they have Eastwood and Pritchard now to provide some aggression and attack in the forwards. The big question mark is Barba at fullback but if it comes off it will be a massive boost, and there is always the back up options in Lett, Turner & Goodwin. Also, I dont think Ennis will struggle, he is the time of player that thrives on responsibility. Other than that I think you made some good points, it is just the predicted finish that baffles me. Out of all the prediction's I have seen so far, this one will be the most off. Dogs for a top 4 finish.
Teaman
Guest
I really like Trent Hodkinson as last year he proved his hard enough and smart enough to be a top half in the NRL. Kris Keating on the other hand I am not so sure? I think Ben Roberts should be given first shot and number 6 as he has the ability to be a game breaker and is the incumbent. I really like Ben "x-factor" Barba at fullback as he can pop up anywhere and also cannot be targeted by opposition attacks. Forwards on paper look awesome but Kevin Moore has to get the balance between flair and work right - the dogs need David Stagg injury free as he does those little things that get unnoticed and Aiden Tolman to pick up where he left off before getting injured with the Storm. He is SOG quality. Bulldogs - top 4
sassy
Guest
agree with you on everything except the halves pablo! 2012-2013 could be massive but in the short-term they're a worry. If only foran and hodkinson came as a package deal. like hamish and andy.
pablo of the lismore kennel
Guest
this team will probably take time to gel.but,we have good depth across the field now.idris should go better now his sight is fixed.i like him in the centres.i'm sure barba will be working on being safe at fullback.he may be like mat bowen in attack.popping up all over the place.causing havoc,i suspect.love the forward pack.lots of beef there.millington and tolmen sound like hard working,good forwards who will be consistently good.tolmen is a aussie junior rep player.looks like someone not to be messed with.add pritchard. and eastwood,who will get some second phase play going on the edges.imagine morris running off pritchard......idris running off eastwood,if we use eastwood as a second rower.....some good young players coming through.should finish somewhere in the top eight or four in my humble opinion.so long as we have good direction from our halves,we should be ok.
Patrick Angel
Roar Guru
Sorry to be "that guy" but ANZ hold significantly more than 40 000, it's 83 500. Good analysis though, I too was wondering how Ennis will go in a more expansive role.