A forward pack is key to winning a competition; that has to be Des Hasler’s opinion, because that is where most of the Bulldogs’ cap is wrapped up.
2016 on paper wasn’t a bad year for the Bulldogs since they made the eight, but in reality it was kinda poor.
Their season started off hot but they tapered out by the end. Their forward pack was consistently good as always, but their spine seemed lost. They struggled to leave an attacking impact, and by the end of the season they were barely getting the ball, with the forwards getting most attacking ball.
As such, there was criticism and turmoil regarding Hasler’s position, with many fans and those inside the club wanting him gone. However, he historically has been a good coach.
So can Des make the finals with this team once again, or will they slip out of the eight for the first time since he joined the club?
Strengths
Forwards. I could just end the strengths aspect here, couldn’t I?
Their forward pack is full of huge guys, which means the Bulldogs are never out of a match. James Graham, Aiden Tolman and David Klemmer are an amazing trio of middle forwards that have the ability to completely dominate over less powerful packs. They are all very good at laying the groundwork for the spine to get to work. And Sam Kasiano has incredible skill and size for a prop, with his only real weakness being that he needs to have a break after 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, Josh Jackson is one of the best workhorse second-rowers in the game, you can always trust him to perform a whole bunch of tackles, do a hell of a lot of running and spend a long time on the paddock. As for Greg Eastwood, he may not have the biggest motor, but he is huge and able to just smash the opposition edges.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner is your typical x-factor forward. When he is switched on and playing well he can be devastating.
Weaknesses
William Hopoate refusing to play on Sunday is one of the strangest contract decisions ever. Why would you sign a player who won’t play a quarter of your season? I am completely baffled by it.
It isn’t even like Hopoate is that good, he is still one of the weakest fullbacks in the game. He is on the wing in my Bulldogs side, because you can’t have a fullback that sits out every fourth game.
Then again, maybe he was signed out of desperation, because the Bulldogs have the spine of an 80-year-old sloucher. It is just terrible.
Brett Morris is not a fullback. He was terrible there at the Dragons, was useless there in 2015, and to make matters worse he is constantly injured. He is your typical ‘I can only make kick returns and finish things’ fullback, which can work if you have other creative options, but the Dogs do not.
Michael Lichaa is one of the most boring dummy-halves in the game. He can tackle a bunch, but offers nothing in attack with his average service. To be fair, Hasler’s system itself has issues with making his dummy-halves look worse than they are – look at how much Mick Ennis improved after he moved to Cronulla.
So Lichaa and Brett Morris can’t create points to fight out of a wet paper bag, but what about their halves? Well you know, their halves are talented, but they don’t work well together at all.
First, Josh Reynolds’ running game is great and he has the spark to set things up. However, he is more of a dummy-half, or at the very least needs to be paired with a dominant half. So Moses Mbye has been forced to step up into that position but, just like Reynolds, his kicking game is below par and he is more of a five-eighth than a halfback.
Since the halves play too similar a game, they lack an acceptable kicking game, which is probably why the Bulldogs refused to kick the ball in the back end of the season.
Then, to solve the issue of their lacklustre spine, the Dogs decided they would be better served giving their forwards the good ball in the opposition 20. But this doesn’t solve anything, and you saw multiple times at the back end of last year they would struggle to put offensive pressure on top teams, even if they were camped in their opposition’s end.
Summary
This is a side with a wonderful forward pack, acceptable backs and a terrible spine. Now, where have I heard this before? Oh yeah, in my Dragons preview. And honestly, that is what this side reminds me off: a better version of the Dragons.
But considering the Dragons will do terribly this year, so too will the Bulldogs. Their spine just isn’t good enough to really challenge anyone, and the strife involving their coach will more than likely come to a head.
They will never be totally out of games, this forward pack is too good for that, but this squad will fail to make the eight for the first time since Des took charge.
They should finish the season at 13th, although I could see them sneaking into the eight.
2016 finish: seventh
Predicted 2017 finish: 13th
Transfers
Gains: Zac Woolford, Josh Cleeland, Rhyse Martin, Brenko Lee, Tom Carr, Francis Tualau, Richard Kennar, Asipeli Fine, Rod Griffin, Andy Saunders
Losses: Pat O’Hanlon, Sam Perrett, Curtis Rona, Tim Browne, Tony Williams, Richard Coorey, Makahesi Makatoa, Jarrod McInally, Graham Clark, Jake Kamire, Reubenn Rennie, Lamar Liolevave, Lloyd Perrett
Full-strength team
1. Brett Morris
2. Will Hopoate
3. Josh Morris
4. Richie Kennar
5. Brenko Lee
6. Josh Reynolds
7. Moses Mbye
8. Aiden Tolman
9. Michael Lichaa
10. James Graham
11. Josh Jackson
12. Greg Eastwood
13. David Klemmer
14. Craig Garvey
15. Raymond Faitala-Mariner
16. Sam Kasiano
17. Danny Fualalao
JOHNY BULLDOG
Roar Rookie
Keep the faith Stu,we'll have a new plan so forget about last year mate & Mbye is a season wiser in the position.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Keith, this is a well written article. you are balanced and fair in your asessment of the squad. As a staunch dog I have very low expectations for this year and have written about it transparently. The team they trotted out for the trial against Melbourne was last years team (which wasn't good enough) except for Lee in the backline. It wont be good enough again.
Jacko
Guest
Firstly i will be very surprised if the Doggies end up at 13th. From what I hear and read, Hasler has the forwards slimmed down and ready to fire. I recall that Des signed a lot of these big forwards before the NRL reduced the interchange and that has affected the makeup of the team and the efficiency of the team, last year and again this year. Faitala-Mariner looks a good prospect and why Crappy from the Warriors let him go for Lane is bewildering. But Crappy let a few good guys go and loved has-been Aussies like Wright. They will change the emphasis of attack this year and will finish 5-8
The Barry
Roar Guru
Sorry mate my bad...one position higher is still one too many...!
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
Can you double check that because the Tigers are 12th on my ladder? The Tigers came 9th last year but I think they will come 12th this year. I put them above the Bulldogs by one rung mainly because of Tedesco, if he remains injury free I think he will have a Dally M winning season. I haven't posted my article on the team I think will come 9th yet.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Although i do note you have the Tigers in 9th and the Dogs in 13th. Do you really think the Tigers roster and chances are four rankings better than the Dogs?
JOHNY BULLDOG
Roar Rookie
All good mate,nice work with your articles-keep em coming.You can't please everyone.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Fair enough mate. It was a well reasoned article and I don't disagree with too much other than the ranking. I think most clubs fall into that 5th-15th bracket and it won't take too much misfortune to cruel a clubs season.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
If you look at my summary I do say I won't be surprised if they make the 8. In my opinion there is very little separating the teams from 14th to 7th. So I had to be ruthless and the Des stuff and the lack of attacking structure late last year meant I had to push them down the pecking order.
Keith Sheldon
Roar Guru
I do want to say that I didn't want to put them this low. Just like I didn't want to put the Bunnies or the Tigers as low as they are. However, when you are ranking out teams you need to be ruthless, and there is a logjam between 14th and 7th in my opinion where there is very little separating the teams in terms of quality. I rate the Bulldogs squad almost as much as a rate the Roosters squad for example. However, when I had to rank them I just saw the lacklustre spine of 2016 and the Des stuff and decided that they are that low. I agree with a lot of your points, but I just couldn't put them higher.
Mike from tari
Guest
I reckon that they need to change their halves, Reynolds & Mbye are good ball runners, not ball players, one of them has to change or get a ball playing lock & I have a Doggies mate who reckons Licha is not the answer at No.9. One thing I have learnt in over 50 years is to never ever write off the Blueberries/ Bulldogs.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I agree with you overall when that's applied to the top wingers in the game, but theres still very, very few wingers I'd pay big money to. Rapana was excellent but he was also playing outside some pretty handy players who created a lot for him. Is it just a coincidence that his breakout season coincided with Leilua's? No knock on him you still have to be good enough. Rona showed in 2015 he was an excellent finisher but last year showed hes not a creative player. At all. Overall I'd say great finisher but not in the top tier of wingers. Perrett was tough but also had some mistakes in him. He'd take the tough run or make the tough tackle but again I wouldn't put him in the top tier of wingers. I don't want to denigrate these guys - I'm loyal to anyone who has pulled on the jersey and I would have been happy to see them line up again this year. I'm just trying to point out that these guys aren't going to be the difference between a successful 2017 or a disappointing one. Imagine if Des came out at the end of the season and said "things could have been much different if we didn't let Curtis and Sam go"
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Here what you are saying TB but I think wingers get a bad rap when it comes to their contribution to the team. You say wingers are easily replaceable but when you have a good one their contribution can be massive. For the Raiders the contribution of Rapana last season was huge. In the regular season Rapana ran for 3,300 metres and scored 20 tries. The centres also were very good - Leilua ran 2,700 metres and scored 11 tries and Croker ran 2,300 metres and scored 17 tries. On many occasions the backs took the initiative and created something out of nothing. The good wingers and centres see and create opportunities that less gifted players don't see. I think Brenko might do well for the Dogs. He was being groomed by the Raiders for first grade but he ended up competing with his cousin Eddie for a spot in the team. When he started out he had a few errors in him but he seemed to iron them out of his game and became a very reliable winger in the end. And 8 tries from 9 games last season is a pretty good return.
Albo
Guest
Yep ! The Dogs have too many good experienced players to drop to the bottom of the table ! They will always grind out enough wins to be somewhere around the top 8. Their style of play however, based on the forward game is so combative & physically demanding that it seems only logical that come the end of season they are too battered and bruised to finish off the finals task. They rely on wearing teams down by brute force, but suffer themselves in the long run of a tough season. There is little creativity in their spine apart from a Reynolds kick & chase , and they must surely be desperate for a set of creative halves to arrive, before they can even entertain any thoughts of altering/ varying their forward focused game. So I see more of the same as last year which saw them fade quickly into 6th spot, and would expect to see them around there again.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Good comments. The Dogs ball playing is always more effective when they go forward first and bring it out later. I always think uh-oh when they start going sideways too early. Back to basics should be their mantra all year.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Hopoate is a gun under the high ball - there's no one better in the comp. He started last year on fire in attack too. But overall while he breaks a lot of tackles he doesn't break the line enough. He's a yard short of pace (and nous) to take advantage of any opportunities. While Morris isn't a ball player either I think hes far more likely to capitalise on any half chances created. As for Perrett and Rona - they were both good players but at the end of the day they're wingers and probably the easiest position on the field to replace. Rona played a bit of centre last year and was pretty ordinary. I don't think they'll be the difference with any of Lee, Kennar, Stanley, Abbey or Montoya coming in. I'm really looking forward to seeing Lee in the blue and white. I've rated him for a few years. I agree about Mbye. But it gets forgotten that this was his first season as the starting 7. But Hasler needs to stop protecting him and give him the keys to the side. If he's good enough great. If he's not let's find him another position and get someone in to do the job.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I agree with your assessment of Hoppa. He is Mr Reliable and not flashy but gets the job done. Takes the hard catches and makes the hard yards and will be there in support. He's not a creator which means that the halves have to be which hasn't' been the case the past few seasons giving the impression that he isn't a good fullback.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
You mount a good case as per usual TB. But I think you may underestimate the loss of Perrett and Rona. Sam Perrett was Mr Reliable in the backs for you and from what I saw last season Rona was the one who always looked capable of scoring a try out of nothing - which he had to a lot of the time. Brenko Lee offers a bit but I'm not sure he is as creative as Rona. Sam Perrett and Rona were your leading try scorers last season with 11 apiece followed by Brett Morriss with 10 and Will Hopoate scored 8. Interesting what Bulldogs supporters say about Hopoate. Whenever I've seen him play I thought he's been very courageous and reliable in defence - especially under the high ball - but perhaps he doesn't offer enough strike in attack as say a Tedesco, Boyd, Moylan etc. The Bulldogs pack is its strength of course - and I rate Reynolds - but have question marks about Mbye as he tends to go missing when games are on the line. Having said that he had 16 try assists last season which is pretty respectable. The Doggies could finish anywhere between 7th and 12th which could be said about a lot of teams.
eels47
Roar Rookie
The dogs need to go back to the basics. Forwards run hard, let the halves play ball and give the backs some room to move. Des seems to lack a plan B for his game plan, and getting the forwards ball playing just isn't working anymore. That being said, they are still a chance at making the 8, probably one of the teams who will fight it out for 6-13 spot.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I agree and I think it starts with Game 1 against the Storm. They have home ground advantage at Belmore and if they beat the Storm I think it will set them up confidence wise for the next couple of games.