It’s time for the Dogs to stop blaming and start solving

Finucane came off the bench in his early days but by 2014 had locked down the 13 jersey and was used in a similar role to now, as a more mobile middle third player. No doubt he's better now but he was spoken of as a future rep player while at the Dogs. Brenko at centre is a no brainer for mine. I'd consider Stanley on the wing or maybe at 6. He's got good hands. Takes the ball to the line. I'd consider him at 1 from a skill set point of view but I don't think his body would be up to the rigours. You're right about the pack and Elliott. They desperately need a more mobile backrow. Klemmer's really good and getting better all the time but ideally from a team balance point of view the 13 should be a more mobile, more skilled middle third player like a Jurbo, Gallen, McGuire, Finucane, JDB, etc. Klemmer should be a starting prop with a more mobile 13. Dogs have a couple of good young backrowers with some skill in NSW cup in Martin, To'omaga and Griffin but it seems impossible for them to get past the big boys like RFM, Eastwood, Fualalo, etc.

It's hard to get a form line on Cook. When he comes on replacing Farah he looks electric. When he starts he doesn't look that flash. I'd have him over Farah or Lichaa either way. Would you have Brenko in for Stanley? That seems the most logical fit. Lee always looks more at home defending at centre than wing. But apart from Lee where is the spark going to come from? Your memory of Finucane's time at the dogs is different to mine. I recall him coming off the bench more often than not and being used as a battering ram. Since going to the Storm he's lost a little size and plays 80 minutes easily. That's my other beef (pun intended) - Des and his obsession with big bodies. Jackson is an exception, but all the other forwards are big, bulky and relatively immobile. Even the youngsters coming through, like Elliot, look like they're carrying more muscle than they need to. Maybe a bit more aerobic work and a bit less gym work might see a more nimble forward pack.

Hey Dutski I'm with you overall but a couple of points: Shaun Lane was very good with the Bulldogs. He left because of disciplinary reasons. It's not like he's blossomed since leaving the Dogs. Letting Finucane go was an extremely poor decision but he was a very good player at the Dogs. He's continued that trajectory. He hasn't suddenly blossomed into a superb player after leaving the Dogs. I'm not as enamoured with Cook as others seem to be. I still see a fringe first grader for a team well outside the 8. When the game goes his way he can be very, very good but I think he has issues with service, the options he takes and defence. Better than Lichaa? Probably, but that's a pretty low bar for a comparison. I don't think any team would or should break the bank for him. Agree about Brenko. He hasn't played since round 11. He still leads the Dogs in line break assists (8, next best is 6), offloads (30-24) and try assists (9-5). Plus he's still second for line breaks (7-10) and fifth for tackle breaks. Up to round 11 the dogs got over 20 points four times, since round 11 only once. Is the Dogs attack working so well that they can have him playing reggies?

Be interesting to see how the plan changes with Kasiano off to Melbourne. It seems to be: 1. Truck it up until Kasiano comes on 2. Give it to Kasiano I can't for the life of me understand why Brenko Lee is on the outer. Sure his defense is a little sus but you can cover for that or (gasp!) coach him. He looked most likely to score points or create something. How much would they pay to have Damien Cook back? Or Finucane? Or anyone else who has improved out from the straightjacket. Shaun Lane and Lloyd Perrett are looking like great buys over at the Eagles. At the moment Hasler is the reverse of Bellamy - how many ex-Storm players wilt once they leave the structure, and how many ex-Bulldogs blossom?

Well said Danno . Des does not seem to be able to improve players. Compare his record with Bennett, Bellamy or Green. Players generally improve under these guys where under Des they go backwards. The only two possibilities are Des can't develop players or Des can't recruit. I think it's a bit of both. If Foran doesn't rescue the Dogs,next year Des won't have to worry about paying all those tolls on the way to Belmore,

I think that the Bulldogs main attacking problems are due to them allowing their props to be in control of the attack. I think they are suffering from what NSW and Cronulla suffered from with Gallen taking the ball far too often in attack rather then allowing the halves a crack. Tolman and Graham get their hands on the ball several times every set of six, even when close to the line. If I were Des, I would set a new rule - if you are a prop you are only allowed to touch the ball in your own half! Be there to tackle and do the hard yards, the fancy stuff is for numbers 1-7.

Exactly Danno1. very well put, and John Melrose you are correct that some of the angst that the bulldogs supporters are displaying comes from the fact that a lot of us could see the lack of development happening to the squad at the end of the 2015 season. More of the angst comes from the fact that Des just refuses to change the gameplan. why not try, just try to change the plan that could suit the talent, and they do have talent, of the team that he has assemble over the last 4 years

Agreed, The other thing regarding Des is that no player has developed under his coaching. In fact I'd say some, notably James Graham, have gone backwards. JG went from a canny ball player before and through the line, to becoming a harder running version of Aiden Tolman. Lloyd Perrett was not the only player to leave the Bulldogs under Des and find relief at being able to play using skills that the Bulldogs saw in him in the first place but would not let him show. Frawley played his best football when he first came up this year, prolonged exposure to the "game plan" has seen everything about his game deteriorate since. Michael Lichaa was a standout at U/20s and is now a plodder, though I suspect he will improve a lot wherever he ends up. On Lichaa and the halves Des has had them for 3 years yet they can still only throw a good pass to one side. The kicking game of the halves have not improved during Des's time, Josh Reynolds used to pull out a 40/20 around 2-3 times a season so it is not as if he can't kick a ball, unfortunately those days seem behind him. Every bomb seems to be a surprise to the chasers, it never seems to go high enough, no grubber stays in goal, and clearing kicks seems to go straight down the opposing full backs throat. These guys are professional athletes, what do they do at training all day? Hopefully more than gym work and ball work - are there passing coaches and kicking coaches? If there is they should be sacked, if there isn't why the hell not? We pick Brenko Lee because he is a threat in attack, but appear not to have improved his defence. We still have forwards running one out on the 4th tackle when we're on an opponents goal line, yet this is not a settler for a move on the next tackle, it is because...well it just is...who knows why. The Dogs under Des were best in attack in 2012, and I'll hazard a guess as to why. When Kevin Moore got replaced in 2011 by Jim Dymock he encouraged more short passing between the forwards. This means it is harder to monster attacking runners in defence because they may offload, it creates doubt and space. This is how the Dogs started off and played for the bulk of 2012 that was the "Des revolution" the forwards led by Graham implemented a short passing game. The further they have gone on, the further they have developed a one out running game, followed by double cut outs out the back, that are still run diagonally and not straight, so if everything goes according to plan the winger will run over the sideline instead of the goal line. They then run a play of Josh Reynolds haring across field to turn inside to Josh Jackson who somehow (maybe because he is Josh Jackson) manages not to get smashed despite every defender knowing what is about to happen. Throughout Josh Reynold's career he plays best when he runs straight, yet Des has him running across the field for 90% of his plays. In the modern game the best fullback is one who is very fast or very skillfull, we have a slow, moderately skilled but courageous fullback. Is Hoppa a better player now than when he was at Manly under Des or Parra? We have faster and more skillfull players but few seem to be allowed a shot at fullback. All these issues are firmly at Des's door, there is no other place to put them. I love the Dogs, I don't hate Des, there are plenty quality people at the Dogs including him, but they need a shake up and I'm not sure Des is tactically able to do it. I am beginning to think he is more a "man manager" style of coach rather than "tactical genius" style coach. if you recall after all the off-season hullabaloo that saw Turvey fall on his sword, we were meant to be seeing the more expansive attacking Bulldogs, we have seen how that panned out. If this year is the new attacking Des.... well we really need a coach with a better tactical skill set to re-imagine the Dogs style of play.

Haslers been coach for the best part of six seasons. If the spine he's assembled isn't good enough, it's his fault. Nobody put a gun to his head to sign Lichaa or re-sign Mbye on big money or sign and then re-sign Hopoate. The game plan doesn't give the Dogs anywhere near the best chance of winning games. If you think it's even close to being acceptable at first grade standard then you're kidding yourself. They put on their attacking plays too far from the defensive line, allowing the defence too much time to adjust. Their plays are flat footed and cumbersome. There's rarely bodies in motion. The Bulldogs have Morris x 2, Stanley, Lee, Montoya, Hopoate, Reynolds and Mbye. These are good attacking players. It's the game plan that's letting them down. The Morris brothers don't see the ball unless they're trucking it out of their own end. It's like having Ferraris in the garage and using them to carry hay bales. Brenko Lee leads the team in line break assists, try assists and offloads but hasn't been picked since round 11. Hasler doesn't have to bow to armchair critics. I don't expect him to. But he does have an obligation to get his team playing at an acceptable NRL standard. He's not. And hasn't for at least two years. With the resources and funds that have been made available to him, with the roster that he's built the team should be doing better than 13th and out of semi final running with six weeks to go. The biggest criticism is that this team is performing far below its capability. If he's not responsible and accountable who is? I like Foran. I'll be cheering him on and I hope it works but he's had physical and psychological injury problems over the past couple of years. He's been investigated about betting irregularities and keeping company with shady characters. He's been through a messy separation with kids involved and it's probably 24 months since he played anything approaching his best football. If that's not damaged, I don't know what is. I hope it works but it's a lot of eggs in a not particularly stable looking basket.

I'm not sure I get the intent of this article. First seems to say it's not Hasler's fault, then it is, then it's not. The point about "the people calling for Moores axing are probably the same calling for Hasler's" is irrelevant. Yes they probably are the same. Because then, like now, the results aren't acceptable. I don't have a problem with a "down" season or a rebuild year. But this shouldn't be that year. The Dogs still have a roster that is better than 13th and out of finals contention with six weeks to go. The team is not just having a bad season, they are under performing. By a significant distance. The problems in attack haven't suddenly appeared. It's been a decline that's been happening for 18-24 months. The frustrating part is that it appears from the outside that very little has been done from a structural, tactical or personnel point of view to turn things around. The Dogs attack creates no space, no extra men, no danger. They have no shape, no structure, no bodies in motion. It's amateur stuff but the warning signs have been there for a while. You say Des hasn't been sitting on his hands. But his signings so far are a 'damaged' Foran, an over payment on a prop - the one position we have covered and a fringe first grade utility. It doesn't scream turn around in fortunes to me. I don't see anything that suggests the Bulldogs are going to turn things around tactically for next season. These are the same conversations that were happening at the same time last year. And after about round four this year. We keep hearing that things will change but nothing has. After their third 30 point flogging, Hasler fronts the press conference and says "we'll have to look at the video and see where it went wrong." Really? Two years this has been going on but one video is going to provide the answer. It's all well and good telling the fans to be solution focused but how about the coach gives it a go...?

Haven't they won 1 premiership this century ?

And some would say that you control your own destiny.