Bulldogs confirm Nick Cotric is heading to Canterbury

He’s a really good player. Runs great lines. Good with the ball, great offload, good defender. Plays with energy From an onfield perspective, really disappointed to be losing him Since the NRL reversed the de registration, Okunbor wrote a message to fans taking ownership of his actions, apologising for them and promising to represent the club better in the future CHN chose to blame everyone but himself, took no responsibility and demanded out. It’s probably best for both that he move on. It’s the way it goes sometimes I really liked him as a player but he’s let us down

CNK gives his heart and soul Harry. You know he will always put his body on the line for the team. I'd much rather him back there than someone like Milford. Pretty strong looking bloke as well. I think he surprised us how good he was last season and now we just expect it week in week out. He rarely makes a mistake under the high ball - unlike Jack Wighton where I had to look away when he was trying to catch bombs. Jack was a mistake just waiting to happen. Never doubted his enthusiasm but. I think the recruitment of CNK and shift of Jack to 5/8 was a masterstroke last year. Hats off to whoever thought of it. CNK is still working on his game and hopefully he can go to another level. Look at Tedesco - he hardly even had a passing game a couple of years ago. It was all about his running game. CNK does so much work - he doesn't have much left in the tank after 80 minutes.

Very funny. :stoked: And very good pick up Baz from the highlights reel I saw last night. Looks like a clever player and should be a good replacement for Bateman. Its a funny old game league. You just hope these jokers don't act up when they are with your club. We've had our share with Carney, Dugan, Ferguson etc who have gone on to have successful careers elsewhere.

CNK's a funny one - he's had some efforts in defence like you say where he's run down a break-away attacker that you'd think was going to score for sure. On the other hand he's made some breaks with the ball and been run down fairly quickly. I suspect he puts so much into everything he does that by the time late in a game he makes a break against tired defence he's too knackered himself to run away with it. But that effort is why we love him, isn't it?

That’s a good call on Niukore...he’s a gun and probably too good to be sitting in the bench We definitely need that “off the back fence” runner somewhere in the pack. Napa and Tolman wouldn’t knock the skin off a rice pudding at the moment

"...super players in DWZ, CHW & Christian Crichton!" .....thanks mate! :angry: (...you can be a hard and cruel man Albo!) :stoked:

PS - I see the green machine has picked up the teen machine, CHN Apparently he’s already starting planning the Raiders school visit program for 2021...

Ha...no I wouldn’t have thought so but it’s a start and it’s much better than having Holland / Montoya / Smith in the centres or Crichton in the team What team ever goes from cellar dwellers to “striking fear” in one season...?

That 1 to 6 doesn't exactly strike fear into opposition supporters

Cotric played centre for about 12 games last year without but didn't take his game to another level. The Raiders were happy to slot BJ Leilua straight back in theire when he'd recovered from injury. Cotric was more of a finisher than a creator at first grade level at the Raiders.

Can't agree on CNK - he has more speed than you give him credit for. It was CNK that scored twice against the Eels in the last 10 minutes when the rest of the team looked shot - and I remember him doing an amazing covering tackle last season where he ran from one side of the field at about the 30 metre mark and caught up with an attacker who was running the length on the other side from an intercept or loose ball pick up - might have been against the Sharks. He had no right to do that. He just hasn't had many chances in open play to see what he can do. Always doing the bullocking work out of defence. But agree about Croker - he has about 4o to 60 metres at best at full pace. Rapana could sprint the length from 2016 to 2018 but had some injuries last year which slowed him down. And Oldfield is seriously quick but appears to have suspect hammies.

Cotric's main attributes are he is safe under the high ball, makes some good bullocking runs out of defence without making huge metres, he can break tackles and is a good finisher. But agree that he doesn't have exceptional speed and doesn't have much of a passing game. He had much of last season to prove himself at right centre when BJ was injured with that neck injury but didn't exactly set the world on fire. In fact he was pretty fortunate to be playing Origin and for Australia in my opinion. Those selection decisions were based more on what he produced in previous seasons. The Dogs have paid overs for mine but they need to start somewhere. Maybe Cotric's signing will lead to others. I'm sorry to see Nick go as he was a local and a solid contributor with good character and well thought of by the club. He's a young man and can completely understand the attraction of a bigger pay packet and life in the big smoke. Hopefully he'll end up back at the Raiders one day.

Yeah Oldfield has speed for sure, but he’s not a regular starter. Rapana was definitely a bit slower last year - we haven’t really seen him in open space yet this season so it’s hard to tell. Wighton, Croker, and CNK are all fast over 30-40 metres but none of them have the kind of length-of-the-field speed that you see in the likes of Papenhuyzen or JAC.

I’d be chasing a bit more venom in the backrow and pay overs to try and pry Marata Niukore away from the Eels with the promise of a starting backrow spot. An off the back fence runner who hits just as hard hopefully looking for more fame than just understudy to Nathan Brown. Still under contract, but so what.

Saw on the weekend, they’re enquiring about Clark and I think the other was Ratchford - I don’t know much about them to be honest...

Cotric could be worth the big bickies if he regains the form he showed a couple of years back but unless he can get a lot quicker I think he will be a very ordinary buy for the big dollars. I heard recently that DWZ is on big dollars as well and I don't understand why you would pay big money for either player. It sounds impressive to be the NZ captain and in Cotrics case , a SOO player but neither are star 1st graders in my view. Both are good but are they great?

Might be an improvement to not playing 2 years because of the wild ferret. We're also on the lookout for forwards and a 5/8...

Rapana has lost some speed over the years though. I would say Wighton and Oldfield are the quickest in our backline and neither of them are Papanhauzen that's for sure. Croker can be quick over 10-15m but will get chased down after that. Sadly Klokstad is one of the slowest fullbacks in the comp, but he obviously has other qualities.

I actually think Cotric has been better this year than last. Probably playing for his next contract...

Averillo at 5/8, Foran at half? Heard some people suggest he's a fullback, which i could also see, but like you i'm into giving Meaney more of a go there. (Dreams of 21 year old Meaney with his speed working out at fb and 19 year old Averillo with his speed working out at 5/8...)