So the Bulldogs crack a win and everything is coming up Milhouse.
While I was ecstatic with the Dogs scratching out a victory over a lacklustre Cronulla, the cold reality is Canterbury were lucky to fall over the line.
The Sharks bombed at least five try scoring opportunities and the Bulldogs’ inability to count numbers and slide in defefnce is a concern, with the Sharks being able to strip defenders numerous times.
A clinical side such as the Storm would not forgive such mistakes.
Cronulla have been playing as an unhappy side since the axing of John Morris, so this performance is probably not surprising. With reported player unrest and signing movements for 2022 happening in the near-term, Josh Hannay has an unenviable job to get the team back to winning.
With the Bulldogs having got through the first five weeks of the competition with zero wins, the last two games have given a better indication of the team’s standing.
Trent Barrett’s side were competitive for the first half in Townsville against the Cowboys before dropping their performance after the break. Following Jack Hetherington’s send off the team actually played better, were somewhat unlucky to snag a draw (and golden point) late, and continued that performance for the first half the following week, scoring three tries without reply.
The Dogs held on as their opponents came back, showing some grit that was common during the Dean Pay era but had been lacking this year.
Dean Pay (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Having played both grand finalists and a preliminary finalist in the first five weeks made for probably the toughest draw in the competition. The old enemy, Parramatta, awaits this week. Bulldogs-Eels games are usually close so hopefully the Dogs can stick it to them and continue to improve.
The debut of Jackson Topine and the brief return of Matt Doorey in the last few weeks has shown fans a glimmer of things to come. The missed signing of Brendan Piakura was disappointing but the club locked in a few of their junior players for the future.
It wouldn’t be a Bulldogs article without some signing speculation though.
The fanciful story of recruiting Jason Taumalolo aside, the possible signings of Brent Naden, Kurt Capewell and Toby Rudolf for 2022 give supporters real hope. If Barrett finds a quality hooker, things may be on the up. Having watched Brad Deitz in NSW Cup, I expect him to get an extended run in first grade at some time during the season. Hopefully the injury Deitz sustained late on Saturday is not too serious.
Dale Finucane would be a quality signing, fulfilling a role similar to Ben Kennedy at Manly, showing a young squad what is required as a first-grade footballer. Whether Finucane has the desire to return to the club is another question but he would bring hard-edged competitiveness back to the team.
After their first win of the season, Bulldogs supporters such as myself have been smiling this week. Now to back it up with a quality performance against the Eels.
kk
Roar Pro
Hi Albo, The Canterbury heart carries a lot of foregiveness. Brent's old mates will be an excellent indicator of progress at Belmore when they meet. I wish him every success in the interim on the way to this year's GF when and if his services are required.
matth
Roar Guru
Well they might still lose every game, but they'd feel better about it :stoked:
Paul
Roar Guru
Looks like Naden is a definite next season. Barrett's starting to build a pretty formidable roster.
Forty Twenty
Roar Rookie
Good luck with punters making accurate observations about a teams performance based on coaches. The Warriors were meant to fold last season because of the way the coach was treated. Didn't happen. The Pennies were declared a basket case when they appointed Cleary. Hasler was apparently a spent force but now he's a supercoach again. Imagine if Hasler was sacked after 4 rounds? The next 3 wins would be attributed almost entirely to the new coach. If only it was all that simple.
Webby
Roar Rookie
Every year I look through the draw to find dogs-eels games. I think they are my favorite matches. Still watch highlights of that ‘98 game. Now that Burton is definitely not coming early Averillo should be backed as the 5/8 for this season. Hopefully the team can play with consistency and improve throughout the year. Winning 6-8 games would be a pretty good season for this squad.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Seems the Naden deal is already done. And Panther fans are quite pleased ! He has had two chances at Penrith as well as stints at the Knights & Raiders. Good luck Doggies !
Paul
Roar Guru
I really enjoyed reading this piece Webby. You've got a really good writing style for this type of story. You're right, one win does not a season make, but like all of us who support battling teams ( in my case, the Dragons), it's great to get the 2 points regardless how it happened. I agree the Eels game will be a real rivalry clash, but I think it would be a mistake to be too concerned about the outcome of that game. Last year the Dragons played the Eels soon after it was announced Paul McGregor was sacked and a side that couldn't beat it's own shadow got up and beat the team that came 3rd. I'd be looking to see what improvement there is over the course of the season. Your boys might well beat Parra this week, but that might be the only win they have for the rest of the year. Better IMO to have them win another 5 or 6 games, but be competitive for the full 80 minutes in the games they lose. They might get points put on them, but if they're really giving it a bash, it won't be poor attitude that needs to be fixed, only some better recruits perhaps or a change in game plan.
kk
Roar Pro
B7 there are 15,475 people who have registered high hopes. I inked in 2024 for a place in the eight, team list building.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
What specific on field observations ? Cite something, anything. Players not putting in aren’t still pumping the line hard at the 80’. You can guess all you like about what’s affecting (Moylan and Dugan’s future affecting other players ? Are you serious ?) who and why but there is nothing whatsoever reflected in individual lackadaisical on field performance since the Morris incident to substantiate that..nothing.
Bloke7
Roar Rookie
I'll take it anyway it comes. However, .my hopes will remain where they always are, high as the sky...looking down at my expectations in the gutter
Webby
Roar Rookie
I think the treatment of John Morris is having an effect on the Sharks, and while one below average performance against a Knights team that had lost their last three games to sides that finished out of the eight last year could be an aberration, a further loss to the dogs the next week looks to me like the side is unhappy with the situation. With Townsend moving on and the future of other players such as Dugan and Moylan (and many others) being publicly discussed I can’t see how the Sharks get back to being a top eight side this year. They’ve got the Storm, Panthers and Souths in the next three weeks so I guess we’ll see how they are at the end of that run. That’s just my opinion based on my observations though. Maybe you saw something else in their last couple of games I missed. Thanks for your reply.
RLFan
Roar Rookie
From all reports Naden is a good centre, but if there are off field issue with him, he can expect a lot of attention from the Daily Telegraph when he is wearing Bulldog colours. Like all supporters, I loved the win, but like you do not expect too much. I just hope they are competitive against Parra, who are a strong side. Napa played his best game since he donned the blue and white and Thompson is all I'd hoped for. Trent Barret said on 360 that he is not looking for short term fixes, but I think the team would be better with Lewis partnering either Averillo or Flanagan. There is not a lot of point in keeping them together if Burton is coming next year, and Lewis has better defence than either and a good kicking game. I tend to think that Averillo shows more promise than Flanagan, who so far has been fairly run of the mill. Still early days and if our forwards can repeat last week's effort it will certainly help
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Winning is coming in fourth, exhausted and encouraged-because last time you came in fifth...
souvalis
Roar Rookie
'Cronulla have been playing like an unhappy side...player unrest..' What specific evidence do you have of that ? Got beaten on the bell by Newcastle 2 weeks ago and were white anted by Dugan and Hiroti incompetence last week.. with 6 regulars out of the side. No one dogged it, no one was moping around , the try line wasn't breached with 12 men, effective tackles were at 93%. Kudos to the Dogs they thoroughly deserved it, suggesting the Sharkies didn't put in or are playing with unrest is insulting to both sides.
Webby
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the reply. I’m trying to keep grounded so while I was happy on Saturday night I became a bit more pessimistic on Sunday morning. The effort from players on the inside defensively really picked up and probably made those ‘bombed tries’. I thought Napa had his best game for the dogs and the halves took the game on, especially in the first half. I know he’s young but Averillo could be really special if given time and support. I can see your point with Capewell. The dogs seem to have gone a bit cray cray with edge forwards in recent years. Jackson does not have many years left and Stimson will probably be let go at the end of this year unless Barrett shifts him to the middle. Hopefully Topine and Doorey keep progressing and the dogs don’t have to go to market at all. Promoting juniors through to first grade has to be the club’s overall goal for sustained success.
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Yes, Cronulla 'bombed' a few tries - because the Dogs' defence stopped them. Credit where it's due.
The Barry
Roar Guru
C’mon Webby - give us a week at least :silly: I agree completely about not getting carried away. Saturday could be straight back to 30 point margins What was pleasing for me in the Sharks win was that the Dogs (maybe temporarily) corrected things that they’ve been doing poorly all season 1. Our middle third has been soft as butter. From the kick off Napa charged back and actually looked like a first grade player. He kept it up too. With Thompson and Waddell at 13 they set a middle third foundation we haven’t had all year 2. You say the Sharks “bombed” at least five tries, but a lot of those were due more to the Bulldogs effort and scramble on the goal line than the Sharks just bombing them cold. Again, we haven’t seen that effort all year. Typically something goes against the Dogs, heads drop and we leak points in quick succession. The Dogs were a million miles from what we’ve seen in terms of attitude and effort. Allan in particular made a couple of big defensive plays 3. The halves played much straighter and Flanagan took the ball to the line several times. Our attack also played much closer to the defensive line and for the first time all year we regularly had bodies in motion when the ball went wide instead of one out crabbing across the field You’re right, let’s not start high fiving too much but also let’s not underplay it. The challenge is backing this sort of effort, attitude and performance up for a couple of weeks running I love the idea of signing Finucane. Exactly what we need on and off the field. Rudolf would be a good signing too. Not sold on Capewell. Very good player but do we need more backrowers? Between Jackson, RMF, Elliott, Waddell, Stimson, Doorey, Topine, Roumanos we should be able to field a competitive back row. It’s definitely not a weakness in the squad I can get on board with Naden too, but online reports yesterday were saying it was a “massive” deal. He’s talented but he’s only played 30 games and has off field issues
Webby
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the reply. While Naden’s choice of preparation was a bit on the nose (sorry) he is a more potent option than what the dogs currently have. I know they were after Staggs but it sounds like they missed out. I’ve seen highlights of Alamoti in the dogs juniors but I hope they don’t rush him before he’s ready.
Tony
Roar Guru
Nice article Webby. It was good to see the Dogs have a win. Capewell, Rudolph and Finucane would all be good acquisitions for the Dogs if they can get them, but I wouldn't be chasing Naden. Anyone who thinks that the best preparation for a grand final is a night on the nose candy isn't worth it cracker.