NRL season review and crystal ball Part 1: The cellar dwellers - Bulldogs, Cowboys, Broncos, Tigers

I disagree. I think the future is bright. I think that 2022 will have the Cowboys improving, and I have the Wests Tigers in the wooden spoon position. However, there are serious issues in the Cowboys ranks including how to fit in Dearden, Drinkwater and Townsend into the same spine with Tabuai-Fidow and Holmes. I think their young forwards will take a massive step forward next year and we'll see them finish in the middle of the bottom half of the pack.

TB they made rulings up on the fly again. The Bulldogs, Cowboys and Broncos were viewed differently at critical times and the influence of some players is most certainly a factor. Robinson felt aggrieved after being on the receiving end of poor officiating a couple of times. Obviously he’s had things pretty good for sometime. Some clubs encounter this type of inconsistent consistently season after season. I certainly believe NRL officials are not deliberately doing this but I also believe they are collectively suffering from conformation bias due to living in Sydney and being exposed to pressure from clubs supporters and media. Honestly the force and type of contact Kikau hit both CNK and Arrow with was far more dangerous or deliberate than Hetherington’s reactive hooking of Holmes around the neck. Hetherington’s reputation and jersey seen him treated differently? Holmes was not hurt because he got caught by an outstretched arm above the elbow from wrong footing his opponent. Kikau however charged into contact and hit his victims from in the side, in the head with a swing arm action with his forearm? It’s no wonder both players suffered significant concussions and possibly on going issues. I’m discussed with the inconsistency. You can’t change rules especially around player safety. Hetherington gets sent, then Kikau has to be binned and suspended at the very least.

yeah, im thinking its going to be a very lean year. The best 17 will compete especially if they can find a bit of effort in defense but no depth. Gildart, an English rep has been signed as one centre. He looks to be very quick with good footwork but small and drops off tackles. Not sure who will start on the other side. BJ has been released, Roberts is still around. Tommy Talau is probably the best option but does have an error in him and will likely miss the start of the season. I have high hopes for a young bloke Asu Kepaoa, Played a few games (mostly on the wing) last year before an ACL. Theres a few other good young backs coming through but with lower grades cancelled this year they probably arent ready.

IMHO, Paul Vaughan is vastly overrated and lazy, and his next contract will be in the English SL assuming he sees his current contract with the Bulldogs to completion. TPJ is an injury prone, ill-disciplined, loose cannon who will not show the same self-restraint he did with the Panthers. He also will be lucky to get through 30 - 40 mins a game. Luke Thompson is average at best and has struggled to make the impact in the NRL that other pommie forwards have in the past. Josh Jackson and Dylan Napa look lacklustre and tired. IMO, they are both done (hence Napa being cut by the Dogs). Neither player can keep up with the speed of the new game. Time for English SL. Jack Hetherington, Chris Smith, Corey Waddell, Dean Britt and Ava Seumanufagai are park footballers, no more. None of these players would crack a spot in the 17 at any of the clubs that finished in the top 6 this year. John Asiata is a talented player for a forward, but seldom rolls his sleeves up and gets in the grind when the middle third are bashing each other. With those hands, soft skills and kicking game he is probably best used as an edge back rower than a middle forward at any rate. Raymond Faitala-Mariner needs to lift his work rate and consistency, but he is one of the few keepers for the Dogs IMO. Adam Elliott was consistently one of the Bulldogs' best forwards, yet his release was understandable along with that of Lachlan Lewis. Lewis always walked around with the attitude that he was Wally Lewis without having done anything in the game to earn that confidence and swagger. Will Hopoate should have been shipped off to English SL years ago! Ofahiki Ogden and Matt Doorey, two more park footballers, but they show heart and a toughness that will see them make it in the NRL IMO but only IF they are coached properly. I never really rated Josh Cook, and Peter Mamouzelos clearly got the nod (for good reason) over the lesser Cook at any rate. I agree, hooker is a big problem for the Bulldogs. If only they had managed to sign Brandon Smith, that would have made a massive difference. Although I think Smith makes a bigger impact playing at 13 and covering at dummy half for short periods. Forget Jeremy Marshall-King at hooker, that clearly hasn't been working. Bailey Biondi-Odo shows a lot of promise but he is a HB who has been thrown into the dummy half role. to fill a need I wonder whether the Bulldogs might be better served playing him with Matt Burton in the halves instead of Kyle Flanagan or Jake Averillo. IMHO, Averillo isn't a HB or 5/8. Even the Bulldogs website lists him as a centre. The other option for the Dogs at hooker has been Sione Katoa who is OK at times but at best only a fill in option IMO. The better sides in the NRL all have strike FBs as well as hookers who can threaten from dummy half as well as help their forwards get across the advantage line in how they engage the defensive line and with the timing and pass selection of their passing game. They are also usually able to accelerate through any hole in the defensive line. Players that lack that threat and unpredictability don't often do well in the role. So in summation, the Bulldogs have an inadequate forward pack IMO to get the job done and are badly in need of a quality hooker. Bailey Biondi-Odo seems the best fit atm, but he is small and will have to get through the same defensive workload as Apisai Koroisau and Reed Mahoney to make that position work for him. I'll give the Bulldogs an A for the recruitment in their backline but only a C+ for their recruitment in the forwards.

Yeah, as per my original comments I didn't watch many Tigers games, so I appreciate your insight/feedback. Going forward (and very simply) it doesn't look flash. A young/small, but looks to be talented FB, good but not great halves, and probably fair to say the same about the hooker. I don't know what you've done in the centres for next year, but if it's still BJ and Roberts? I'm not trying to be a 'd..ck', but it doesn't look good.

I agree with your overall assessment of Brooks, deserves his place in first grade but not a top tier halfback. It is his short kicking game that is painful to watch but aside from that i think every other aspect of his game is sufficient if not actually good. I thought Doueihi was pretty good in attack but doesn't deserve the praise that opposition fans always give him. Whilst he is often credited as our only attacking threat foxsports stats has Brooks 23 try assists (the same as J. Hughes who people rave about) to Doueihi's 16. He was probably also our worst defender though admittedly not helped by those inside him. Doueihi does bring a bit of passion and leadership that is sorely missing at the club and floating or spiral bombs (though under utilised) that Brooks doesnt possess. Leilua went on a good run mid season but started and ended the season poorly. You are absolutely right about Roberts. At the start of the season i figured he was a good signing for Tigers given his potential and it being close to minimum wage contract. But even on that contract he was well over paid for what he delivered, though like you said, just one of many who under performed.

I’d love to see Staggs play a full season in the centres before moving to 6 if that’s what’s happening. Just don’t think we’ve seen his best there yet Reynolds is a great addition for the Broncs. Having someone guiding the team around the park, telling the young forwards where to run, setting up two or three plays ahead is just what they’ve needed. I think Reynolds is at his peak now

I think JT13 has been mishandled for years but at times this season he looked downright disinterested. Playing him wide later in the game to get him running at smaller men is fine but he should be winning the middle first and get him offloading!!! It’s criminal a bloke who’s 120 kegs, fast and agile is an easy target, but he is because he tucks the ball every time and four lesser men slowly drag him down. It’s like watching a bear get baited… He’s a million buck man so if he’s not at his optimum the cows will struggle…

I won't/can't add too much to your comments, as I didn't watch many Tigers games, but I tend to (at least semi) agree with your comments on Brooks. I don't think he's an elite HB, as he lacks a bit of the organisational side of the role etc, but in a side that doesn't need to rely so heavily on their HB (a more rounded overall team) he'd be an asset. I thought Douehi and L. Leilua were the standouts (at least in the games I saw) and the young FB looks very promising. There was a lot of 'underperformance', obviously, but the main 1 that caught my eye, and maybe/probably because I punted on him in my NRL Fantasy team, was Roberts. I watched him (literally) walk (yes, walk) himself into an offside position while the ball was still in play, and more times than I've had hot dinners. An incomplete tackle, a player looking for an offload, Roberts is right there, the only one there, and he takes a few steps forward. Maybe he didn't like that play/its potential, maybe he didn't think it was his turn, whatever, but if I was the coach (and Madge would be a million times harsher than me), well let's just say I wouldn't be happy.

Mate, I sound like a w.hinger because my team is struggling but there were plenty of games where the game was just officiated differently between top and bottom sides… and not just involving the Dogs…

I don't see them making the 8 next year either, but I disagree about the foward pack. IT will be pretty formidable as of next year: Thompson, TPJ, Vaughan, Hetherington (IF he can stay on the field), Jackson, Asiata and the underrated workhouse, Ava S. Its not Melbourne Storm/Penrith Panthers calibre pack, but it's got a lot more starch and go-forward than they did this year. Where they will stuggle is the 7 & 9. The hooker could be the most important position on the field in the current '6 again' era of NRL; will be interesting to see if Josh Cook gets a run and if so, how he goes.

Because they want to play for a real team :stoked: I don't think Mam should start for the Broncs next year, but after the first few rounds I think we should ditch the hooker on the bench and start playing Mam as a 14 whilst giving him as many Souths games as possible assuming he starts next season like he finished this season.

Thanks. A bit young I would have thought. If Souths Logan have so many gun players on Broncos contracts, why aren't they joining the Devils or Seagulls this weekend? :laughing: :laughing:

Ezra Mam, 18 year old gun South Brisbane 5/8th who I think is on a Broncs development contract. Scored 10 tries in 9 games and to me has had the same impact in the QRL as players like Munster and Cody Walker

I must be getting vague in my old age. Who are talking about?

A well thought out article, I`m a Cowboy supporter and you hit the nail on the head, unfortunately. The club does not have the talent in the boardroom or the football department to navigate out of this mess. I`ve said it here before, I would bet that the expansion club make the finals before the Cowboys get back there. Sad days ahead I`m afraid.

I’m excited about the development of under 20’s Neame, Luki, Nanai, Condon, Dearden and Hammer at fullback. Holmes in the centre and a better kicking game that Townsend will hopefully provide. Last time Taumalolo played well was when the kicking game wasn’t diabolical and 6 again wasn’t Rugby League’s version of touch football.

On a side note Bulldogs, Cowboys and Broncos received considerably less penalties than the Panthers, Rabbits and Manly from the officials? This is something that those teams can’t improve. Conceding penalties is a problem but awarding penalties is the sole responsibility of the officials in charge. Personally I believe players like Cleary, DCE, Foran, Cook, Reynolds and Tedesco have a much better voice when advising the officials about things. Some clubs/player are looked at with less respect. Top clubs were receiving penalties for the same offences others were sometimes given an extra tackle or 2? I don’t doubt teams are better defensively if they get gifted field position and tackles. Bring the ball of your line is much easier with a penalty in centre field? It is mystifying how Burr, Robson got sin binned and Taumalolo, Luki and Neame got suspended when comparing them Cleary, Kikau and others throughout the season?

Cant believe Brooks needing to engage the line is what has been identified as what went wrong for he Tigers. He was leading the comp for line engagements at the end of the regular season and remains 2nd after the finals. Their "anaemic" attack managed more points than 7 other teams despite the 15th worse defense in the competition. Simply put poor defense reduces attacking opportunities so to be sitting in 9th for points scored with their defense shows their attack is far from anaemic. Whilst i see little improvement next year it is simply the defensive side of the game that needs addressing, particularly the disconnect between Doueihi and Leilua if they are to continue defending together and the willingness of the middle to work from the inside leaving their edges exposed.

Bronx big movers for mine they have been great against the big guns but have lost their way without an organiser they have that with Renno, throw in Brenko he will add something too, James will add some size and exp to help Payne, Capwell Jenson will add some strong defence in the Middle carrigan coming back too will help throw in the kids like Riki Robatti and the rest of the young pack they will be fine, they have some great young backs X who is super impressive watching him live he's a gun.. and cobbo too he's a mirror image of Lattrell then there's Tess Farns, and don't forget they are still hunting another Sen fwd and a back so good times ahead for you Bronx fans haters enjoy the last two years because the old Bronx are coming home