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Opinion
Much has been made of the spending spree undertaken by the Bulldogs, in a Phil Gould-driven effort to rebuild and reverse what has been an extended period of mediocrity.
The new-look Bulldogs collective took on Manly and were beaten comprehensively on Saturday and while there were positive signs, especially in the form of Reed Mahoney, it was the effort of one of the club’s most notable signings that should draw most attention.
At a reported $800,000 per season and with the belief of both new head coach Cameron Ciraldo and Gould lying at the very core of the acquisition, Viliame Kikau arrived at the Dogs as a man supposedly capable of putting fear into defences and successfully combining with Matt Burton in a refreshed left-side attack.
Well, that was what so many fans of the blue and white had been told. Personally, I had always felt Kikau had benefited from the hard and grafting work of Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin and the other Penrith forwards prepared to roll up their sleeves and lay the groundwork for success.
Viliame Kikau. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Subsequently, Kikau would loiter on the left edge and crash over or through defensive lines with much smaller men exposed on the edge of the ruck. Frankly, Kikau seemed to be the beneficiary of a very polished and efficient attack at the Panthers and was rarely if ever the guy forging the metres that led to dominance.
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Perhaps those responsible for luring Kikau to the Bulldogs and the player himself, had fallen to the hype.
Based on the weak and listless numbers he produced in the opening round of the season, fans of a club widely tipped to improve markedly in 2023 would be well within their rights to expect a whole lot more from the 27-year-old.
Statistically, the Dogs were outplayed on the day, with Daly Cherry-Evans producing one his best performances on home soil. The Manly half was sensational from go to whoa and despite the Bulldogs’ best efforts, the match was in Manly’s control once Kyle Flanagan was ridiculously sent to the sin-bin late in the first half.
All the while, Kikau missed tackles, ran rather sheepishly for a player of his supposed worth and tackled less often that other men more desperate and committed.
Come the final siren, Kikau had carted the ball forward for an uninspiring 96 metres from 10 pedestrian runs – one of which was a kick return- broken a grand total of zero tackles and played the ball at the slow average of 4.57 seconds, as a result of the frequent ease with which he was forced back in tackles by the strong Manly defence.
Based on what Kikau produced against the Sea Eagles and his wide yet infrequent damaging running for the Panthers in recent seasons, the Fijian appears to be applying convincingly for the role of an NRL downhill skier.
Canterbury need Kikau to enforce and exert his presence on matches, that is what his salary demands and his opening performance was simply that of a player earning around half of what the new recruit is on.
For Bulldgos fans, memories of the clubs’ worst ever signing, Tony Williams, would have been close at hand. The former Manly star arrived at Belmore with an undeserved reputation and proceeded to produce four seasons of nonsense, while absorbing $600,000 of the salary cap.
It would be difficult to dismiss the fears of Kikau being something similar based on his first NRL effort for the club.
Reuben Garrick scores. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Kikau managed just the one offload, made fewer tackles than any other starting Canterbury forward and clumsily missed six, as a result of his jumper-grabbing technique that is completely unsustainable.
Throw in two errors and two conceded penalties and the Bulldogs board should well consider themselves in deficit after the opening effort from one of the highest paid players at the club.
More alarming than the statistics, was the rather ponderous way in which Kikau applied himself during what should have been an opportunity to make a real statement in his new colours.
There was very little Terry Lamb or Josh Jackson in his effort and a heck of a lot more Tony Williams; something that the Bulldogs did not pay for or, perhaps naively, expect.