Maybe your memory doesn’t serve you well, but after he served his ban, the Sharks were actually even better than before. He knows how to build and keep a team contending.

Dogs better pull the trigger today. There are a few other coaches under the pump, and it’s best we be first so we can review the candidates and ensure we pick the right one.

I’m all in on Flanagan. He had the Sharks playing with confidence and grit. And gameplay wise it was something I think the current Bulldogs squad is capable of playing with enough work. As well he loves to get the team fit.

Green without Thurston was very lost, and I think we would be getting a marginally better coach than Barrett.

As for others like Ciraldo, we can’t really afford to grab another unproven coach. Just too risky at this point.

Would you say the Cowboys recruited smartly? I don’t think they did. But a good coach will play to the strengths of the cattle they have. Barrett is trying to force a gameplan that is just not possible with the cattle he has.

Really just need someone to bring it back to basics and rebuild a gameplan slowly. Plenty of fitness work and skills training for the next few months. The aim in next season to have a much better base to work with.

Wakeham on the bench was cover for the halves and hooker. BBO had been playing that role, but was moved to reserve grade to get more match fitness in case he had to play an extended stint in the side. JKM usually is spelled for longer in a match, so I was surprised Wakeham only got 8mins at the end to show his wares in that role. Maybe he will get a longer stint next week.

I’d say Ciraldo is waiting for the right opportunity. You’d want something that has a lot of pieces in place, and it’s really just grabbing a new more to bolster the line up.

You look at the opportunities that have come up in the last few yestd, Dragons with quite an old roster, which required a turn over but the youth is a little off being ready. Dogs that had no talent, but they are getting it now, and if Barrett doesn’t survive would be a great opportunity. Tigers which has a lot of work ahead, and a dysfunctional front office that no new head coach wants. Warriors which could work for a new coach, but lots of challenges getting players to cross the ditch. Cowboys who are similar to the Warriors in that they struggle to attract high profile players.

It’s really about the opportunity and support you will get at a club.

Thats a bit of the old Des ball. It still seems to be a culture in the club.
If they could do the play the balls faster in those situations, it would work cause you’d drag in an extra tackler, and if the hooker is good enough to count numbers and get it out the backline, you can create an advantage, but that’s what’s not happening.
That said, if you have watched a bit of the Bulldogs backline plays, it seems silly to be just tossing it out the backline if the defence is rushing up on the playmakers. So a bit of that is trying to keep them honest. Dogs should probably have an inside option for both Burton and Flanno on any attacking plays in the 20, cause that rushing defence won’t be as quick if they are getting out of the line and creating space for that inside man to run into.

You’d have to be pretty desperate to take the Tigers as they are currently assembled. Though I’m not sure who they have off contract next year, might be a quicker fix if they can get more guys in, and a change of coach can be refreshing.

But they would have to do this soon.

As for Griffin, he has made his bed, but it’s still early days, and I see what he wants to do with the team, get the young ones confidence in reserves so when they get to the top grade they know their roles better. Dragons were never going to win the comp this year, and I think if the Dragons hold fort, better days will be coming once those young guys get their opportunity in the top grade.

Some of it’s the hooker. Some of it is on Flanno cause if your a halfback you need to be calling for the ball, organising players around you.
But it is the first game back in first grade. Getting used to things, taking a one game sample is pretty harsh. As he gains confidence, he will be able to direct players to the positions he needs them. He plays it differently to the other halves we have been using, and that’s a good thing.
I’m sure has they practice plays he will call for it more, he was getting a lot more touches in reserve grade, and I’d expect the touches between Flanno and Burton will average out a lot as time goes on. I did like him moving over the other side of the field to add an extra man and hold up the defence, cause that takes a lot of pressure of Burton whom teams were rushing up on to cut off his options. Both are young and they will only getting better.

Averillo needs to go back to reserve grade to find his form and confidence. Wouldn’t hurt either to play him at Fullback in NSW Cup as we have plenty of centres. What we need is someone at the back who is better than Dufty. Averillo has skills, but no confidence. Like Flanagan, it’s just being out of the spotlight for a little while and work on his game.
The Dogs have had to blood the young talent the wrong way, in underperforming teams and then expecting too much. Coming through the grades Averillo was a great runner of the ball, and given most fullbacks and 5/8ths are interchangeable now. It seems like the right thing to do for him so he can go back through the traditional method of earning your spot in the first grade team.
There was a lot to like in that display, and with Souths looking a touch vulnerable, I’m actually excited for next Fridays match despite the short turn around.
The other thing we need to look at is the service from dummy half, it’s just way too slow and predicatable, and this is what is holding up the backline so much.

He must have got the jab. He has been seen training with other players. You can’t do that unless you have been jabbed.

I remember how Kasinano was used. And he was very effective for how the Bulldogs used him. Big man with ball skills. That is something that is needed in today’s game, and if used that way, he would still be very effective in the prime of his career.
Greg Eastwood is another who just had ball skills. I think that’s the common point for the big men, they must have ball skills to exist. A big body means more players need to commit to the tackle. If you can either play the ball before the line or engage 2 or more players and still get the ball away, then your are a positive for the team.
Now you wouldn’t start a player like that at the beginning of a game, but once the defence is a touch tired, that’s when you want to bring them on.
As I said before. A good coach will know how to use him. Bellamy is a good coach, but taking that 20kg off Kasinano just killed his dominance. He was never that sort of player. Not sure how Bellamy didn’t work out how to use him like Des Hasler did.

When he left the Dogs and went to the Storm, Bellamy got him to trim down, and he was just not effective at that weight. At that point in his career there was more money in ESL than NRL for a player like him. He has bulked up again and plays once again like he did when at the Bulldogs.

A good coach will always find a way to use players. I remember the same being said in the 90’s when the 10m rule came in and journo’s said at the same time that would be the end of the big men.

It didn’t happen then, and it won’t happen now. Using Big Sam Kasino as an example. With the current rule set, he would be used exactly as he was used when he was playing in the NRL. About 10-15mins before the end of both halves. When everybody is a bit tired and the sight of a big man running at you puts the fear of god into you.

Having characters around clubs can be useful. Breaks up the monotony of training. Especially if they are people who can put their heads down bum up when it comes to being serious about putting the work in. Dogs seem to have landed quite a few of those.

Still plenty to be sorted out, but the best thing is that we have competition for spots in the team, after you get through the 7-8 guaranteed starters. Depth in a squad, which the Bulldogs have been sorely lacking really helps improve players. And the best part is a lot of that depth in young, so they get a bar set for them, rather than how in previous years they were promoted too early cause we had no other choice.

I think people think the Dolphins are trying to buy a club to win the comp first year. That’s not what they are doing. Getting old heads who have the runs on the board to lead the way in training and culture of the club so as the youth comes through they have set the level at the club the team needs to be at.

It would be nice to get that star player, and I’m sure it will happen, but honestly they are realistically not going to win the comp first year, and are buying accordingly.

I’m sure there will be a few other players at other clubs who aren’t getting an opportunity and the Dolphins will fill out their roster quite nicely. Geez the depth at the Bulldogs in the backline with lots of players who are vieing for some limited spots. No need to rush the process, I’m sure guys like Allen if he doesn’t crack the first grade squad at the Bulldogs will be begging to get out and up to Redcliffe.

I’d probably have Vaughan who will provide the Dogs great value for money in his 1 year deal. Dogs haven’t a good prop for ages. He just goes forward and we were lucky to get him at that price.

I’m not sure any Bulldog fan is under the illusion we are going to win the comp this year. What we now have is a squad that is competitive, unlike the last few years where on paper we had the worst squad of all teams. How we only won one wooden spoon says a lot to me. Belief is at the club, Barretts hardest part is how to bring all these players to play together.

That said, we have a hard run early which really should set the bar where the club needs to be competitively, and hopefully, the players respond.

For me a successful season will be making the eight, I think we have the cattle to do just that, and it really will be something to build on.

We have halfbacks at the club, it’s really a competition between them who wants that spot the most.

I’d like to understand more about what happened with Glebe. Going well, then in 3 short years they are out of the comp. Must have had something happen at the club, poor leadership or something that put them on the outer with all the other clubs. Cause it can’t just be industrialisation of the area, clubs knew how to get around that and get players into their catchment. But thats a whole article for another day.

I think my favourite fact in this article is that University wore blue and yellow and won so many wooden spoons. And that Parramatta though those are good colours and continued the tradition of winning wooden spoons quite frequently.

I didn’t explain myself well. I mean with the 10m/20m penalty allow them to take a quick tap. This will prevent a lot of teams using the tactic as a cynical way to slow down the play the ball.

It would if it was allowed to be a quick tap. Just depends on how the refs adjudicate that one. Seen it too many times where the ref says you haven’t got the mark and pulls it all back. I’d say as long as your within 5 metres of that mark and not over it, you can play the quick tap. But then again that would only make the game even quicker again.

Its for the howlers that happen from time to time. As teams are learning how to use them better. For a start don’t let wingers ever challenge anything. Not for the lack of ability of refs. They are human after all. Would you prefer it to be like a computer game and it’s black and white? Part of what makes a game is the refs feel for the game to allow it to flow. No one likes it when the ref is blowing the pea out of the whistle.

I like captains challenge. Also takes a bit off the refs. If they call a stinker, at least the team has a chance to fix it. Also surprising is how much the refs get right, at the speed the game is played. I think the refs do a pretty good job. Each game is a little different, as does each ref have a different feel for the game.

So the refs can’t just play black and white to the rule set. If both teams decide to hold down for ages, you don’t want the ref just calling penalities and six agains all the time. Teams themselves need to be accountable to how the game is played and reffed. I suppose that is part of the tactics of the game. Know your referees and play to their weaknesses.

The 10m rule was brought in cause the game went professional and the players were just all round fitter and it was stifling the game. Just too many bog average games, lucky they weren’t all televised then and Ray Hadley could make a stinker sound like the best game ever on the radio, too bad that never translated to the TV.

And the 6 again rule is fine. Just as Ricky said, you need to build the right squad to take advantage of it. Requires a lot of speed guys and quick thinkers who play what they see. Programed halves struggle in this sort of environment and it really shows. I think this rule will see a lot less of this style of half in the game, and more heads up play which can go both ways, more excitement but also more errors. I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.