News Cameron Ciraldo Q&A How New Recruits Will Feature In His Quest To Make The Bulldogs A Powerhouse Again

[D- voice]

Some of the boys did way too much talking last year & got egg on their faces come game day…. CC answered all questions with a straight bat, but didn’t sugar coat the biggest issue at the club was Defence & Depth.

These are his boys now… not Dessy’s, not Pay’s, Not Barrett’s!

Too much logic...Sack CC

 

[Alan79]

Good read… CC is succinct in his delivery, makes it easy to ingest, we need to stick by him over the 5 year plan with a view he becomes a Bellamy type who stays with us long term living and breathing the Club.

We’re not likely making the top 8 with this current roster so it’s important we “trust the process” where eventually our pathways yields talented players merging in with proven NRL elite level recruits like Critta, Fox, Reed and Burto.

No doubt we will have some imbeciles losing their sh!t because we’re potentially not in the finals but the goal here is improvement across all facets of last season, in particular, defence, consistent execution of our attack, attitude, commitment and belief.

At least defensively we need massive improvement. I think to a large extent we've made that a focal point of recruitment where possible. At a bare minimum if we don't end next season with an average points conceded below 24 as opposed to the 38 last season, Ciraldo should be getting nervous. I'm not a death rider like some, but the additions to the backline should mean we get a few out of the blue tries. So I assume that our attack on the edges will be fine. But we need to lift our defensive level from rusted out seive to at least bucket with a slow leak for Ciraldo to assume some job safety.

I do trust the process and see the massive step up in roster quality. But it needs to show some progression.

I think CC has said all the right things, I cannot fault him for anything he has said.

Critta position, primarily centre but acknowledge he could do a job at FB.
Defense... what more could he say was very disappointed and it was more about attitude/professionalism than anything else.
He didn't sugar coat the Front Row issue, and made it clear it is a real opportunity for someone to make a name for himself.
Halves: Looks like it is a 3-way battle between Burton, Sexton and Hutchinson. Made it clear he believes in Burto but for him to be playing in the halves he needs to believe in himself and show it. The two biggest concerns I had with Burto was his lack of consistency and not taking control/communicating... seems that has been worked on so we shall see.
Captains: While he said Reed was one of the captains, he also said we have been having alot of discussions around the leadership model... so I am guessing that stuff is certainly not set in stone
Xerri: acknowledged that at the start of the season it will be hard to expect much from Xerri being out of the game for so long... But he has shown with his commitment that if anyone could do it Xerri could... But he did say early season not Rd 1.
Fans/Community: He may not have played for the Dogs but the way he talks you'd wonder if that is a regret of his. He generally wants to be there when the Dogs are successful again. It means something to him, not just a paycheck and a chance to be successful.

I must admit though, on the last question I was hoping he would mention Sam Hughes. But maybe he sees him as a little different to Preston as he has made his debut already.

For what it's worth, I'm not a fan of putting big raps on players that are yet to really establish themselves. The additional pressure of hype doesn't always leave fans with the ability to make balanced judgements on a player when the hype suggests they'll be special. A good game sometimes isn't good enough for fans that expect a star performance. So I'm not sad that Ciro hasn't highlighted a smokey to become an NRL regular.

 

[TwinTurbo]

At a bare minimum if we don't end next season with an average points conceded below 24 as opposed to the 38 last season

A correction and then an observation;
Correction - 769 points over 24 games is 32 points per game. There were 27 Rounds but 3 were byes so don't count in the for and against.
Observation - if we remove the 3 blow out games (2 x Knights & 1 x Souffs) where we used multiple non NRL players, that drops to 29.
So it's not a huge step to go from 29 to 24 (ie; less then 1 converted try per game) .

Statistics

Always a Bulldog

 

[D.O.W.]

Ultimately, Ciro is going into a season without any starting middles - our middles would be lucky to make a bench rotation at any other club… he’s up against it.

But he does have a very good backline and backrow to utilise. Needs a game plan to suit. The extra experience in the squad is the biggest win for us for 2024 in my opinion…. We might not even see the benefits of this until til 2025/2026

 

[DinkumDog]

He was reluctant to nominate a standout from the top 30 to have a break out season this year. Perhaps to keep them on their toes?

He’s also got to be careful competitively speaking. He’s hardly going to say ‘X is a lock for this position’ or ‘Y is having a cracker pre-season and will be in the team from Round 1’. He needs to keep Brad Arthur guessing for Round 1 until the team is named the Tuesday before. Keep the powder dry.

 

[TwinTurbo]

He’s also got to be careful competitively speaking. He’s hardly going to say ‘X is a lock for this position’ or ‘Y is having a cracker pre-season and will be in the team from Round 1’. He needs to keep Brad Arthur guessing for Round 1 until the team is named the Tuesday before. Keep the powder dry.

More importantly he is going to make sure TK has multiple threads guessing the team every single week


Always a Bulldog

 

[DinkumDog]

More importantly he is going to make sure TK has multiple threads guessing the team every single week

Of course. That calls for a new thread saying ‘Why did @User Name Critta at 4 not 3??’ .

 

[CMP]

Logic suggests if Crichton is training at centre he is playing at centre.

If CC is going for the best possible lineup for a balanced team. Crichton plays centre. Our quality and depth at fullback outstrips our quality and depth at centre.

 

[dawso047]

Reality is the club has no established spine, no on field general at 7 in particular. Our middles on paper are the weakest in the comp King and Curran are NRL ready. Mariner has reached his peak and struggles to have an impact, Sutton is the same in decline and little impact. Knight has probably peaked as well, that essentially leaves Edwards, Hughes, Morrin and Patolo...none of whom look like being elite, but they just might be NRL players. CC needs to get the fullback selection right and needs more from Burton, hopefully Mann can relieve the pressure on Mahoney at dummy half.

 

[Turvey Chip and Chase]

It all sounds positive, and there is a lot to like (Critta, Xeri, Curran, experience recruits, Burto hopefully getting better), however, we can’t sugar coat our lack of quality middles. We don’t even have one standout. It’s going to be a long year without one unfortunately. Was really hoping Gus could work a miracle there.

Good interview though

 

[kmr07]

But but we promised him fullback, that's according to some

He wasn’t promised anything. It was always said he’d play where he’d best fit the team. Just because your imaginary voice / source told you he was bought to play centre it doesn’t mean that he will. Let’s just wait and see

 

[albatross]

I can't see him starting in Rd1 but good to hear Xerri getting a mention for his effort. Crichton's far from a ready-to-go fullback, so if he was playing there surely he'd be training there. Sounds like it's Tracey at fullback to me.

 

[The_Chimpster]

But but we promised him fullback, that's according to some

Along with the lady Boi luai being locked in on a five year deal

 

[GoTheDoggies]

He’s also got to be careful competitively speaking. He’s hardly going to say ‘X is a lock for this position’ or ‘Y is having a cracker pre-season and will be in the team from Round 1’. He needs to keep Brad Arthur guessing for Round 1 until the team is named the Tuesday before. Keep the powder dry.

Exactly. We aren't going to have any chance of an ambush if he gives him the team line up months in advance.

Also how can there be competition for spots if he just picks his pet players and says hey mate you are guaranteed a spot for round 1 in January. I don't see how they can train well without extra motivation from internal competition.

 

[D- voice]

Along with the lady Boi luai being locked in on a five year deal

This is TK mate, most of us claim to be in the know or know someone in the know but let's face it, since Gus had taken control, the source of the chaos/rumours has dried out, ironically for the better,
I can't stop laughing at the little miserable Clowns who are adamant they are always correct.

 

[Kempsey Dog]

More importantly he is going to make sure TK has multiple threads guessing the team every single week


Always a Bulldog

Can't wait for team list Tuesdays again

 

[maroondog72]

But but we promised him fullback, that's according to some

Look mate, calm down!! they can"t sort out any positions until luai arrives...........................oh wait

 

[Bazildog]

Look mate, calm down!! they can"t sort out any positions until luai arrives...........................oh wait

You are dreaming...

 

[DinkumDog]

You are dreaming...

x 04 .

 

[D- voice]

Look mate, calm down!! they can"t sort out any positions until luai arrives...........................oh wait

Waiting waiting waiting...Oh, what are we waiting for ?