Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season preview

[Vlasnik]

Tue 23 Feb, 2016, 3:00pm
By Jack Brady *, National Correspondent, NRL.com

Moses Mbye and Josh reynolds are ready to lead the Bulldogs in 2016. Copyright: NRL Photos.
Injuries and suspensions derailed the Bulldogs' 2015 season but a new year sees a clean slate for Des Hasler's men who are pumped up for the season and will be out to improve their semi-final finish last year without departed cult figures Trent Hodkinson and Frank Pritchard.

Gains and losses

Gains: Will Hopoate (Eels), Bradley Abbey (Warriors), Kerrod Holland (Knights), Craig Garvey (Dragons)

Losses: Trent Hodkinson (Knights), Tim Lafai (Dragons), Frank Pritchard (Hull FC), Damien Cook (Rabbitohs), Corey Thompson (Widnes Vikings)

What we know

On their day the Bulldogs squad is one of the best in the competition – their strongest 17 chockfull of amazing players. The squad includes nine internationals, with Tony Williams the only one not to represent his country in the past three seasons. With Josh Reynolds and Will Hopoate recent State of Origin representatives and Michael Lichaa and Aiden Tolman having played in the annual City v Country fixture, the Bulldogs certainly have the cattle to give the NRL Telstra Premiership a shake.

The unknowns

The success of any good team though comes down to the competence of their halves. It's why the combination of Reynolds and Moses Mbye is such a key unknown this season. Trent Hodkinson's season-ending wrist injury last year offered a glimpse into the Bulldogs' future and it wasn't pretty, largely because Mbye and Reynolds possess similar styles. The Bulldogs still managed to win their next two games with the duo at the helm before being eliminated by the Roosters in the finals, but hopefully one of Mbye or Reynolds have had an off-season focus of directing the team while leaving the other's instinctive spark intact.

Rookie watch

Tyrone Phillips was one player who caught the eye at the Downer NRL Auckland Nines earlier in February. The one-time NRL player managed 76.8 metres per game (not bad for 18-minute games), scoring three tries overall. Others to keep a keen eye out for in particular include Jarrod McInally, Kerrod Holland and Adam Elliott.

Depth

The Bulldogs aren't lacking in depth when it comes to the majority of positions with blokes like Lloyd Perrett, Pat O'Hanlon and Chase Stanley all first grade-quality talent. These men won't necessarily crack Hasler's initial 17, but will prove handy once amongst the season proper. Of concern though is the lack of replacements in the halves and hooking role – forgetting for a second Hasler's knack of using Josh Jackson anywhere he pleases – with Matt Frawley, Dane Chisholm and former Dragon Craig Garvey doing their best to earn a start.

Fantasy bankers

Tolman and skipper James Graham appear the safest bets if you're looking to draft a Bulldog into your NRL Fantasy squad, especially with reduced interchanges sure to maximise both prop's minutes. Tolman ($457,000) may be the priciest Bulldog in the game, but with a 2015 average of 51.16 points he's worth every penny.

Coach watch

Apart from his first season coaching with the Sea Eagles in 2004 Hasler has taken his team to the finals every year in his NRL coaching career. That's the past 11 seasons – a period that includes five grand final appearances and two premiership wins. Can he make it a dozen straight? Interest lies in how Hasler adapts to the NRL's shot clock and the reduction in interchanges this season, especially considering the number of big men at his disposal.

Crystal ball

The bubble could very well burst on the Bulldogs this year. In terms of personnel very few things have changed but with Hodkinson gone the club may not be as prolific when capitalising on try-scoring opportunities. If injuries strike as badly as they did last season the club could very well be counting their losses early. In saying all of that you can never write off Hasler or the Bulldogs.

http://www.nrl.com/canterbury-banks...preview/tabid/10874/newsid/93118/default.aspx

 

[Vlasnik]

This is our year boys, this is our year!!! :cheer2:

 

[yearofthedog]

In terms of personnel very few things have changed but with Hodkinson gone the club may not be as prolific when capitalising on try-scoring opportunities

Obviously has no clue ....

 

[dean_aus]

Who is Jack Brady.

 

[finchie]

The kid from the Brady bunch?

 

[Boxer]

Will be seeing a different side this year more speed and more 2nd phase play , I hope.

 

[EXPLORER]

Will be seeing a different side this year more speed and more 2nd phase play , I hope.

I also hope

 

[Alan79]

I'm pretty confident that we're in for a good year. Like the article pointed out our halves could potentially be an issue but I thought we'd have trouble with Reynolds and Keating. Reynolds actually has a short kicking game now and despite the fact that I'm not sold on Mbye as a playmaker yet, he's probably still a better player than Keating and young enough for me to hope he's got the ability to do more than show glimpses of potential.

I have plenty of confidence in the quality of our forwards and our backline is probably the best it has been since 2004. I'm hoping we manage to stay free of injury and gather momentum through the year. If our support play is good I think we can overcome the fact that we lack a half that is a dedicated organiser. I'm thinking we'll have a great year.

 

[Sauce Head]

In terms of personnel very few things have changed but with Hodkinson gone the club may not be as prolific when capitalising on try-scoring opportunities

Obviously has no clue ....

I rolled on the floor laughing when I read that part of the article

 

[GUSLER]

I'm a fan of Hasler but after watching the trial I have huge doubts about our season. Even though I think this year is the start of the build towards a premiership.
Regarding the trial- It was the same old story in the opposition quarter and our kicking game was woeful. We did defend well and we will always be resilient but that's not enough in today's game. Plus the storm turned over a lot of ball, we had the most possession by far...my fear is that You need easy tries if you want to play poor and still win, which we did a lot of in 20o4 and around that time. Other than kasiano we just don't have easy points in us, we rely on our structures for points and kick poorly on 5th tackle...and even when we do score then our goal kicking is horrible. We did look faster and fitter but I'm sure the entire NRL is too...go dogs!

 

[Mr Invisible]

In terms of personnel very few things have changed but with Hodkinson gone the club may not be as prolific when capitalising on try-scoring opportunities

Obviously has no clue ....

Lol I laughed at that as well... we scored more points without Hodkinson than with.

 

[Dognacious]

In terms of personnel very few things have changed but with Hodkinson gone the club may not be as prolific when capitalising on try-scoring opportunities

Obviously has no clue ....

I was wondering myself. When did Hod ever capitalise on try scoring opportunities? I dont get the comment either

 

[Ahecee]

Glad the writer pointed this out, I've been pretty worried about the loss of Hodko's epic try scoring, he averaged almost 2.5 tries a year in his time with us..... Mbye will really want to get that first try early on in the year to take the pressure off for getting at least one more in filling those shoes in the team :roflol:

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Trent had the most try assists for us last season, he probs just looked at the stats table.

 

[BushDog]

Glad the writer pointed this out, I've been pretty worried about the loss of Hodko's epic try scoring, he averaged almost 2.5 tries a year in his time with us..... Mbye will really want to get that first try early on in the year to take the pressure off for getting at least one more in filling those shoes in the team :roflol:

You're a cunny funt