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The time has arrived for the Canterbury Bulldogs to finally turn things around in 2024.
Simply put, the time for excuses is over. The club have signed countless players, and this is fast becoming a roster than now second-year coach Cameron Ciraldo and veteran head of football Phil Gould can say they have built.
That means performances must be expected. Gould was always realistic about what the Bulldogs were going to be able to achieve in 2023 as they continued to rebuild. The club were further impacted by injuries and suspensions, but they have built a roster that has plenty of depth across the board for 2024.
The Belmore-based side have certainly been ridiculed for their utility signing spree, but the club have made plenty of external noise that all of those players have roles, and with continued improvement of some of the other young talent at the club, the Bulldogs simply must find a way into the top eight this year.
Here are the burning questions Canterbury must answer with success in 2024.
How do the utilities fit in?
It has been well publicised that the Bulldogs have spent much of the last 12 months signing utilities. Not neccessarily players who don't have a best position, but players who can play multiple roles.
It has been something of a head scratcher, just the sheer number of players they have signed who seemingly have been picked up as the number 14.
That becomes even more so the case when you consider their biggest need has appeared to realistically be in the forwards - more on this later.
But with all of Drew Hutchison, Kurt Mann, Jaeman Salmon, Blake Taaffe, Connor Tracey and back-up hooker Jake Turpin arriving at the club for 2024, it's unclear just how they will all fit in.
Most of that group had starting - or at least fringe - roles at their former clubs
But at Belmore, another arrival in Stephen Crichton from the Penrith Panthers and Matt Burton already are likely to form two key parts of the spine at fullback and five-eighth. That means that Drew Hutchison is a chance of wearing 14, while Blake Taaffe and Connor Tracey may be stuck on the outer.
Should Hutchison or even Taaffe take the 14, that means Kurt Mann would be left starting at lock, but again, it's unclear whether that will be a realistic course of action for coach Ciraldo given Josh Curran has signed, while all of that, combined with the fact Mann can also play at dummy half which he spent plenty of time doing in Newcastle during 2023, is likely to leave Turpin outside the squad.
Jaeman Salmon has claimed he wants a back-row position, but with Viliame Kikau and Jacob Prestonlikely to have the starting spots, it means he will be on the bench at best.
It's hard to suggest the signings make sense, but it will be only in the course of the season, and possible injuries, that things can properly be judged for the blue and white.
Can Matt Burton become an elite half?
2024 must be time for Matt Burton to find a new level that so far, he has only shown glimpses of at NRL level.
While the youngster has been well commended for his towering bombs and running game, unfortunately, it's consistency which has lacked from week to week.
The pressure of also trying to guide a struggling team around the park has told on Burton, but he simply must be better on a consistent basis throughout 2024.
It would appear Toby Sexton is most likely to partner him in the halves, which in itself could be trouble. Burton is yet to play alongside an experienced, guiding number seven, and while Sexton has shown plenty, he is another inexperienced halves partner for Burton.
Some have even suggested Burton would add more to the Bulldogs in the centres, where he has played at Origin level, although he has made it clear his preference is to remain at five-eighth.
Is there enough depth in the forward pack?
While the Bulldogs have two of the game's best second-rowers in Jacob Preston and Viliame Kikau, there was little to write home about in a forward pack which underperformed badly throughout the 2023 campaign.
Injuries certainly didn't help the cause, but the signings ahead of 2023 didn't work, and they ultimately found themselves on the back foot in both attack and defence more often than they didn't.
That ultimately means they must find improvement for 2024.
The late addition of Josh Curran, who was released by the New Zealand Warriors to take up a deal with the Bulldogs, will certainly help. That said, it has always been felt his best position is on the edge, something he won't be doing given Viliame Kikau and Jacob Preston have the number 11 and 12 jerseys sewn up.
The Bulldogs now have an elite back-row, but as it was in 2023, the front row is going to be the issue. From an already skinny group, Luke Thompson, Franklin Pele and Tevita Pangai Junior have all disappeared from the club.
In their place, only Poasa Faamausilijoins Curran as a new addition in the middle third, and simply put, it won't be enough to fill the gaps unless they can promote and improve from within.
There is young talent at the club, and Samuel Hughes is one I expect to have a breakout year, while the club could also do a lot worse than having form from Raymond Faitala-Mariner, but in the interim, it seems unlikely to be enough for the Bulldogs to drag themselves all the way up the ladder and into the top eight.
No side with a below average forward pack plays finals football, and it's one the Bulldogs must fix if they hope to return to that arena anytime soon.
Will Reed Mahoney find his best?
One of Canterbury's most important players, Reed Mahoney must find his best level in 2024 if the Bulldogs are to fight their way into the top eight.
He showed glimpses of it in 2023, but was certainly nowhere near the player that featured in the Parramatta Eels' push to the grand final in 2022.
While his absence from the Eels was certainly felt throughout 2023, Mahoney didn't actually - performance wise - prove to be all that much of an upgrade on Jeremy Marshall-Kingwho himself went up the gears at the Dolphins, establishing himself as one of the game's better dummy halves.
Mahoney was undoubtedly strong in defence throughout the 2023 campaign, but his attack, along with the rest of Canterbury's side, struggled to get off the mark at times.
That simply must change if Ciraldo's side are going to improve in 2024. His service must be better, his running game must be better, and the creativity on display needs to go up a few gears.
Is Stepehen Crichton an NRL-level fullback?
This is realistically the question which could define the entire season in 2024 for the Bulldogs.
Stephen Crichton has been wheeled out as the biggest signing of the lot for the club. A star centre who has played at Origin level and had a major hand in each of Penrith's three straight premierships, he will likely make the switch to fullback at Belmore.
That is the money he has been signed on, and the role which he has been signed - and agreed to leave the Panthers - for.
But is he going to develop into an elite level fullback?
There is no question elite is what he is in the centres, but fullback is a completely different ball game. Latrell Mitchell has managed it, albeit struggling with his fitness in recent seasons.
Crichton certainly has the skill to go big at fullback and become one of the game's best, but it's difficult to suggest that in a side with so many new players and combinations it'll happen immediately.
Time and patience may well be needed, but for a side who haven't played finals football in years, they are two luxuries Crichton may not have as he attempts to transform into one of the modern game's toughest positions, where there is a litter of talent across the NRL, possibly more so than any other position.
Simply put, the time for excuses is over. The club have signed countless players, and this is fast becoming a roster than now second-year coach Cameron Ciraldo and veteran head of football Phil Gould can say they have built.
That means performances must be expected. Gould was always realistic about what the Bulldogs were going to be able to achieve in 2023 as they continued to rebuild. The club were further impacted by injuries and suspensions, but they have built a roster that has plenty of depth across the board for 2024.
The Belmore-based side have certainly been ridiculed for their utility signing spree, but the club have made plenty of external noise that all of those players have roles, and with continued improvement of some of the other young talent at the club, the Bulldogs simply must find a way into the top eight this year.
Here are the burning questions Canterbury must answer with success in 2024.
How do the utilities fit in?
It has been well publicised that the Bulldogs have spent much of the last 12 months signing utilities. Not neccessarily players who don't have a best position, but players who can play multiple roles.
It has been something of a head scratcher, just the sheer number of players they have signed who seemingly have been picked up as the number 14.
That becomes even more so the case when you consider their biggest need has appeared to realistically be in the forwards - more on this later.
But with all of Drew Hutchison, Kurt Mann, Jaeman Salmon, Blake Taaffe, Connor Tracey and back-up hooker Jake Turpin arriving at the club for 2024, it's unclear just how they will all fit in.
Most of that group had starting - or at least fringe - roles at their former clubs
But at Belmore, another arrival in Stephen Crichton from the Penrith Panthers and Matt Burton already are likely to form two key parts of the spine at fullback and five-eighth. That means that Drew Hutchison is a chance of wearing 14, while Blake Taaffe and Connor Tracey may be stuck on the outer.
Should Hutchison or even Taaffe take the 14, that means Kurt Mann would be left starting at lock, but again, it's unclear whether that will be a realistic course of action for coach Ciraldo given Josh Curran has signed, while all of that, combined with the fact Mann can also play at dummy half which he spent plenty of time doing in Newcastle during 2023, is likely to leave Turpin outside the squad.
Jaeman Salmon has claimed he wants a back-row position, but with Viliame Kikau and Jacob Prestonlikely to have the starting spots, it means he will be on the bench at best.
It's hard to suggest the signings make sense, but it will be only in the course of the season, and possible injuries, that things can properly be judged for the blue and white.
Can Matt Burton become an elite half?
2024 must be time for Matt Burton to find a new level that so far, he has only shown glimpses of at NRL level.
While the youngster has been well commended for his towering bombs and running game, unfortunately, it's consistency which has lacked from week to week.
The pressure of also trying to guide a struggling team around the park has told on Burton, but he simply must be better on a consistent basis throughout 2024.
It would appear Toby Sexton is most likely to partner him in the halves, which in itself could be trouble. Burton is yet to play alongside an experienced, guiding number seven, and while Sexton has shown plenty, he is another inexperienced halves partner for Burton.
Some have even suggested Burton would add more to the Bulldogs in the centres, where he has played at Origin level, although he has made it clear his preference is to remain at five-eighth.
Is there enough depth in the forward pack?
While the Bulldogs have two of the game's best second-rowers in Jacob Preston and Viliame Kikau, there was little to write home about in a forward pack which underperformed badly throughout the 2023 campaign.
Injuries certainly didn't help the cause, but the signings ahead of 2023 didn't work, and they ultimately found themselves on the back foot in both attack and defence more often than they didn't.
That ultimately means they must find improvement for 2024.
The late addition of Josh Curran, who was released by the New Zealand Warriors to take up a deal with the Bulldogs, will certainly help. That said, it has always been felt his best position is on the edge, something he won't be doing given Viliame Kikau and Jacob Preston have the number 11 and 12 jerseys sewn up.
The Bulldogs now have an elite back-row, but as it was in 2023, the front row is going to be the issue. From an already skinny group, Luke Thompson, Franklin Pele and Tevita Pangai Junior have all disappeared from the club.
In their place, only Poasa Faamausilijoins Curran as a new addition in the middle third, and simply put, it won't be enough to fill the gaps unless they can promote and improve from within.
There is young talent at the club, and Samuel Hughes is one I expect to have a breakout year, while the club could also do a lot worse than having form from Raymond Faitala-Mariner, but in the interim, it seems unlikely to be enough for the Bulldogs to drag themselves all the way up the ladder and into the top eight.
No side with a below average forward pack plays finals football, and it's one the Bulldogs must fix if they hope to return to that arena anytime soon.
Will Reed Mahoney find his best?
One of Canterbury's most important players, Reed Mahoney must find his best level in 2024 if the Bulldogs are to fight their way into the top eight.
He showed glimpses of it in 2023, but was certainly nowhere near the player that featured in the Parramatta Eels' push to the grand final in 2022.
While his absence from the Eels was certainly felt throughout 2023, Mahoney didn't actually - performance wise - prove to be all that much of an upgrade on Jeremy Marshall-Kingwho himself went up the gears at the Dolphins, establishing himself as one of the game's better dummy halves.
Mahoney was undoubtedly strong in defence throughout the 2023 campaign, but his attack, along with the rest of Canterbury's side, struggled to get off the mark at times.
That simply must change if Ciraldo's side are going to improve in 2024. His service must be better, his running game must be better, and the creativity on display needs to go up a few gears.
Is Stepehen Crichton an NRL-level fullback?
This is realistically the question which could define the entire season in 2024 for the Bulldogs.
Stephen Crichton has been wheeled out as the biggest signing of the lot for the club. A star centre who has played at Origin level and had a major hand in each of Penrith's three straight premierships, he will likely make the switch to fullback at Belmore.
That is the money he has been signed on, and the role which he has been signed - and agreed to leave the Panthers - for.
But is he going to develop into an elite level fullback?
There is no question elite is what he is in the centres, but fullback is a completely different ball game. Latrell Mitchell has managed it, albeit struggling with his fitness in recent seasons.
Crichton certainly has the skill to go big at fullback and become one of the game's best, but it's difficult to suggest that in a side with so many new players and combinations it'll happen immediately.
Time and patience may well be needed, but for a side who haven't played finals football in years, they are two luxuries Crichton may not have as he attempts to transform into one of the modern game's toughest positions, where there is a litter of talent across the NRL, possibly more so than any other position.
