Incredible Turnaround in Defence

[InGusWeTrust]

I was just curious about the best defensive teams so far, as our points conceded looked decent for the 7 games we’ve played.

I did the sums and I’m pretty sure we’re currently 4th best in defence, with the Sharks, Storm and Penrith the only teams better so far, in that order from worst to best. We’ve conceded 17.85 ppg and Penrith are the best at 15.9 or something.

What a difference 6 months makes huh? Also, filling the squad with actual first grade quality players helps! Tbh I am amazed at how quickly Ciro and friends have fixed up the worst defense I can remember.

Hopefully we keep it up because having solid defense gives you a chance in most games.

P.S: We also lead some attack stats like linebreaks and lb asists!

 

[King Gus]

I think it’s more to do with the players we had and the players that want to play for there club.
Being lazy will make a massive difference in defence.

 

[maroondog72]

Having players that have a Genuine commitment to the club, coach and jersey makes a massive difference.

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Last season we conceded an average of 32 points per game!

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Souths have conceded a whopping 35 ppg so far this season lol

 

[silva]

It’s all ciraldos system and coaching. Yes we have better players this year but he didn’t choose the squad last year but has recruited a lot of the players for this year. He probably is the reason Penrith were the best defensive side of the nrl era

 

[Scoooby]

Seems to me like we are forming comradeship, CC putting structures in place!! playing all for one. And for one another does huge things for team morale… it gets results, look at the bunnies,falling to bits, a club in-shambles, and huge fallouts. example of where we used to be, now the script has flipped, and it’s very clear to see.

 

[AlzzBulldog]

Absolutely wild how we didn't beat souths.. I mean we know why but still

 

[Psycho Doggie]

Making it even more impressive, we had one of the hardest starts to the season of any club.

 

[Scoooby]

Making it even more impressive, we had one of the hardest starts to the season of any club.

100% , 5 of our next 6 games are winnable as well.. finals footy should be a real thought/possibility!!

 

[alwaysthesun]

This next part of the season will cement where we are at.. regardless of where we finish on the ladder, it'll be a really big step forward if we can stay up mentally for a full season, and I think with what we've seen, and having a strong leadership group that it will happen.

 

[Raysie]

Making it even more impressive, we had one of the hardest starts to the season of any club.

100%

A lot of our own fans and opposition fans have ignored that.

We started the first 2 rounds away against 2 full strength and top 8 expected sides in Parra and Sharks.

Played a Rabbitohs team at the time expected to finish top 8 at the least. We should have won that game too.

Shock every man and their dog by beating a Roosters side at one stage favourites for the Premiership.

Go down to Melbourne and got them shitting themselves. We should have won that game.

Had you have told me we'd even jag 3 wins from the opening rounds leading into the BYE, I'd have told you you're dreaming.

Key now is to back it up with a far easier upcoming draw (exluding the Penrith game).

 

[rainman]

I can see 4 or 5 clubs fighting out for 8th position
Dogs
Cows
Raiders
Saints
Maybe dolphins

 

[Dingobat]

Absolutely wild how we didn't beat souths.. I mean we know why but still

Still gives me the shits that we couldn’t beat that rabble.

 

[bradtalo]

I'm happy to admit I judged Ciraldo way too early. I now think he's gonna be a better long term option than Shane Flanagan. He definitely has a better system for defence and our attack is coming along in leaps and bounds. I was concerned when our tries were all coming from off the cuff stuff (player individual skills - not planned set plays). Now we can see many tries coming from decent set plays involving decoy runners so it demonstrates what they learn at training is paying off. I enjoy watching our blokes attacking with their defence and making very good players in opposing teams look average or worse. Reminds me of our early 2000's teams. I love it !

Today I even placed a small wager on the Dogs to win the comp. $30 at 61 to 1 pays $1,830. The history of the 74 GF loss, 84 win, 94 loss, 04 win, 14 loss gives me some extra confidence as it wouldn't surprise me if we're living in some kind of matrix and the programmers got a bit lazy LOL

If we beat the Panthers or even go close in a couple of weeks I might bet some extra dollars. You know $200 at 61 to 1 returns over 12 f..king grand

 

[BMOC]

Our attack stats are not too bad either. I’m pretty sure we are up there for like breaks just not converting them into points.

 

[Big_Kahunas]

Get rid of the worst and laziest defenders in the NRL and defense gets better - Averillo, Okunbur, Waddell, Alamoti, Perham, TPJ, Thompson, RFM, Casey, Pele, Sutton and last but not least Topine.

The biggest difference is the change in the centres. It's the hardest position to defend in you get found out if you don't have the smarts and technique - Averillo and Alamoti compared to Crighton and Xerri. If you are poor in the centres, it puts pressure on the whole team defensively and then the good players need to take the burden and either get worn out (King and Kiraz) or start making more errors than usual (Mahoney and Burton). This then means our attacking players are too tired to be effective at the other end in attack and we give away penalties and 6 agains and then we have to defend again - viscious cycle.

Throw in a fit Kikau and we have a leader who sets the standard on the field by action rather than virtue signalling.

Credit to Gus, CC and the coaching staff who were able to identify this and did something about it.

 

[Doggone1975]

I know it's early but if this trajectory continues I hope we can have him as our coach for many years to come like Bellamy... Like I said if.

 

[Bronze]

The main thing I'm liking about our current form this year is how entertaining we are to watch. Even non dog's fans who I watch my footy with are always excited to see how we go every weekend. We are really sticking it to the teams who had us predicted as easy beats. It has been years since I watched a dog's game like I did last Sunday and felt completely calm and composed that we had it in the bag after 10 minutes of play.

 

[ChesoBulldog]

It’s mainly health and fitness.
We did not have the players fit enough to play this type of defence, and had a lot of injuries. Have been somewhat luckier this year with health but their fitness has improved immensely which is key to why defence has been better.
It’s all about effort areas. For example for is not acceptable is Kautoga’s zero effort in getting in front of Blore who ends up scoring the game winning try. A missed tackle is not as bad where you make the effort to get in front. He showed zero effort and cost Dogs the game. Doubt he see’s any first grade for a while now (unless injuries)