Our run to the GF 2014 was it the players or the coach? You decide

[KiwiDog7]

I remember 2014 as going on a 7 game win streak including 3 GP wins in a row (surely a record) We had great leaders on field with Ennis and Franky who the island boys in particular looked up to. We played with cohesion and Hokko couldn't miss. Grub and Hokko came back from Origin on a high

We hit the staggers late season but flicked the switch in the finals

I don't agree with "lucky' finals draw. That's a cop out

We played finals intensity unfortunately showed up to the big dance busted

I honestly believe if Ennis and lesser degree Kasiano played we would have won.

Hokko was on one leg , Grubs shoulder too

I was there that night and still cuts deep

Also G Sutton was ref lol

 

[silva]

Luck only happens when the refs on your side
Are you saying the refs were responsible for our wins?

Refs? Manly were busted and penrith were half busted and had a young squad

 

[Wolfmother]

Refs? Manly were busted and penrith were half busted and had a young squad

So you think we were lucky because the opposition were either injured or young?
Very weak argument.. It's like me and you getting 200k each to buy a car , I do burn outs in mine and run it to the ground but you get it serviced , run your car efficiently, take racing lessons.. . then at the end of the year we have a race and you win... Are you just lucky?

 

[silva]

So you think we were lucky because the opposition were either injured or young?
Very weak argument.. It's like me and you getting 200k each to buy a car , I do burn outs in mine and run it to the ground but you get it serviced , run your car efficiently, take racing lessons.. . then at the end of the year we have a race and you win... Are you just lucky?

That's a pretty terrible analogy. Injuries happen in rugby league sometimes some clubs are unluckier then others. Its not as if manly players were being reckless and got injured, they were just doing their job.

 

[Wahesh]

My opinion... Des got us to 2012 GF, the players got us to the 2014 one.

2012 was our year, and that was our GF to lose. We won the MP and dominated the whole season. New coach, new roster, and players that had the desire to go all the way. We certainly cleaned up at the Dally Ms, and on top of Ben Barba's best ever season, the GF is something we lost, especially when we beat Melbourne in Mackay which resulted in the Josh Morris try of the season. Everyone in 2012 played well, and the coaching staff were great.

In 2014 we finished outside the top 4, just like we did in 2015 and 2016 - so the cracks for those 2 years began showing there. Des was all out of ideas, however we did have established stars by that point as well as youngsters wanting to prove themselves, and regardless of how retarded Des has become since then, Des's retardedness began then. The players wanted it.

These days the players simply do not give a flying fuck except for a couple who play with their heart on their sleeve - Josh Reynolds, Josh Jackson, Josh Morris (you can see a pattern there lol). Also Klemmer gives his all.

 

[Wolfmother]

That's a pretty terrible analogy. Injuries happen in rugby league sometimes some clubs are unluckier then others. Its not as if manly players were being reckless and got injured, they were just doing their job.

it's a pretty good analogy actually.. In football more effort , more involvement increases the chances of injury ..just like how you'll wreck a car the more you push it and use it.

And that's exactly what happened to us when we got to the Grand Final and exactly what happened to every team that wanted to challenge us there.. So back to my point .. It's how efficiently you play that determines if you'll be in the finals/grand final it's not luck as you put it.

 

[silva]

it's a pretty good analogy actually.. In football more effort , more involvement increases the chances of injury ..just like how you'll wreck a car the more you push it and use it.

And that's exactly what happened to us when we got to the Grand Final and exactly what happened to every team that wanted to challenge us there.. So back to my point .. It's how efficiently you play that determines if you'll be in the finals/grand final it's not luck as you put it.

Bottom line if we were on the other half of the draw and had to play Roosters or Souths week 2 and 3, we wouldn't have made the GF

 

[Wolfmother]

Bottom line if we were on the other half of the draw and had to play Roosters or Souths week 2 and 3, we wouldn't have made the GF

You're just guessing now. We were extraordinary in our finals run, we were labelled fodder but we slaughtered Melbourne so you can't say we wouldn't have made it.. Finals is a very different comp .

 

[Indiandog]

You're just guessing now. We were extraordinary in our finals run, we were labelled fodder but we slaughtered Melbourne so you can't say we wouldn't have made it.. Finals is a very different comp .

we were top 2 team in 2014 till round 17.

we lost 7 out of our last 9 games.

we had few ugly wins and three golden point wins.

games we played shit yet won.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

From memory we executed Desball to perfection while also having a very favourable draw. Defensively we were also a lot more committed and our players conditioning was better suited to the game then than it is today. We also had experienced players that were performing at a better level than we currently have.

Problem is our style of play was hard to replicate week after week in the NRL. NRL teams just don't have the depth to do this. Physically and mentally this style of play was just far too draining and the players burned out.

Years laters and Hasler hasn't evolved our style of play, he's just made minor tweaks. Our style of footy is just outdated in todays game. Hasler has also made other poor calls like conditioning and recruitment/retention while failing to develop our players key skills. Our players are just burned out physically and mentally like they were back in 2014...

To answer the question, i think it was both the players and coach in 2014. Hasler got us in a position to play finals footy and then got the players to lift in the final series and almost pull off one of the ugliest Premiership wins in history. Maybe if we managed a week off in the finals we could of pulled it off..or maybe if Hasler made some changes to our attack throughout the season we may have had more ammunition..

 

[Wolfmother]

we were top 2 team in 2014 till round 17.

we lost 7 out of our last 9 games.

we had few ugly wins and three golden point wins.

games we played shit yet won.

interesting! Maybe we put the brakes on or maybe the other teams worked us out ..

 

[Indiandog]

interesting! Maybe we put the brakes on or maybe the other teams worked us out ..

or maybe we were just too fucken lucky.

 

[MitchNewton]

Then it's the players. So my question is why did Des drop a functioning roster and replace it with rookies?

The forward is still the same just older and slower. This is why we are in trouble. I wish he replaced them with rookies.

 

[Wolfmother]

The forward is still the same just older and slower. This is why we are in trouble. I wish he replaced them with rookies.

I agree that we look slower and less powerful than other forward packs but I think theyve been trained to conserve their energy for the big haul.

 

[Qld-Dog]

The forward is still the same just older and slower. This is why we are in trouble. I wish he replaced them with rookies.

Specially some of the Bulldogs forwards, some of them got even fatter a lazier plus the the rule changes for 2016 where the bench was reduced x 2 yet we had forwards than as you said just got in some cases older and in other case fatter and lazy.
Have a look at the mobility of the forwards in teams currently in the top eight then compare what we have to offer
Graham
Feastwood
Tolman
Kasiano
just by replacing 2 of these Guys like say Casino with a Cordner, Graham or Eastwood with say a Tapau or a Frizell (EG only) right now We have Klemmer up the middle and JJ off the right edge and thats it + throw in a couple of learners!!

 

[Mike_B]

2014 we had a great game against the storm then got lucky against Manly who were depleted through injury and Penrith were inexperienced. When we finally played a strong team we got flogged.