Probable team to face the Roosters in Round 5

[ILiveForDib]

We’re fucked

 

[rexest]

Taffe has been improving every week, He has his best game and people want him dropped lmao ah the kennel

 

[Pottz]

Ciro won’t make wholesale changes. Freakzilla is pretty spot on with the team. Only injuries and suspension will be the replacements.

We have had a hard start to the year but this will be our biggest test. Hopefully we can keep it respectable. Won’t be easy with 2 key outs, and lack of dominant middles.

I will probably be proven wrong but I have a feeling Ciraldo is ready to make some changes in terms of our attack, he sounded really frustrated in the presser and I think Hutchison butchering a certain try and shutting down our momentum a bunch of times might be the catalyst for a few changes.

I’m not sure he’s brave enough to do this, but:
- Taaffe to halfback. He has the skills, has played there before and offers something different. I don’t think Sexton has done anywhere near enough in NSW Cup.
- Tracey to fullback. Will make better metres on kick returns and can be pretty lethal in the red zone.
- Kiraz to wing, Xerri to centre and Wilson in for JAC. Xerri has been underwhelming in NSW Cup but give him a shot in FG and I reckon he’ll kill it.
- Forwards will be forced changes only, whichever way we go we’ll have a bunch of utilities and plodders but they have outperformed so far so they deserve to keep getting picked. Salmon should be dropped altogether but will get a reprieve due to injuries.

 

[boggie23]

I will probably be proven wrong but I have a feeling Ciraldo is ready to make some changes in terms of our attack, he sounded really frustrated in the presser and I think Hutchison butchering a certain try and shutting down our momentum a bunch of times might be the catalyst for a few changes.

I’m not sure he’s brave enough to do this, but:
- Taaffe to halfback. He has the skills, has played there before and offers something different. I don’t think Sexton has done anywhere near enough in NSW Cup.
- Tracey to fullback. Will make better metres on kick returns and can be pretty lethal in the red zone.
- Kiraz to wing, Xerri to centre and Wilson in for JAC. Xerri has been underwhelming in NSW Cup but give him a shot in FG and I reckon he’ll kill it.
- Forwards will be forced changes only, whichever way we go we’ll have a bunch of utilities and plodders but they have outperformed so far so they deserve to keep getting picked. Salmon should be dropped altogether but will get a reprieve due to injuries.

That’s the way I would have it too. Taaffe does have something about him. But he just isn’t a fullback. But I agree with you that is huge changes and I doubt Ciro does it. Especially after 4 weeks. Shame because we would be a lot better with those changes.

 

[Wearnze]

Same everything except for injuries and suspension

Wilson in for Addo Carr
Kautoga in for Wilson
Edward’s in for Morrin

 

[Pottz]

That’s the way I would have it too. Taaffe does have something about him. But he just isn’t a fullback. But I agree with you that is huge changes and I doubt Ciro does it. Especially after 4 weeks. Shame because we would be a lot better with those changes.

Yep I reckon it‘s a 30% chance at best that he pulls the trigger but the good coaches do it early enough that the season doesn’t get away from them.

What I really hope he doesn’t do is half arse it by just switching out Hutchison for Sexton. That won’t actually fix anything and might actually make us worse. If he’s going to do it he needs to go hard and make all the changes we need in one go.

 

[Rumdogmillionaire]

Defensively needs a lot of work

Yep, fair point!! But his D is improving. (see table)
Still got a little way to go, but he seems to be making better reads now.
Nice numbers v Souths. He's also scored a meat pie, had 3 line break assists & 3 try assists.
None better than that long range one on Friday when he scorched 'em down the left edge.

Xerri	Tackles	Missed Tackles	Ineffective Tackles	Total Runs	Meters Gained	Post Contact	Tackle Busts	Offloads
‘24 Season	25	11	3	45	529	199	16	2
Eels	4	5	0	11	127	48	4	0
Jets	4	1	1	6	63	23	1	0
Panthers	8	3	0	12	137	72	3	0
Rabbits	9	2	2	16	202	56	4	2

 

[Magic Burton]

We've shown this season that our defence can hold teams to around 20 points a game. While this is an improvement on last year it still means you've got to score a minimum of 4 tries to win a game.

Until Matt Burton finds his voice and starts demanding the ball and taking ownership of the team we will be mediocre. He's got all the skills and physicality to be as good or an even better 5/8 than Munster or Luai but he just needs to find some swagger and confidence.

Compare Burton to Lamb. Burton bigger, faster and has the bomb. So much more natural talent. That's where it ends. Burton averages 1 good game every 4-5 weeks. Lamb averaged 1 bad game a season. Burton lacks the competitive edge. At Penrith he was placed outside Luai and inside To'o a dream role.

 

[habs]

I will probably be proven wrong but I have a feeling Ciraldo is ready to make some changes in terms of our attack, he sounded really frustrated in the presser and I think Hutchison butchering a certain try and shutting down our momentum a bunch of times might be the catalyst for a few changes.

I’m not sure he’s brave enough to do this, but:
- Taaffe to halfback. He has the skills, has played there before and offers something different. I don’t think Sexton has done anywhere near enough in NSW Cup.
- Tracey to fullback. Will make better metres on kick returns and can be pretty lethal in the red zone.
- Kiraz to wing, Xerri to centre and Wilson in for JAC. Xerri has been underwhelming in NSW Cup but give him a shot in FG and I reckon he’ll kill it.
- Forwards will be forced changes only, whichever way we go we’ll have a bunch of utilities and plodders but they have outperformed so far so they deserve to keep getting picked. Salmon should be dropped altogether but will get a reprieve due to injuries.

He won’t change anything I reckon. Hutch’s defence is good as he plugs alot of holes.

 

[djdeep4172]

Can doggies defence pressure easts into errors ?
Butter finger bulldogs need to win most of their home games .
Seems like accord really has no upside would rather play at belmore.
it’s like NRL has almost given us most of the top 8 to play excluding the titans first 7 weeks .
Did anyone else cop such a horrid draw.

 

[Dogs4eva13]

I think salmon or Curran to edge however they will swap around during the game, both will play big mins. It’s close but I think Poasa edges out Patolo for Morrin’s spot. Based on fact he started the year there and from yesterday stats seem pretty similar. I think Kitone may also get his debut for Preston. Most likely to play in the middle. Wilson comes straight back in. I think on paper side looks a bit better balanced considering the way CC wants to play, however Morrin had a good game apart from the sin bin. We will have a bigger side with more meters from our backs which is the style he wants to play. Hopefully when JAC come back in 2 plus weeks our middle will be firing and he can play off the back of that.

 

[Mr Shhh]

He hasn't been that bad but no one in Cup is really screaming to be put up to first grade. The biggest stand out has been the red haired hooker. I forget his name but he looked good in the trials too...

How’s that guy who had the stroke going?

 

[Phalangist]

I wasn't picking my team. I just think CC will pick that team based on previous history.

there will be very limited changes going by what ciraldo has done in the past. He very rarely makes changes unless forced.

im still so confused by the recruitment and selection of Hutchinson.

 

[Phalangist]

Taffe has been improving every week, He has his best game and people want him dropped lmao ah the kennel

you are correct but I still believe if we play Tracey at fullback he plays better then tafes best game so far for us.

I don’t disagree he has been improving but it’s still pretty meh for me, he never ever looks like breaking the line open, Tracey is so much stronger and runs direct!

 

[boggie23]

you are correct but I still believe if we play Tracey at fullback he plays better then tafes best game so far for us.

I don’t disagree he has been improving but it’s still pretty meh for me, he never ever looks like breaking the line open, Tracey is so much stronger and runs direct!

Agree. Because Taaffe backs up well he doesn’t remain our first choice fullback automatically.

He had 20 carries for 110 or 120m that has to be the bottom of the table in terms of running meters out of all the fullbacks. Tracey on the other hand runs more direct. Doesn’t dance when the line is there and doesn’t lose his feet or get pushed back. He can be like a much lesser version of Edwards who runs for 170m+ every game. Think he ran for 300 this season too? But when we lack big boppers a fullback that returns with interest gets our sets off to good rolls. Throw in some strong hit ups from critta and Kiraz and we should be getting close to or over half way for most our sets. And that’s without a forward touching the ball.

Also the other advantage of Tracey he isn’t scared to attack kicks. Taaffe looks timid and he lets the ball bounce a lot before picking it up. Any contested kick is a lucky dip with him too.

 

[Dogs4eva13]

Taafes kick returns look worse then they are because of the way he submits.
He works his arse off to beat defenders and make his way to the centre of the field so we arnt trapped in a corner. Doing what he has been doing means we have won the territory battle against Souths and sharks both with bigger packs which is part of CCs game plan. However our backs need to do too much hard stuff. Means we have no shape during plays 1-3 and we have scored no long range tries because of it. I would also like to see Tracy at fb as he runs hard and straight giving us better momentum. An extra 10 m per set from Tracy means that Kiraz etc don’t have to take as many hit ups and we can maybe play a bit more expansively in our half and get a long range try or two.

 

[rainman]

Safe Option A

1. Taaffe
2. Wilson
3. Kiraz
4. Critta
5. Tracey
6. Burton
7. Hutch
8. Max
9. Reed
10. Billy Idol
11. Kiks
12. Kautoga
13. The Mann
14. Salmon
15. Curran
16. Sam H
17. Farmer Silly

Crazy (for CC) Option B (Xerri to centre; Samrani on the bench; Hutch, Salmon & Taaffe back to reggies for a little while - maybe Taaffe at Halfback & Hutch as a kicking #13??, Salmon on an edge and discover a bit of serious go forward grunt instead of this insipid pass out the back and send our attack sideways bullshit that he's been guilty of in round 1-4!! Lots to love about all 3 of these guys btw - Salmon - D ; Hutch kick , D & tough ; Taaffe - creative option & a great facilitator)...
Still if we're gonna be brave and make changes , how bout this...?
Samrani - a smokey ... but he covers forwards and backs. He's a big rangey Kiraz like player - his numbers are off the charts for Meters gained and PCM. Plus he's quick, likes the physical and can tackle!! (191cm,101kg!! We need that kinda DIRECT injection!!)

1. Tracey
2. Wilson
3. Xerri
4. Critta
5. Kiraz
6. Burton
7. Sexton
8. Max
9. Reed
10. Farmer Silly
11. Kiks
12. Kautoga
13. Curran
14. The Mann
15. Billy Idol
16. Sam H
17. Samrani

This is the team I would want to see

 

[LordSidious66]

We’re fucked

We've been fucked for 8 years.

 

[D- voice]

The two teams...
CC's team.....................My team, time to be adventurous

1 Taaffe........................Tracey
2 Wilson......................Wilson
3 Kiraz..........................Burton
4 Crichton...................Crichton
5 Tracey........................Kiraz
6 Burton.......................Hutchison
7 Hutchison................Taaffe / Sexton ?
8 King............................King
9 Mahoney..................Mahoney
10 Faamasuli................Faamasuli
11 Curran......................Salmon
12 Kikau.........................Kikau
13 Salmon.....................Curran

14 Mann.........................Mann
15 Hughes.....................Hughes
16 Kautoga....................Kautoga
17 Knight........................Knight

 

[silva]

Making changes won’t help..spine needs time to gel. Our attack looks a lot more dangerous than last year and we get good momentum. I think in time we will convert more opportunities and grow in confidence