bradtalo
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Totally agree with Gould. I just hope Des reads this.
In 16 Premiership matches so far this season, the Canterbury Bulldogs first half scores look as follows - 6, 8, 10, 0, 0, 4, 8, 6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 0, 0, 2 and 2.
That's a total of 62 first half points scored, at an average of 3.875.
That's less than one try per game, scored in the first half of all games played.
On five occasions they have been held to nil.
Incredibly, in their last four matches, they have scored a combined total of just four first half points. Two penalty goals.
The combined total of 220 points scored, ranks 15th amongst all clubs. If the Wests Tigers score more than 2 points this weekend against the Knights, then Bulldogs will rank in last place when it comes to points scored.
Ok, that's the WHAT. I guess your question now is, WHY?
Firstly, let's eliminate all the things that are NOT contributing to this poor point-scoring record.
It's not because the Bulldogs can't play. It's not because Des Hasler can't coach. It's not because the coach has "lost the dressing room". It's not because the Bulldogs don't care. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't trying. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't fit. It’s not because the Bulldogs aren't big or strong enough. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't fast enough. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't skilful enough. It's not because they lack creativity. It's not because they are inexperienced. It's not because of refereeing, Lady Luck or acts of God.
I don't think it's any of these things.
The Bulldogs look to me like they are busting their back-sides.
Last night in their golden point loss to the Parramatta Eels they tried their hearts out. They couldn't have given anymore of themselves in pursuit of victory.
To me, that shows they are playing for their coach and each other. They look passionate about their football. The pain of defeat is obvious. These guys really care.
It's just that never at any time during the contest, did I feel they were actually threatening the Parramatta defensive line, or even looking like they were trying to score points.
They ended up crafting two nice second half tries. They won the second half 10-0. They trailed 2-12 at half time, but fought back to 12-12 at full time. Had they converted both second half tries, they win 14-12, and we are probably not having this conversation.
In past eras, a Darryl Halligan or Hazem El Masri would've ensured the narrow victory. In three of their losses this year, the Bulldogs have scored the same number of tries as their opponents. They have also lost two games by one point.
You overturn a couple of those results and the picture looks a whole lot brighter.
Mind you, I'm not blaming goal kicking for their current dilemma.
The most common criticism of the Bulldogs is that they lack creativity. In some respects that may be the case, but they are no less creative than a lot of other teams in this competition.
Football teams are so rigid and structured in their attacking games these days, that's it's hard to distinguish any real difference between what set plays the Bulldogs are running, and those run by many other teams in the NRL.
So what's the problem?
Ok, this is what I see.
Three things stand out to me.
I feel as though the Bulldogs lack of points has led to a real lack of confidence in their attacking ability. As a result, they are now confusing "controlling the ball", with "holding onto the ball". They appear more focussed on completion rates, than actually using the ball to test or tire their opponents.
This is what happens to a lot of teams when they are struggling for wins or struggling just to score points. The coach tries to solve the problem for his players by making things more simple for them. He tries to take the uncertainty and stress out of the game for them. As a result, the play can then become a bit stodgy, conservative, or even negative.
The coach starts to over-coach, and the players start to under-play.
Players hide in the system. As long as I'm doing what the coach says, I'm doing my job and can't be criticised. The players start to focus on completing tasks, rather than competing and scheming against their opponents.
The coach tries to help his players by taking on all responsibility for trying to create points. This might work for a while, but it will eventually bog down as players become more robotic in their execution.
To me, most of the Bulldogs' attacking sets of six have too many "dead plays". I feel like they spend too many plays just setting up for the next big play.
The biggest thing I find about their attack is that they are only attacking one gap in the defensive line. They are only really attacking the gap outside the opposition wingers. Every attacking sequence looks as though they are trying to score in the corner. (This might also be a factor in why their goal kicking record is so poor. They are always kicking conversions from the sidelines).
The ball is constantly moving laterally. The man with the ball is always keen to dump the problem onto a team mate outside him. Here, I've done my job, I've given it to you.
Even when the forwards run the ball, they are predominantly running on an outside angle.
The Bulldogs rarely threaten around the play-the-ball area. They rarely play back on the inside looking to beat tired forwards with a pass or a step. They rarely attempt short passes to dig into the line to put players through gaps. Most of their attacking passes are wide or deep behind decoy runners. Their halves have developed the habit of facing and moving sideways.
When Matt Frawley dummied and raced over to score under the posts last night, the crowd gasped and went quiet for a second. It was like "what happened then?" We just don't see the Bulldogs do that very often. It caught Parramatta, and the fans, by surprise.
The other factor I see is that the Bulldogs have no real attacking kicking game. They are not dangerous on tackle five from the kick. A lot of this comes from the fact they haven't been that dangerous in the previous five tackles either. The tackle five option is an afterthought rather than part of the attacking repertoire.
Anyway, my point is that the Bulldogs attacking game needs a shift in attitude, rather than an injection of talent or new attacking structures. They have talent. They have attacking structures. The players just aren't scheming within the structure. They are hiding within the structure.
All coaches at one time or another find themselves with this dilemma. It's frustrating. Some even find it debilitating. Some never recover.
The Bulldogs will always be able to out-tough or out-work an opponent to get the victory. Their wins this season have all been hard-fought affairs built on grit and discipline. These are indeed admirable qualities and typical of what it means to be a Bulldog.
Right now though, they are finding it hard to out-play or out-think their opponents. I don't think their heads are even in this space at the moment.
Anyway, for what it's worth, that's what I see. All care and no responsibility.
The Bulldog issues are not incurable. They can be more dangerous in attack. The coach can help, but eventually it needs to come from the players.
Read more at http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/06/30/...s-wrong-with-the-bulldogs#SGEu0aMRJfEh50b1.99
In 16 Premiership matches so far this season, the Canterbury Bulldogs first half scores look as follows - 6, 8, 10, 0, 0, 4, 8, 6, 4, 0, 6, 6, 0, 0, 2 and 2.
That's a total of 62 first half points scored, at an average of 3.875.
That's less than one try per game, scored in the first half of all games played.
On five occasions they have been held to nil.
Incredibly, in their last four matches, they have scored a combined total of just four first half points. Two penalty goals.
The combined total of 220 points scored, ranks 15th amongst all clubs. If the Wests Tigers score more than 2 points this weekend against the Knights, then Bulldogs will rank in last place when it comes to points scored.
Ok, that's the WHAT. I guess your question now is, WHY?
Firstly, let's eliminate all the things that are NOT contributing to this poor point-scoring record.
It's not because the Bulldogs can't play. It's not because Des Hasler can't coach. It's not because the coach has "lost the dressing room". It's not because the Bulldogs don't care. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't trying. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't fit. It’s not because the Bulldogs aren't big or strong enough. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't fast enough. It's not because the Bulldogs aren't skilful enough. It's not because they lack creativity. It's not because they are inexperienced. It's not because of refereeing, Lady Luck or acts of God.
I don't think it's any of these things.
The Bulldogs look to me like they are busting their back-sides.
Last night in their golden point loss to the Parramatta Eels they tried their hearts out. They couldn't have given anymore of themselves in pursuit of victory.
To me, that shows they are playing for their coach and each other. They look passionate about their football. The pain of defeat is obvious. These guys really care.
It's just that never at any time during the contest, did I feel they were actually threatening the Parramatta defensive line, or even looking like they were trying to score points.
They ended up crafting two nice second half tries. They won the second half 10-0. They trailed 2-12 at half time, but fought back to 12-12 at full time. Had they converted both second half tries, they win 14-12, and we are probably not having this conversation.
In past eras, a Darryl Halligan or Hazem El Masri would've ensured the narrow victory. In three of their losses this year, the Bulldogs have scored the same number of tries as their opponents. They have also lost two games by one point.
You overturn a couple of those results and the picture looks a whole lot brighter.
Mind you, I'm not blaming goal kicking for their current dilemma.
The most common criticism of the Bulldogs is that they lack creativity. In some respects that may be the case, but they are no less creative than a lot of other teams in this competition.
Football teams are so rigid and structured in their attacking games these days, that's it's hard to distinguish any real difference between what set plays the Bulldogs are running, and those run by many other teams in the NRL.
So what's the problem?
Ok, this is what I see.
Three things stand out to me.
I feel as though the Bulldogs lack of points has led to a real lack of confidence in their attacking ability. As a result, they are now confusing "controlling the ball", with "holding onto the ball". They appear more focussed on completion rates, than actually using the ball to test or tire their opponents.
This is what happens to a lot of teams when they are struggling for wins or struggling just to score points. The coach tries to solve the problem for his players by making things more simple for them. He tries to take the uncertainty and stress out of the game for them. As a result, the play can then become a bit stodgy, conservative, or even negative.
The coach starts to over-coach, and the players start to under-play.
Players hide in the system. As long as I'm doing what the coach says, I'm doing my job and can't be criticised. The players start to focus on completing tasks, rather than competing and scheming against their opponents.
The coach tries to help his players by taking on all responsibility for trying to create points. This might work for a while, but it will eventually bog down as players become more robotic in their execution.
To me, most of the Bulldogs' attacking sets of six have too many "dead plays". I feel like they spend too many plays just setting up for the next big play.
The biggest thing I find about their attack is that they are only attacking one gap in the defensive line. They are only really attacking the gap outside the opposition wingers. Every attacking sequence looks as though they are trying to score in the corner. (This might also be a factor in why their goal kicking record is so poor. They are always kicking conversions from the sidelines).
The ball is constantly moving laterally. The man with the ball is always keen to dump the problem onto a team mate outside him. Here, I've done my job, I've given it to you.
Even when the forwards run the ball, they are predominantly running on an outside angle.
The Bulldogs rarely threaten around the play-the-ball area. They rarely play back on the inside looking to beat tired forwards with a pass or a step. They rarely attempt short passes to dig into the line to put players through gaps. Most of their attacking passes are wide or deep behind decoy runners. Their halves have developed the habit of facing and moving sideways.
When Matt Frawley dummied and raced over to score under the posts last night, the crowd gasped and went quiet for a second. It was like "what happened then?" We just don't see the Bulldogs do that very often. It caught Parramatta, and the fans, by surprise.
The other factor I see is that the Bulldogs have no real attacking kicking game. They are not dangerous on tackle five from the kick. A lot of this comes from the fact they haven't been that dangerous in the previous five tackles either. The tackle five option is an afterthought rather than part of the attacking repertoire.
Anyway, my point is that the Bulldogs attacking game needs a shift in attitude, rather than an injection of talent or new attacking structures. They have talent. They have attacking structures. The players just aren't scheming within the structure. They are hiding within the structure.
All coaches at one time or another find themselves with this dilemma. It's frustrating. Some even find it debilitating. Some never recover.
The Bulldogs will always be able to out-tough or out-work an opponent to get the victory. Their wins this season have all been hard-fought affairs built on grit and discipline. These are indeed admirable qualities and typical of what it means to be a Bulldog.
Right now though, they are finding it hard to out-play or out-think their opponents. I don't think their heads are even in this space at the moment.
Anyway, for what it's worth, that's what I see. All care and no responsibility.
The Bulldog issues are not incurable. They can be more dangerous in attack. The coach can help, but eventually it needs to come from the players.
Read more at http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/06/30/...s-wrong-with-the-bulldogs#SGEu0aMRJfEh50b1.99
