Attn: Andersons, Hill & The Board

[B-Train]

After taking control of the club last season and vowing to correct the mistakes of Dib, Castle and Hasler, it seems that so far your administration is making the same, if not worse mistakes with regards to recruitment and retention. Nothing your administration has done has made the fans feel at ease and the circus has only gotten worse, not better.

As fans we all appreciate the poor cap situation you were handed, we all understand patience is required and we are willing to wait a year or two for the rebuild. Almost everyone was happy to see the previous administration gone and everyone has given your administration all the benefit of the doubt.

However, when our club releases numerous rep players and replaced them with nothing but reserve graders or so-so signings that may pan out then the fanbase will get restless.

You can't let go of current and former rep players in Brett and Josh Morris, Klemmer, Woods and Mbye and replace them with Meaney, Crichton, Sue, Napa and Cogger and expect us to support your regime blindly.

We all understand some players had to go, but you can't replace rep players with reserve graders and tie up what precious little cap space is left on more dead weight.

Instead of finding new homes for Foran, Tolman and Lichaa, the club releases the only players who had any value amd our roster now has more holes and question marks than when you took over.

And also, not standing up to the NRL for their absurd fine that we wouldn't have to pay a cent of if we contested it properly just alienated the fanbase further. This is a corrupt, uneven competition where the Premiers find a way to sign more rep players while a bottom four club like us has to let go of our rep players just to squeeze in some reserve graders. Again, question the NRL and salary cap and TPA's and show some leadership like other strong clubs would!

We used to be a strong club and the hope was that when your regime took over, we would become one again.

But your administration keeps the fans in the dark just as much as the previous one, listens to the fanbase as little as the previous one and shows less ambition than the previous one.

Don't sign Napa or more rejects and start building properly by poaching the best youngsters from other clubs, not the ninth best prospect at that position or players they're happy to release.

You're losing fans and memberships fast and before long, your necks will be on the line and another new regime will come in if things don't improve and you don't start making sound decisions that will improve the club, not set us back another three years.

 

[B-Train]

Also, to not get any compensation from Newcastle for Australia and NSW's best prop who has two more years to run on his deal is maybe the saddest indictment of this administration so far.

Sure we might not get Ponga or Ramien or other major players but we should demand some key prospects from them considering how desperately they want Klemmer.

Considering they played hardball with a reserve grader like Cogger when they wouldn't release him early, our club better not release Klemmer early, get no compensation and tie up most of Klemmers current salary on a prop who makes half the metres he does and who is always suspended and penalised.

 

[TwinTurbo]

When we were (as reported) looking at ~$13m next year against a Salary Cap of $9.6m it’s simply not possible to replace one rep player with another. It’s of no use replacing a $700k player with another $700k player, even a $600k or $500k player isn’t going to help anywhere near enough. To put it bluntly we had to replace $3.4m worth of players with no one, just to be compliant.

The fact is we can’t just move players on that are on contract if they don’t want to go and/or another club doesn’t want them. So as much as we may not like having to hold on to a handful of players there isn’t much we can do about it. The players moved on were either appealing to other clubs or at the end of their contracts. As much as that hurts, it was a necessity.

Personally I think we have ended up better out of the huge hole (dug by back ended contracts) than I thought possible. We have a solid core plus some new blood with plenty of potential. I am very much looking forward to watching them grow in the true Bulldogs tradition. We don’t buy premierships, we build them by unlocking players potential.

Go Dogs

 

[Bulldogs09]

Btrainben. Awesome post. Wel written. I hope you actually email it to members@bulldogs.com.au

 

[Snake]

Dear Btrainben (immortal)
Thank you for raising your concerns. To clarify. The Morris boys did a great service to the club but were let go due to cap reasons and they weren’t getting any younger. We miss them. If big Klem wants out we can’t stand in his way. However we will target a skilful spine player to replace him. We desperately need to score more points. As far as Meaney and Cogger go they may be turn out to be flops, but they were cheap so let’s give them a go. We believe Sue will be valuable in the middle during tight games with his D and CHN can bust a game open on the edges with his attack. We have no regrets with these signings. We already have a close eye on a few highly rated halves in anticipation that Forans body will not hold up to a full season again. We hope this alleviates some of your concerns and look forward to your ongoing support
Sincerely
A & A

 

[c-b-b]

I get the point of the thread but there's alot more to it.

With people saying we should force Klemmer to stay. With his mentality and being money hungry people like that destroy teams.

You force him to hang around for 2 years and see the damage he does. I've seen people say put him in ISP. That's even worse, he gets in young kids ears and tells them they're being ripped off by the club.

As a person who's run businesses and teams the best thing you can do with people like Klemmer is fuck them off. Should we have got better compensation, yes.

With Woods and Mbye best thing we did getting rid of them, what did they achieve after they left.

As for players like Foran only one club would take him, Manly. We would end up paying most of the salary which Hasler would love, means he fucked the club twice with the same player. That will always be the previous admins fault.

I'm not sold on Chris Anderson strategy of buying reserve graders and trying to turn them into superstars, seems very 90's but there's very little choice but to give it a year or two and see.

 

[Alexander the Great]

No third parties sponsors will do this to a team but all good the new board have connections and know what they are doing [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

 

[Alan79]

I can't see how it is as easy as just taking a tough stand towards the NRL. We've picked up a couple of good prospects through the seasons recruitment drive. But as shown by the roosters, to pick up the boom youngsters you have to pay bigger dollars than others or they tend not to want to come over.

If the NRL doesn't punish some clubs who flirt with the salary cap, it's a sign of corruption but I don't think calling them out on it without 5-6 other clubs backing our stance will be a good solution. It's just as likely to backfire as help us. But it's true that it will keep driving fans away to see certain clubs signing whoever they want while others can't do much to even keep the stars they develop. It's obvious that the salary cap doesn't work.

 

[Bad Billy]

You don’t speak for all the fans.
You can’t choose what players to release. No one wants Lichaa, tolman and Foran. It’s the nature of the game, if you need to release players, teams only want your good ones.
Besides, I don’t want anyone playing for the club, who doesn’t want to be here. If a BMW is more important to klemmer than a bulldog, he an fuck right off.

 

[B-Train]

When we were (as reported) looking at ~$13m next year against a Salary Cap of $9.6m it’s simply not possible to replace one rep player with another. It’s of no use replacing a $700k player with another $700k player, even a $600k or $500k player isn’t going to help anywhere near enough. To put it bluntly we had to replace $3.4m worth of players with no one, just to be compliant.

The fact is we can’t just move players on that are on contract if they don’t want to go and/or another club doesn’t want them. So as much as we may not like having to hold on to a handful of players there isn’t much we can do about it. The players moved on were either appealing to other clubs or at the end of their contracts. As much as that hurts, it was a necessity.

Personally I think we have ended up better out of the huge hole (dug by back ended contracts) than I thought possible. We have a solid core plus some new blood with plenty of potential. I am very much looking forward to watching them grow in the true Bulldogs tradition. We don’t buy premierships, we build them by unlocking players potential.

Go Dogs

My point exactly. So don't release Klemmer and waste that money on Napa and instead keep taking chances on young talent.

 

[liljohny]

The board and club have insinuated without saying as much that due to the cap issues that the only option they really have is to build from the bottom up. If this is the case give them a few years before you cut them up. Woods and mbye were grossly overrated and they let them go. That's a tick. Morris boys love them but they are not getting any quicker and they wanted 2 years... They won't be up to the pace of the league come 2020. Therefore another tick. Eastwood love his passion for the club but not worth having him stand in the way of Martin, Ogden or Renouf. Tick. Klemmer don't want to be at the club so rather then enforce keeping him at club causing a bad environment they let him go additionally dib the idiot would have probably matched the 1.2 on offer. Tick. Promoting Lewis, Smith and Martin was a massive tick. Under Des they wouldn't get a start. Promoting Stevie G to assistant coach. Tick. Creating partnership with north coast region to farm junior talent. Tick.

The only real blemish is the fact they did not stand up to the Nrl over mad Monday. That's not a tick.

i doubt highly any of the positives would have happened under Des, Dib and the Tranny.

Plus don't believe everything the Media is saying. In the past 2weeks we have been linked to Burgess twins, Napa, Taupau, AWB, Swb and Hayne.

 

[B-Train]

You don’t speak for all the fans.
You can’t choose what players to release. No one wants Lichaa, tolman and Foran. It’s the nature of the game, if you need to release players, teams only want your good ones.
Besides, I don’t want anyone playing for the club, who doesn’t want to be here. If a BMW is more important to klemmer than a bulldog, he an fuck right off.

Of course I don't speak for all fans. But my point is this board is now on notice and any decisions they make this next season will impact whether they keep their positions moving forward. The microscope is well and truly on them now after they were given a pass and patience last year due to the horrible situation they inherited.

I'm just saying I think we should have had more ambition by aiming for better young talent than what we got. I know we tried with other players and missed out but we were better off not signing guys like Cogger to three year deals and waiting until we signed a better long term prospect.

And if we can take Napa off the Roosters hands, I'm sure Des and a few other clubs would gladly take Tolman who is a much better and more reliable player.

 

[B-Train]

In a vacuum, releasing the Morrises is fine considering their age.

Releasing Mbye and Woods is fine as they were overrated and overpaid.

Releasing Klemmer is fine considering what Newcastle want to pay him. But to not get compensation would be disastrous and inexcusable.

Replacing who we let go of with mediocre signings is what irritates me. Souths signed Dillon from Cronulla who would be way cheaper and better than Napa and also that boom fullback from Brisbane. Penrith keep their best youngsters and we end up with Chricton. Again, that's poor cap management.

CHN and Meaney look to be good signings and I think Sue on the cheap could be good but the rest inspire no confidence.

You can't tell me that with Klemmers money that we couldn't make a run at Shaun Johnson? If Canberra can be in the running for him then surely we can?

If not, then keep rebuilding. But not with guys like Napa.

 

[Flanagun]

I honestly don’t think the club was in a position to sign rep players and had to let go of players who were appealing to other clubs.

Firstly, Tolman is very good. He’s a crucial cog in our defensive line, works hard and I’d take him over woods any day of the week. Des wasn’t coaching Manly when we released these players and I honestly don’t think any other coach would have touched Foran with a 10 foot pole. Maybe the Warriors would have taken him back, but he clearly wants to stay in Sydney and the club can’t release a contracted player if the player isn’t happy with a prospective move. Nobody would have paid much for Lichaa and we had to release high profile players to create cap breathing space. Lichaa’s departure wouldn’t have cleared much even if we had arranged something.

Klemmer’s money should give us some room to move when it comes to signing players of note. I’m happy to sit back and see what the board does with the situation before getting angry at the club or and frustrated. Let’s see how it all plays out.

 

[B-Train]

In short, the club has made some necessary moves and has had some hard decisions to make. I understand that. Some of the new signings look solid and could pan out.

But we need to get compensation from Newcastle. The new regime is on notice this year and whether the moves they've made pay off or not will make or break them.

 

[GDR]

when did Mbye get a rep jersey ??

 

[B-Train]

when did Mbye get a rep jersey ??

He'll get one with the Maroons soon enough considering how highly they rate him and he's been 18th man for them. Again, I'm not his biggest fan and think he's not that good but to replace him with Jack Cogger isn't exactly ideal.

 

[Kelpie03]

After taking control of the club last season and vowing to correct the mistakes of Dib, Castle and Hasler, it seems that so far your administration is making the same, if not worse mistakes with regards to recruitment and retention. Nothing your administration has done has made the fans feel at ease and the circus has only gotten worse, not better.

As fans we all appreciate the poor cap situation you were handed, we all understand patience is required and we are willing to wait a year or two for the rebuild. Almost everyone was happy to see the previous administration gone and everyone has given your administration all the benefit of the doubt.

However, when our club releases numerous rep players and replaced them with nothing but reserve graders or so-so signings that may pan out then the fanbase will get restless.

You can't let go of current and former rep players in Brett and Josh Morris, Klemmer, Woods and Mbye and replace them with Meaney, Crichton, Sue, Napa and Cogger and expect us to support your regime blindly.

We all understand some players had to go, but you can't replace rep players with reserve graders and tie up what precious little cap space is left on more dead weight.

Instead of finding new homes for Foran, Tolman and Lichaa, the club releases the only players who had any value amd our roster now has more holes and question marks than when you took over.

And also, not standing up to the NRL for their absurd fine that we wouldn't have to pay a cent of if we contested it properly just alienated the fanbase further. This is a corrupt, uneven competition where the Premiers find a way to sign more rep players while a bottom four club like us has to let go of our rep players just to squeeze in some reserve graders. Again, question the NRL and salary cap and TPA's and show some leadership like other strong clubs would!

We used to be a strong club and the hope was that when your regime took over, we would become one again.

But your administration keeps the fans in the dark just as much as the previous one, listens to the fanbase as little as the previous one and shows less ambition than the previous one.

Don't sign Napa or more rejects and start building properly by poaching the best youngsters from other clubs, not the ninth best prospect at that position or players they're happy to release.

You're losing fans and memberships fast and before long, your necks will be on the line and another new regime will come in if things don't improve and you don't start making sound decisions that will improve the club, not set us back another three years.

After taking control of the club last season and vowing to correct the mistakes of Dib, Castle and Hasler, it seems that so far your administration is making the same, if not worse mistakes with regards to recruitment and retention. Nothing your administration has done has made the fans feel at ease and the circus has only gotten worse, not better.

As fans we all appreciate the poor cap situation you were handed, we all understand patience is required and we are willing to wait a year or two for the rebuild. Almost everyone was happy to see the previous administration gone and everyone has given your administration all the benefit of the doubt.

However, when our club releases numerous rep players and replaced them with nothing but reserve graders or so-so signings that may pan out then the fanbase will get restless.

You can't let go of current and former rep players in Brett and Josh Morris, Klemmer, Woods and Mbye and replace them with Meaney, Crichton, Sue, Napa and Cogger and expect us to support your regime blindly.

We all understand some players had to go, but you can't replace rep players with reserve graders and tie up what precious little cap space is left on more dead weight.

Instead of finding new homes for Foran, Tolman and Lichaa, the club releases the only players who had any value amd our roster now has more holes and question marks than when you took over.

And also, not standing up to the NRL for their absurd fine that we wouldn't have to pay a cent of if we contested it properly just alienated the fanbase further. This is a corrupt, uneven competition where the Premiers find a way to sign more rep players while a bottom four club like us has to let go of our rep players just to squeeze in some reserve graders. Again, question the NRL and salary cap and TPA's and show some leadership like other strong clubs would!

We used to be a strong club and the hope was that when your regime took over, we would become one again.

But your administration keeps the fans in the dark just as much as the previous one, listens to the fanbase as little as the previous one and shows less ambition than the previous one.

Don't sign Napa or more rejects and start building properly by poaching the best youngsters from other clubs, not the ninth best prospect at that position or players they're happy to release.

You're losing fans and memberships fast and before long, your necks will be on the line and another new regime will come in if things don't improve and you don't start making sound decisions that will improve the club, not set us back another three years.

You are right in virtually everything you said, I particularly agree with your opinion of Napa he is a player/thug, who would be completely useless if he played the game as it should be played, we should not even think of signing him.
As for our club been in the predicament it currently is in, we should not be to hasty in condemning either the current or previous board, I believe that most of us fans either Kennelers or others believe that our club for what ever reason has many detractors/enemies who are determined to do as much harm to our club as possible, the media in particular have much influence on the public, mainly amongst the young and the simple, that's why businesses used the media to advertise their product. We are the enemy club of both media corporations who control the game Ch9 and News, us kennelers who have studied psychology would be aware of this fact.
This is the reason which has made it difficult for both the previous and current administrations, hence making panic decisions has become the norm by our boards, the current climate make's it very difficult for anyone running our club.
Many of us believe that the NRL admin is a shambles, and is harming the game at every level, some believe (and I agree) that the way things are going RL will cease to exist in the not to distant future, if our board take this fact into consideration, I'm sure that our club will be in good hands.
It is a well known fact that we are a very wealthy club backed by a very successful Leagues club, this should give us opportunities which other clubs do not have.

 

[BMOC]

Fair enough post. I get where you are coming from. But,don’t stress over Napa. If we can get this bloke, the dogs may return. He will perfectly fit in to the bulldogs culture, or the culture i know at the dogs. He is not scared to give a penalty away or too. He is not scared to injure an opponent. Napa belongs at the dogs.

Plus there was clearly no dogs of war on display this year

 

[BMOC]

You are right in virtually everything you said, I particularly agree with your opinion of Napa he is a player/thug, who would be completely useless if he played the game as it should be played, we should not even think of signing him.
As for our club been in the predicament it currently is in, we should not be to hasty in condemning either the current or previous board, I believe that most of us fans either Kennelers or others believe that our club for what ever reason has many detractors/enemies who are determined to do as much harm to our club as possible, the media in particular have much influence on the public, mainly amongst the young and the simple, that's why businesses used the media to advertise their product. We are the enemy club of both media corporations who control the game Ch9 and News, us kennelers who have studied psychology would be aware of this fact.
This is the reason which has made it difficult for both the previous and current administrations, hence making panic decisions has become the norm by our boards, the current climate make's it very difficult for anyone running our club.
Many of us believe that the NRL admin is a shambles, and is harming the game at every level, some believe (and I agree) that the way things are going RL will cease to exist in the not to distant future, if our board take this fact into consideration, I'm sure that our club will be in good hands.
It is a well known fact that we are a very wealthy club backed by a very successful Leagues club, this should give us opportunities which other clubs do not have.

Thug is exactly what we need at the dogs. Willie was never a clean, soft player. Reynolds was never not a grub. And ennis was always in opponents’ faces. If napa uses his head or two in tackles i say that is worth 600k a year