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Trent Barrett is done making excuses for his halfbacks and wants either Jake Averillo or Kyle Flanagan to stand up and take ownership of the Bulldogs attacking end of sets.
In the aftermath of his side’s 16-16 draw with the Knights in their second last trial before the season kicks off, Barrett admitted his side are still struggling with their fifth tackle options, an issue that plagued them all last season.
“Yeah, look, it was a funny one tonight,” Barrett told Fox League.
“I said pre-game I was worried, or, not worried, but our set ends were going to be really important.
And it was what we had problems with last year. And it reared its head again tonight. That’s why Burton’s been brought to the club.
“He’ll obviously be our dominant playmaker, our dominant kicker. But we need the [No.] 7 to stand up.”
Jake Averillo, who was Barrett’s preferred halfback for much of 2021 started the trial at No.7, but only managed 31 run metres and nine tackles with zero try or linebreak involvements.
Flanagan, who has fallen out of favour with Barrett since being let go by the Roosters and brought to the club on a substantial three-year deal, had zero run metres, zero try or linebreak involvements and an error in limited minutes.
In Burton’s absence, starting five-eighth Brandon Wakeham was probably the pick of the halves with 23 run metres, an offload and a linebreak assist.
However neither of the three are consistently creating opportunities for their teammates to score when in good field position, which will place plenty of pressure on Burton to carry the team’s attack.
Barrett admits his side need to get better at icing the end of their sets or they won’t climb up the ladder in a hurry after finishing last season with the wooden spoon.
“I thought we were scratchy in parts of our attack; not a lot of continuity there, which I thought would happen,” Barrett said.
“But we got a fair bit of good ball there at the back end of the game, and we just need someone to stand up and take control of the side.
“They’re young, I get it. But that’s the job, and we’ve got some work to do this week.”
In the aftermath of his side’s 16-16 draw with the Knights in their second last trial before the season kicks off, Barrett admitted his side are still struggling with their fifth tackle options, an issue that plagued them all last season.
“Yeah, look, it was a funny one tonight,” Barrett told Fox League.
“I said pre-game I was worried, or, not worried, but our set ends were going to be really important.
And it was what we had problems with last year. And it reared its head again tonight. That’s why Burton’s been brought to the club.
“He’ll obviously be our dominant playmaker, our dominant kicker. But we need the [No.] 7 to stand up.”
Jake Averillo, who was Barrett’s preferred halfback for much of 2021 started the trial at No.7, but only managed 31 run metres and nine tackles with zero try or linebreak involvements.
Flanagan, who has fallen out of favour with Barrett since being let go by the Roosters and brought to the club on a substantial three-year deal, had zero run metres, zero try or linebreak involvements and an error in limited minutes.
In Burton’s absence, starting five-eighth Brandon Wakeham was probably the pick of the halves with 23 run metres, an offload and a linebreak assist.
However neither of the three are consistently creating opportunities for their teammates to score when in good field position, which will place plenty of pressure on Burton to carry the team’s attack.
Barrett admits his side need to get better at icing the end of their sets or they won’t climb up the ladder in a hurry after finishing last season with the wooden spoon.
“I thought we were scratchy in parts of our attack; not a lot of continuity there, which I thought would happen,” Barrett said.
“But we got a fair bit of good ball there at the back end of the game, and we just need someone to stand up and take control of the side.
“They’re young, I get it. But that’s the job, and we’ve got some work to do this week.”
