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Trent Hodkinson says Bulldogs halves need to lift
March 16, 2014 - 1:20AM
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
By MICHAEL CARAYANNIS
Room for improvement: Bulldogs halfback Trent Hodkinson said he and Josh Reynolds can get a lot better.
The halves puzzle
Sometime after Canterbury’s elimination from last year’s finals series, halves Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds sat down and made a pact to take better control of the team.
Despite first forming a combination in 2011, the duo have added only 23 more games as the Bulldogs' halves pairing since that one-off appearance together. Only the Sydney Roosters combination of James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce, with 26 games, and the established duo of Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans (75 matches) have played more as a halfback pairing than Hodkinson and Reynolds. Eleven NRL teams head into round two with their halves having played two games or less alongside each other.
Injuries kept Hodkinson sidelined in 2012 as Reynolds paired with Kris Keating on the way to Canterbury’s minor premiership.
"We want to take it to another level this year," Hodkinson said. "We’ve been chatting about it and want to step it up as halves and take the team by the scruff of the neck and really lead them on the paddock.
"We didn’t get the result last week but hopefully we can turn it around on Monday
"Just for me, [I need to improve my] creativity and being a bit more of a leader. Taking the game by the scruff of the neck and leading by example as halves and getting everyone on board.
"We’ve spoken here and there about needing to have a good year and show everyone that the Bulldogs have a quality side and hopefully we can lead them out there."
Their good intentions did not morph into performance in the opening round after Canterbury struggled with their ball control despite creating several chances in their loss to the Broncos.
"We had a lot of opportunities in the second half," Hodkinson said. "But we didn’t capitalise on it. I think the last pass, we missed those opportunities."
Reynolds backed up his halves partner before their clash against Cronulla at ANZ Stadium on Monday night.
"The plan this year was to step up," Reynolds said. "We have discussed it. We’ve been together for a good two-and-a-half years now. We want to take it to the next level. We want to go well this year after last year was a bit of a disappointment."
The Bulldogs' loss to the Broncos also doubled as Reynolds' first hit-out since undergoing an off-season shoulder reconstruction. Reynolds said he was concerned how his shoulder would withstand the opening confrontations.
"I feel really good," Reynolds said. "[After] shoulder surgery, I was a little bit worried about how I was going to turn up. But, 25 tackles later, it felt good."
March 16, 2014 - 1:20AM
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
By MICHAEL CARAYANNIS
Room for improvement: Bulldogs halfback Trent Hodkinson said he and Josh Reynolds can get a lot better.
The halves puzzle
Sometime after Canterbury’s elimination from last year’s finals series, halves Trent Hodkinson and Josh Reynolds sat down and made a pact to take better control of the team.
Despite first forming a combination in 2011, the duo have added only 23 more games as the Bulldogs' halves pairing since that one-off appearance together. Only the Sydney Roosters combination of James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce, with 26 games, and the established duo of Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans (75 matches) have played more as a halfback pairing than Hodkinson and Reynolds. Eleven NRL teams head into round two with their halves having played two games or less alongside each other.
Injuries kept Hodkinson sidelined in 2012 as Reynolds paired with Kris Keating on the way to Canterbury’s minor premiership.
"We want to take it to another level this year," Hodkinson said. "We’ve been chatting about it and want to step it up as halves and take the team by the scruff of the neck and really lead them on the paddock.
"We didn’t get the result last week but hopefully we can turn it around on Monday
"Just for me, [I need to improve my] creativity and being a bit more of a leader. Taking the game by the scruff of the neck and leading by example as halves and getting everyone on board.
"We’ve spoken here and there about needing to have a good year and show everyone that the Bulldogs have a quality side and hopefully we can lead them out there."
Their good intentions did not morph into performance in the opening round after Canterbury struggled with their ball control despite creating several chances in their loss to the Broncos.
"We had a lot of opportunities in the second half," Hodkinson said. "But we didn’t capitalise on it. I think the last pass, we missed those opportunities."
Reynolds backed up his halves partner before their clash against Cronulla at ANZ Stadium on Monday night.
"The plan this year was to step up," Reynolds said. "We have discussed it. We’ve been together for a good two-and-a-half years now. We want to take it to the next level. We want to go well this year after last year was a bit of a disappointment."
The Bulldogs' loss to the Broncos also doubled as Reynolds' first hit-out since undergoing an off-season shoulder reconstruction. Reynolds said he was concerned how his shoulder would withstand the opening confrontations.
"I feel really good," Reynolds said. "[After] shoulder surgery, I was a little bit worried about how I was going to turn up. But, 25 tackles later, it felt good."
