Opinion Possibly the most optimistic thread you will read this week: Round 3

[Dapper Dog]

Cogger CANNOT defend in the halves and you want to toss him in a hooker? Good god, just play a witches hat out there instead.

Being optimistic, yes, he is certainly a bloke I would have a crack at.

 

[Kaz]

what are the positives again?

The game only went for 80 mins.

 

[DoggiesBoy]

he is certainly I bloke I would have a crack at.

This thread again...

 

[seven07]

We are the laughing stock of the nrl. I’m still proud And always will be bulldog FOREVER.!!! be but we as fans deserve better An need to be heard and listened to..!!! After all we are the ones they should be playing for. it’s a privilege to wear the blue An white!! But the players wearing it now (bar a couple) are just absolutely shaming it. PRICKS!!

I want my club great again and this has gone on too long!!! Clean out,clean up.. I don’t care what it takes just get it DONE.

Mate no point the current board are to busy filling their pockets with what they believe is rightly there's because of bullfrog. And if you do bring up arguable points they will completely shut you down by saying salary clap that's there get out of jail .

 

[diddly]

The only positives I see are that the junior sides at this point are a lot stronger than they have been since 2010 - 2012. There is some genuine speed in the flegg side and the squads are not full of players the same shape. Unfortunately it will be a while before any will be ready for first grade.

 

[Punchbowl Dog]

Losing klemmer has exposed our pack big time, one good big man in the middle can make a massive difference in this game eg. taumololo, fifita, solomona etc. Doesn't matter how many reasonable back rowers we may have, our recruitment of props has been fucking bad, napa is a bench player at best and he was supposedly brought in to replace an animal like klemmer? I don't know which if any good big boppers are available for 2020, but that should be absolute no. 1 priority, our younger blokes like ogden, toomaga even nelson need a good big hardhead to show them the way.

 

[pillow]

Losing klemmer has exposed our pack big time, one good big man in the middle can make a massive difference in this game eg. taumololo, fifita, solomona etc. Doesn't matter how many reasonable back rowers we may have, our recruitment of props has been fucking bad, napa is a bench player at best and he was supposedly brought in to replace an animal like klemmer? I don't know which if any good big boppers are available for 2020, but that should be absolute no. 1 priority, our younger blokes like ogden, toomaga even nelson need a good big hardhead to show them the way.

One of the big losses with Klemmer was the energy it took out of the other team just to tackle him. It softened/tired the opposition and allowed our other players to at least be on par physically with the other teams. Now we are easy pickings and getting dominated physically, badly. I don't think I've ever seen another Dogs pack get manhandled so easily.

 

[Doggone1975]

What is known:

Negatives

• This 1-17 is long odds to win even a single game this season (and most of us already knew this before round 1.....)
• We are the slowest 1-30 in the game
• We are one of the smallest teams across the paddock
• Our once ironclad defence is now the worst in the league
• We are essentially a bye round for every other team
• We have the slowest fullback in the game
• We have the worst centre pairing in the game (possibly of all time?)
• We have the weakest options for hooker of all the teams
• I could keep going but with each line I become more and more negaitve, and this thread is about remaining optimistic

Positives

• The ol' cliché: We are at rock-bottom, so the only place we can go is up
• The only way to go up is by adjusting our 17
• We have very good handling (minus some bad eggs)
• Hoppa's hands are as good as any individual's in the comp
• Until our flaws caught up with us, we were capable of strangling out a team
• We have one good winger and one average winger
• We have good halves (imo)
• We have some star forwards
• We are completely written off and it's only round 2. We know that no team is actually out of it this early (even though our current 1 - 17 has no chance in hell)

Now, we will not even consider Pay choosing the same or a similar 17 (of which I am half-expecting and would laugh maniacally if so). Besides, he is "picking on form now"... ... ... so let's consider what another 17 could look like for round 3.

1. Hoppa / Meaney - Meaney was woeful in CC today. But f*** it. Optimism remember?
2. Katoa / Crichton - I would put these names in a hat and draw one for round 3.
3. Hoppa / Harper / CHN - I'll take any of these 3 for centre at this point
4. Hoppa / Harper / CHN
5. Smith
6. Foran
7. Lewis
8. Ogden
9. Cogger - Has kicks / speed and can play heads up. Optimistically, he will beast it - no prior exp needed.
10. Napa
11. RFM / CHN
12. Martin - Welcome back to FG, old friend.
13. Jackson - No more intercepted passes for you Cap'n

14. Tolman
15. Sue / Fualalo - Remaining optimistic that Sue will never play like he did today
16. Elliot / Fualalo
17. C. Smith / RFM / CHN - (depending on other choices)

Alright. Either I am back in the denial stages of grief, or I am looking at a 1-17 with a lot of promise. It only takes a one / a few bad eggs to completely ruin defence and morale, so with a stronger attacking team (which also has more capable defenders within it), I don't see how this 17 could be any worse than the current. If anything, looking at this team I am now once again optimistic for our first win this season heading into round 3. Bring onnnn the Wests Mbye-gers!

Fualalo and lichaa need to be dropped

 

[KiwiDog7]

Losing klemmer has exposed our pack big time, one good big man in the middle can make a massive difference in this game eg. taumololo, fifita, solomona etc. Doesn't matter how many reasonable back rowers we may have, our recruitment of props has been fucking bad, napa is a bench player at best and he was supposedly brought in to replace an animal like klemmer? I don't know which if any good big boppers are available for 2020, but that should be absolute no. 1 priority, our younger blokes like ogden, toomaga even nelson need a good big hardhead to show them the way.

19 hit ups
182m
27 tackles
One line break
One offload
One try
The only forward showing aggression
Not bad for a bench player Napa