Opinion Who do you think will have a breakout year for the Bulldogs???

Dognacious

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If anyone's a walk up halves starter it's Cogger imo. But then again we seem to win more games with Lewis for some reason, so wtf do I know? lol
Whatever combo we have out of Lewis/Cogger/Wakeham, it is a very young halves combo. They all need to have breakout years in 2020. Play above their years.
 

youoboys

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Bulldogs fan here : in my travels I saw cogger and toomaga go to a level we have been waiting for. Tolman gets benched half way through year for toomaga . Harper cracks other centre position, lines up next to Meaney. Dean pay signs 3 year extension. JMK in line for dally M. We reach top 4 and I don’t want to ruin anything . Good things is head
 

NPC83

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Hoping it’s Wakeham cause we need a half to step up and take control... He’ll need the forward to go forward though..
 

Ewan McGrady

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Okunbour...... from his few games last year he has more points in him than the rest of our backline put together. He will be top try scorer as the Dogs play finals!

The other for break-out.... Dylan Napa...Back in the Qld side (starting) and bench prop for the kangaroos!
 

Sandra's Bollocks

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I think I'm the only one still not sold on Okunbor? I'm far more excited about Smith and Harper at this stage.
 

Alan79

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Hookers.
The best thing for the team would be if JMK or Katoa start offering great timing and instinctive ability to make the right choices on which way to get the plays started. Our forwards would look better if they can just worry about hitting pace before a pass comes their way if whichever hooker at the time can enable that by timing his passes well.
- JMK was edging towards what I'd call being a complete package though. And I think his work ethic will see him emerge in strong form early on. I expect him to have a breakout year.

Halves.
In the halves I think Cogger was showing signs of developing the confidence to trust his instincts. If the forwards provide a platform it'll give him more time to make good plays. Cogger had a lot of good moments in attack and hopefully he can provide them more frequently next season. But between Wakeham, Lewis and Cogger, two halves firing will mean that the defence can't focus on smothering the flair of the other. My first half picked would be Cogger though. Wakeham shows more attacking instinct, whilst Lewis is an inspiring defensive half. Pay will have to decide what aspect is more important to the team early on.
- I'll top that Cogger will have a season that will see him recognised as a key player. He displayed some ability to organise and touches of flashy play. Hopefully some time with Sherwin will get the best out of him.

Backline.
It seems like we have a good number of outside backs approaching the time to get their chances to step up. I'm not sure who's going to have a breakout season there, but I am certain that between Harper, Averillo, Okunbor and a few of the others that were added to the development squad somebody will really impress.
- Okunbor has a few flaws to iron out, but has the capacity to be a monster in attack. He gives off a very relaxed vibe in interviews but always talks about how he's learning more about the effort required to get himself ready with every year he develops. I think I recall him saying that 2019 was his first year primarily on the wing after having spent a long time prior to that being shuffled in different positions. So if he's focused heavily on ironing out the flaws, he's physically ready to become an asset to the backline.
- Meaney started slowly in attack and got monstered a bit playing around the middle. It seemed to have him in his shell in attack. But his defence was better than I was led to believe and he showed little fear in defending kicks which had become a periodic problem over the last few years with certain players. But he showed signs that his confidence was growing in his transition to the wing. I expect he'll make his mark sooner next season especially if if he's put on a bit more muscle.

Forwards.
We had a few players that looked good in limited appearances. Ogden and Too'omaga started well. But Ogden faded a little in intensity and RT had limited chances. The effort and commitment they show in the preseason will hopefully get them in contention to push their claims as we look to get a settled roster moving forward. And from what little I saw of Stimson, he's going to be in the mix too. Hopefully acquiring him will be a delayed bit of payback for the storm taking Finucane.

But I think the two key players for improving our results will be Cogger and Marshall-King. Between getting sets started well and finishing them off by applying pressure (or preferably by scoring) these two can make a huge difference.
 

Alan79

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I think I'm the only one still not sold on Okunbor? I'm far more excited about Smith and Harper at this stage.
I'm pretty certain that Okunbor said he only played on the wing for the first time last season. And in my opinion his handling was coming along nicely which was my big worry with him. Physically he's got a huge advantage, if he can get his skills up to standard he'll feature heavily in our side in future.
 

DinkumDog

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I think I'm the only one still not sold on Okunbor? I'm far more excited about Smith and Harper at this stage.
I’m with you mate. I can’t get past Jayden being Jamal 2.0 - a lot of polish needed on his game for me. I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Until then however, I agree Reimis/Meaney wings and Hoppa/Harper centres.
 

bowleggedwog

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Dean Pay has to have a big year.. out of the gates the team he picks needs to be ready. Took him a while to settle in , the game changed last season, playing direct ,having a running half n hooker is important. Wakeham - King - Cogger will need to have a big year. We seen guys with foot work can do damage Sue ,Toomaga , Mariner will have good year, Napa Tolman will be under pressure. Pay has to pick a style , play positive direct footy and with this team and kids coming through the future looks promising.
 

TwinTurbo

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I’m with you mate. I can’t get past Jayden being Jamal 2.0 - a lot of polish needed on his game for me. I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Until then however, I agree Reimis/Meaney wings and Hoppa/Harper centres.
Jamal's problem was Jamal, he started to believe the hype and fell away accordingly. I just don't see that attitude anywhere in Jayden, he's worked hard to get where he is and he doesn't seem likely to let it go.

Happy New Year to All
Go Dogs
 

Spoonman84

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I’m with you mate. I can’t get past Jayden being Jamal 2.0 - a lot of polish needed on his game for me. I’d be happy to be proven wrong. Until then however, I agree Reimis/Meaney wings and Hoppa/Harper centres.
I'm not sold on Harper at all either. Full credit for what he did in his debut but I'm not convinced he will perform like that on a regular basis.

I'd be worried about how he would hold up in defence if he was targeted.
 

Spoonman84

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Jamal's problem was Jamal, he started to believe the hype and fell away accordingly. I just don't see that attitude anywhere in Jayden, he's worked hard to get where he is and he doesn't seem likely to let it go.

Happy New Year to All
Go Dogs
The only comparisons I see with Jayden and Jamal is their appearance to be honest and Jayden doesn't have the bitch tits and baby fat when he's a fully grown man.
 

doggieaaron

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Pays issue at the start of last year was his selections at the start were woeful hopefully he doesn’t fall back into that ,it’s simple dean elliott off the bench not starting and c smith and britt are back up forwards only dean
 

flamebouyant

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Hookers.
The best thing for the team would be if JMK or Katoa start offering great timing and instinctive ability to make the right choices on which way to get the plays started. Our forwards would look better if they can just worry about hitting pace before a pass comes their way if whichever hooker at the time can enable that by timing his passes well.
- JMK was edging towards what I'd call being a complete package though. And I think his work ethic will see him emerge in strong form early on. I expect him to have a breakout year.

Halves.
In the halves I think Cogger was showing signs of developing the confidence to trust his instincts. If the forwards provide a platform it'll give him more time to make good plays. Cogger had a lot of good moments in attack and hopefully he can provide them more frequently next season. But between Wakeham, Lewis and Cogger, two halves firing will mean that the defence can't focus on smothering the flair of the other. My first half picked would be Cogger though. Wakeham shows more attacking instinct, whilst Lewis is an inspiring defensive half. Pay will have to decide what aspect is more important to the team early on.
- I'll top that Cogger will have a season that will see him recognised as a key player. He displayed some ability to organise and touches of flashy play. Hopefully some time with Sherwin will get the best out of him.

Backline.
It seems like we have a good number of outside backs approaching the time to get their chances to step up. I'm not sure who's going to have a breakout season there, but I am certain that between Harper, Averillo, Okunbor and a few of the others that were added to the development squad somebody will really impress.
- Okunbor has a few flaws to iron out, but has the capacity to be a monster in attack. He gives off a very relaxed vibe in interviews but always talks about how he's learning more about the effort required to get himself ready with every year he develops. I think I recall him saying that 2019 was his first year primarily on the wing after having spent a long time prior to that being shuffled in different positions. So if he's focused heavily on ironing out the flaws, he's physically ready to become an asset to the backline.
- Meaney started slowly in attack and got monstered a bit playing around the middle. It seemed to have him in his shell in attack. But his defence was better than I was led to believe and he showed little fear in defending kicks which had become a periodic problem over the last few years with certain players. But he showed signs that his confidence was growing in his transition to the wing. I expect he'll make his mark sooner next season especially if if he's put on a bit more muscle.

Forwards.
We had a few players that looked good in limited appearances. Ogden and Too'omaga started well. But Ogden faded a little in intensity and RT had limited chances. The effort and commitment they show in the preseason will hopefully get them in contention to push their claims as we look to get a settled roster moving forward. And from what little I saw of Stimson, he's going to be in the mix too. Hopefully acquiring him will be a delayed bit of payback for the storm taking Finucane.

But I think the two key players for improving our results will be Cogger and Marshall-King. Between getting sets started well and finishing them off by applying pressure (or preferably by scoring) these two can make a huge difference.
Nice analysis.
 

flamebouyant

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I'm pretty certain that Okunbor said he only played on the wing for the first time last season. And in my opinion his handling was coming along nicely which was my big worry with him. Physically he's got a huge advantage, if he can get his skills up to standard he'll feature heavily in our side in future.
Okunbour is exactly what we desperately need on the wing. I massive body, tall and powerful. If he can improve on the required skillset for a winger, then he can be massive for us!!
I really liked what Meaney was doing towards the end of the year though, so it would be a little sad to see him lose his spot at Okunbours expense, but if he can get the little things right, Okunbour will be a beast!!
 

Alan79

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Okunbour is exactly what we desperately need on the wing. I massive body, tall and powerful. If he can improve on the required skillset for a winger, then he can be massive for us!!
I really liked what Meaney was doing towards the end of the year though, so it would be a little sad to see him lose his spot at Okunbours expense, but if he can get the little things right, Okunbour will be a beast!!
I was starting to get excited about seeing Meaney get half chances on the wing too. It took him a while to turn those half chances into points, but when it clicked for him he was finishing things off really well. So I'm in the same boat with not wanting him demoted.

There has been talk of moving Reimis Smith into the centres. If that goes ahead and Okunbor has been successful in ironing out the flaws it could all fall into place. Ideally I'd like Hoppa and Okunbor (power without a massive amount of pace) on one edge and Smith and Meaney on the other (both noted speedsters). I think Hoppas passing ability would compliment Okunbor who isn't the quickest with acceleration, while Smith and Meaney have more balance in pace and could better offer support running.
 

Chris Harding

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My Christmas wish is for our talented few juniors to be given a fair go, and minutes, to develop their huge potential. Up to Pay to make that happen.

Wakeham, after being groomed for so long, and stepped up in those International games, playing alongside better players than in our own team, shone, and must be picked.
That will mean persevering with him as he finds his way. Pay will have to ignore the armchair coaches, and give Wakeham the time in first grade to establish himself as a pivotal part of the team. It could mean a shaky start - but we should be used to that.
 

DinkumDog

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The only comparisons I see with Jayden and Jamal is their appearance to be honest and Jayden doesn't have the bitch tits and baby fat when he's a fully grown man.
All good fellas and as I said happy to be proven wrong about Jayden. If he has a great year that can only be good for our team and I’d love that. For now however, the jury remains out - as it does with Harper perhaps, but I’d still go with him over Holland/Monty who I think have had their shot and we need to try something else (no, not Mitchell or Folau :-) )
 
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