Official Round 4 - Bulldogs vs Dragons - Discussion Thread

[Big M]

Mariner to start Britt to bench.Baa to drive bus to ground lol

 

[MariaZ]

Mariner to start Britt to bench.Baa to drive bus to ground lol

Mariner has been playing good but personally I would put Toomaga before Mariner to start. Even better I would start both RT and RFM and put Britt and Tolman on the bench.

 

[cyborg66]

dragons by 30 and pay sacked!!!!!

 

[jof]

Fullback and forth: DWZ and Hopoate to share roles, says Pay

Dean Pay has revealed star backs Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Will Hopoate could each spend time at fullback in Monday’s match against St George Illawarra at Bankwest Stadium.

Watene-Zelezniak, the New Zealand Test captain, will wear the No.1 jersey, while his Tongan counterpart has been named in the centres but Pay said they could swap positions during the clash with the Dragons.

Hopoate is regarded as one of the best defensive fullbacks in the game and the Bulldogs have focused heavily on defence after last weekend’s 32-6 loss to Manly, while Watene-Zelezniak has played much of his career for Penrith and the Kiwis on the wing.

Star playmaker Kieran Foran returns at five-eighth after a shoulder injury suffered playing for New Zealand against Great Britain at Eden Park in November and will resume the halves partnership he developed last season with Lachlan Lewis.

However, Pay is also set to shake up his outside backs, with rookie centre Jake Averillo expected to come into the side at the expense of winger Christian Crichton.

If Hopoate spends time in his usual centre position, Reimis Smith would be likely to move to the wing. If Hopoate is fullback, Smith would be in the centres and Watene-Zelezniak moves to the wing.

"We looked at a few different options through the week and that is one of them," Pay said of the positional switches between Hopoate and Watene-Zelezniak.

"At some stage during the game we might change it around.

"We have got a number of versatile guys who can switch positions so we just sat down and had a chat about it during the week. That is one of our options.

"To get 30 points put on us last week is not where we want to be, we need to defend better than that and get back to the standards we set ourselves."

The return of Foran has given the team a huge boost and Pay said his influence had been obvious at training.

"There is no doubt we lacked experience in our halves so just having him there during the week at training gives all the rest of our players a real lift," Pay said

"We are hoping tomorrow that we can get the best out of him and he brings the best out of every player that we have got out there. We are all excited for him and we want him to get through tomorrow and get through the next 17 games of the season."

Canterbury’s preparations were disrupted when the team was prevented from training on Friday while waiting for former Bulldogs great Terry Lamb to receive the results of a COVID-19 test.

Lamb breached the NRL’s strict biosecurity protocols when he attended training last Thursday and shook hands with Pay and a number of players.

"You are seeing in the news and in the media where everything is starting to be relaxed but we have got stricter rules, sometimes you fall into that trap," Pay said. "There is no intention but we broke the rules so we had to go through the protocols and we moved on.

"It was unfortunate, there was no intention to do anything wrong. Baa just called in to drop a footy jumper off, it was all harmless."

Is it time for Foran to change his approach?

Pay said the players had been warned not to wear headphones for up to 30 minutes before they undergo temperature tests at the stadium on match day after Sydney Roosters and Cronulla players suffered problems before their games.

The Roosters and Sharks players eventually passed their tests but it threw a scare into both camps.

"Even last week on the way up to the Central Coast we made sure our players took them [headphones] off well in advance before they got to the stadium. It is just one of those things we have got to make sure we tick off."

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Fullback and forth: DWZ and Hopoate to share roles, says Pay

Dean Pay has revealed star backs Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Will Hopoate could each spend time at fullback in Monday’s match against St George Illawarra at Bankwest Stadium.

Watene-Zelezniak, the New Zealand Test captain, will wear the No.1 jersey, while his Tongan counterpart has been named in the centres but Pay said they could swap positions during the clash with the Dragons.

Hopoate is regarded as one of the best defensive fullbacks in the game and the Bulldogs have focused heavily on defence after last weekend’s 32-6 loss to Manly, while Watene-Zelezniak has played much of his career for Penrith and the Kiwis on the wing.

Star playmaker Kieran Foran returns at five-eighth after a shoulder injury suffered playing for New Zealand against Great Britain at Eden Park in November and will resume the halves partnership he developed last season with Lachlan Lewis.

However, Pay is also set to shake up his outside backs, with rookie centre Jake Averillo expected to come into the side at the expense of winger Christian Crichton.

If Hopoate spends time in his usual centre position, Reimis Smith would be likely to move to the wing. If Hopoate is fullback, Smith would be in the centres and Watene-Zelezniak moves to the wing.

Bulldogs v Dragons - Round 4


Bulldogs v Dragons - Round 4

"We looked at a few different options through the week and that is one of them," Pay said of the positional switches between Hopoate and Watene-Zelezniak.

"At some stage during the game we might change it around.

"We have got a number of versatile guys who can switch positions so we just sat down and had a chat about it during the week. That is one of our options.

"To get 30 points put on us last week is not where we want to be, we need to defend better than that and get back to the standards we set ourselves."

The return of Foran has given the team a huge boost and Pay said his influence had been obvious at training.

"There is no doubt we lacked experience in our halves so just having him there during the week at training gives all the rest of our players a real lift," Pay said

"We are hoping tomorrow that we can get the best out of him and he brings the best out of every player that we have got out there. We are all excited for him and we want him to get through tomorrow and get through the next 17 games of the season."

Canterbury’s preparations were disrupted when the team was prevented from training on Friday while waiting for former Bulldogs great Terry Lamb to receive the results of a COVID-19 test.

Lamb breached the NRL’s strict biosecurity protocols when he attended training last Thursday and shook hands with Pay and a number of players.

"You are seeing in the news and in the media where everything is starting to be relaxed but we have got stricter rules, sometimes you fall into that trap," Pay said. "There is no intention but we broke the rules so we had to go through the protocols and we moved on.

"It was unfortunate, there was no intention to do anything wrong. Baa just called in to drop a footy jumper off, it was all harmless."

Is it time for Foran to change his approach?


Is it time for Foran to change his approach?

Pay said the players had been warned not to wear headphones for up to 30 minutes before they undergo temperature tests at the stadium on match day after Sydney Roosters and Cronulla players suffered problems before their games.

The Roosters and Sharks players eventually passed their tests but it threw a scare into both camps.

"Even last week on the way up to the Central Coast we made sure our players took them [headphones] off well in advance before they got to the stadium. It is just one of those things we have got to make sure we tick off."

This **** is so fucking stupid ffs

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Mariner to start Britt to bench.Baa to drive bus to ground lol

Did the boys also tell Pay to do that?

 

[wendog33]

This c*** is so fucking stupid ffs

I cant ever recall a coach talking like that with so much emphasis on one player as our saviour.

This team is so poorly coached, and cant execute simple plays, that you wonder if he, Hoppa or DZW and the rest of the team could seriously manage even the basic interchanging of their roles during a game.

 

[2144superman]

I'm lost for words.

 

[boggie23]

I cant ever recall a coach talking like that with so much emphasis on one player as our saviour.

This team is so poorly coached, and cant execute simple plays, that you wonder if he, Hoppa or DZW and the rest of the team could seriously manage even the basic interchanging of their roles during a game.

To be honest hoppas lack of speed won’t help us apart from 10 out on a back line sweeping movement. Kicking to the corner or the ingoal isn’t a strength that hoppa has. The time it takes to turn, chase and gather. And to be honest he isn’t the most elusive player in the history of nrl. I can see us conceding lots of drop outs to classy halves.

Hoppa is a big bodied/strength player. Not so much speed and finesse. He has great hands and a great football mind. But he lacks that yard or two of pace to be elite. I have said this a few times but I wouldn’t necessarily put him as our long term fullback. As a fill in he is brilliant. For a game or two he is amazing. Doubt many players could step in as well as him. For an in game injury he is superb. Safe under the high ball. But as your full time fullback. I don’t know. His lack of pace has always been a concern.

To be honest. Dragons on paper will wipe the floor with us. We don’t match up at all. Just luckily we have Foran back otherwise i could see us losing easily. If we are on and Foran fires and dragons play like they have I would say we win. But that’s a lot of ifs. Our best chance is dragons playing shit more so then us out classing them.

I know I’d get shot down for this. But Meaney did well as a fullback. Fair enough he didn’t support well or ball played. But which fullback with 10 nrl games has been a game changer And faultless? (Tedesco did his knee in his first few games if I recall correctly). Zelezniak was a big name signing but was harsh to remove meany before we knew exactly what he could do.

For mine. Meaney should have a crack. His speed and height is a desirable asset. And he doesn’t drop too many high balls. I’d hope to see him get some game time at fullback to assess whether he is worth another contract or he gets moved on. I’d have hoppa as our second best option and averillo possibly worth a shot if we get desperate or a new coach comes in towards the end of the year for a change up. Zelezniak is a distant 4th in line. Keep him on the wing. Use his best asset which is his speed and his fearless kick returns. And let’s not try make a diamond from a stone (Penrith never could).

 

[wendog33]

To be honest hoppas lack of speed won’t help us apart from 10 out on a back line sweeping movement. Kicking to the corner or the ingoal isn’t a strength that hoppa has. The time it takes to turn, chase and gather. And to be honest he isn’t the most elusive player in the history of nrl. I can see us conceding lots of drop outs to classy halves.

Hoppa is a big bodied/strength player. Not so much speed and finesse. He has great hands and a great football mind. But he lacks that yard or two of pace to be elite. I have said this a few times but I wouldn’t necessarily put him as our long term fullback. As a fill in he is brilliant. For a game or two he is amazing. Doubt many players could step in as well as him. For an in game injury he is superb. Safe under the high ball. But as your full time fullback. I don’t know. His lack of pace has always been a concern.

To be honest. Dragons on paper will wipe the floor with us. We don’t match up at all. Just luckily we have Foran back otherwise i could see us losing easily. If we are on and Foran fires and dragons play like they have I would say we win. But that’s a lot of ifs. Our best chance is dragons playing shit more so then us out classing them.

I know I’d get shot down for this. But Meaney did well as a fullback. Fair enough he didn’t support well or ball played. But which fullback with 10 nrl games has been a game changer And faultless? (Tedesco did his knee in his first few games if I recall correctly). Zelezniak was a big name signing but was harsh to remove meany before we knew exactly what he could do.

For mine. Meaney should have a crack. His speed and height is a desirable asset. And he doesn’t drop too many high balls. I’d hope to see him get some game time at fullback to assess whether he is worth another contract or he gets moved on. I’d have hoppa as our second best option and averillo possibly worth a shot if we get desperate or a new coach comes in towards the end of the year for a change up. Zelezniak is a distant 4th in line. Keep him on the wing. Use his best asset which is his speed and his fearless kick returns. And let’s not try make a diamond from a stone (Penrith never could).

Agree but Hoppa may surprise. This 6 again innovation requires the fullback to support up the middle after a quick ptb and dummy half drawing defenders or inside ball from an off loading forward. This cuts down his need for speed to get on the outside so it might suit Hoppa if he backs up thru the middle. If anything this new rule somewhat cuts down the importance of wingers and values attacking/defensive centres more IMO and ball playing, running forwards.

We could be in trouble unless we soon get with the program.

 

[CaptainJackson]

Averillo in starting 13.

Four man forward bench

Holland and wakeham 18 and 19

 

[JUNKYARD DOGS]

Holland to come in

 

[Nexus]

So basically he has nfi what to do so he is just going to keep swapping people around and hope something works.

 

[Baby Blues]

Last week the forward rotations were all wrong. I don’t know what RFM and To’omaga need to do to get more game time? Britt was probably our worst forward yet still almost played to the full game.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

So basically he has nfi what to do so he is just going to keep swapping people around and hope something works.

Yet he still hasn't come up with the idea of playing our best halfback at halfback

 

[SPEARTAKVIDREFS]

I hope Foran doesnt get injured.

 

[Brendan7]

You do know we have the Roosters next week

I plan to be drunk

 

[Scoooby]

Tomorrow’s game will be very interesting in many ways, and news lol..!!

 

[Big M]

Yet he still hasn't come up with the idea of playing our best halfback at halfback

Tolman?

 

[dog 4life]

deno is not abit how you going, he's how you going