¬ Your Thoughts On The Game ? (panthers V bulldogs)

[immortalbulldog]

Without graham we would have been well beaten. He needs to start and have as much game time as possible next week.

Let's not forget that conditions were pretty poor and ennis hadnt played since round 16 last year and hodkinson only played half a trial.

Our urgency under the high ball is concerning. We let it bounce far too much and that is asking for trouble.

We played poorly and won. Panthers had good preseason form. Discipline and handling can easily be improved in a week

 

[Dogzkill4eva]

1st Hlaf - Not Good (too many penalties and errors)
2 Half - Better

i think the more we play the better we are getting??

 

[JMP2024]

Barba being at the fullback position concerns me... on attack (including support play) he is undoubtedly dangerous, however all that positive work goes out the window when you can’t defuse high midfield bombs with confidence.... only time will tell but it’s looking shaky (almost where he left off from last season). Though, the defense has also a vital role to play by applying put pressure on the kicker.

 

[Bry]

We defended well on our line, especially late in the game on a wet field. They would be entitled to get tired late in those conditions but they tackled their asses off. There was one play in particular where I thought they had scored but we somehow held them up. That is a great sign that they have the hunger despite the fatigue.

Our defusing of bombs needs attention again, but we knew that's all Penrith have, and on that note. Penrith for the spoon. What a garbage team they are. To not be up by 20 at halftime with all that possesion. All they came away with was a try from their mistake which Morris then fumbled and they just had to pick it up and score, and an ugly, scrappy kick which lead to a rebound and then try to Jennings. That's all they could come up with after all that possession? Say hello to the wooden spoon.

We have a lot of improvement left in us, but it's good to get the win first up, especially after that first half.
I think we need someone more dominant in our backrow as well. I don't think we can carry two smaller guys like Stagg and Halatau in our pack. We have 3 good front rowers in Graham, Tolman and Kasiano, and then we have Eastwood as well, but I just think we might be better served with short explosive bursts from someone like Taupau out wide which can also give Pritchard a rest. We are blessed to have two props that can play big minutes and I think we need to rotate our second rowers more with guys that can really hurt the opposition. Halatau could even slot into centre for Wright.

 

[Dognacious]

The conditions tonight didnt suit a player like Barba where a lot of his impact involves speed and stepping, which is hard on a slippery surface. He still managed a try andlike most players in the NRL wont be in his best form for the year in week 1.

 

[FreshSoulL]

Our defusing of bombs needs attention again, but we knew that's all Penrith have, and on that note. Penrith for the spoon. What a garbage team they are. To not be up by 20 at halftime with all that possesion. All they came away with was a try from their mistake which Morris then fumbled and they just had to pick it up and score, and an ugly, scrappy kick which lead to a rebound and then try to Jennings. That's all they could come up with after all that possession? Say hello to the wooden spoon.

Man I think the cowboys might be up for the spoon the way they played tonight ! was shocking lol

Overall I dont think we played well first half was bad and 2nd just an improvement we need to be consistent throughout the whole game! it always seems we spark up in the 2nd half ! we need to start strong and finish strong. I guess des will work hard this week for the saints game.

 

[DoggyDawg]

1. James Graham was awesome.. came on after 15 mins and i dont think he came off... he is a class above tolman..

2. Reynolds - this bloke is in everything.. he makes up for lack of skill with his enthusiasm... you know he wont be putting in a soft performance in any game..

3. Des's Rotations - I was loving how Des used our forwards... Stagg came off after 20 mins after getting belted around, ennis came off after 30 mins so romelo could have a 20 min spell, at one stage 3 props were on the field at one time, Halatau and Pritchard played the whole 80 mins while the 2 props and the lock position was rotated between payne eastwood tolman graham and stagg...

the rotations allowed stagg to put his body on the line while he was out there and not fatigue... halatau was a boss in defence... pritchard was quiet but the longer he stayed out there the more involved he got...

our only weakness was catching the bomb... you can understand why des doesnt want barba at fullback... once des fixes the bomb situation i think we will be in good hands...

Graham is living up to the hype!

 

[Bob dog]

Savage defence, Hasler has stepped it up and it paid off!

 

[silva]

Defence was awesome massive difference especially around the ruck

 

[Chicharito]

Defence was awesome massive difference especially around the ruck

this is what i noticed aswell....we dont look so fragile around that ruck area compared to the last couple of seasons

 

[silva]

Fkn oathe the amount of breaks and holes that were present the last few years has been embarrassing. I'm excited...defence wins premierships

 

[FreshSoulL]

Defence was good, they scored off an error and some fluke.

 

[Bob dog]

The referee nearly ripped us right off in the first half, proof we need to score additional tries to overcome the prejudiced mentality to get a win, not good.

 

[JMP2024]

Yeah the refs, we're inconsistent... Especially after the Pritchard hit, two high shots on dogs players (one of them being Graham), however no report.

 

[Chicharito]

Yeah the refs, we're inconsistent... Especially after the Pritchard hit, two high shots on dogs players (one of them being Graham), however no report.

thats always been the case though....refs are always gonna mess sh1t up

 

[MAD DOG]

Great standout performances by James Graham, Aiden Tolman, Frank Pritchard, Joel Romelo and Josh Reynolds. Im extremely happy getting the 2 points tonight in wet weather footy. Good signs that we never looked liked we panicked when we were behind on the scoreboard. Yes, we have improvement to be made but it all looks positive. Im sure we will see a huge change of play once we play on a dry pitch, and we will be able to see more of Haslers influence when that happens. Not as many set moves and plays against the panthers but guys, dont forget it was wet weather footy.. So all the haters and negative fans out there need to chill and give our team some weeks to show the world that the dogs will be competitive and play with the right attitude and passion in 2012. Im extremely proud of our boys effort and very happy with taking the 2 points. Tonight i saw passion, commitment and a team that played like a team!! Any improvement needed will be addressed by Des and its all forward and positive from here. Well done boys. We are back!! woof!! woof!!

 

[bert]

We we're lucky it was Penrith !
A good team would have put 50 on us

 

[Janice]

Great standout performances by James Graham, Aiden Tolman, Frank Pritchard, Joel Romelo and Josh Reynolds. Im extremely happy getting the 2 points tonight in wet weather footy. Good signs that we never looked liked we panicked when we were behind on the scoreboard. Yes, we have improvement to be made but it all looks positive. Im sure we will see a huge change of play once we play on a dry pitch, and we will be able to see more of Haslers influence when that happens. Not as many set moves and plays against the panthers but guys, dont forget it was wet weather footy.. So all the haters and negative fans out there need to chill and give our team some weeks to show the world that the dogs will be competitive and play with the right attitude and passion in 2012. Im extremely proud of our boys effort and very happy with taking the 2 points. Tonight i saw passion, commitment and a team that played like a team!! Any improvement needed will be addressed by Des and its all forward and positive from here. Well done boys. We are back!! woof!! woof!!

What he said!!!

 

[magdog]

Played dumb football, yet still got the result...gutsy!
Defense was VERY pleasing.
Graham,Prtichard & Halatau our best on field by a country mile.
Our kicking game is atrocious, puts way too much pressure on the rest of our game. Reynolds looks like a park footballer when he kicks the ball. Either he has to learn how to,or let others do the job.
Ball handling...what ball handling?
Ennis needs to run STRAIGHT from dummy half. Not take two steps and pass. Romelo showed the way here.
Look forward to who is in the team, and how we play come August, Sept....I expect us to be cheering at least 1 semi final win in 2012 !

 

[Qld-Dog]

Played dumb football, yet still got the result...gutsy!
Defense was VERY pleasing.
Graham,Prtichard & Halatau our best on field by a country mile.
Our kicking game is atrocious, puts way too much pressure on the rest of our game. Reynolds looks like a park footballer when he kicks the ball. Either he has to learn how to,or let others do the job.
Ball handling...what ball handling?
Ennis needs to run STRAIGHT from dummy half. Not take two steps and pass. Romelo showed the way here.
Look forward to who is in the team, and how we play come August, Sept....I expect us to be cheering at least 1 semi final win in 2012 !

Agreed maddog, I watched the game on Fox and again I had to put up with that Goose Alexander during a Bulldogs Game, I believe that Alexander and Daily should be barred from commentating on any games that involve Penrith or Canberra, their bias commentating make me sick to say the least.
Does anyone else feel the same as I do re these two jerks and in some cases Belcher can be just as annoying??? I think not having these morons commentating on the teams I have mentioned would at least deal with the bias commentary but then again I guess we will not have the pleasure of them talking with their head up A** when their team they are bias towards get smashed.