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The Canterbury Bulldogs come into the new season on the back of a horrific stretch at the bottom of the table, but the lights are shining bright.
Trent Barrett’s side have made a monstrous off-season recruitment run, signing players left, right and centre as they look to right the ship and move back into the top half of the table.
It may not happen overnight, but their recruitment run suggests it should.
Matt Burton is the headline act to arrive at the club, but the Bulldogs have also brought in Tevita Pangai Junior, Paul Vaughan, Josh Addo-Carr and Matt Dufty among others, all under the watchful eye of Phil Gould, whose development work at the Panthers build a juggernaut which is only just being seen in its true form now.
All of that means the expectations on the Bulldogs are enormous, but that isn’t necessarily a surprise. They are expected to do incredible things despite the fact many of these players haven’t played together before.
Regardless, from the bottom four for so many years, the only way is up for the Belmore-based club, and their fans will turn quickly if they don’t get success.
Nowhere in the NRL is there a team with more interest and intrigue around them before a ball has been kicked for 2022 than the Bulldogs.
Here are the burning questions they have to answer for success in 2022.
Can the team gel?
This is probably the question which will shape the Bulldogs 2022 campaign.
Some will say that “gelling” isn’t really an issue given every player is a professional, but it will take time when there are this many signings.
Almost half the squad has arrived at the club this season, and if you were to piece together the club’s best 17, then at least five will be fresh, and potentially up to seven or eight.
That is a recipe for disaster if things don’t work out, particularly given Matt Dufty and Matt Burton come straight into spine positions.
Of course, things probably can’t go any worse than they did last year regardless of how long it takes to gel, and the Bulldogs will show improvement at some point, but their run to the finals will depend on how quickly they can begin playing as one rugby league team, and whether all their arriving players maintain form from one club to the next into what is a new and improving system.
Who plays hooker?
Aside from the team gelling, this is another big one for the Bulldogs. Their recruitment rampage on the remainder of the competition might have been impressive, but they will be stuck with stop-gap measures or inexperience at hooker in 2022.
Reed Mahoney is set to arrive in 2023 which will fix the problem once and for all, but for now, it’s either a half who has turned himself into a serviceable dummy half in Jeremy Marshall-King, or a signing from the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Joshua Cook.
Marshall-King has been solid in the number nine, but isn’t an out and out dummy half - something teams in the top eight all have outside of the Manly Sea Eagles, although it could be argued Lachlan Croker has become more than just “serviceable.”
Still, without a strong dummy half to hold it together, the Bulldogs might as well throw their recruitment drive in the bin.
Marshall-King is probably the best option, but he will need to continue improving in a big way.
Will Matt Burton find his feet in the halves?
The answer to this question could well be hidden in who partners Burton, with Jake Averillo, Kyle Flanagan and Bailey Biondi-Odo among the options.
It’s thought Averillo will get first crack in the halves alongside Burton, and that’s probably the right option given his running game will allow Burton to slot into a more conventional kicking and organisational position.
But then, that relies on Burton finding his feet as a full time half.
He had a handful of games there in 2021, but didn’t play amazingly well, while his time in the centres was excellent.
He is a half and will come good, but it could take some time.
Can Tevita Pangai Junior be the game-breaker?
The Bulldogs need a game-breaker. They haven’t lacked in forwards even during their run at the bottom of the table.
A pack led by Josh Jackson, they have had strong names who turn up and put in the effort, despite the scoreline often being a dismal reading by the end of the 80 minutes for the men in blue and white.
But what they haven’t had is a player to burst games wide open. Think David Fifita, Tariq Sims, Viliame Kikau. Players who with a run or two can change the game on a dime.
Tevita Pangai Junior, whether playing the middle or on the edge is this sort of player, and will need to do it time and time again for the Bulldogs in 2022.
Consistency - something he improved enormously on at the Panthers after his early release from the Broncos - is something he will need too, but he is going to be used as the game-breaker for Canterbury.
Does Trent Barrett have what it takes to coach at NRL level?
Trent Barrett finally has a team which looks competitive, and while there are natural roadblocks in the path of progression, if Barrett is a good enough coach, he will find a way to overcome them in a hurry as the season progresses.
This is almost make or break for Barrett.
His team have, at times, shown they want to play for him, even when grossly out-gunned and out-talented by opposition teams, but now they have the talent to run with other top-eight bound teams.
Can Barrett devise the right attacking structures, pick the right teams and get his team firing?
Only time will tell.
Trent Barrett’s side have made a monstrous off-season recruitment run, signing players left, right and centre as they look to right the ship and move back into the top half of the table.
It may not happen overnight, but their recruitment run suggests it should.
Matt Burton is the headline act to arrive at the club, but the Bulldogs have also brought in Tevita Pangai Junior, Paul Vaughan, Josh Addo-Carr and Matt Dufty among others, all under the watchful eye of Phil Gould, whose development work at the Panthers build a juggernaut which is only just being seen in its true form now.
All of that means the expectations on the Bulldogs are enormous, but that isn’t necessarily a surprise. They are expected to do incredible things despite the fact many of these players haven’t played together before.
Regardless, from the bottom four for so many years, the only way is up for the Belmore-based club, and their fans will turn quickly if they don’t get success.
Nowhere in the NRL is there a team with more interest and intrigue around them before a ball has been kicked for 2022 than the Bulldogs.
Here are the burning questions they have to answer for success in 2022.
Can the team gel?
This is probably the question which will shape the Bulldogs 2022 campaign.
Some will say that “gelling” isn’t really an issue given every player is a professional, but it will take time when there are this many signings.
Almost half the squad has arrived at the club this season, and if you were to piece together the club’s best 17, then at least five will be fresh, and potentially up to seven or eight.
That is a recipe for disaster if things don’t work out, particularly given Matt Dufty and Matt Burton come straight into spine positions.
Of course, things probably can’t go any worse than they did last year regardless of how long it takes to gel, and the Bulldogs will show improvement at some point, but their run to the finals will depend on how quickly they can begin playing as one rugby league team, and whether all their arriving players maintain form from one club to the next into what is a new and improving system.
Who plays hooker?
Aside from the team gelling, this is another big one for the Bulldogs. Their recruitment rampage on the remainder of the competition might have been impressive, but they will be stuck with stop-gap measures or inexperience at hooker in 2022.
Reed Mahoney is set to arrive in 2023 which will fix the problem once and for all, but for now, it’s either a half who has turned himself into a serviceable dummy half in Jeremy Marshall-King, or a signing from the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Joshua Cook.
Marshall-King has been solid in the number nine, but isn’t an out and out dummy half - something teams in the top eight all have outside of the Manly Sea Eagles, although it could be argued Lachlan Croker has become more than just “serviceable.”
Still, without a strong dummy half to hold it together, the Bulldogs might as well throw their recruitment drive in the bin.
Marshall-King is probably the best option, but he will need to continue improving in a big way.
Will Matt Burton find his feet in the halves?
The answer to this question could well be hidden in who partners Burton, with Jake Averillo, Kyle Flanagan and Bailey Biondi-Odo among the options.
It’s thought Averillo will get first crack in the halves alongside Burton, and that’s probably the right option given his running game will allow Burton to slot into a more conventional kicking and organisational position.
But then, that relies on Burton finding his feet as a full time half.
He had a handful of games there in 2021, but didn’t play amazingly well, while his time in the centres was excellent.
He is a half and will come good, but it could take some time.
Can Tevita Pangai Junior be the game-breaker?
The Bulldogs need a game-breaker. They haven’t lacked in forwards even during their run at the bottom of the table.
A pack led by Josh Jackson, they have had strong names who turn up and put in the effort, despite the scoreline often being a dismal reading by the end of the 80 minutes for the men in blue and white.
But what they haven’t had is a player to burst games wide open. Think David Fifita, Tariq Sims, Viliame Kikau. Players who with a run or two can change the game on a dime.
Tevita Pangai Junior, whether playing the middle or on the edge is this sort of player, and will need to do it time and time again for the Bulldogs in 2022.
Consistency - something he improved enormously on at the Panthers after his early release from the Broncos - is something he will need too, but he is going to be used as the game-breaker for Canterbury.
Does Trent Barrett have what it takes to coach at NRL level?
Trent Barrett finally has a team which looks competitive, and while there are natural roadblocks in the path of progression, if Barrett is a good enough coach, he will find a way to overcome them in a hurry as the season progresses.
This is almost make or break for Barrett.
His team have, at times, shown they want to play for him, even when grossly out-gunned and out-talented by opposition teams, but now they have the talent to run with other top-eight bound teams.
Can Barrett devise the right attacking structures, pick the right teams and get his team firing?
Only time will tell.
