Building a Club (Something to be Proud of)

[diddly]

Things will change but it's tough rn. One thing this injury crisis has highlighted is how poor our depth is (though I do wonder how well any other club would hold up under the same circumstances). CC is short on options. It's not just the number of injuries but also the calibre of the players lost. Fox + Burton can be one of the deadliest combos in the comp on their day. Losing Fox was brutal. Kiraz has had a HUGE impact for us, too. Kikau was a little rocks and diamonds in his handful of Dogs games but he's a vocal leader and when he was on, he was ON. Pele looked like he was shaping up to be a really strong bench impact forward.
I only hope that the players understand and appreciate the circumstance the club is in and don't lose faith in the process. When we get players back, we'll start winning games again. We're probably still a ways off making a dent in the top 4 but I still have faith we'll end this season in a better spot than we're in now.

re Kikau - he being missing has impacted Alamoti's effectiveness in defence.

Your point re who is injured as opposed to the numbers injured is very valid.

My concerns is less about injuries but more about the wisdom of decisions of coaching n recruitment - Reynolds? Okunbor? Clarke? and to a lesser extent Nu Brown - i just cannot see any onfield upside.

 

[KLil]

Hi all. First timer at posting here.
Do those who are old enough to remember the 80’s and 90’s this isn’t our first rodeo at rebuilding the club. Sure others like Greenberg and Hasler have tried but they had short term goals in mind at the time.
Success often starts at the bottom so our results in juniors and Reggie’s shows there’s a path forward with some actual planning being done
“In Gus We Trust” is overused but if we look at a holistic view, the club (which should be the main focus) is improving far quicker than most thought.
I get frustrated with results but this year I’m not frustrated with effort because for the first time in a long time I believe that the effort is momentum.
Sure, no club is perfect and we will sign some duds but we will unearth some good’uns too but I think the nett effect with put us on the right path for the long term.
Each week I am now looking for green shoots and positives that we will use to build us back into a good club. It’s easy to be deflated by losses but I would rather follow the positive mindset that the club is embracing and take that leap of faith. Anyway, always - Go the Dogs!

I was thinking the same thing yesterday... Watching the boys play yesterday under so much adversity sent myself back to the late 90's and even late 2000's where the boys would just scrap and scrap even though they weren't that good. Even off the back of it we would end up playing finals which is the true bulldog mentality.

We are in good stead... Bit of tinkering with the line-up and some returning troops and I am positive we will be playing finals next yr and vying for a premiership.

 

[wendog33]

Instead of watching live gamesShow him replays from 2009 2012 2004 etc - but dont tell him

What about the kids at school lol. They talk lol.

That's our biggest downfall. No X-Factor stars for kids to envy and no positive vibes on our footy success.

It will change but its a way off.

 

[Eesma]

re Kikau - he being missing has impacted Alamoti's effectiveness in defence.

Your point re who is injured as opposed to the numbers injured is very valid.

My concerns is less about injuries but more about the wisdom of decisions of coaching n recruitment - Reynolds? Okunbor? Clarke? and to a lesser extent Nu Brown - i just cannot see any onfield upside.

They'd never admit it outright (and I'm sure I'll be considered crazy or heretical for saying it, myself) but I suspect Gould and CC began the season expecting that making the 8 would be a very difficult (if not unrealistic) prospect, based on the team we have. During one of his speeches earlier this year, Gould said that, when he initially spoke to CC about the job, he warned him there'd be a long road ahead to get back to a competitive club. That's not to say that I think they gave up before the season started, just that I think that the decisions they're making are for the long term good of the club, rather than the short term. IF that were the case, then:

a) Our very successful NSW Cup team, who made the GF last year, stay together and spend more time developing combinations. They get more experience and, at the rate they're going, potentially another GF appearance (or even GF win). Penrith's success right now has come on the back of combinations that were formed as the players came through together in the lower grades and I suspect we're attempting to replicate that. That would go a long way to explaining why we're persisting with some players, like Okunbor, who aren't up to scratch. (Though I think Okunbor has been doing an ok job as a short term stand-in forward.)
b) Reynolds comes in for a year, offers the club good PR (which we've been sorely lacking), boosts game attendance (nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool), acts as a mentor to our younger players and fills gaps where needed (he's past it but he's still a bigger threat than Flanno, somehow). When 2024 rolls around and we're ready to push for the 8, his contract is up, he gets a job somewhere in the club and we never see him on the field again.

Clarke's gone now, anyway, and I don't mind the Nu Brown signing. It's good to sign depth with the kind of versatility he has.

 

[spaced_monkey]

They'd never admit it outright (and I'm sure I'll be considered crazy or heretical for saying it, myself) but I suspect Gould and CC began the season expecting that making the 8 would be a very difficult (if not unrealistic) prospect, based on the team we have. During one of his speeches earlier this year, Gould said that, when he initially spoke to CC about the job, he warned him there'd be a long road ahead to get back to a competitive club. That's not to say that I think they gave up before the season started, just that I think that the decisions they're making are for the long term good of the club, rather than the short term. IF that were the case, then:

a) Our very successful NSW Cup team, who made the GF last year, stay together and spend more time developing combinations. They get more experience and, at the rate they're going, potentially another GF appearance (or even GF win). Penrith's success right now has come on the back of combinations that were formed as the players came through together in the lower grades and I suspect we're attempting to replicate that. That would go a long way to explaining why we're persisting with some players, like Okunbor, who aren't up to scratch. (Though I think Okunbor has been doing an ok job as a short term stand-in forward.)
b) Reynolds comes in for a year, offers the club good PR (which we've been sorely lacking), boosts game attendance (nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool), acts as a mentor to our younger players and fills gaps where needed (he's past it but he's still a bigger threat than Flanno, somehow). When 2024 rolls around and we're ready to push for the 8, his contract is up, he gets a job somewhere in the club and we never see him on the field again.

Clarke's gone now, anyway, and I don't mind the Nu Brown signing. It's good to sign depth with the kind of versatility he has.

Good analysis. Massive Improvement in jnrs and Reggie’s this year - no better place to start when your trying to climb a mountain.

 

[D.O.W.]

Hi all. First timer at posting here.
Do those who are old enough to remember the 80’s and 90’s this isn’t our first rodeo at rebuilding the club. Sure others like Greenberg and Hasler have tried but they had short term goals in mind at the time.
Success often starts at the bottom so our results in juniors and Reggie’s shows there’s a path forward with some actual planning being done
“In Gus We Trust” is overused but if we look at a holistic view, the club (which should be the main focus) is improving far quicker than most thought.
I get frustrated with results but this year I’m not frustrated with effort because for the first time in a long time I believe that the effort is momentum.
Sure, no club is perfect and we will sign some duds but we will unearth some good’uns too but I think the nett effect with put us on the right path for the long term.
Each week I am now looking for green shoots and positives that we will use to build us back into a good club. It’s easy to be deflated by losses but I would rather follow the positive mindset that the club is embracing and take that leap of faith. Anyway, always - Go the Dogs!

Welcome aboard mate and glad the Kennel has another logical thinker join ranks

 

[wendog33]

Any chance of Ryan Reynolds buying us?

 

[spaced_monkey]

Welcome aboard mate and glad the Kennel has another logical thinker join ranks

Logical and rugby League don’t often mix mate, lol. But sport is great for bringing people of different walks of life together - The Dogs is definitely one of those and adds some colour

 

[spaced_monkey]

Any chance of Ryan Reynolds buying us?

Lol. Don’t want him to buy us but I wish the club continue the doco series - just pay the cost and keep it going forever. Some of the best club content ever. Imagine the footage 20 years from now - that’s Club building!

 

[spaced_monkey]

They'd never admit it outright (and I'm sure I'll be considered crazy or heretical for saying it, myself) but I suspect Gould and CC began the season expecting that making the 8 would be a very difficult (if not unrealistic) prospect, based on the team we have. During one of his speeches earlier this year, Gould said that, when he initially spoke to CC about the job, he warned him there'd be a long road ahead to get back to a competitive club. That's not to say that I think they gave up before the season started, just that I think that the decisions they're making are for the long term good of the club, rather than the short term. IF that were the case, then:

a) Our very successful NSW Cup team, who made the GF last year, stay together and spend more time developing combinations. They get more experience and, at the rate they're going, potentially another GF appearance (or even GF win). Penrith's success right now has come on the back of combinations that were formed as the players came through together in the lower grades and I suspect we're attempting to replicate that. That would go a long way to explaining why we're persisting with some players, like Okunbor, who aren't up to scratch. (Though I think Okunbor has been doing an ok job as a short term stand-in forward.)
b) Reynolds comes in for a year, offers the club good PR (which we've been sorely lacking), boosts game attendance (nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool), acts as a mentor to our younger players and fills gaps where needed (he's past it but he's still a bigger threat than Flanno, somehow). When 2024 rolls around and we're ready to push for the 8, his contract is up, he gets a job somewhere in the club and we never see him on the field again.

Clarke's gone now, anyway, and I don't mind the Nu Brown signing. It's good to sign depth with the kind of versatility he has.

Yeah, top eight was always going to be tough. Made tougher by the injuries. But given closeness of the comp this year, and we start to get injured players back after the bye, I would like us to be a nuisance team for back the end of comp - and Gus and CC have some surprises up their sleeve. Maybe, we can just do enough to at least send warning bells for next year.

 

[spaced_monkey]

Yeah, top eight was always going to be tough. Made tougher by the injuries. But given closeness of the comp this year, and we start to get injured players back after the bye, I would like us to be a nuisance team for back the end of comp - and Gus and CC have some surprises up their sleeve. Maybe, we can just do enough to at least send warning bells for next year.

I’d love for the Doggies to do enough just to fuck up another couple of teams chances. Maybe we’ll start to be hated again

 

[Menteek]

What I want is our teams coming out and playing like they will play their last game as a dog. The mentality is still slightly from the baz and pay days. But I can see the horizon of us being what the cowboys were last year. Building combinations and coming back the following year to blitz it with their defense and attack

 

[spaced_monkey]

What I want is our teams coming out and playing like they will play their last game as a dog. The mentality is still slightly from the baz and pay days. But I can see the horizon of us being what the cowboys were last year. Building combinations and coming back the following year to blitz it with their defense and attack

Gus and CC have tried to wipe several years of mediocrity in one season. Takes a while

 

[Menteek]

Gus and CC have tried to wipe several years of mediocrity in one season. Takes a while

indeed my brother, let’s hope for the sake of us fans when our full team is back, we can see what CC really wanted the team to play

 

[Alan79]

What I like about the moves made recently are that while we have bought in a few big names, some of the surprise packages have been killing it for us.

- King last year was an out of nowhere player that became a fan favourite.

- Preston this year has been huge for us.

- Kiraz was another that has gone from being virtually unknown to exploding onto the scene.

With some luck we might unearth a few more players that are better than we expected. Some juniors can emerge and hopefully give some faith in our once great production line. We might even see a few more emerge from our current stocks this year. The forward that the Tigpies released to us is apparently a player to watch. Skelton and Oloapu might go well if they get a shot. We've still got Rajab biding his time. I'm not as obsessive about following the juniors these days, but we've got some prospects in the lower grades and if they earn it they might get a chance this year.

There's still enough time to get back in touch with the 8. I don't have expectations. But there have been plenty of teams that go on a winning streak and claw their way up the ladder. I don't expect much more than to see the side improve towards the back end of the year, but how much they improve and the potential for other teams to drop off might mean we see finals action this year yet. I know we're a way off being a realistic premiership contender. But playing in the finals doesn't require a team to be world beaters at this point and I think we've got enough fight in us this year to scrape in if we have a touch of luck.