Bulldogs Trial Game Discussion

[Bulldogs09]

I was calling Danny to start late last year for lock this year [emoji12] glad I got one right!

 

[Interestingg]

Last year with Tolman and Graham starting, our punch through the middle was pathetic. With klemmer, Danny, RFM (who has put on some good size) and Woods, I’m very excited for the direct running and offloads to come.

Bench should consist of Taulau, Ogden, Eastwood and a utility. It’s a shame but I think Pay will justify Tolmans large salary and sacrifice Ogden’s position

 

[BlackDawg]

Yesterday's game reinforced my belief that this year is simply transitioning towards a squad Pay really wants and a play style that will be more competitive. On the plus side they did look fitter than in previous years and Foran definitely went to line and straightened our our attack which put our strike backs into the mix. Our absolute priority is a decent halfback which would explain Cogger. I also took the opportiunity to look at souths and St george last night and i really cursed Hasler and that retard Cleal because our juniors are woeful compared to what both of those clubs have coming through.

 

[DublinDogg]

Definitely good signs. We rarely win trail games lol

 

[Oatley Dog]

It was a game of 2 halves

First grade
Then reggies

I was happy with the first half

The second half was ok
But showed the difference in class between first grade and 2nd grade m

Cleeland was rubbish
His kicking game was rubbish

Frawley is unfortunately the better first grade choice

Hope the young knights kid will be first grade ready by the time he arrives next season

I preferred our style of play a lot more

I not expecting miracles or better results on the scoreboard this year
But am excited about a more positive game plan

Onwards and upwards for the bulldogs now Dib and Des are gone

It was only a trial and there are a lot of new combinations that need to be put under pressure which is what trials are for. Agree I would have liked to see Frawley do a bit more but he is playing second fiddle to Foran and so that will take a bit of time to work out. I thought under the circumstances Cleeland went OK. Put a couple of long kicks in which was good to see. I wasn't watching him closely but I didn't notice any missed tackles. Sure he didn't grab the game by the throat but he went OK. I thought both Martin and To'omaga were missing out there. Ogden jumped straight past them with his effort. I didn't see any obvious failings among the FG side. Next week will show a bit more but as long as they improve on last night it is looking good.

 

[Dogzof95]

Just to let everyone know, the first try we scored was on the fourth tackle! Which means under desball, with tolman and graham in our side this try would never have occurred!

I’m expecting other coaches to give their team the heads up to not fall for the Tolman and Graham on the fourth and fifth tackle, as Hasler no longer coaches the bulldogs (I did notice the Raiders defenders looking confused after the try was scored, if you can lip read, one of their players says “where’s tolman and graham”)! It might take the other teams sometime to work it out as it has been in our system for a while! As for the bulldogs, they should take advantage of this opportunity, as Lichaa did last night!!

 

[CaptainJackson]

Last year with Tolman and Graham starting, our punch through the middle was pathetic. With klemmer, Danny, RFM (who has put on some good size) and Woods, I’m very excited for the direct running and offloads to come.

Bench should consist of Taulau, Ogden, Eastwood and a utility. It’s a shame but I think Pay will justify Tolmans large salary and sacrifice Ogden’s position

I don't think Pay will give a shit about reputations.

Based on the 1st half and how our forwards played, with woods still to come in, it looks like tolman should start searching for another club

 

[Pity Fool]

FULL REVIEW OF TEAM.. Watched entire thing at full HD streamed online.

Largely different attack but combos still need forming. That'll come as the players get Desball outta there system.

BLUE PLAYERS PLAYED FIRST HALF ONLY
ORANGE PLAYERS PLAYED A BIT OF BOTH HALVES
GREEN PLAYERS PLAYED SECOND HALF ONLY

1. Moses Mbye - Fairly quiet game. Injected in attack a few times but was never really tested much under high ball.
2. Brett Morris - A few darts across field shows the pace is still there. Kept Rapana out of the game well.
3. Josh Morris - Made a break at one point and had Mbye not been a metre in front was a certain try.
4. William Hopoate - Got involved a bit, but nothing stand out.
5. Marcelo Montoya - Didn't see mcuh ball, but shut down Cotric and kept him quiet.
6. Matt Frawley - Not the answer in the halves. Tried but couldn't find his feet and made a few wrong calls and shocking kicks.
7. Kieran Foran - Looks very promising. Took control, made a few nice overlaps, and put a few players through holes. Kicking is decent too.
8. Lachlan Burr - Has some pace, didn't notice him much out there but was primary prop in second half. Could be up for a bench spot.
9. Michael Lichaa - Brilliant game. Scored a try, setup another, and solid in defence. VERY impressive.
10. David Klemmer - Solid as always. Decent performance, kept Raiders big men contained, and still firey as ever.
11. Josh Jackson - Captain Jackson and Foran are going to cause some headaches this season. Nice combination developing already.
12. Raymond Faitala- Mariner - Bigger, Stronger, better. Decent game by RFM and he's only going to get better.
13. Danny Fualalo - Solid performance by Danny. Could be bench interchange lock for Eastwood I reckon.

14. Jack Nelson - Made some good metres, and held his own.
15. Greg Eastwood - For a bloke that just had surgery, ran a beauty of a line and scored a try. Could the Beast be in for a big season? Lets hope so!
16. Adam Elliott - Sinbinned for getting pushed and falling over was his highlight. Didn't see much of him.
17. Jeremy Marshall-King - Very promising player. Threw a cracker of a ball for match winning try. Versatile too (hooker/fullback/halves). Definite smokey for the halves spot.

19. Francis Tualau - Very solid game. Bent the line with every hitup.
20. Tom Carr - Fairly quiet in second half, but made a few nice metres from ruck.
21. Josh Cleeland - Disappointing. Failed to inject himself into the game much. Decent in defence and kicks were ok.
22. Jarred Anderson - Didn't see much of him as he was parked out in the centres alongside Carr.
23. Asipeli Fine - Didn't see much ball. Played inside of Okonbour.
24. Josh Bergamin - Go involved in the game in a few places. Made a nice break and scored the winning try. One to watch.
25. Lachlan Lewis - DID NOT PLAY
26. Kerrod Holland - Barely sighted in the game.
27. Zac Woolford - DID NOT PLAY
28. Rhyse Martin - Carted the ball up a few times, but wasn't sighted much.
29. Jayden Okunbor - A few nice touches and will get better with game time. Played centre inside Bergamin.
30. Ofahiki Ogden - Big, strong, made some big metres in second half. Smokey for a bench spot.
31. Renouf To'omaga - Not sighted much at all.
32. John Olive - Not sure he played.
33. Fa'amanu Brown - Disappointing. Bad defensive miss for one try, not many kicks. Looks better either at hooker, or maybe even in centres.

I didn’t get to watch the game unfortunately but thanks for the great appraisal, very insightful!

 

[Chris Harding]

FULL REVIEW OF TEAM.. Watched entire thing at full HD streamed online.

Largely different attack but combos still need forming. That'll come as the players get Desball outta there system.

BLUE PLAYERS PLAYED FIRST HALF ONLY
ORANGE PLAYERS PLAYED A BIT OF BOTH HALVES
GREEN PLAYERS PLAYED SECOND HALF ONLY

1. Moses Mbye - Fairly quiet game. Injected in attack a few times but was never really tested much under high ball.
2. Brett Morris - A few darts across field shows the pace is still there. Kept Rapana out of the game well.
3. Josh Morris - Made a break at one point and had Mbye not been a metre in front was a certain try.
4. William Hopoate - Got involved a bit, but nothing stand out.
5. Marcelo Montoya - Didn't see mcuh ball, but shut down Cotric and kept him quiet.
6. Matt Frawley - Not the answer in the halves. Tried but couldn't find his feet and made a few wrong calls and shocking kicks.
7. Kieran Foran - Looks very promising. Took control, made a few nice overlaps, and put a few players through holes. Kicking is decent too.
8. Lachlan Burr - Has some pace, didn't notice him much out there but was primary prop in second half. Could be up for a bench spot.
9. Michael Lichaa - Brilliant game. Scored a try, setup another, and solid in defence. VERY impressive.
10. David Klemmer - Solid as always. Decent performance, kept Raiders big men contained, and still firey as ever.
11. Josh Jackson - Captain Jackson and Foran are going to cause some headaches this season. Nice combination developing already.
12. Raymond Faitala- Mariner - Bigger, Stronger, better. Decent game by RFM and he's only going to get better.
13. Danny Fualalo - Solid performance by Danny. Could be bench interchange lock for Eastwood I reckon.

14. Jack Nelson - Made some good metres, and held his own.
15. Greg Eastwood - For a bloke that just had surgery, ran a beauty of a line and scored a try. Could the Beast be in for a big season? Lets hope so!
16. Adam Elliott - Sinbinned for getting pushed and falling over was his highlight. Didn't see much of him.
17. Jeremy Marshall-King - Very promising player. Threw a cracker of a ball for match winning try. Versatile too (hooker/fullback/halves). Definite smokey for the halves spot.

19. Francis Tualau - Very solid game. Bent the line with every hitup.
20. Tom Carr - Fairly quiet in second half, but made a few nice metres from ruck.
21. Josh Cleeland - Disappointing. Failed to inject himself into the game much. Decent in defence and kicks were ok.
22. Jarred Anderson - Didn't see much of him as he was parked out in the centres alongside Carr.
23. Asipeli Fine - Didn't see much ball. Played inside of Okonbour.
24. Josh Bergamin - Go involved in the game in a few places. Made a nice break and scored the winning try. One to watch.
25. Lachlan Lewis - DID NOT PLAY
26. Kerrod Holland - Barely sighted in the game.
27. Zac Woolford - DID NOT PLAY
28. Rhyse Martin - Carted the ball up a few times, but wasn't sighted much.
29. Jayden Okunbor - A few nice touches and will get better with game time. Played centre inside Bergamin.
30. Ofahiki Ogden - Big, strong, made some big metres in second half. Smokey for a bench spot.
31. Renouf To'omaga - Not sighted much at all.
32. John Olive - Not sure he played.
33. Fa'amanu Brown - Disappointing. Bad defensive miss for one try, not many kicks. Looks better either at hooker, or maybe even in centres.

Thank you. A brilliant overview of the players involved.

Without singling out anyone I would just observe that out attacking style has dramatically changed, while our defence appears not to have suffered as a result of the change. I was impressed with the ball movement, and the ability to hold back if a player wasn't in a better position. I expected our usual string of dropped balls and, though we started with two errors, the handling improved over the course of the game. The players looked confident and happy. A bit of aggression suited them.
Second half was up against a better Raider's halves combination, and our young guns, with little time together, kept it to one try apiece - a fine effort.

I'm pretty happy with the one show I've seen. Looking forward to seeing Woods in the side.

 

[Chris Harding]

Where are all the Tolman lovers? Does anyone still want him to start at lock instead of Danny F. RFM and Danny F will be household names by years end. They will complement Jackson Klemmer and Woods very nicely. Are starting pack is gun. Im not to fussed about the bench as these 5 starters will play most of the mins.

I've stood up for Tolman when he's been unfairly criticised. He is a good player who played to Des' orders; was solid in defence, and played his heart out every game. He even scored a couple of tries by being in the right place at the right time. I reckon that under Pay, we could see a very different Tolman this year.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Last year with Tolman and Graham starting, our punch through the middle was pathetic. With klemmer, Danny, RFM (who has put on some good size) and Woods, I’m very excited for the direct running and offloads to come.

Bench should consist of Taulau, Ogden, Eastwood and a utility. It’s a shame but I think Pay will justify Tolmans large salary and sacrifice Ogden’s position

Pay will have Elliott in the 17.

 

[Interestingg]

I don't think Pay will give a shit about reputations.

Based on the 1st half and how our forwards played, with woods still to come in, it looks like tolman should start searching for another club

Fingers crossed

 

[Interestingg]

Pay will have Elliott in the 17.

Bloke plays like a headless chook though

 

[Mr Invisible]

I didn’t get to watch the game unfortunately but thanks for the great appraisal, very insightful!

@Blue & White Dynamite you can watch the replay on the NRL site.

https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/02/17/live-stream-bulldogs-v-raiders-nrl-trial/

Pay will have Elliott in the 17.

I have a feeling Elliott will be our new Gary Warburton!

Who remembers Agro!!

 

[KiwiDog7]

Looking forward to watching the replay when I get home

 

[willow dogs]

I thought Marshall-king looked good same as Okunbor in time he could be a first grader

 

[kempsey]

I must have been watching a differant game to everyone else. I could see no differance from last year other then foran doing all the talking. To me it was the same old same, falling off tackles, one out running with the odd movement accross the line. Deffently need a 5/8

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Bloke plays like a headless chook though

Still think Pay will go with him because of his aggression and enthusiasm. He's an average player that could be above average if he sorts out a few things and plays more controlled...he's basically the Reynolds of forwards lol. He can also cover an edge.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

agree, he also is a running forward that can hit holes, good variety where RFM is a ball playing forward.

RFM is a running forward with a great offload, i wouldn't really call him a ball playing forward tbh. Elliott has better ball playing skills imo, but yh he can run a decent line.

 

[Longtimedog]

Don’t forget everyone we beat Melbourne in our first trial last year then got belted by Penrith without most of their top side