Official Bulldogs vs Raiders NRL Trial - Sat 23rd Feb - Discussion Thread

[JackDog]

Heaps of player and positional changes. It was the ISP side and the majority of the Raiders tries came through Olive.

And the ref did a home town job, gave the Faders every chance of winning.

I think there was a breeze up Faders arse in 2nd half that we had in the 1st as well.

 

[dogluva]

Only thing I would add was that the Raiders pretty much still had half their first grade team on in the 2nd Half. it was like first vs first then a isp vs depleted firsts. Noit fair to say that the Raiders ISP team is that much better than ours.

Agree...Wighton, Sezar, Croker, Cotric, Hodgson still on second half and probably a few others as well. What killed us in the second half was that the raiders were perfect as they conceded no penalties ( apparently we only got two whole game) , we had a man in the bin and their winning try was from a dropped ball. Half of our starting side we dressed and in tracksuits on the sideline all second half. Poor defence from two players in particular was the reason we had those simple tries scored in the second half. We pretty much held them until the last twenty.

 

[Scoooby]

Agree...Wighton, Sezar, Croker, Cotric, Hodgson still on second half and probably a few others as well. What killed us in the second half was that the raiders were perfect as they conceded no penalties ( apparently we only got two whole game) , we had a man in the bin and their winning try was from a dropped ball. Half of our starting side we dressed and in tracksuits on the sideline all second half. Poor defence from two players in particular was the reason we had those simple tries scored in the second half. We pretty much held them until the last twenty.

Right you are mate, the first half is what should be looked at and going on that was a very solid performance!!

 

[Bull Terrier]

I can’t understand this penalty count 26-2 is that for real .?

 

[Kila R Ralai]

I can’t understand this penalty count 26-2 is that for real .?

Thats the joke of the season...they should have just done a training session instead of calling it a trial.

 

[Bull Terrier]

Thats the joke of the season...they should have just done a training session instead of calling it a trial.

I counted 5 offside penalties in a row against us yesterday. I have no idea if they were off side or not I figure they were but sure raiders weren’t angels to only given away 2 penalties, it’s crazy only referring one team.

 

[dogluva]

I counted 5 offside penalties in a row against us yesterday. I have no idea if they were off side or not I figure they were but sure raiders weren’t angels to only given away 2 penalties, it’s crazy only referring one team.

As I mentioned somewhere else the referee that was in control yesterday has constantly hammered us in the Intrust....to him he probably felt he was just doing his job in a professional and fair manner because that is always what he has done.....

 

[Howard Moon]

Only thing I would add was that the Raiders pretty much still had half their first grade team on in the 2nd Half. it was like first vs first then a isp vs depleted firsts. Noit fair to say that the Raiders ISP team is that much better than ours.

yeah they had pretty much a world class spine, and more than the rub of the green.

 

[Bull Terrier]

As I mentioned somewhere else the referee that was in control yesterday has constantly hammered us in the Intrust....to him he probably felt he was just doing his job in a professional and fair manner because that is always what he has done.....

Just seems he was only focused on us for raiders to only get 2 penalties against them they must be pretty perfect football side in saying that us giving away 26 penalties is not good trial game or not. Still happy with our boys though they played well

 

[Kempsey Dog]

Cotric will do that to the majority of defenders....

tired of seeing that boy wasted out on the wing. ricky stuart has rocks in his head leaving him out there.

 

[BELMORE]

As I mentioned somewhere else the referee that was in control yesterday has constantly hammered us in the Intrust....to him he probably felt he was just doing his job in a professional and fair manner because that is always what he has done.....

Yeah I’m backing you on this. This ref is a joke. People should go and look at the ISP games he reffed last year, absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Mr Invisible]

Meaney accelerates off the mark like he's being shot out of a cannon. But needs to learn to try and tackle, not bump off attackers.

Yeah I’m backing you on this. This ref is a joke. People should go and look at the ISP games he reffed last year, absolutely ridiculous.

Was he the same ref that cost us in SG Ball last year too? I have a feeling it might be.

decent summary from a Raiders fan

View attachment 9191

Second Half Raiders was all but about 4 players that were starting first graders. We had a mix of Intrust players and Bundy Cup players.

 

[belmore_utd]

There was a point in one set in the 2nd half where Harper took a 5th tackle Raiders kick got tackled on our own try line, when he stood up to play the ball he had his leg sweeped out from under him. Then a couple tackles later on our own 40 a Dogs player was on his back and one of the Raiders players moving back to marker grabbed his leg and spun him around. Ofcourse the next Raiders set the ref blew the pea for something innocuous.

Raiders were playing for penalties and sooking it up where as our players looked to get on with it.

 

[finchie]

Cogger is utter rubbish
Pat has rocks in his head if he doesn’t start prince Lewis and king Foran

 

[Gabe]

Fair call. Meaney didn’t have the players around him that hoppa had in the first half. In saying that, Hoppa has always been a class player though.

Agree, at centre
His veritility to back up at fullback is the reason we traded Lafai for him, and he is solid there.

But he does not have the speed that is demanded of a modern day fullback.
Even in D, cleaning up kicks on the edge

We need Meany to work out...
Not to mention the thought of Montoya play centre is scary

 

[vegny]

THE ENTERTAINERS’ RETURN

The Bulldogs were hugely impressive when they had their big names on the park in the first half.

Kieran Foran was everywhere, roaming both sides of the ruck pulling the strings.

The big men — led by Dylan Napa — rolled through the sizeable Raiders middle men, and Reimis Smith picked up where he left off last year, showing blistering speed in an intercept try.

But it was when Dean Pay’s men spread the ball to the left that they really made a statement.

Quick passes caught the Raiders’ defence short on several occasions, and Foran was wrapping around to the open side to create the extra man.

Will Hopoate was particularly impressive, producing two breathtaking one-touch passes that laid on tries.

The Bulldogs said they’d be playing an entertaining brand of footy in 2019, and on that performance fans have plenty to look forward to.

From foxsports

 

[KLil]

Agree, at centre
His veritility to back up at fullback is the reason we traded Lafai for him, and he is solid there.

But he does not have the speed that is demanded of a modern day fullback.
Even in D, cleaning up kicks on the edge

We need Meany to work out...
Not to mention the thought of Montoya play centre is scary

We are actually yet to see if hoppa has gained any pace due to weight loss..

 

[MoNkEy]

From the Telegraph this morning:

CANBERRA RAIDERS 28 BULLDOGS 22

1. After a breakout debut season in 2018, Lachlan Lewis could be relegated to the lower grades to begin the year. In a strong indication of his Round 1 team, Dean Pay opted to start Newcastle recruit Jack Cogger in the halves alongside Kieran Foran, with Lewis coming on late in the trial. Cogger and Foran combined well in their first official hit out together in promising signs for an attacking unit that’s struggled in recent years.

2. Highly regarded rookie Corey Horsburgh continues to impress at every opportunity and is in serious contention to jag a debut off the bench in Canberra’s season opener. The 21-year-old front-rower possesses a crafty offload and strong work ethic and can provide size in the pack following the departures of Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo.

3. There are few greater sights in rugby league than front-rowers in the clear. The Bega crowd were treated to just that, with Bulldogs prop Aiden Tolman finding himself in open space with only Raiders fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to beat to bag a rare pre-season meat pie. Tolman was put through a huge hole by Will Hopoate, ran 20m, trampled the Raiders number one and planted it down for a four-pointer. The supremely consistent Tolman is a key figure for Canterbury this season, with the pack’s go-forward a concern due to David Klemmer’s departure. Dylan Napa is a quality replacement, but the former Rooster is primarily an enforcer rather than a metre-eater.

— Tim Williams

 

[Howard Moon]

Hoppa's issues in past seasons have been not having a lot to work with.... He's always done his job and usually one of the best on field, but he goes up another level when he has decent halves to work with.. He's going to have a big season if that trial is anything to go off

 

[Spoonman84]

From the Telegraph this morning:

I’ll wait until Round 1 but if Pay selects Cogger over Lewis then I want him gone.