News Canterbury Bulldogs rookie Brandon Wakeham wants starting NRL halves spot in 2020

[Straight18]

Pay puts him on the bench as a reserve hooker i can see it now.
Next minute roosters were his second favourite club.
Sam walker, wakeham, verrils and tedesco. Another premiership.

 

[Real1]

Rioting in the streets of Belmore if our junior doesn't get supported by Pay and we see Cogger picked. Unfortunately....

He will start cogger, wakeham will be eased into the season.. that way pressure won’t be loaded onto the kid if we have a bad start

 

[wendog33]

He will start cogger, wakeham will be eased into the season.. that way pressure won’t be loaded onto the kid if we have a bad start

Without him we'll have a bad start....but I get what you're saying...plus it's Dean's default gameplan.

 

[Real1]

Without him we'll have a bad start....but I get what you're saying...plus it's Dean's default gameplan.

I think pay has been really good for our juniors...

 

[Real1]

Pay puts him on the bench as a reserve hooker i can see it now.
Next minute roosters were his second favourite club.
Sam walker, wakeham, verrils and tedesco. Another premiership.

He was listed as hooker before we signed katoa (from memory)... he’s training in the halves, he won’t go near hooker

 

[DinkumDog]

We'll see. 2019 we started Foran/Lewis. Obviously a different 6 starts 2020, so the real question: Cogger by default and if so, who wears 7? Wakeham didn't even factor into contention 12 months ago and a little taste of 2019 NRL and rep footy at the end of season have him 2020 primed. He's a 7, so can Lewis play 6? Hard to overlook for defence but that's about it for me. Tough choice for Deano - is Wakeham ready to step up from Round 1 or ease him in during the year? Maybe the trials will tell us something. I hope it really comes down to who's proved themselves in pre-season rather than any default pick.

 

[Real1]

We'll see. 2019 we started Foran/Lewis. Obviously a different 6 starts 2020, so the real question: Cogger by default and if so, who wears 7? Wakeham didn't even factor into contention 12 months ago and a little taste of 2019 NRL and rep footy at the end of season have him 2020 primed. He's a 7, so can Lewis play 6? Hard to overlook for defence but that's about it for me. Tough choice for Deano - is Wakeham ready to step up from Round 1 or ease him in during the year? Maybe the trials will tell us something. I hope it really comes down to who's proved themselves in pre-season rather than any default pick.

I think they gotta earn it, but also I think they’re keeping one eye on Wakeham all the time as the future and you’ll find if he proves himsef later on in the season he will be long term 7, Lewis 6 for me (for now) defence the only thing keeping him in first grade he doesn’t show enough leading the team around at all...

 

[Shire Dog]

I also hope that the two trials are going to count for something going into next season
Totally understand the coach/staff have to factor in so many other things before making selections but would be nice to give Brandon a shot if warranted.
Give the youth a chance,nothing to loose

 

[Psycho Doggie]

I don't mind Wakeham on the bench instead of Katoa, kind of like Thurston was in '04. At a pinch if need be Lewis can push out to Centres to cover injuries and Wakeham can come into the halves, and of course he can cover JMK or give him a break. It would also keep the pressure on the Lewis/Cogger combo, keep them honest. If either of them aren't quite firing, Wakeham can step straight in, Katoa can go on the bench, and Lewis or Cogger can drop back to Cup for a little while.

 

[Psycho Doggie]

To add to my previous post, the difference between Wakeham in 2020 and Thurston in 2004 is that Wakeham's competition for halves spots is much less experienced and much closer in age to him than JT's competition for halves spots. Wakeham is much more likely to break through in 2020. JT was up against Sherwin who was absolute magic in 2004, and glamour boy Anasta, who was highly rated at the time, though as it turned out, overrated.

I would have happily let Anasta go for JT at the time though.

 

[Spoonman84]

I don't mind Wakeham on the bench instead of Katoa, kind of like Thurston was in '04. At a pinch if need be Lewis can push out to Centres to cover injuries and Wakeham can come into the halves, and of course he can cover JMK or give him a break. It would also keep the pressure on the Lewis/Cogger combo, keep them honest. If either of them aren't quite firing, Wakeham can step straight in, Katoa can go on the bench, and Lewis or Cogger can drop back to Cup for a little while.

I’m really not a fan of Wakeham anywhere near hooker due to his size and injury history. He’s a tough player who doesn’t back down and that could work to his detriment at hooker with the amount of tackling he will have to do.
We have seen what the Lewis/Cogger combo has done and it’s hardly set the world on fire and while it could improve a little with a full off season I really don’t think it’s going to improve enough for what we need. In saying that I think Pay will go with Lewis and Cogger for sure and I can only see Wakeham getting a start through injury. All Wakeham needs is a chance and I think he will grasp it with both hands.

 

[Mr Invisible]

From what I can tell:

NRL Halves: Cogger and Lewis (with Foran injured).
NSWRL Halves: Wakeham and Marschke (is he even still with us?) most likely. Averillo in there somewhere and *maybe* Karatiana (though most likely in Bundy Cup).
Flegg Halves: Biondi-Odo and Seve

Wakehams biggest issue is inconsistency due to constant injuries.

Just as he starts to string some games together, he ends up injured again. Very Foran like.

 

[Spoonman84]

From what I can tell:

NRL Halves: Cogger and Lewis (with Foran injured).
NSWRL Halves: Wakeham and Marschke (is he even still with us?) most likely. Averillo in there somewhere and *maybe* Karatiana (though most likely in Bundy Cup).
Flegg Halves: Biondi-Odo and Seve

Wakehams biggest issue is inconsistency due to constant injuries.

Just as he starts to string some games together, he ends up injured again. Very Foran like.

You'd hope the Marschke brothers are not with the club in any capacity. They are never going to play NRL and they can't keep CCup competitive hopefully they are back in park footy where they belong.

 

[Real1]

From what I can tell:

NRL Halves: Cogger and Lewis (with Foran injured).
NSWRL Halves: Wakeham and Marschke (is he even still with us?) most likely. Averillo in there somewhere and *maybe* Karatiana (though most likely in Bundy Cup).
Flegg Halves: Biondi-Odo and Seve

Wakehams biggest issue is inconsistency due to constant injuries.

Just as he starts to string some games together, he ends up injured again. Very Foran like.

Wakeham body still developing, injuries for younger players are more common, two great examples are Marshall and even sbw coming through the ranks, once they develop fully they learn how to manage nurture properly... foran is cracked glass, you can’t put it back together

 

[CrittaMagic69]

You would hope that it does speak volumes about his passion for the club etc...... but,
wasn't Klemmer a MASSIVE dogs supporter?
and i am sure there are many others in that boat that left our club as soon as times got tough...
IMO it means nothing when a player tells the media and fans they were a massive dogs supporter etc...

Because the dream of playing for your boyhood club is sometimes best left being a dream rather than becoming a reality.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

I’m really not a fan of Wakeham anywhere near hooker due to his size and injury history. He’s a tough player who doesn’t back down and that could work to his detriment at hooker with the amount of tackling he will have to do.
We have seen what the Lewis/Cogger combo has done and it’s hardly set the world on fire and while it could improve a little with a full off season I really don’t think it’s going to improve enough for what we need. In saying that I think Pay will go with Lewis and Cogger for sure and I can only see Wakeham getting a start through injury. All Wakeham needs is a chance and I think he will grasp it with both hands.

Wakeham also needs to be allowed to play a bit of a more traditional 7 role as that's what the team needs and what he feels more comfortable with. This is something that defenitely needs to be worked on during the offseason so just starting with Lewis/Cogger already feels like massive waste as we will just be playing with split halves once again and the systems will always be put on place because of it.

 

[Spoonman84]

Wakeham also needs to be allowed to play a bit of a more traditional 7 role as that's what the team needs and what he feels more comfortable with. This is something that defenitely needs to be worked on during the offseason so just starting with Lewis/Cogger already feels like massive waste as we will just be playing with split halves once again and the systems will always be put on place because of it.

Totally agree I just don’t see many positives at all sticking with Cogger/Lewis it will get us 2 maybe 3 tries a match if we are lucky. I’d love to see Wakeham given the keys and run the show.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Totally agree I just don’t see many positives at all sticking with Cogger/Lewis it will get us 2 maybe 3 tries a match if we are lucky. I’d love to see Wakeham given the keys and run the show.

We saw it with the Fiji games, even if Wakeham wasn't getting his hands on the ball he was still around the ruck scanning the defence and pushing players where he wanted. Then when the opportunity presented itself he was in a position to see it and take advantage of it.

Lewis and Cogger aren't going to spot these opportunities and we will be relying on the same block plays without Wakeham in the side. Cogger doesn't mind getting his hands on the ball but is more of just a distributor (maybe why he got a run at hooker) and doesn't really play at the line even though he started running more.... Lewis...no comment.

Hopefully Pay gets this shit sorted this time round. Our backrow is defenitely a strength for us and we need to better use it moving forward. We have potentially both CHN and Stimson on the edges next season and both are very good edge runners, CHN can also thrive off early ball...we can't waste our biggest strength because Pay is too afraid to make the required changes to the side and stick to the "safe" option.

 

[Mr Invisible]

I reckon Shiftys input will make a big difference to our playmakers this year. Lewis has a massive boot on him, so the 20/40 might suit him well. Cogger I see a bit of Sherwin in him, and hopefully can continue to grow throughout the year.

I think we'll start Wakeham in NSW Cup for a month or two (to see if he stays fit), and pending our first grade situation potentially move him in then.

 

[doggieaaron]

Lewis/wakeham compliment each other perfectly