Finally a bright future, or is it?

[EXPLORER]

Hey guys,
We have suffered for far too long.
As bulldogs fans, especially the over 40s like me, we are not use to being on the bottom.
We are use to being a heavy weight and winning a premiership or 2 at least every 10 years.
To be at the bottom as long as we have in recent times is hard to accept.

In that time we have had false hope on the back of re builds and player turnover year in year out.

But this all feels different this time, it feels real.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting anything huge this year,
But I believe this year will springboard us into somthing special for 2024.
I truly believe this.

 

[B-Train]

There's no doubt our future is bright and the present is looking better than it has in a long time. Especially now that we don't have political dramas anymore and have strong leaders with Gus, Khoury, Ciraldo and co..

We'll go close to making the 8 this year and with the best junior prospects being signed by Gus and all of the additions to the FG squad, the club is in a position to build towards being a regular contender for years to come.

It's an exciting time to be a Bulldogs fan.. The fans deserve some success and entertaining footy after almost a decade of struggling.

 

[spscand]

Anyone else feel this is it? As in it either starts to change here or we are going to be cellar dwellars for a long long while if not?

 

[Shanked]

Anyone else feel this is it? As in it either starts to change here or we are going to be cellar dwellars for a long long while if not?

if the club is near the bottom this year, the club should just fold

 

[B-Train]

Anyone else feel this is it? As in it either starts to change here or we are going to be cellar dwellars for a long long while if not?

I'm not even entertaining the notion of the second part. Things have changed massively already in every facet since Gus and Khoury took over. We're only going to get stronger in the next 2-3 years once the new signings gel and when some of the gun youngsters are ready to contribute in FG.

 

[Alan79]

Warning. Long post ahead.

Some of our past work on the rebuild didn't make me think we were necessarily going to leap into the 8. We've needed someone on field to provide direction for a while and I think that's going to be Mahoney. We spent a lot on wingers in recent years which isn't usually an area that will be of much benefit if you don't have playmakers who can get the ball there smoothly. But Burton was a start, although still needed a bit of time to settle in as a playmaker in a roster that didn't really have a halves leader. And lastly I was never confident in Barrett's ability given that he took a decent Manly roster and did SFA with it. I'm pretty sure that Pay would have been a better coach than Barrett, but the hype surrounding Barrett's signing did contribute to some contract negotiations IMO. So not a total loss.

But at this stage we've hit the market hard for quality youngsters and landed a few that were in demand. We've also expanded our pathways areas over the last 4 years along the NSW coast, into Tamworth and surrounding areas and more recently in Queensland. We also bought in a handful of rep calibre players in key positions rather than just "where we can get them". Continued buying sprees for direct to the top 17 will hopefully not be needed for much longer. If we can settle on a quality spine over the next 2 years and adjust the roster around them with astute buys and junior promotion, we might be at the start of a new era of success. I think the activity on the forum at present seems to reflect that we're seeing the start of something bigger than a "better season than last year" mentality. We're actually seeming to tick more boxes than throwing cash at a couple of quality players. It might not be as exciting as we hope for immediately. But it's a sign that the clouds hovering over the club have broken.

 

[Sandra's Bollocks]

Yep. I can definitely feel it in me waters.

 

[SPEARTAKVIDREFS]

Actions speak louder than words.
We havent proven a single thing on the field yet.
Expectation is the same as every year - incremental improvement.
Fancy hoping that the mightly Bulldogs win 3 in a row... fuck me... lets go...bring on round 1.

 

[Alan79]

Actions speak louder than words.
We havent proven a single thing on the field yet.
Expectation is the same as every year - incremental improvement.
Fancy hoping that the mightly Bulldogs win 3 in a row... fuck me... lets go...bring on round 1.

3 in a row?
Coin tosses?
Games?
Premierships?

Simce I've got a meatloaf cd on in the car right now, I'll throw this up. I'll be (extremely) happy with a ratio of a meatloaf song with regular season wins. 2/3 ain't bad. But I'd also be happy with 50%

 

[Hound Dog]

Hey guys,
We have suffered for far too long.
As bulldogs fans, especially the over 40s like me, we are not use to being on the bottom.
We are use to being a heavy weight and winning a premiership or 2 at least every 10 years.
To be at the bottom as long as we have in recent times is hard to accept.

In that time we have had false hope on the back of re builds and player turnover year in year out.

But this all feels different this time, it feels real.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting anything huge this year,
But I believe this year will springboard us into somthing special for 2024.
I truly believe this.

Hopefully mate, for all of us. We're used to being a competitive powerhouse club.
"Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling." That's the mentality Bulldogs are taking

 

[Berries]

The problem is we can be successful and still not win that title like Souths is currently or us back in 2012-14.

 

[Aristidiz]

There is no doubt that the changes that have been implemented will bring longterm success.

Short term we have signed some players and a coach, but have no guarantee who we have signed will work and bring the desired result (a Premiership).

The good news is, even if it doesn't, our pathways have been established to the extent that success is inevitable.

In short 2023 and 2024 may or may not bring a top 4 finish, but a top 4 finish and premiership is inveitable in the next 5-10 years.

 

[Bulldog1966]

The problem is we can be successful and still not win that title like Souths is currently or us back in 2012-14.

Valid questions definitely, bonus is NO desfuck this time around and Gus knows how to win comps.
Our new coach has arrived with back to back premiership rings and seems more invested with the group so far.
Things to be sorted still(eg a 7)but we are on the rise bigtime, right to the top within just a few years this time hopefully.

 

[D0GMATIC]

Hey guys,
We have suffered for far too long.
As bulldogs fans, especially the over 40s like me, we are not use to being on the bottom.
We are use to being a heavy weight and winning a premiership or 2 at least every 10 years.
To be at the bottom as long as we have in recent times is hard to accept.

In that time we have had false hope on the back of re builds and player turnover year in year out.

But this all feels different this time, it feels real.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting anything huge this year,
But I believe this year will springboard us into somthing special for 2024.
I truly believe this.

Its been nearly 20 years . . . We're not parra ffs

 

[Lynchpin]

Simce I've got a meatloaf cd on in the car right now, I'll throw this up.

Strange. Same thing happened to me the last time I listened to Meatloaf.

 

[Bob dog]

We gettin old, its gotta be the next four years at least two Premierships.
2023 is not a building year, 2022 was.

 

[judyisapunk]

The keys for me are, obviously Gus, Khoury and co
Meticulous coach, defence first but has coached attack
Quality leadership group
and a better supporting cast for the coach.

In terms of on-field, one of our biggest issues for me has been disjointed spine. JMK had his best season last year but even still the spine did not look in sync, except for a few games towards the end of the season. And of course fitness/defence which from what I am seeing is going to be much improved this season.

And most importantly, solid foundations are being laid for a strong future.

 

[Dognacious]

The problem is we can be successful and still not win that title like Souths is currently or us back in 2012-14.

Successful would be a good start. Throwing things at my tv is getting expensive

 

[BlackDawg]

23 we r still flushing lots of turds & guys like Pangai will be assessed as to whether they are salvageable or not. 24 is the year we will have a roster that really starts to compete. Gus has already made some nice moves so I look forward to more pleasant surprises because the last 5 years as a dogs fan has been horrific.

 

[boggie23]

We should be a top 8 team this year. The reality is that we have a better hooker and a 2nd rower. The other positions we pick up dont really sway the needle. Our fullback wont be a top liner. Our halfback will be below average. We lost a not bad centre and the back ups are either unproven or reserve graders. There will be high hopes for Kiraz but will be hard for him. You'd hope to see him get a run at centre but then that leaves a gaping hole on the wing.

I am very hopeful of a top 8 finish this year, it will take a lot of pressure off the board, gus and the coach if we do. But we are the team that will improve the most over the next 5 years (Pathers most likely will continue to get ripped apart, storm have been on the decline for 2 years, roosters have gone from best in the comp to sort of mid tabled). We have invested heavily not only in first grade ready talent, but gus is scouring the country for the best 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds. The young prospects that 5 years ago we were linked to but missed out on are singing up now. We cant expect a Penrith level of success. But I cant see why in the next 5-7 years we arent competing or winning Grand Finals and that is something that we havent been close to for years (Castles 5 year plan for 2 GF wins.......) Atleast this time we are developing from the ground up, but we are buying ready made talent so its not a 10 year/natural rebuild.