Forward depth

For our first hit up this season, I thought this looks great. There were a few standouts and some looked gassed. The Thing I will say is we are in good hands with our admin. These young men coming through are impressive.
 
CUZRAZ said:
I understand its just a trial match, but some of those boys looked great out there tonight. Underhill, Zyon and Todd all stood out to me. Do we see any of them in our 17 this year? If not, in case of injury who is 1st choice?
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Yea I think those 3 spoke for themselves with their showings. And we all saw it.. great to know what we have coming through, or better yet they could definitely hold their own at nrl level.

and Tod would be my first choice.
 
CUZRAZ said:
apperantly warriors released zyon because he didnt have a good path into first grade. He wants minutes so i am not sure whether he signed with us for reserve grade
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Still doesn't guarantee his spot in the 17 he needs to put in the work.
I feel he needs more fitness he will be good though.
 
CUZRAZ said:
I understand its just a trial match, but some of those boys looked great out there tonight. Underhill, Zyon and Todd all stood out to me. Do we see any of them in our 17 this year? If not, in case of injury who is 1st choice?
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I reckon Zyon and Todd will be in the 17 Round 1.. Todd could even possibly start at 13.. He's a bigger body than Mann
 
Looks like we have some good depth in the forwards, very promising. Hard to judge a lot of the guys because the service from the 9s wasn’t crash hot so Reed coming in gives them good ball out in front.

For mine, Todd definitely stood out, DSF and Hipoi had a good honest day in the office, Zyon looked strong in his carries, Underhill worked hard and I saw some good in Amone despite what some are saying in this thread, leg speed looked good and managed fast play the balls but his attempt to get on-side leading to the Tigers try was poor, hopefully just adjusting to the pace of NRL.
 
Alan79 said:
I wasn't able to watch the game today. I'll search for a replay in the next day or two.

But tonight was a really small sample size. I've heard Hayes wasn't impressive tonight, while I heard Hopoi was good. Whereas last year Hayes offered more impact and played more NRL than Hopoi. So we can't comprehensively say that any player is poor from tonight with certainty. Just that some played well, others were underdone.

Ultimately it's all positive signs that we have more options than previous years. Seems like we're better equipped with options for the engine room anyway.
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Hayes was good bro. The game thread commentary of a trial was some of the Kennels greatest work. Taafe was probably the only one who had quite a poor game. Amone looked down the pecking order of forward options. Todd and DSF were really good. I think DSF was the stand out forward. Todd was good but he was up against the second string of the seconds team when he really shone.
 
D.O.W. said:
Looks like we have some good depth in the forwards, very promising. Hard to judge a lot of the guys because the service from the 9s wasn’t crash hot so Reed coming in gives them good ball out in front.

For mine, Todd definitely stood out, DSF and Hipoi had a good honest day in the office, Zyon looked strong in his carries, Underhill worked hard and I saw some good in Amone despite what some are saying in this thread, leg speed looked good and managed fast play the balls but his attempt to get on-side leading to the Tigers try was poor, hopefully just adjusting to the pace of NRL.
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I'll try and find a replay of the trial on YouTube today or tomorrow to make my own impressions.

As far as Amone trying to get onside goes. I watch some of the better defensive teams and I think part of their strategy lies in players knowing they aren't going to get back into the defensive line, and staying out of the way until the next set. Maybe Amone hasn't been in a system where they do that. But last year our players seemed to take that on as part of our system.
 
Nate DAWG said:
Hayes was good bro. The game thread commentary of a trial was some of the Kennels greatest work. Taafe was probably the only one who had quite a poor game. Amone looked down the pecking order of forward options. Todd and DSF were really good. I think DSF was the stand out forward. Todd was good but he was up against the second string of the seconds team when he really shone.
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I'm yet to find a replay of the trial. Hopefully one gets posted to YouTube soon and I'll check it out for myself. At present all I've seen was Todds try. But I'm aware that people see the same thing differently. So my comments are basically made with the disclaimer that I'm basing my input on what I've read rather than actually seeing the game. And I was pretty much just pointing out that you can't make a full judgement of players based on a trial where 28 players took the field.

Hopefully the trial gets put up on YouTube. I'm keen to see it.
 
I was very very supirsed by DSF and his motor, ran heaps, tackled heaps and looked very fit! Impressive and will be pressing for a bench spot. We got what we were expecting out of Amone from DSF which is fine. Todd the clear standout, looked a class above the whole game. Also Cochrane, Smith and Cassius were fantastic. I am very keen to see Cassius given some time next week with the big boys, he looked class and i am hoping is our number 1 backup for 5/8 and half this year over Hutcho. Zyon looked very raw but can see will be great, didnt lack effort.
 
Todd looks ready for first grade.
DSF and Amone look like they're reserve grade level players, can come in for injuries.
Underhill and Zyon need a season in Cup but looks promising.
 
oldpuppy said:
My feeling is Ciraldo is locked on his incumbent forward pack for the first few rounds. I saw this trial as an audition for Todd , DSF and Amone to put their hands up for contention. Todd for mine is the only one who showed cause for selection and is more than just hype. DSF was solid but who makes way for him? Amone was underwhelming but we need to give him cup time to see if he can amount to anything for the later stages of season if there's injuries or suspensions. Underhill might jump the queue on him if he struggles and my gut feeling is he will.
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This is my thoughts also. Ciro is never spontaneous. He stays loyal which is a good trait. However Ciro really shows to much at times.

in 2023 he persisted with Perham way too long. When he was replaced we looked so much better.

In 2024 he played Hutch for way too long. (Playing Hom at all tbh) Sexton isn’t a world beater but he is a massive upgrade on Hutch. I think we comfortably make the 4 of this decision is made weeks earlier.

I just hope he doesn’t hold back match winners to see how they develop.

Todd has to be on the bench from round 1. He is more than just a Prop. He has speed, footwork, ball playing. Give him a crack!

I would also be giving Tia a bench spot. His point of difference gives us XFactor we don’t really have.

14. Tia
15. Sitili
16. Curran
17. Todd
 
Good thing is that players like Amone will have to work hard to earn a spot on the bench unlike previous years when we have very little quality depth.

DSF will continue to improve if he can stay injury free.
 
Even accounting for the weak opposition, it's pretty clear there is plenty of forward depth. The potential upside for some of these guys is off the charts.
We definitely have a top 4 quality pack.
Quality backs like Burton, Crichton, Xerri, Kiraz and Tracey bring class to the Bulldogs.
The big question is does this squad need a top 4 halfback to win the 2025 premiership?
 
Harry Oz said:
Even accounting for the weak opposition, it's pretty clear there is plenty of forward depth. The potential upside for some of these guys is off the charts.
We definitely have a top 4 quality pack.
Quality backs like Burton, Crichton, Xerri, Kiraz and Tracey bring class to the Bulldogs.
The big question is does this squad need a top 4 halfback to win the 2025 premiership?
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Possibly yes.. But i believe Sexy has to fire the first month as O'Neill and Tia will be breathing down his neck... Tia is special..
see below article written in November 2024:

Cassius Tia: The unknown halfback catching the attention of Bulldogs officials
The Canterbury Bulldogs will be forced into a perplexing conundrum in the coming years as several promising playmakers continue to progress through their junior ranks and fight for a spot in the first-grade team.

All eyes may be on U19s NSW Blues representative Mitchell Woods next season as he enters the NRL Top 30 roster for the first time, but Zero Tackle understands that another young playmaker has caught the attention of club officials at the Bulldogs.


Two years older than Woods, halfback Cassius Tia has been in incredible form over the past 12 months, which saw him play a major role in winning the 2024 Jersey Flegg Cup title and be a standout performer in his maiden NSW Cup showing.


His only reserve-grade appearance this year saw him score eight points, provide two try assists, and two line-break assists and run 49 metres with 16 tackles in defence.
 
CMP said:
This is my thoughts also. Ciro is never spontaneous. He stays loyal which is a good trait. However Ciro really shows to much at times.

in 2023 he persisted with Perham way too long. When he was replaced we looked so much better.

In 2024 he played Hutch for way too long. (Playing Hom at all tbh) Sexton isn’t a world beater but he is a massive upgrade on Hutch. I think we comfortably make the 4 of this decision is made weeks earlier.

I just hope he doesn’t hold back match winners to see how they develop.

Todd has to be on the bench from round 1. He is more than just a Prop. He has speed, footwork, ball playing. Give him a crack!

I would also be giving Tia a bench spot. His point of difference gives us XFactor we don’t really have.

14. Tia
15. Sitili
16. Curran
17. Todd
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I like your bench choices. I'd never seen too much of Tia but he impressed me in his time yesterday He's built and thinks like a ready made first grader.
 
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