Great ending to the year

Sorry Sunday got hijacked by the power trippers but yea it was a great finalie by the Bulldogs thanks to everyone involved in the good work ethic in those final weeks.

 

that's 3 seasons of experience the players have of coming home hard at the right time, unlike clubs like st george that always start strong and fall off.

when we get the first half of the season right then that experience will be good when the players actually need a run home that counts

 

That's a very positive way of looking at it.

Could also show that the players struggle to deal with will pressure when things are actually on the line.

 

I think the ending to this year was significantly different to last year. Last year without a doubt we were throwing the ball around and it stuck. This year, I think we stuck to normal game plan, it was our defense that showed major improvement, we still managed in most games only our average 14 points per game.

Even the Broncos win, we played controlled football, and I think a major development to the team was the foran was placing himself as first receiver, in the 20metres, and demanding the ball from the hooker, who would fake to tolman more often than not.

Credit to pay I think it's coming together, I just want him to make sure he picks the right line ups and doesn't play favourites with elliot, i.e. the more skillfull players should be getting more time on field than teachers pet

 

Yep, 100% different to last year. Our players have become hardened

 

No way we paid overs for them. Why does everyone think we pay overs for everyone. If we are willing to give out our money willy nilly then we would have given Api the extra $100k he wanted. Case closed

 

We'll obviously get another hooker, just hope it's a very good one. I'll be pissed if we don't also get a decent (fast) back and a big dominant prop, but even with just a better dummy half, we'll be very competitive next year. Stimson is a very good player. We've got back-row options but he's much more mobile and, I think, has more ability than the lot. I'm backing him to start. Britt is just for depth and I doubt will play NRL except to cover injuries. We definitely need to work out how to score points and, because we can't rely on Foran's fitness, will rely heavily on impact off the bench, Renouf and RFM especially. If Foran miraculously stays fit, I reckon we'll be fine scoring points.

I don't believe for one second we won't be competitive in the player market or that players won't want to come here. I understand where the sentiment comes from (fans who think Dean Pay is a shit coach and are sick of losing for so long - fair enough!), but Ramien wanted to go back to the Sharks and got more money to do so, and Api went back to his old club with his old coach and also got more money. They are just not examples of us not being competitive. They are evidence though that we aren't paying overs for average or unproven players, so I doubt we overpaid on Stimson.

In the end, whether we're a chance of playing finals depends on whether we can score more points, and our first half-dozen games (and a lot on Foran's fitness unfortunately).

Things I'm really looking forward to are how Renouf goes with more experience and game time, and Brandon Wakeham making a mark in the NRL.