Hey Guys
First time poster, long time reader. I actually joined the Kennel the day before Des was fired (good luck charm) but I’m too much of a lazy prick to post anything. I almost did with the Latrell rumor (which I’m a huge fan of) but this Pay thing is forcing me into action so hopefully you guys don’t mind me ranting like a fucking lunatic for a bit – as a long suffering Bulldogs fan, I think I’m entitled to
I was having a very good day yesterday and then in the space of 12 hours, Ferrari fucks up in qualifying and now this ridiculous rumour of Holbrook signing with the Titans has ruined my day.
I’m still hopeful that it’s BS and that he has indeed signed with us
When you think about it, why the hell would he sign with the Titans? If you do a comparison between our clubs, we have them beat on every single factor:
· We have a 12-month turnaround compared to their 3-year turnaround
· We WILL be here in 10 years’ time – they MAY not be
· We can afford to pay him the highest salary if he’s successful – they can’t match us
· He’s from Sydney, and presumably his wife is too and he has 4 kids – so moving to Sydney would allow him and his wife to be closer to their families – Gold Coast is a 1-hour flight from Sydney
Last but not least, he’s a fuckign Bulldogs fan. When we were chasing Teddy, one of the reasons he chose the Roosters over us was because he grew up as a Rooster’s fan – that emotional attachment he had to the Roosters is what got him over the line with them. Finally, we have that powerful advantage working in our favour so how about we fuckign use it.
The ONLY advantage GC has over us is the lifestyle factor but being a family man, I can’t see that being a big factor
Staying in St Helens doesn't make much sense either since he only went over there to gain experience and build up his resume. Now that he’s been noticed by every NRL club, there is no point in staying over there as the best he can do is maintain his record
Based on all that, I was VERY confident Holbrook would sign with us….especially based on Assassin and Teddybear both posting last week that their sources had said it was a done deal at the Dogs for 3 years starting from 2020.
Personally, I trust their sources more than this someone posting he had signed with GC but who the fuck knows. Assassin mentioned his source was an ex-board member who had a 90% success rate so I don’t see why we he would make shit up. Also, SweetFA, who started the Holbrook rumour did mentioned that Hill was in the UK to speak to Holbrook which would at least suggest an offer has at least been made on our end
Not to mention there was a rumour last week that a Bulldogs official or powerbroker was bragging to all and sundry that it was a done deal at the Dogs so again I’m hoping that is the case.
This fucking roller-coaster of emotions is driving me nuts…just get it over with it already
Also, a couple of days ago somebody mentioned that Pay was going to be sacked before the Sharks game, during the Bye week, but then the fucking Sharks came out and played like shit (us) and we won. That stupid win probably fucked everything up as you can’t sack a coach after a great win.
Since then what has changed, we beat the Knights, due to Gavet getting binned and then we lost to the Broncos. If the rumour was true, then what has changed the boards mind to convince them to stick with Pay …nothing. Having 2 wins, when the opposition played shit, doesn’t change anything – Pay is still a shit coach.
My issue with Pay is very simple – yes we have a shit roster, but that’s no excuse for having no attacking structures. Why the fuck are our forwards still hogging the ball inside the opposition 20? Because Lichaa keeps giving them the ball. When you have the greatest halfbacks in the game – Johns, Thurston, Alexander, Kimmorely all stating that they can’t see our attacking structure, there's a reason for that…because it doesn’t exist. THAT IS 1000000% PAYS’ FAULT…NOT THE PLAYERS
Not to mention Pay’s obsession with fucking Elliot? I think Mr I was right, maybe he feels guilty for the Mad Monday incident so he keeps picking him to make it up to him
Don’t forget the fact (and it’s a fact because it comes from the players families) that he doesn't talk to certain players. But don’t worry folks, Kerrod Holland can use his power of telepathy to read pay’s mind to know how what he has to improve as a player and get back into the NRL side
To win a premiership, you need good players and a good coach. Yes, you can probably fluke a premiership with an average coach, but to have long term consistent, sustained success, you need both
Look at F1, Bottas and Raikkonen have the same cars as their teammates, but are no match for Vettel and Hamilton. Why, because Raikkonen and Bottas are AVERAGE drivers in good cars. Vettel and Hamilton are world champions because they are great divers in great cars.
Fuck me it’s amateur hour with Pay….and with the Anderson’s refusal to sack him because they lack the balls to do so. Can you imagine Bullfrog or Nick Politis tolerating that shit?
Maybe after today’s loss, he’ll get the boot and Holbrook will be announced – either way, we’ll know this week…FINALLY.
Like a few people have mentioned, this is a very critical decision for me. I used to watch every single game, watch every NRL show, listen to every radio show, etc. My engagement in league was at 100% when we were successful. But since 2017, I seriously couldn’t give a fuck about the NRL anymore. I watch the Dogs game and that’s it. And even so, the emotion I have after a loss is almost non-existent. I get pissed for 5 minutes and that’s it. It used to take me days sometimes to get over a loss. Hell, I used to get so nervous, I couldn’t even watch games live
If we sign Holbrook, I can see the light. I can see us being a top 4 side in 2021 and challenging for the comp every year for the next 10 years. The next few years will be awesome.
If Holbrook signs with GC, I can’t see the light so I’ll be done with the NRL. As someone mentioned in a different post, they were looking for any reason to justify to themselves to abandon the NRL – I am in the same boat. This will be the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Of course, one day we will get back on top, but I’m not going to wait around for that – I may be a fuckign idiot but I'm not a masochist – I don’t have the patience to tolerate another 4-5 years of mediocrity. Life is too short, and too stressful, to continue supporting a team that is deliberately punishing itself. Some people will criticize me, and probably rightly so, for not being a real fan and they are absolutely right – but at the end of the day I just can’t do it. I am doing it protect myself; not as a way to punish the game or the club. I love the club, and I always will, but it’s just too painful and stressful to watch them go through this.
I always laugh at these idiots who spend every 5 minutes on their phone checking their social media (I don’t because I don’t have social media) yet I find myself doing the same thing. I’m on the fucking forum every 5 minutes, or on the league news sites looking for anything positive about the club that I can look forward to because I don’t get any enjoyment form the game anymore.
Missing out on Hollbrook would be a bigger kick in the balls than missing out on Tedesco, Jerome Hughes, Reece Robson and Sam Walker COMBINED (plus letting Cook go). I’ll probably hang around the forum for a couple of weeks to find out why but then I’m done. I’ll probably come back in 5 years but this disgusting nightmare is over
Fuck me, I just realized how long this post is...sorry about that guys. Just couldn't help myself
One final thing I’m curious about…. the silence is deafening from all the posters on here who usually have the inside gossip. All those guys who knew about the Latrell Mitchell deal before the regular members did are eerily quiet…either because they don’t know anything because there is nothing to know (FUCK I HOPE NOT) or they do know what's going on but they’ve been burned following the Latrell deal and have opted to keep quiet so as not to betray their sources or alert the media (FINGERS CROSSED)
If you do know something…good or bad…please let us know.
Cheers