How much have we really improved the roster?

Where will we finish based on our current roster?

  • Top 4

  • 5-6

  • 7-8

  • 9-12

  • 14-16


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Kelpie03

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Personally I'm very confident for 2021, in 2020 although the players gave their best, playing knowing that you are going to struggle to win you will never allow you to play with confidence which although the effort might look OK their is always something missing. Replacing the entire coaching staff is a good start when it comes to instilling confidence.

My team with the players which are currently signed would be.

1 Meaney, he has plenty of upside.
2 Okunbour also plenty of upside.
3 Cotrick although he has been playing wing he is the best centre option we have.
4 Hoppa OK slow but no other option to start 2021.
5 DWZ I'm confident he will be much better in 2021 than he was in 2020.
6 Averillo, his best and most favoured position TB will get the best out of him very quickly.
7 Flannagan by far the best option we have in that position.
8 Napa 2021 is his contract year will go well in 2021, baring injuries or suspension.
9 Jackson hasn't had much of a running game for a few years now , so wont be missed in the edge, but would still offer plenty close in.
10 Herrington will add power and intimidation.
11 Thompson his best position
12 RFM our best player in 2020.
13 Elliot a toss up between him and Waddell.
14 JMK to play the last 20-30 minutes.
15 Ogden our best prop in 2020.
16 To Omonga would be a super star if he did not worry about his name and hair style.
17 Waddell very underrated IMHO.
My prediction is for a top 6 finish.
 

bradyk

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Personally I'm very confident for 2021, in 2020 although the players gave their best, playing knowing that you are going to struggle to win you will never allow you to play with confidence which although the effort might look OK their is always something missing. Replacing the entire coaching staff is a good start when it comes to instilling confidence.

My team with the players which are currently signed would be.

1 Meaney, he has plenty of upside.
2 Okunbour also plenty of upside.
3 Cotrick although he has been playing wing he is the best centre option we have.
4 Hoppa OK slow but no other option to start 2021.
5 DWZ I'm confident he will be much better in 2021 than he was in 2020.
6 Averillo, his best and most favoured position TB will get the best out of him very quickly.
7 Flannagan by far the best option we have in that position.
8 Napa 2021 is his contract year will go well in 2021, baring injuries or suspension.
9 Jackson hasn't had much of a running game for a few years now , so wont be missed in the edge, but would still offer plenty close in.
10 Herrington will add power and intimidation.
11 Thompson his best position
12 RFM our best player in 2020.
13 Elliot a toss up between him and Waddell.
14 JMK to play the last 20-30 minutes.
15 Ogden our best prop in 2020.
16 To Omonga would be a super star if he did not worry about his name and hair style.
17 Waddell very underrated IMHO.
My prediction is for a top 6 finish.
Jackson at 9 would be terrible. Average passing - bad distribution (at best), no running game and he doesn't have it between the ears for that role at all. We'll score close to 0 points a game with Jackson at 9. Hooker is in the top two most important roles in the game. If you were throwing a forward in there from our team it'd have to be Elliott, but it's a terrible idea.
 

speedy2460

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This is Brandon Wakeham below he is 5 ft 8 and 78kgs ringing wet and never played centre in his career.

Just wanted to make sure you knew who he was because by the way you just described him I doubt you do!


View attachment 18484
We are all entitled to an opinion. If I agreed with yours, we would both be wrong.
I know he is not the ideal person to play centre, but we have absolutely nobody else.
 

youoboys

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Bulldogs fan here: I miss the trex piss poor runs and now I will miss the 4th and tolmans
 

Jippst

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I’ve always thought that if we persisted with wakeham & he got the right guidance that he would make a pretty decent half. But seeing as we’ve now got flanno barring injury then that would leave either 6 or
9.. based on his previous games he doesn’t have the greatest tackling technique & I’m not sure he’s quick enough to get our sets rolling.. which for mine the only spot left( if burton) doesn’t come is 6.. I believe he’s competent enough to be a very good game manager but I’m not sure he has the speed to be a decent 6..does anyone out there know if he has speed or acceleration of the mark ?as I reckon that he may end up surplus to requirements so I think wakeham @ centre would be like if we played remis in the halves ... diabolical!!!
 

flamebouyant

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We have improved the roster immensely compared to last year. Have to also consider a few things;
- Elliot back from injury, basically missed all season
- Luke Thompson full off season under his belt and will be better for going through this season
- Having Flanno is basically a guaranteed 2 points. Not since El-Masri have we had a kicker of his caliber - now think about the game we have lost by small margins over the last couple years
- We have signed Leinu (spelling) from Panthers I believe - will add punch off the bench
- Finally we have a strike player in Cotric and we have a half that can get him the ball and use him

Agree that we may still be a year or so off the 8, but it's not easy going from absolutely abysmal to being ready for the finals however I would not be surprised to see this team in the top 8 come end of year.
We have signed Leinu?
 

Cappuccino

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1) Meaney... Safe under high ball. Good defence. Good ball return.
2) DWZ…Good finisher. Good ball return. Needs confidence boost.
3) Cotric…Will be a revelation.
4) Wakeham... Need for speed. Good runner and safe. No other centre option.
5) T.Katoa…Shortage of wingers. Young gun.
6) Averillo… Best option at 5/8.
7) Flanagan… No discussion needed.
8) Ogden… If fitter, will be a good choice.
9) JMK... Only real option
10) Napa... Needs to improve, but is a good starting option.
11) Jackson... Without Hopoate, he won’t have to do the tackling like he has.
12) Thompson… Great edge forward. Just needs ball at the right time.
13) Elliott… Good backrower. Wii improve this season.
14) RFM... Impact forward. Good player.
15) Waddell…Highly rated by the good judges. Will have an impact.
16) Atoni…Promising. Needs to lose weight and improve involvement.
17) Hetherington…Tough player. Will provide plenty of impact.
Lmao no hop and jacko wont have to make tackles lel
 

CrittaMagic69

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I’ve always thought that if we persisted with wakeham & he got the right guidance that he would make a pretty decent half. But seeing as we’ve now got flanno barring injury then that would leave either 6 or
9.. based on his previous games he doesn’t have the greatest tackling technique & I’m not sure he’s quick enough to get our sets rolling.. which for mine the only spot left( if burton) doesn’t come is 6.. I believe he’s competent enough to be a very good game manager but I’m not sure he has the speed to be a decent 6..does anyone out there know if he has speed or acceleration of the mark ?as I reckon that he may end up surplus to requirements so I think wakeham @ centre would be like if we played remis in the halves ... diabolical!!!
His defence isn't great but it isn't as bad as some think. His reads are fine and he's capable of making a one on one tackle when he's set. He does struggle if he goes high though (like against Su'a) and can get bumped off and that seems to stick in peoples minds, probably not as big an issue through the middle as it is out wide where you're more isolated.

I think it's all a matter of our spine building strong chemistry and everyone being capable of playing off each other and covering all bases.

1. Averillo (genuine ball runner, playmaker, right footed kicking game)
6. Burton (genuine ball runner, playmaker, left footed kicking game)
7. Flanagan (playmaker, control, right footed kicking game)
9. Wakeham (playmaker, control, right footed kicking game)

That's just a rough run through, but ideally that would lead to us being more organised, provide cleaner movement and apply more pressure on the opposition defence. We also have 4 kicking options of various skill.

Obviously we need to lock Wakeham in the gym and solely focus on strength and conditioning lol, Averillo needs to work on the ins and outs of fullback play, Burton needs to actually come and Flanagan needs to step it up a gear and build on his game. So a lot needs to happen, but there's at least something there we can actually build towards instead of just playing it safe with some dumbed down footy that was never going to be good enough.
 

Malpass

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Surely we can't have hoppa at fb. He's safe as houses but we need more.
How fucked has our recruitment been recently.FFS in billy slaters last year they had Papps,hughes and drinkwater as potential replacements.
We can't find one and have struggled with this position since barba left.our best options were sam parrett and bmoz!!!!!
When we won new cup a few yrs ago against the jets will kennedy was electric I thought why not sign him up .would have cost jack shit money.
Should have kept reimis smith for now especially if we aren't signing anyone else
 

2144superman

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His defence isn't great but it isn't as bad as some think. His reads are fine and he's capable of making a one on one tackle when he's set. He does struggle if he goes high though (like against Su'a) and can get bumped off and that seems to stick in peoples minds, probably not as big an issue through the middle as it is out wide where you're more isolated.

I think it's all a matter of our spine building strong chemistry and everyone being capable of playing off each other and covering all bases.

1. Averillo (genuine ball runner, playmaker, right footed kicking game)
6. Burton (genuine ball runner, playmaker, left footed kicking game)
7. Flanagan (playmaker, control, right footed kicking game)
9. Wakeham (playmaker, control, right footed kicking game)

That's just a rough run through, but ideally that would lead to us being more organised, provide cleaner movement and apply more pressure on the opposition defence. We also have 4 kicking options of various skill.

Obviously we need to lock Wakeham in the gym and solely focus on strength and conditioning lol, Averillo needs to work on the ins and outs of fullback play, Burton needs to actually come and Flanagan needs to step it up a gear and build on his game. So a lot needs to happen, but there's at least something there we can actually build towards instead of just playing it safe with some dumbed down footy that was never going to be good enough.
In Wakenams defence no coach ever had protection around him like Lockyer had T Carroll and like Soward had Jeremy Smith. Anyone could see he needed a body guard like all the good halves have and have had.
 

ramonesdog

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I'm excited to see improvement from our current players, given that they've all been starved of quality coaching, most notable being strength and conditioning, which Trent has made mention of.
 

cookieman909

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The last 3 spots could make or break our roster. If rumours are to be believed they could potentially be Burton, Clark (hooker from Eng) and Gildart (centre from Eng). If there our last 3 spots we’re in for a decent season.
 

Kelpie03

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Jackson at 9 would be terrible. Average passing - bad distribution (at best), no running game and he doesn't have it between the ears for that role at all. We'll score close to 0 points a game with Jackson at 9. Hooker is in the top two most important roles in the game. If you were throwing a forward in there from our team it'd have to be Elliott, but it's a terrible idea.
Jackson has to be in the team because he is our Captain on big money, we have better edge forwards and his running game has gone down hill.
It would be great if the club signed a top NO 9.
Of the No.9's currently signed.
JMK not bad in short stints when the opposition get tired, but just can't play 80.
Katoa, not much of a passing or running game and IMHO Jackson is a better defender than both.
I have no doubt that by training a full pre season at No.9 he would be no worse than what we've got at present.
 

Mitchellmoses

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The last few roster spots will determine it. At the moment we are still not a Top 8 side in my opinion, although we will be FAR more competitive and I believe on our day and with the nature of the the NRL we could beat anyone (We weren't good enough to say that this year). Our backline has improved alot and our forwards have always been solid. There is no doubt hooker is still our weakest point, but if the rumours are true about Clark or Peats then we will be in a far better position. Obviously Burton would top it off and if we picked up those two I see us a very competitive 6th-8th
 

ddt192

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1) Meaney... Safe under high ball. Good defence. Good ball return.
2) DWZ…Good finisher. Good ball return. Needs confidence boost.
3) Cotric…Will be a revelation.
4) Wakeham... Need for speed. Good runner and safe. No other centre option.
5) T.Katoa…Shortage of wingers. Young gun.
6) Averillo… Best option at 5/8.
7) Flanagan… No discussion needed.
8) Ogden… If fitter, will be a good choice.
9) JMK... Only real option
10) Napa... Needs to improve, but is a good starting option.
11) Jackson... Without Hopoate, he won’t have to do the tackling like he has.
12) Thompson… Great edge forward. Just needs ball at the right time.
13) Elliott… Good backrower. Wii improve this season.
14) RFM... Impact forward. Good player.
15) Waddell…Highly rated by the good judges. Will have an impact.
16) Atoni…Promising. Needs to lose weight and improve involvement.
17) Hetherington…Tough player. Will provide plenty of impact.
Cmon @speedy2460 Wakeham at centre? You’re better than that!
 
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