Squash the Berries!
Kennel Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 27, 2019
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Not Warner but Manus will do! Congrats.Hoping the Kiwis bat - then we might see both teams bat today ;-)
Not Warner but Manus will do! Congrats.Hoping the Kiwis bat - then we might see both teams bat today ;-)
Totally agree mate Pay has made a rod for his own back to some extent with the end to last year. If he can get the defence and attitude right from Round 1 it will make a huge difference. Attack is still going to be the issue but we will still be in games if the defence is on.I tend to also think that our spine is ok but might struggle against the top teams
They just don’t have enough experience between them to dominate others
Your comments regarding Foran are on the money
Very little service overall for what the club forked out which was a pretty dollar or two
But in my opinion the biggest blowtorch will and should be on our coach
Enough talk and chances
The board must show and demonstrate to everybody involved in this great club that mediocre performance are a thing of the past
It starts with Dean
I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on game plans and structures but certainly hope that Pay is 100%Totally agree mate Pay has made a rod for his own back to some extent with the end to last year. If he can get the defence and attitude right from Round 1 it will make a huge difference. Attack is still going to be the issue but we will still be in games if the defence is on.
If there’s a repeat of the last 2 seasons I can’t see Pay surviving. I just hope he doesn’t go ultra conservative and throws a bit of caution to the wind in regards to player selection and game plan.
When you compare our spine to other teams (especially without Foran) is it really okay tho (I mean every team)? We're definitely not far off the bottom.I tend to also think that our spine is ok but might struggle against the top teams
They just don’t have enough experience between them to dominate others
Your comments regarding Foran are on the money
Very little service overall for what the club forked out which was a pretty dollar or two
But in my opinion the biggest blowtorch will and should be on our coach
Enough talk and chances
The board must show and demonstrate to everybody involved in this great club that mediocre performance are a thing of the past
It starts with Dean
It won't be much different from how we ended the season tho. Reimis with a potential move to the Centres with Okunbor taking his wing spot (we could see Montoya or Holland instead). Katoa and Stimson make the bench which are our two new signings. Not much difference to be honest.A quick look at the 17 from round 1 last season plus a bit of crystal ball gazing it looks like 9 different players and/or positions for round 1 this season. That may well have a much bigger effect on how our season starts than any other factors.
Happy New Year to All
Go Dogs
Who is accountable?Totally agree you’d think there would be some degree of improvement in the spine but how much is the big question. Hopefully I’m wrong but I can’t see it improving enough to get over 20 points regularly in games. We just don’t have the creativity in the spine if we run with DWZ, Lewis, Cogger and JMK.
We were talking about the season start compared to last season, so fair to make a comparison of the rosters. Of course we all hope that good results from the end of last season translates to the start of this one.It won't be much different from how we ended the season tho. Reimis with a potential move to the Centres with Okunbor taking his wing spot (we could see Montoya or Holland instead). Katoa and Stimson make the bench which are our two new signings. Not much difference to be honest.
I think the biggest thing is we need to learn how to win when we've got "something" to play for, when the real pressure is on. I think losing to the Cowboys last season (when I personally think on form we were favourites) was disappointing and further strengthens this (we also lost to Raiders when most of their key players were out). The last two years have shown we're struggling with that.We were talking about the season start compared to last season, so fair to make a comparison of the rosters. Of course we all hope that good results from the end of last season translates to the start of this one.
Happy New Year to All
Go Dogs
Everyone. The players held accountable for their performances, Pay accountable for the game plan/team selections and the admin for making the tough decisions if it doesn’t work.Who is accountable?
I agree that it should be cut throat this year hence short contract extensionsWhen you compare our spine to other teams (especially without Foran) is it really okay tho (I mean every team)? We're definitely not far off the bottom.
As long as the players are playing for Pay (mainly seen through effort) and he avoids the bottom four he's done better than expected. There are almost no expectations on us from the outside. I think fans are way too harsh on Pay considering the roster he's working with (I had the same opinion before we want on our run last season by the way).
If someone is available that will take the job regardless (by someone available I mean a top coach - Flanagan is the only one we have somewhat a chance of getting and he'll have to have guarantees to spend our money, no one is going to risk their reputation on us in our current situation) then the club probably should be cut throat (same with the roster) even if we do better than expected.
I rewatched that game over the Xmas break and to me the final score doesn’t really reflect the way the game was played, a field goal with a couple of minutes to go and then a try on the buzzer. A score of 8 all would have been a better representation. Plus we never get a fair shake of the penalties up there, this game being no exception. I don’t place a lot of credence on one game anyway, the last 1/3rd of the season was a fairer representation.I think the biggest thing is we need to learn how to win when we've got "something" to play for, when the real pressure is on. I think losing to the Cowboys last season (when I personally think on form we were favourites) was disappointing. The last two years have shown we're struggling with that.
I hear what you're saying but nothing has shown that we play at our best when we're favourites or we actually have "something" to play for (something to do with the mentality). The start of the season will show us if that has changed when everyone is on an even playing field regarding ladder position (until I see a change I can't go into the season saying it'll be different). Also regarding that Cowboys game I watched their game the week before and it honestly looked like they had given up on the season (I used them as a comparison to our boys which is why I'm really proud of them). They were playing some terrible footy towards the end of the year.I rewatched that game over the Xmas break and to me the final score doesn’t really reflect the way the game was played, a field goal with a couple of minutes to go and then a try on the buzzer. A score of 8 all would have been a better representation. Plus we never get a fair shake of the penalties up there, this game being no exception. I don’t place a lot of credence on one game anyway, the last 1/3rd of the season was a fairer representation.
Happy New Year to All
Gary
Print this out Deano and give a copy to all the boyz.We've finished on fire for the last two seasons. Last year we were one of the form teams as finals approached but due to the slow start the wins were all about retaining some pride.
We need to carry that pride into the start of the season. I don't expect us to be starting as oine of the form teams. But winning better than 1/3 of our games through the first half of the year would put us in a stronger position to push into the 8 if we go on a run late in the season again.
My wishlist.
- Fluid service from dummy half and the forwards taking advantage of it by gathering momentum before the pass is thrown.
- Support runners on every play. A small line break comes to nothing if nobody is running in support.
- Synchronization between our halves and our backs with the kicking game. This was the bread and butter of Sherwins game and hopefully his coaching can bring that out in our young halves.
- I want the defense to get back to the commitment that it finished with early in the season. If we can frustrate teams into pushing passes that aren't on with rock solid defense it'd be a huge bonus.
- Killer instinct. If we get out to an early lead in any game I want to see the squad hungry to put on more points. Ideally we can dominate the scoreline a few times early on and carry some intimidation into the following games on the back of that. Winning is about mentality to a certain extent. Our own mindset can be great, but if we dominate some teams we can hopefully go a long way towards beating our next opponent mentally before we even run out on field.
- Aggression from the forwards. Shoulder charges aren't legal anymore, but hopefully our defense can be intimidating enough to make our opponents a little bit more prone to making errors.
Finals footy would be a big bonus. In the forty years I've supported the club I can hardly remember sitting out the finals at all. Ultimately I don't have a set criteria for what is a pass or fail season from the team, but if we can see the team tick most of the wishlist off from above I'd be pretty happy with the season.
Rubbish. Who do you think you are? Im not dancing to your bullshit tune and neither will my team. You can shove your KPI's where the sun dont shine. We are not a bunch of f**ken lab rats preparing to meet targets and performance hurdles.50 points is the pass mark, KPIs are very achievable for onfield and off field performance, the club has had ample opportunity to build for a successful 2020 campaign
10 points - Announce a major sponsor prior to season kick off
5 points - For extra style points. No more ugly jerseys (red....yuk)
10 points - win more games than lose in the first ten rounds, we have struggled in the last few years
20 points - Finish higher than 12th, honeymoon period is over for Dean Pay, 2 years in a row we finished 12th, dean pay says we are improving, he needs to show us
20 points - Finish higher than the Titans, Andrew Hill had a spot of tea with Justin Holbrook and probably had the opportunity to get him as coach. If titans finish higher than us then it's a slap in the face to our admin
40 points - finish in the top 8
And that's your opinion....Rubbish. Who do you think you are? Im not dancing to your bullshit tune and neither will my team. You can shove your KPI's where the sun dont shine. We are not a bunch of f**ken lab rats preparing to meet targets and performance hurdles.
We play 25 odd games of rugby league. Anything can happen. As long as we have a dig and make us proud...its a successful year. Im sick of the win a premiership or were shit bullshit. Des achieved finals appearances but we couldnt stand the way we played under him. I enjoy watching us again now because Pay has brought back the passion into wearing the jersey. Proud to be a Bulldog is the only KPI.