OFFICIAL | GAME DAY ROUND 2 TRIAL | Bulldogs vs Sharks | Discussion thread (8pm @ BSG)

[piggy]

Need someone with more experience to help Joe and Woods come thru the system. As average as Hutcho is with the ball he’s a pretty good defender.
Anyway that’s just my feel is that CC is going with Hutcho because of his defence

So we are picking Hutch to play halfback because of his defence?.? Is Sexton that bad in defence?

 

[ChesoBulldog]

So we are picking Hutch to play halfback because of his defence?.? Is Sexton that bad in defence?

Do you watch the games?

 

[kmr07]

We lack powerful runners, Taafe, Wilson and JAC are all lightweights.

That’s why we need to keep Xerri and Kiraz in there. They give our backs some size and power

 

[ChesoBulldog]

That’s why we need to keep Xerri and Kiraz in there. They give our backs some size and power

agreed

1. crichton
2. skelton
3. kiraz
4. xerri
5. addo

that would be a great back 5

 

[KiwiDog7]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

 

[Old Man JB]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

Careful mate, that's way too much sense for one post.

 

[wendog33]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

This seems tobe a trait of Ciro's of leaving struggling players on the field (to sink or swim/or toughened them up but sometimes this just backfires....guess he is playing the long game with his tactics.

 

[1967]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

Nice summary KD, thanks for the effort you put into it ..

A lot of people on here need to remember that we have a bunch of players coming together playing for the first time ..

Also need to remember they were trials …. trial 1 seemed to be more attack focused …. trial 2 seemed to be more defence focused, which was smart when you consider who they were playing, e.g a weaker Melbourne side …. a strong top 4 Sharks side .. plus obviously it was about miles in the legs ..

Lot of negative talk about players being crap and who’s playing where … I’m not sure Ciraldo is going to show all his cards to the opposition in trial matches, so don’t be surprised to see it completely different to what we saw in the trials ..

I think in both trials the team showed considerable improvement on what I saw last season, especially commitment fitness and strength, so credit where credits due, Ciro & the coaching team have done a great pre season job ..

Bring on Parra and let’s see who’s really playing where and what the squads really made of ..

 

[Menteek]

Nice summary KD, thanks for the effort you put into it ..

A lot of people on here need to remember that we have a bunch of players coming together playing for the first time ..

Also need to remember they were trials …. trial 1 seemed to be more attack focused …. trial 2 seemed to be more defence focused, which was smart when you consider who they were playing, e.g a weaker Melbourne side …. a strong top 4 Sharks side .. plus obviously it was about miles in the legs ..

Lot of negative talk about players being crap and who’s playing where … I’m not sure Ciraldo is going to show all his cards to the opposition in trial matches, so don’t be surprised to see it completely different to what we saw in the trials ..

I think in both trials the team showed considerable improvement on what I saw last season, especially commitment fitness and strength, so credit where credits due, Ciro & the coaching team have done a great pre season job ..

Bring on Parra and let’s see who’s really playing where and what the squads really made of ..

that’s what I was thinking.. look at Penrith against Wigan yesterday. Played like they didn’t have Cleary. It’s just rusty.. everyone will look back at trial 1&2 and access what we did wrong and right. I love the point that CC may have played a attacking game against a weaker Melbourne side just to test out and second trail was all about defence against sharks.

 

[TwinTurbo]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

I would add, the defense was good and it relied on field position, decent kicks, often to the corners, then a straight line with even spacing and staying in contact with the players around. It is much easier to defend when you have field position, the opposition needs 1 or 2 tackles to get back onside, they aren't set for 2 or 3 tackles and as a result only have the 4th tackle to run a play, or maybe the 5th if they decide to run it rather than kick.

The first half Cronulla try came from uneven spacing and not staying in contact with players inside, a staggered line is an open invitation that NRL quality players will exploit. Consistency is important, maintaining the process every play, frustrates the hell out of the opposition, they get desperate and make errors as a result.

That's why in attack dropped balls, bad passes, poor play the balls etc are so important, they let the opposition off the hook and they become a pressure relief for them.

Completing your sets and kicking for field position are what makes your defense look good.


Always a Bulldog

 

[1967]

that’s what I was thinking.. look at Penrith against Wigan yesterday. Played like they didn’t have Cleary. It’s just rusty.. everyone will look back at trial 1&2 and access what we did wrong and right. I love the point that CC may have played a attacking game against a weaker Melbourne side just to test out and second trail was all about defence against sharks.

Pretty sure Bellamy did the same thing, just the other way around … defence focused game 1, ….. attack focused game 2 ..

Then get the squad onto the video sessions, point out the good bad and the ugly …. get out there on the field and tinker with what needs fixing, and then bring both attack and defence together for round 1 ..

That’s what trials are about … it’s not about winning or losing .. they’re like hybrid opposed sessions ..

 

[Menteek]

Pretty sure Bellamy did the same thing, just the other way around … defence focused game 1, ….. attack focused game 2 ..

Then get the squad onto the video sessions, point out the good bad and the ugly …. get out there on the field and tinker with what needs fixing, and then bring both attack and defence together for round 1 ..

That’s what trials are about … it’s not about winning or losing .. they’re like hybrid opposed sessions ..

i re watched this years trial against sharks and last years trial. The difference we look compared to last year is very promising. Line defence, attacking, the way we are tackling.

I would say give us 1-3 games just to oil the wheel. Also summer is coming to a end so heat in these games will definitely help us as well with our fitness.

 

[ChesoBulldog]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

very good summation!

 

[1967]

i re watched this years trial against sharks and last years trial. The difference we look compared to last year is very promising. Line defence, attacking, the way we are tackling.

I would say give us 1-3 games just to oil the wheel. Also summer is coming to a end so heat in these games will definitely help us as well with our fitness.

Agree mate, to many purposely look for the negatives while completely ignoring the positives .. and there are a lot of positives to this years trials compared to last years.

I like to give it 6 rounds before judging any players, especially when there’s so many new faces in the squad .. I think Curran and Salmon are going to surprise a lot of people with what they bring to the team.

If we can have good luck this year re injuries, I can see us hovering around 8 or 9, hoping Gus can strengthen the middle with a surprise quality pick up or 2 during the season that can help squeak us into finals and spring board us into 2025 ..

Every year there’s a team that goes on a run and surprises everyone, I’m hoping that’s us this year, the main thing that worries me is our size, so I hope they’re working hard on running the ball through the hands, hanging onto it, and an on point diversified kicking game ..

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Just some quick fire observations from me

-Burton wasn’t as bad as some people are making out , his kicking game was excellent and defence good, picked the right options in limited good ball area, short kick assist for a line break and strong in contact. He will be better v Eels
- The players have bought into the Ciro defence policy and it shows,first contact is hard then the gang tackling to slow the PTB, line speed is good and lead by Kikau
-Kick chase was good especially left edge
-We are noticeably fitter across the team and stronger
- Back to defence,we withstood lots of raids and even with no Hynes the rest of Sharks spine played including MOM v Māoris Trindall and they only scored one legit try before our kids came on and even that first try was off a Wilson error, ruck infringement 6 again, Faamausili penalty, Critta penalty …Right edge Hutch, Xerri and Wilson all shot up quick and Hutch bad comms to not get Faamausili to shut/get under.
- Hutch wasted good ball with pass to the sideline, makes break throws to no one and hospital pass to Preston. He looked too rushed and needed to build pressure not try score off one play.
-Curran has a thirst for work,3 hit ups in first 3 min on the field and ran a great block for line break and try assist for Preston .
-Taafe nightmare game when it just got worse especially second half and should have been hooked earlier

All in all solid outing a good hit out before the season proper so let’s not go panic stations …we will surprise a few people this year if we commit to our defensive structure set…attack will come

Good to see there’s still a few people on TK with footy IQ. Post more @KiwiDog7 !

I watched the game again last night. I wanted to watch without the emotion of not knowing what’s going to happen and to be more analytical, paying attention to the little things.

My initial thoughts about Burton weren’t justified, as his ballplay and running was average, however as you said, his kicking was excellent and it got some good results. At the end of the day, whether by hand or foot, as long as players like him are doing things to help the team, is what matters.

Totally agree about our defence. If we can maintain that attitude we’ll surprise many. We were up against a pack that has tormented us previously and we handled them well. We actually were on top in many exchanges. So much for our awful pack ey?

Some other things that were cemented for me: These players must be in the team - Salmon, Curran, Morrin, Xerri, and Hughes. Salmon because of how well he linked the left and right flanks. Curran because of his light feet and work rate. Morrin for his foot speed and aggression. He almost caught the defence out a few times with that. Xerri because in just two trials he was one of (if not our best) workers. He kept taking hitups and got smashed by massive forwards often, but still kept coming. His size and speed is a must for our backline.

The hardest thing for me is deciding on a few positions, but it’s a good problem to have. I think Wilson deserves a spot. That soaring catch he took and his strong running game makes him hard to leave out, but what’s that mean for Kiraz? Say we went with JAC, Critta and Xerri, only one of Wilson or Kiraz can be picked obviously. For this reason I think Ciro needs a very good think about playing Critta at fb. Reality is Taffy isn’t a great player. Playing Critta at fb means we get avery good strike player at the back, plus Kiraz and Wilson on the right. There’s several more combinations you could make with Burton and Tracey too. Ciro has some tough decisions, but it’s a good headache to have.

That being said I would go with this for my round 1 team…

1. Critta
2. Jac
3. Xerri
4. Kiraz
5. Wilson
6. Burton
7. Sexton/Hutch - I don’t think we lose or gain much with either of them
8. King
9. Mahoney
10. Poasa
11. Kikau
12. Preston
13. Salmon

14. Mann - gotta have a utility who can play 6, 7 & 9.
15. Hughes
16. Curran
17. Morrin

 

[Bulldog Wrestler]

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Nice summary KD, thanks for the effort you put into it ..

A lot of people on here need to remember that we have a bunch of players coming together playing for the first time ..

Also need to remember they were trials …. trial 1 seemed to be more attack focused …. trial 2 seemed to be more defence focused, which was smart when you consider who they were playing, e.g a weaker Melbourne side …. a strong top 4 Sharks side .. plus obviously it was about miles in the legs ..

Lot of negative talk about players being crap and who’s playing where … I’m not sure Ciraldo is going to show all his cards to the opposition in trial matches, so don’t be surprised to see it completely different to what we saw in the trials ..

I think in both trials the team showed considerable improvement on what I saw last season, especially commitment fitness and strength, so credit where credits due, Ciro & the coaching team have done a great pre season job ..

Bring on Parra and let’s see who’s really playing where and what the squads really made of ..

The way we hit hard, but then kept the big forwards on their feet while wrestling them was evident. It slowed the ptb without laying on them, thus avoiding giving penalties away. Also, it was awesome and hilarious watching Xerri and Wilson take care of Mulitalo. He had a field day in the same match last year but was neutralised this time.

I was impressed with most of Poasa’s game too. Wasn’t expecting much or anything really since I probably haven’t seen him play, but he has auick feet and was charging hard onto the ball. Besides a lapse here and there he has been very solid.

God I hope all this translates to the season proper and we make most critics eat humble pie. I honestly believe we have shown in the trials the fundamentals required to build a good season. Now we wait…

 

[1967]

The way we hit hard, but then kept the big forwards on their feet while wrestling them was evident. It slowed the ptb without laying on them, thus avoiding giving penalties away. Also, it was awesome and hilarious watching Xerri and Wilson take care of Mulitalo. He had a field day in the same match last year but was neutralised this time.

I was impressed with most of Poasa’s game too. Wasn’t expecting much or anything really since I probably haven’t seen him play, but he has auick feet and was charging hard onto the ball. Besides a lapse here and there he has been very solid.

God I hope all this translates to the season proper and we make most critics eat humble pie. I honestly believe we have shown in the trials the fundamentals required to build a good season. Now we wait…

Good post mate .. I really like the looks of Wilson, over the next few years as he becomes more 1st grade seasoned and puts on a bit more size and muscle, I can see him becoming a really good FB, I’ve always liked a FB that’s done his young 1st grade time on the wing filling in at FB when required, and then transitions to FB full time .. but we have Pap’s, so is Wilson maybe JAC long term replacement and will stay on the wing, who knows ..

For me if Kiraz is 100% fit, we have to go with him, when he was fully fit last year he was right up there on the Dally M leader board, think he was chewing out well over 200m per game … if he can produce those metres and with his strength and Xerri beside him, I think we need him for the go forward mate and there’s points there ..

Wilson will get his chance .. jmo ..

 

[Menteek]

The way we hit hard, but then kept the big forwards on their feet while wrestling them was evident. It slowed the ptb without laying on them, thus avoiding giving penalties away. Also, it was awesome and hilarious watching Xerri and Wilson take care of Mulitalo. He had a field day in the same match last year but was neutralised this time.

I was impressed with most of Poasa’s game too. Wasn’t expecting much or anything really since I probably haven’t seen him play, but he has auick feet and was charging hard onto the ball. Besides a lapse here and there he has been very solid.

God I hope all this translates to the season proper and we make most critics eat humble pie. I honestly believe we have shown in the trials the fundamentals required to build a good season. Now we wait…

Poasa could elevate if he can just get another 10-15 minutes in the fuel tank . Give us a good rotation during the game

 

[CaptainJackson]

For me if Kiraz is 100% fit, we have to go with him, when he was fully fit last year he was right up there on the Dally M leader board

It was the first 2 rounds, that doesn't mean shit.