Wow! I have just watched a replay of the game as I was unable to view it live yesterday as we were in Sydney at a function. We were at least able to hear some of the game on the radio and from the commentary provided there the Tigers were shit and that is why we won. What a lot of rot!
Watching the game and listening to it on the radio were worlds apart; no credit to us at all and they kept raving on about the wind being so strong that we had a distinct advantage first half. Well it also worked against us with a couple of the Princes kicks being pretty ordinary but then again what about the drop out that went well into Tigers territory? Sister in law was at the game and she said it was nothing out of the ordinary for an afternoon at Campbelltown living just down the road from the stadium. She has seen it all before....
Mr Pay and the boys did a really great job yesterday to at least for a while shut up some the negative nellies who parade as the media. I am buoyed by the efforts of yesterday and I have that feeling of anticipation and excitement once again for the boys in the blue and white. No, I am not getting ahead of myself here but I had a distinct rush of pride in knowing that this squad does have it in them to play some great attacking footy and also muscle up in defence. We hurt the Tigers yesterday not only on the score board in the way of points but in the tackles we put on...several of them bell ringers and you could actually HEAR the hits. They played as a team and for each other and yes even for us fans...What has happened in one short week to turn things around to a more positive aspect?...the coach re-signing, the players being dropped, the shit that we as fans have thrown their way ( and the Fox team made mention of that too when they stated that we DEMANDED the reinstatement of Rhys Martin to the team) ...to my mind a combination of all of these things. Now the message is clear....you will play first grade if you perform and it is solely up to you to keep your spot just as it is the responsibility of those dropped to perform well enough to be in line for a recall. I know that people really don't want to read this but if it had been a certain other recent coach of the Dogs we would still be watching the same old , same old running around.
I was so proud of the boys for finally standing up and being counted. Jacko in the middle was superb and the edge forward CHN played brilliantly. What about the hit by Ofahiki on Farrah which left him in a world of hurt; that was worth the price of admission alone. Playing Martin in the run on squad for Elliot was a master stroke but Adam did not disappoint when he came on. Jayden...well young man stand up and take a bow. I made the comment prior to this game that he needed to make this one count and boy did he! Finally a glimpse of his potential that has the club keen to keep him in the blue and white. His height was a distinct advantage for us and he constantly made post contact metres in attack. Defence needs a bit of work still, but Rome was not built in a day.
Meaney, well what can one say. He reminds me quite a bit of the General in the way he sniffs around the back picking up the dregs and saving our bacon on a few occasions with some last ditch defensive efforts grounding the ball in goal and just generally cleaning up. I thought that JMK lifted immensely and had some nice work from dummy half and a few probing runs in broken play. Our halves were steady and controlling and finally Foran showed some glimpses of the form that had him rated as a half of note.
Let me say that each and every one of those guys out there yesterday put in and from all reports were very attentive to the Dogs fans during and after the game. AND...... the team song.. I watched it closely and the emotions displayed by EVERY player, new and old alike and THE COACH were spine tingling..watch it and be moved just like I was...
https://www.bulldogs.com.au/news/2019/03/31/round-3-the-dogs-are-havin-a-party/
Stats sometimes can be misleading but ours were pretty good from yesterday although we need to rein in the missed tackles and errors plus the penalties conceded ( but several of those were dodgy ones yesterday)
https://www.nrl.com/draw/nrl-premiership/2019/round-3/wests-tigers-v-bulldogs/
This is only one game and I know that the boys will need to lift again next week as we face the Storm but gee if it is the start of something special for us this year we could be in for a rip roarer against the premiership fore runners.
The "myth" played a shocker and was the lucky recipient of a dubious call from the officials when he blatantly knocked on from a kick. We may have been paying part of his contract but I think his efforts yesterday and in some of their other games has vindicated the decision made to move him on. In saying he played poorly we did not allow him to play any other way....
