At the game & these were my observations.
* defence was well organised & scrambled well. Much better than first match last year.
* attacking formation not so good. You could see no shape for most sets. Flat line of players. Will no be competitive until our attacking plan is sorted out. Both short & long game.
* Still not certain if DWZ or Hoppa should switch. He look a little shaky under the high ball.
* 100 % effort by all players
* not much variation in set. Generally pass to a forward to take the tackle. The other variation was the pass to Lewis then onto a forward. Very predictable & unlikely to produce more than 12 points per game.
* 2nd phase football almost non existent. This maybe an instruction to get completion high completion.
* In the modern game, wingers are also used as strike weapons. We do not possess those type of wingers. This does help our attack.
* not convinced with meaney. Nervous every time Ferguson ran at him. For the no try, he had Ferguson only inches from the sideline as still got swatted away.
* think Wakeham has the talent. Needs time. Also
Attacking mindset of the team does not help.
* R.Smith I think his a better winger than centre. Does not have the ball skills to set up his outside men. Only first game, will he get better?
* JMK, whole hearted player but without skills of the modern day hooker. After 2 years in this role, can't seem him developing those skills either.
Summary. Defence & attitude is there to be competitive. Attack needs to change to win game consistently. Too many sets that are predictable.
Attack needs more design, have defense guessing, more 2nd phase game. Let's see how Bulldogs next few games develop.