Official Wakeham and Faitala-Mariner commit to the Bulldogs for a further two years

[Doggone1975]

Thank christ there was no announcement saying tolman was re signed

 

[enoughsaid]

i hope we payed Wakeham ballboy money
cause that's all his is good for

and don't start me on RFM

 

[Chris Harding]

This maybe?View attachment 16148

Maybe displayed on a beer coaster?

The Laundy Hotels Group is a big organisation. 70 Hotels, I think.
Craig Laundy is an ex federal MP for the Liberal party, and will have some clout with Gladys. Politicians I know in the ALP have a lot of time for Craig, as well.
I knew his father, Arthur Laundy years ago (in another life) - he is the head of the organisation, and a genuine and likeable guy.
If we needed a sponsor with connections - the Laundy Group is a handy one to get.

 

[Book]

Honestly can't see anything in Wakeham that makes me want to see us invest more time into him.

 

[B-Train]

Wakeham has had some classy flashes but has disappointed in his limited opportunities. Still, he has potential and Barrett will do wonders for his game. As a backup half, we could do worse.

RFM is best suited as a bench forward but I think we'll see more offloads from him under Barrett... Both players probably wouldn't have cost too much to re-sign and are good for squad depth

 

[Spoonman84]

I’d rather persevere with Wakeham or Cogger over Lewis. Wakeham and Cogger at least have more of the basics as a halfback covered I don’t see the point in having all of them for next year though. I have no idea why the club re-signed Lewis when they did it just wasn’t needed. Hopefully Tbaz can do some halfback whispering with Wakeham because he does have talent.

RFM has only ever looked good playing in the middle and at this stage of his career he should be much more established then he is. It wouldn’t have bothered me if he got moved on.

 

[CaptainJackson]

I’d rather persevere with Wakeham or Cogger over Lewis. Wakeham and Cogger at least have more of the basics as a halfback covered I don’t see the point in having all of them for next year though. I have no idea why the club re-signed Lewis when they did it just wasn’t needed. Hopefully Tbaz can do some halfback whispering with Wakeham because he does have talent.

RFM has only ever looked good playing in the middle and at this stage of his career he should be much more established then he is. It wouldn’t have bothered me if he got moved on.

It would bother me losing RFM at the moment, as we have tolman and napa, hence no impact. I'd rather use RFM as a bench prop.

If we keep tolman this club is stuffed, all the good work in recruitment goes to waste

 

[oldpuppy]

RFM has always had the ability to stay active in a hitup forever freeing his arms in 2-3 man tackle. I barely recall anyone following him and converting 2nd phase play. I'm hoping Barrett can find a way to utilize this strength. At the moment we have evolved into playing our sets too much following a script.

 

[Spoonman84]

It would bother me losing RFM at the moment, as we have tolman and napa, hence no impact. I'd rather use RFM as a bench prop.

If we keep tolman this club is stuffed, all the good work in recruitment goes to waste

I’m talking about next season if you don’t re-sign Tolman and RFM obviously you replace them in the market. RFM is always going to be relying on potential but as time goes on it doesn’t look like he’s going to reach that potential.

Looks like RFM is staying anyway and Tolman cannot be signed under any circumstances I don’t care if it’s bottom dollar deal.

 

[speedy2460]

Thank christ there was no announcement saying tolman was re signed

Still might happen...relax.

 

[bradyk]

https://www.bulldogs.com.au/news/20...mmit-to-the-bulldogs-for-a-further-two-years/

The Bulldogs have been boosted by news that two of their most promising young players in Brandon Wakeham and Ray Faitala-Mariner have both re-signed with the club for a further two years, keeping them at Belmore until the end of the 2022 season.

21 year-old Wakeham, a local junior from the Chester Hill Hornets, has made great strides over the past 12 months, making his NRL debut in 2019 and playing in six matches for the Bulldogs this season in the halves.


He also represented Fiji with distinction in 2019, playing in all three Test matches, including a memorable performance against Samoa, when he kicked five goals and had a hand in setting up two tries.

This led to him being nominated for the 2019 Golden Boot Award for Best International Male Player.

26 year-old back-rower Ray Faitala-Mariner has been a consistent performer this season since moving into the starting side, scoring tries in two of his last three matches.

The New Zealand International is in his 5th season at the Bulldogs and is averaging over 100 running metres per game with a tackle efficiency rating of 93%.

He has now made 75 NRL appearances overall.

Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill was delighted at what the signings meant in terms of being a development club :

"As part of our focus on developing quality and depth in our playing squad, we are delighted that we have been able to keep two talented young players at Belmore for the next two seasons.

Brandon is a local junior who has shown the talent he has at both NRL and International level with Fiji, while Ray is the type of hard-running forward that provides us with great energy whenever he is on the field.

Both players are part of a long term plan to make sure that we keep bringing quality young players through our system and continue to develop them as they form the nucleus of our squad going forward.

We are confident that both players will have a major impact for the club in the seasons ahead."

 

[Spoonman84]

Its official now

 

[jordansaba]

bulldogs just released the news

 

[Alan79]

I’m talking about next season if you don’t re-sign Tolman and RFM obviously you replace them in the market. RFM is always going to be relying on potential but as time goes on it doesn’t look like he’s going to reach that potential.

Looks like RFM is staying anyway and Tolman cannot be signed under any circumstances I don’t care if it’s bottom dollar deal.

If we had a hooker that can time his passes better Tolman would be more damaging. His acceleration is not good, couple that with having to hold off a run until the hooker is set to pass and it makes a difference in the effectiveness of his runs. I'd hoped that JMK would improve this part of his game going into this season, but he doesn't seem to have improved here. He's still better than Lichaa was, but still not naturally gifted with the type of judgement that aids forwards like a top notch hooker.

It's no coincidence that a few of our props looked like they dropped off when Ennis left. Klemmer was the least effected by Ennis leaving because he's got a bit of acceleration. But Graham and Tolman both relied on well timed passes on the back of hitting their stride before the pass was thrown. So my hope is that we find a hooker with a slick passing game and good judgement on timing soon. It's a huge advantage to momentum if the hooker can send a pass to a forward in full flight as opposed to a forward dawdling to give the hooker time.

 

[Bulldogz82]

The fact that our new coach was a good half himself will benefit Wakeham for sure, just like having a fulltime halves coach.
I'm confident he will improve immensely with barret as coach

 

[cookieman909]

Been a good week for the club!

 

[top-dog]

Fucking beautiful news, and back in the day the bad news would keep coming..!! Things just keep getting better an it feels we’ve turned the corner and we have finally stopped digging the hole deeper. The light at end of tunnel gets closer each day.

Let’s hope so

 

[Alexander the Great]

I hope Barrett had a say on this

Crazy to think he didn't not make the call on it.

 

[Blueandwhiteblood1968]

What’s the logo for the pub look like any one know?

 

[Dogna88]

Whats the point if they dont play Wakeham .