Opinion Wakeham

[Shire Dog]

The problem Wakeham also faces is the fact that his style of play is a lot harder to transition across to NRL footy while he also lacks a genuine running game that he can fall back on while being eased into the top grade. Coaches will always be reluctant to give the youngsters this sort of responsibility and will favour the more structured approach and that suits a genuine ball runner.

The problem Wakeham also faces is the fact that his style of play is a lot harder to transition across to NRL footy while he also lacks a genuine running game that he can fall back on while being eased into the top grade. Coaches will always be reluctant to give the youngsters this sort of responsibility and will favour the more structured approach and that suits a genuine ball runner.

I attended the game on Sunday night and was keeping a close eye on Wakeham.
He looks so confident on that footy field like he’d been playing top grade for years.
Didn’t seemed fazed by the occasion, this kid is backing himself 100 %
Nice to see a young fresh junior coming through.

 

[wendog33]

I attended the game on Sunday night and was keeping a close eye on Wakeham.
He looks so confident on that footy field like he’d been playing top grade for years.
Didn’t seemed fazed by the occasion, this kid is backing himself 100 %
Nice to see a young fresh junior coming through.

And that's why we should be supporting him! Crazy to bag the guy at this stage if his career.

 

[Shire Dog]

And that's why we should be supporting him! Crazy to bag the guy at this stage if his career.

I think we are all wishing him the best and hope he goes onto better things for our great club.
Wakeham needs some time and good coaching to help hone his skills.
Let’s hope for the best,we haven’t had a champion half in years so well overdue.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

I attended the game on Sunday night and was keeping a close eye on Wakeham.
He looks so confident on that footy field like he’d been playing top grade for years.
Didn’t seemed fazed by the occasion, this kid is backing himself 100 %
Nice to see a young fresh junior coming through.

He defenitely has plenty of ability, we've seen it in the lower grades and while playing for Fiji, we also saw a glimpse of it with his work in the Hoppa try. He just has to keep plugging away, continue to build match fitness and make the best of his opportunity... hopefully he does that and eventually finds himself in a role he's more comfortable with and one that can best utilise him and the players around him.

I really don't get the negativity from some people, we've wasted so much time with a bloke that literally couldn't pass a ball yet will put Wakeham down after a couple of games. Wakeham comes good and he solves the troublesome halfback position that club have failed to nail down for years.

Anyway I still have the ideal halves pairing of Averillo/Wakeham in my head, two local juniors (should keep some fans happy) leading the club around for potentially the next 10 years could be massive. It's rare chances like this come along and with the lack of genuine halves talent available on the market you'd be mad not to push these guys and get as much footy under their belt and see where they're at.

Averillo is a genuinely a freak though, best talent we've had for years and I can't help but be nervous at the thought of potential offers from other being thrown at him lol. At the very least one of him or Wakeham has to nail down a key position in the spine, best case scenario would be both of them nailing down the roles with Averillo looking suited to either the halves or fullback position...anyway that's at least something to look forward to, hopefully the club gets the coaching staff sorted and doesn't mess it all up.

 

[wendog33]

I think we are all wishing him the best and hope he goes onto better things for our great club.
Wakeham needs some time and good coaching to help hone his skills.
Let’s hope for the best,we haven’t had a champion half in years so well overdue.

When you realise that Parra halves have Joey, Rorters have Cronk, not sure on others but we def need more than a few hours on Monday night for Shifty to guide our guys.

 

[Howie B]

He defenitely has plenty of ability, we've seen it in the lower grades and while playing for Fiji, we also saw a glimpse of it with his work in the Hoppa try. He just has to keep plugging away, continue to build match fitness and make the best of his opportunity... hopefully he does that and eventually finds himself in a role he's more comfortable with and one that can best utilise him and the players around him.

I really don't get the negativity from some people, we've wasted so much time with a bloke that literally couldn't pass a ball yet will put Wakeham down after a couple of games. Wakeham comes good and he solves the troublesome halfback position that club have failed to nail down for years.

Anyway I still have the ideal halves pairing of Averillo/Wakeham in my head, two local juniors (should keep some fans happy) leading the club around for potentially the next 10 years could be massive. It's rare chances like this come along and with the lack of genuine halves talent available on the market you'd be mad not to push these guys and get as much footy under their belt and see where they're at.

Averillo is a genuinely a freak though, best talent we've had for years and I can't help but be nervous at the thought of potential offers from other being thrown at him lol. At the very least one of him or Wakeham has to nail down a key position in the spine, best case scenario would be both of them nailing down the roles with Averillo looking suited to either the halves or fullback position...anyway that's at least something to look forward to, hopefully the club gets the coaching staff sorted and doesn't mess it all up.

If we sign a quality hooker next year I would happy enough with a spine of Hopoate/Averillo/Wakeham/Top Hooker.

There would be enough creativity with the hooker and Hoppa so the halves wouldnt be 100% responsible for the attack. I think its going to be tough to sign both a gun half and a gun hooker because the options are pretty thin. And we should prioritise the hooker because thats where we are lacking.

The other option is to re-sign Foran for 12 months and give Wakeham another year under him. Averillo stays in the centres and then plays in the halves when Foran is injured (which will probably be half the year)

 

[CaptainJackson]

He defenitely has plenty of ability, we've seen it in the lower grades and while playing for Fiji, we also saw a glimpse of it with his work in the Hoppa try. He just has to keep plugging away, continue to build match fitness and make the best of his opportunity... hopefully he does that and eventually finds himself in a role he's more comfortable with and one that can best utilise him and the players around him.

I really don't get the negativity from some people, we've wasted so much time with a bloke that literally couldn't pass a ball yet will put Wakeham down after a couple of games. Wakeham comes good and he solves the troublesome halfback position that club have failed to nail down for years.

Anyway I still have the ideal halves pairing of Averillo/Wakeham in my head, two local juniors (should keep some fans happy) leading the club around for potentially the next 10 years could be massive. It's rare chances like this come along and with the lack of genuine halves talent available on the market you'd be mad not to push these guys and get as much footy under their belt and see where they're at.

Averillo is a genuinely a freak though, best talent we've had for years and I can't help but be nervous at the thought of potential offers from other being thrown at him lol. At the very least one of him or Wakeham has to nail down a key position in the spine, best case scenario would be both of them nailing down the roles with Averillo looking suited to either the halves or fullback position...anyway that's at least something to look forward to, hopefully the club gets the coaching staff sorted and doesn't mess it all up.

Wrong!!!!

Averillo is a fullback

And Liverpool are shit

 

[CaptainJackson]

The other option is to re-sign Foran for 12 months and give Wakeham another year under him. Averillo stays in the centres and then plays in the halves when Foran is injured (which will probably be half the year)

I think we need to go down this path.

Averillo 19 and wakeham 21, theyre too young to be left by themselves in the halves and in any case I think averillo will be more effective for us as a long term fullback (but he should stay in centres for another year so as we don't put too much pressure on him)

 

[Phalangist]

We knew what we had, that's why we let him go right?
Lol, Australian 5/8, it's like your talking about Fittler, Kenny or Lewis. Anasta wasn't that good, he made the Australian team based on all the hype around him at the time. He didn't last long in the Australian test team.

You don’t make an Australian team based on hype!

and the reason we let go of Thurston had nothing to do with his football ability!

 

[Shire Dog]

He defenitely has plenty of ability, we've seen it in the lower grades and while playing for Fiji, we also saw a glimpse of it with his work in the Hoppa try. He just has to keep plugging away, continue to build match fitness and make the best of his opportunity... hopefully he does that and eventually finds himself in a role he's more comfortable with and one that can best utilise him and the players around him.

I really don't get the negativity from some people, we've wasted so much time with a bloke that literally couldn't pass a ball yet will put Wakeham down after a couple of games. Wakeham comes good and he solves the troublesome halfback position that club have failed to nail down for years.

Anyway I still have the ideal halves pairing of Averillo/Wakeham in my head, two local juniors (should keep some fans happy) leading the club around for potentially the next 10 years could be massive. It's rare chances like this come along and with the lack of genuine halves talent available on the market you'd be mad not to push these guys and get as much footy under their belt and see where they're at.

Averillo is a genuinely a freak though, best talent we've had for years and I can't help but be nervous at the thought of potential offers from other being thrown at him lol. At the very least one of him or Wakeham has to nail down a key position in the spine, best case scenario would be both of them nailing down the roles with Averillo looking suited to either the halves or fullback position...anyway that's at least something to look forward to, hopefully the club gets the coaching staff sorted and doesn't mess it all up.

Wouldn’t that be nice to have a couple of juniors to lock down the number 6 & 7 jumpers and lead us to success again.
I had a bit of a laugh on Sunday to see Wakeham smiling when coming off the field after the sin bin and sharing a joke with doggy supporters in the stands,not a care in the world quite funny.
He’s got some cheek and swagger.
Just perfect lol

 

[DinkumDog]

Wakeham is going to score 3 tries and have 5 try assists and kick 10 field goals this weekend just to shut all you haters up!

Ha.
Just don’t get yourself binned again son!
Especially when the other mob scores off pretty much the next set!
Good luck to him.

 

[Howie B]

I think we need to go down this path.

Averillo 19 and wakeham 21, theyre too young to be left by themselves in the halves and in any case I think averillo will be more effective for us as a long term fullback (but he should stay in centres for another year so as we don't put too much pressure on him)

Yep agreed but I did read the tigers were looking at Foran .

Another option is Burton from Penrith at 5/8th and Averillo at fullback . Again though this would be a young spine

Interesting to see what the club does . Ideally you want to build for the future but we will miss the semis for the 4th straight year in 2020 so short term success is also vital at the moment

 

[dogwhisperer]

You don’t make an Australian team based on hype!

and the reason we let go of Thurston had nothing to do with his football ability!

Braith was over rated

 

[wendog33]

Wouldn’t that be nice to have a couple of juniors to lock down the number 6 & 7 jumpers and lead us to success again.
I had a bit of a laugh on Sunday to see Wakeham smiling when coming off the field after the sin bin and sharing a joke with doggy supporters in the stands,not a care in the world quite funny.
He’s got some cheek and swagger.
Just perfect lol

The perfect Bulldogs dream and proof of great junior development if they click in fg together.

 

[dogwhisperer]

By the way, what ever happened to IndianDog?

He thought the sun shined out of Lewis' you know where....

 

[diddly]

The problem Wakeham also faces is the fact that his style of play is a lot harder to transition across to NRL footy while he also lacks a genuine running game that he can fall back on while being eased into the top grade. Coaches will always be reluctant to give the youngsters this sort of responsibility and will favour the more structured approach and that suits a genuine ball runner.

You are spot on about his running game - he would impress more obviously if he had a better running game - however his general decision making, passing and kicking game has been exceptional in jun rep footy. Players tend to stand out n get noticed often make the two or three good runs a game - even if they do nothing else - the player who creates the space originally, or gets the side into good field position doesn't get the same kudos.

Jun footy is full of players who will make a big charge or run because a gap or space has been created for them - they get noticed in highlight reels.

 

[2ndphase]

change up the gameplan. Let Foran and Wakeham have total control of the rucks, fuck the forwards off receiving the ball first.
Let the halves control the team and you will see a.more dangerous dogs team. Then we can see if Wakeham is cut out for it. I think he is, and will be even better if Pay lets him play rest of the season to.gain more confidence.
Its impossible for him to be worse than Lewis the shittest half ever in my opinion. Even Trex was a better half than Lewis

If Pay was smart he would have Averillo roaming around the back linking up with Hoppa around the outside creating an extra man on the other side of the field.
The kids got speed great footwork and a footy brain.

 

[Kempsey Dog]

He defenitely has plenty of ability, we've seen it in the lower grades and while playing for Fiji, we also saw a glimpse of it with his work in the Hoppa try. He just has to keep plugging away, continue to build match fitness and make the best of his opportunity... hopefully he does that and eventually finds himself in a role he's more comfortable with and one that can best utilise him and the players around him.

I really don't get the negativity from some people, we've wasted so much time with a bloke that literally couldn't pass a ball yet will put Wakeham down after a couple of games. Wakeham comes good and he solves the troublesome halfback position that club have failed to nail down for years.

Anyway I still have the ideal halves pairing of Averillo/Wakeham in my head, two local juniors (should keep some fans happy) leading the club around for potentially the next 10 years could be massive. It's rare chances like this come along and with the lack of genuine halves talent available on the market you'd be mad not to push these guys and get as much footy under their belt and see where they're at.

Averillo is a genuinely a freak though, best talent we've had for years and I can't help but be nervous at the thought of potential offers from other being thrown at him lol. At the very least one of him or Wakeham has to nail down a key position in the spine, best case scenario would be both of them nailing down the roles with Averillo looking suited to either the halves or fullback position...anyway that's at least something to look forward to, hopefully the club gets the coaching staff sorted and doesn't mess it all up.

I'm torn on the make up of our spine. If we signed a big body 6 like Burton, it would be sweet to have Averillo sniffing around at fullback supporting some direct play. Either way we just need him in the spine.

 

[Berries]

Really? Consider the playing strengh at the club in 2002 & 2003.
Everybody knew Thurston was very good even very early in his career including 2002 & 2003.
Wakeman ain't no Thurston vis-a-vis 2004 believe me.

Who cares Wakeham can be half as good as Thurston and cut out a good career

 

[Bazildog]

I'm torn on the make up of our spine. If we signed a big body 6 like Burton, it would be sweet to have Averillo sniffing around at fullback supporting some direct play. Either way we just need him in the spine.

If Averillo nailed fullback which I think will end up his position, then with DWZ and Smith on the wings and Hoppa in the centres we could just sign Cotric to pair with him or better still Kotoni Staggs.. Wakes and the 6 million dollar cripple and we have a pretty handy back line.