What can we learn from the 1998 team?

GDR

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What id like to see this year is to chance our hand a bit more in the opposition red zone.. 1 or 2 more tries a game will make a world of difference to our chances.

It was frustrating to watch the cautious approach that continually failed throughout the season.

Id prefer outrageous Benji Marshal style attacking raids, rather than just burning tackles one after the other in the opposition 20.

one thing the halves can learn from polla, was that he always backed himself, he was not afraid of failing.. he'd make a terrible play, then pick himself up, dusted himself off and made the match winning play with in 10 minutes of each other .
 
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silva

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Silva and talau were injected into the squad midseason and made a world of difference. Standards are a lot higher now but addocarr could turn us into a top 8 team. Hes worth 1 or 2 tries a game
 

Scoooby

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Silva and talau were injected into the squad midseason and made a world of difference. Standards are a lot higher now but addocarr could turn us into a top 8 team. Hes worth 1 or 2 tries a game
Bloody oath he is worth 1 or 2 or 3 tries a game, he is xfactor and it’s something we’ve missed since barba..!!!
 

Howard Moon

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I'm not saying you're wrong but we also went on a run at the end of 2018 winning 5 out of 6. The same type of things were said this time last year. In 2019 we won 5 out of the last 6. The key will be the start to this season, not the end as well as recruitment for 2021.

two different teams.. lot of new faces in 2019.. the 2018 run was more about throwing caution to the wind and in many cases it paid off... 2019 was more about a new team learning to play together, as a unit.. the acquisition of DWZ was a big factor as well.. we were beginning our sets closer to where our sets were initially ending, and our goal line defence was much better organised
 

Dingo

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An ace goalkicker can get you far in this comp, even farther than you should.
 

Moey

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98 team had Polla Mounter we have Cogger/lewis lol

Silva v Dwz/Meaney not even close
Hetherington v JMK once again lol at comparison

Our 98 shat all over this spine snd that's the biggest diff between these 2. You take those players out of 98 team and no chance in hell they make semis let alone Gf

And all of 98 forwards shit all over Elliot/Sue/D.Britt/CSmith..
 

2144superman

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Silva and talau were injected into the squad midseason and made a world of difference. Standards are a lot higher now but addocarr could turn us into a top 8 team. Hes worth 1 or 2 tries a game
Can you explain to me how he is worth even 1 of the 1 or 2 tries a game you claiming for the Dogs ?

In the 9 games he played for Wests Tigers he scored 6 tries and in the 85 games he played for Storm, he scored 63 tries. How does that equate to "worth 1 or 2 tries a game" for the Bulldogs?

Both the Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm had very very good halves when Josh was at those clubs which we don't currently have the luxury of. If you have a look at JAC's tries a lot of them are laid on for him through good kicks and backline moves that put him into gaps. Very rarely does he score tries through breaking tackles and running through defensive lines. Josh needs smart halves with good kicking games who'll be able to utilise his speed. We don't have that at the moment but in saying that YES I would also love JAC at the Bulldogs, let's just not get ahead of our selves with that he would be worth to us.
 

silva

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Can you explain to me how he is worth even 1 of the 1 or 2 tries a game you claiming for the Dogs ?

In the 9 games he played for Wests Tigers he scored 6 tries and in the 85 games he played for Storm, he scored 63 tries. How does that equate to "worth 1 or 2 tries a game" for the Bulldogs?

Both the Wests Tigers and Melbourne Storm had very very good halves when Josh was at those clubs which we don't currently have the luxury of. If you have a look at JAC's tries a lot of them are laid on for him through good kicks and backline moves that put him into gaps. Very rarely does he score tries through breaking tackles and running through defensive lines. Josh needs smart halves with good kicking games who'll be able to utilise his speed. We don't have that at the moment but in saying that YES I would also love JAC at the Bulldogs, let's just not get ahead of our selves with that he would be worth to us.
I wasnt referring to just tries he scores but the ones he helps create with his running game. Cant underestimate speed and hed run through a brickwall if he had to.
As Ive said in other threads jac is worth more to his playmaker then vice versa.
 

gee333

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I dont disagree there, but cant help myself... even those net talent losses at souths, easts and melbourne still provide a better end state than ours... you cant really add Britt as a net gain at all... and stimson will be good, but not Arrow or Mitchell good...
I'm not so sure, compared to this time last year for example the Wabbits have lost Burgess x 2, Inglis and Sutton and added Mitchell, arguably more talent lost than gained. The Chooks have lost Cronk, Mitchell and Tetevano and gained Flanagan, surely that is more talent lost than gained. Even Melbourne, where they have lost Croft, Scott, Kata, Chambers and Stimson (plus maybe JAC) and gained Jacks, surely is a net loss of talent. The Sharks, they have lost Brailey, Feki, Flanagan, Gallen and Capewell and signed Tracey and Ramien, which looks like another net loss.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm seeing a lot of moving around but the retirements and losses to Rugby and SL from many teams is greater than their additions. I think we have gained more than many teams, for sure most are not recognised talents (yet), but since this time last year we have added DWZ, Simson and Britt and lost Lichaa, Fualalo, Olive and Brown. Looks like a net gain to me.


Go Dogs
 

gee333

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Great post!
I honestly saw a lot of promise in our sides development last year. As with the 98 team it wasn't loaded with talent. But the way they finished the season hopefully taught them that success is theirs for the taking if they give their all. It was heart and determination that let us go on our late season charge. If we can replicate that early on in the year we might really surpass expectations.

I actually feel bad about always falling back to Lichaa and his lack of a fluid passing game. He shouldn't always be the scapegoat. But after Ennis left, our pack looked like they really had to time their runs to wait for Lichaa to pass. Forwards typically take some time to wind up on their runs and with Lichaa here they weren't able to do that. While we had a hooker that allowed our pack to receive the ball at pace our forwards were a force. Even Tolman had plenty of people calling for him to step into the origin scene. The halves usually didn't get their hands on the ball much sooner than the defense was in their face with Lichaa at 9 either. JMK still lacks polish in some areas and he might not have the running game of Cook. But his service is closer to what is required and you can see that he's developed a lot in his first year where he's played hooker regularly. Cogger isn't an explosive runner like many people tend to fap over, but he's shown signs of being a crafty half who has some deception in his game as well as a varied kicking game that can give us some repeat sets. I don't know what combination out of Cogger, Lewis and Wakeham will be our main halves pairing, but if they can create more half chances our backline might actually look a lot better. If you put together the best outside backs in the NRL but had them playing behind a pack that was being dominated and halves who had no ability to create chances, they'd generally not go too well. I think that was a bit more visible with the queensland team after both Cronk and Thurston left the rep scene. As much as DCE gets huge fanfare, I really think he's hugely over-rated.

I'm not confident that we'll be a force to be reckoned with from the start of the year. But I'm pretty proud of the fact that I'm usually very slow to deathride our chances. And ahead of this season I do think that the mentality of the team will be a lot better. We'd have played finals footy last year if the refereeing hadn't screwed us in some early games and if anything I think the side learned that they might get bad calls when attacking, but if they can frustrate opponents with the solid defense that was responsible for our strong finish, it goes a long way towards negating the ability of referees to decide the results with a few dubious calls.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the year pans out for the lads. I'm never a happy fan when we aren't performing, but I think that we have plenty to look forward to this year despite not having a roster packed with established talent. Like Slovenia Steve pointed out, a never say die attitude can carry a team a long way and that might just be the big thing that the team developed late last season. Lets just hope they can replicate that through the entire season this year.
 

bullanth

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Been thinking long and hard about our current team and the direction we're going in. Do we have enough class to challenge? Why aren't we bringing in more talent?

Looking back at the Bulldogs of old it was all about attitude and togetherness. Never say die and fight for the guy besides you, which is why I fell in love with this club at a very young age. When I'm having a rough day I always look back at those games in 1998 and realise that you should never give up, and that it's not all about 'talent'.

We're clamouring over getting another centre, better halves, wingers, hooker etc. but let's not kid ourselves. Looking back to 1998 Lester & Marteene were really no world beaters. Yes, Ryan was injured for the final but you can't say he was world class either. Corey Hughes as a 5/8? Grimaldi, Relf, Reardon, Stone, Hughes, Thompson in the pack?

Not slagging these guys off, just pointing out that they're far far far from big names. But at the end of the day they put in for the club and gave their all. Their togetherness nearly brought us to an impossible GF win.

Maybe we all just need to be patient for the club to bring our attitude around to allign with the times of the past?
They had a head coach,who can coach,and Steve folkes had the respect of the playing squad,I'm not convinced that Dean pay is man for the job,looking at our squad,it is possibly the weakest in the nrl,and also the youngest,my prediction,competitive,and about 13th
 

TwinTurbo

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I dont disagree there, but cant help myself... even those net talent losses at souths, easts and melbourne still provide a better end state than ours... you cant really add Britt as a net gain at all... and stimson will be good, but not Arrow or Mitchell good...
Remember the post was in response to one claiming the top teams had all upgraded this year. The additions in the examples are good quality but I still maintain that the losses are greater, not necessarily one on one but in total numbers. There is no way Mitchell fills the gaps left by the departure of 2 x Burgess, Sutton and Inglis, net I see Souths as not having upgraded this year. That doesn't mean they have bad team, just on paper not as good as it was last year. Melbourne to me are the big losers having lost Croft, Scott, Kata, Chambers and Stimson (and maybe JAC) with just Riley Jacks as an acquisition. That's a big net loss and if Smith starts feeling his age even more, they will need every one of Bellamy's magic tricks. That's why they are demanding a heavy price for JAC's release, they need a quality replacement and are going to play hard ball until they get it.

Another reason why this is going to be a very interesting season, with a number of quality players not being around any more it gives the up and comers a chance to show their wares.

Go Dogs
 

Natboy

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They had a head coach,who can coach,and Steve folkes had the respect of the playing squad,I'm not convinced that Dean pay is man for the job,looking at our squad,it is possibly the weakest in the nrl,and also the youngest,my prediction,competitive,and about 13th
I agree with a lot of what you say mate but talk to the players now about Pay compared to Des and you’ll be very surprised
 

wendog33

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I agree with a lot of what you say mate but talk to the players now about Pay compared to Des and you’ll be very surprised
I thought all the players loved Des....not so?
 

Natboy

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I thought all the players loved Des....not so?
Most couldn’t stand him. He made them all feel good initially but he’s absolutely mental and over complicates everything
 

bullanth

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I agree with a lot of what you say mate but talk to the players now about Pay compared to Des and you’ll be very surprised
I mingled with quite a few of the players,at the bbq a few weeks back,and was happy at the positivity,they displayed,I'm hoping that transfers to game day.
 

DinkumDog

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I mingled with quite a few of the players,at the bbq a few weeks back,and was happy at the positivity,they displayed,I'm hoping that transfers to game day.
Ditto. They were a very positive bunch at the forum and it was great to see. Seems like a real camaraderie has been built.
They didn't call the Despot the Mad Professor for nothing - and it's not a term of endearment.
Deano on the other hand appears to have built some real respect.
If that translates to the field with the right results it would be great to see.
 

Tassie Devil

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Nice Alan (and Steve). How quickly the deathriders forget despite the challenges and poor start last year we finished just one game out of the finals when we came home with a wet sail.
Of course we still have some work to do in recruitment over the next couple of years as well as bringing our young lads through before being able to sustain a competitive roster year in year out - no one denies that.
But we’re on a good path and I think we share the sentiment that there’s no reason we can’t push into the 8 this year with a better start and never say die attitude (like ‘98, like many other times).
A combo of more experience from our young fellas and seeing what our recruits like Stimson can add will be hopefully good to watch.
No one expects to win every game but as long as we’re not dropping very winnable games like we did last year (which ended up being the difference between making the 8 and not) then we’ll go OK.
Roll on Round 1!
That should be "Nice Steve (and Alan)"

.. await my apology
 

Tassie Devil

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They had a head coach,who can coach,and Steve folkes had the respect of the playing squad,I'm not convinced that Dean pay is man for the job,looking at our squad,it is possibly the weakest in the nrl,and also the youngest,my prediction,competitive,and about 13th
I'm not the biggest fan of Pay but the fact the team were playing like they were towards the back end of the season is testiment to him. Not saying he'll be a success here but...

As for folkes in 98. The fact that we were ripped apart at the beginning in every semi to me signifies that his game plan wasn't good enough. It was up to the players to turn it around, no?
 

DinkumDog

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That should be "Nice Steve (and Alan)"

.. await my apology
My humblest grovelling apologies to the highly talented and insightful original author of this very fine thread which has paved the way for all of us to a future path of success and enlightenment. Good enough? :-)
 
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