What if we have another bad start to the season?

c-b-b

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How things go are well and truly in Pay's hands. Choose the right players from round 1 and we're a good chance for the 8, we have a pretty soft draw.

I don't see the board axing him this year and I can't really think of any good candidates for 21 if things don't work out.

I really can not believe people saying finishing outside the 8 is acceptable, you can lose more games than you win and make the bottom 2 spots of the 8 most years.
 

bradyk

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I'm expecting another bad/slow start to the season.

We're expected to finish second last and I don't see us being favourites against any team except the Titans (possibly Warriors too, who are my Wooden Spooners for 2021). Obviously anything is possible and I'll reassess as the season goes on but those are my expectations. As long as we show up and give it our all anything is possible so I won't stop believing until it's mathematically impossible.

On Pay, I think he's safe as long as he avoids the Wooden Spoon unless a top coach becomes available which I personally don't see happening.

I'll be really happy if we can avoid the bottom four again and hopefully build for 2021 where we hopefully have reinforcements coming in - players that are going to make a difference (more Thompson like signings).
 

Nexus

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Ace ventura..
Well..I’m not really ready for a relationship right now Lois, but thanks for asking...

I love that movie
 

Sleeky

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I really can not believe people saying finishing outside the 8 is acceptable, you can lose more games than you win and make the bottom 2 spots of the 8 most years.
And that’s what it comes down to.
That is the best sense I have heard on here for a while.
 

Sleeky

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Well..I’m not really ready for a relationship right now Lois, but thanks for asking...

I love that movie
“Your gun is digging into my hip”

:tearsofjoy:
 

KiwiDog7

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We have the pack to match most teams in this comp but it’s our backs more specifically our halves that will have the ultimate say on how we go this year because attack has been our main problem over the last couple seasons.

We seemingly looked to have our defence going at the back end of 2019 so hopefully that continues this season.

All I know is a 7-2 start to the season again is not acceptable especially as I feel our draw to open the season is favourable
 

Scoooby

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Pay picks wakeham to start, and he puts everyone in the right position and lets them play the game to suit their style, then we will be fine..!!! It won’t take long for them to gel an form combos (which they should have started to do already) pay just needs to get the picks correct, an it will be a better year than 2019.
 

Bluebody

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I will be frustrated and depressed and it will feel nostalgic. Any more questions? :tongueclosed:
 

doggieaaron

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Apart from the $$ out of the cap i dont even see foz out as a setback as he rarely plays anyway,pay needs to get some balls and blood wakeham
 

NPC83

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Really? Never saw it. At the same time I worked in a video store so I know that movie had Jim Carrey in it but I find him as funny as a famine. Don’t remember where I picked it up but true story and she wasn’t pleased. Bullet dodged.
Mate dumb and dumber was pretty funny...
 

NPC83

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I know the team is still not overally strong in some areas but we have some great competitors CHN, DWZ, Jacko, Napa that will keep us in most games. I can see us close to 50% this year and hovering around the 8 maybe not quite in the 8 yet but not too far off.
 

Alan79

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Speaking from the perspective of someone that has no say in the running of the club. My plan of action if we have a poor start is to keep watching games and hope to win every week.

On the other hand, if we have a strong start to the season, my plan of action is to keep watching games and hope to win every week. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I have no say in the running of the club.

Given that I have no say in how to run the club severely limits the options I have about what action I can take regardless of whether we start off strongly or go on a losing streak.
 

JUNKYARD DOGS

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I know the team is still not overally strong in some areas but we have some great competitors CHN, DWZ, Jacko, Napa that will keep us in most games. I can see us close to 50% this year and hovering around the 8 maybe not quite in the 8 yet but not too far off.
Just missing a strike player imo. Is why the likes of LM and JAC was such an opportunity.

Be nice to unearth our own version though.

Wakeham in the halves with Lewis. Would like to see Averillo develop this season. Tass and Topine in years to come.

DEZ was a man possessed in the All Star game, CHN will have his biggest year to date. I for one can’t wait til the season starts.

Can see why some of you are asking the question but cmon get behind OUR team. (NPC83, Not directed at you mate, just agreeing with you for first part of reply )
 

DinkumDog

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Mate dumb and dumber was pretty funny...
I’ll take your word for it mate.
In my time working in the video shop (might have to explain what that was to some of our younger brethren :-))
I saw enough trailers on the screens in the shop we had to play on repeat to turn me off Jim Carrey for life. I’m still haunted by that ‘somebody stop me’ nonsense from The Mask I think it was? The payback was a young and hot Cameron Diaz :-).
 
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Tassie Devil

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Bite the bullet on what?
The coach? Who would he be replaced with? (Flanagan is not an option).
We are keeping one roster spot open for a possible mid-season signing just like last year - but unlikely anyone leaves mid-season (though possible).
This is the final year of cap pain - there are still restrictions with what we can do with the roster, so we have to make the most of the squad we've got (don't forget ~10% of the cap is sitting on the sideline).
They're young, they're relatively inexperienced - but if they believe in themselves anything is possible as we showed at the back-end of last year.
I'd suggest to keep expectations in check for this year, but it does not mean the panic button has to be pushed.
Have to agree with this. It's all about expectations ... realistic ones.

Too many on here are losing their shit over things that were never going to be possible anyway. I get that we're the Bulldogs. I get that we should be year in and year out challenging for the ultimate honours. I totally understand all of that.

But we're not in the position to do that, and it's best for all of us to accept that. Personally I'd love to see us competitive week in week out starting with that first game.
 

GDR

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Have to agree with this. It's all about expectations ... realistic ones.

Too many on here are losing their shit over things that were never going to be possible anyway. I get that we're the Bulldogs. I get that we should be year in and year out challenging for the ultimate honours. I totally understand all of that.

But we're not in the position to do that, and it's best for all of us to accept that. Personally I'd love to see us competitive week in week out starting with that first game.
so after the last 2 years do you consider a slow start (and to be out finals contention early) is an acceptable result? and that the coach should be extended as a result..

This is not a doom and gloom thread. Think of it as a forecasting topic .. what should be done ??

imo any thing short of improvement, would be considered a massive failure. And improvement should mean at least another 3 wins in the season and a possible top 8.
 

Tassie Devil

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so after the last 2 years do you consider a slow start (and to be out finals contention early) is an acceptable result? and that the coach should be extended as a result..

This is not a doom and gloom thread. Think of it as a forecasting topic .. what should be done ??

imo any thing short of improvement, would be considered a massive failure. And improvement should mean at least another 3 wins in the season and a possible top 8.
Is it acceptable to have a slow start? Should the coach be extended this year if we do?

Look. I don't think it's acceptable that we haven't played finals football for so long. That after so many years we still don't have a semi decent spine, with us severly lacking in quality in the halves and hooker positions. I think that Pay going into his 3rd season as coach should really have this team playing pretty damn well for each other.

However, at the same time I look at this team and don't know what else to expect? I don't expect a strong start because I'm not seeing enough to warrant such optimism. Acceptable and realistic are two different things in my mind. It's not like I'll be popping open the champagne if we lose the opening 5 matches. What I'm saying is based on the squad I don't expect us to win all of those 5 matches so if we don't I won't be upset.
 

CaptainJackson

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In another thread I looked at our first 10 games and thought at the very least we should have a 5-5 record.

I think anything less than that should say Pay out the door.

I also think that if we start off with the wrong line up and after injuries or lack of form, the lineup changes to exclude some of Pay's favourites and we turn around our results, that's another indication to me that Pay needs to go. e.g. If wakeham performs well in the trial against Canberra, but is missing from Round 1 in favour of Lewis, and we lose our first few games and only start winning if Lewis is dropped and wakeham comes in, then that's a clear sign he's not the right coach.
 

Tassie Devil

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In another thread I looked at our first 10 games and thought at the very least we should have a 5-5 record.

I think anything less than that should say Pay out the door.

I also think that if we start off with the wrong line up and after injuries or lack of form, the lineup changes to exclude some of Pay's favourites and we turn around our results, that's another indication to me that Pay needs to go. e.g. If wakeham performs well in the trial against Canberra, but is missing from Round 1 in favour of Lewis, and we lose our first few games and only start winning if Lewis is dropped and wakeham comes in, then that's a clear sign he's not the right coach.
Personally I don't think he's the 'right' coach as I think we deserve more at this stage. This isn't a hate Pay post, I just haven't seen enough to warrant enough belief that he's the right person to turn us around. In saying that though, who else do you have as coach?

And again this comes back to being realistic about who we are atm, and what we have. The reality is that we'll need to ride the year out with him as coach no matter what, and at the end of the year a new coach will at least have $$$ to play with.

However, maybe Pay doesn continue on with the end of season form and he surprises people including myself. I certainly hope so!
 

GDR

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Is it acceptable to have a slow start? Should the coach be extended this year if we do?

Look. I don't think it's acceptable that we haven't played finals football for so long. That after so many years we still don't have a semi decent spine, with us severly lacking in quality in the halves and hooker positions. I think that Pay going into his 3rd season as coach should really have this team playing pretty damn well for each other.

However, at the same time I look at this team and don't know what else to expect? I don't expect a strong start because I'm not seeing enough to warrant such optimism. Acceptable and realistic are two different things in my mind. It's not like I'll be popping open the champagne if we lose the opening 5 matches. What I'm saying is based on the squad I don't expect us to win all of those 5 matches so if we don't I won't be upset.
A standard was set in the run home last year. Once you set a standard, any form of regression should be considered a failure.. furthermore, we have strengthened our depth this year and have young players that have a lot more games under their belt.
 
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