Opinion What your club needs for 2021: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

bradyk

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(ZeroTackle, Peter Williams)

Can Trent Barrett take the Bulldogs into the top eight next year?

NRL Rd 18 - Bulldogs v Sea Eagles

Stability. Stability. Stability.

If the Bulldogs players played as hard as the Canterbury Bankstown boardroom fights, the Bulldogs would be premiership contenders every year.

After more upheaval in 2020 at board level and the sacking of head coach Dean Pay mid-season, newly appointed coach Trent Barrett has a tough road ahead if recent history tells us anything.

After a few disappointing seasons under the one time Bulldogs favourite son Pay, all Dogs fans are hopeful Barrett can revolutionise the club.

The former Manly head coach and Panthers assistant of the 2020 Grand Finalists, Barrett has taken on a huge challenge. Many in the rugby league world warned Barrett about taking on the job, concerned he may end up on the wrong end of further boardroom infighting and interference.

Barrett has been active in the market place so far, making some good signings to rejuvenate the Dogs squad. Kyle Flanagan comes in from being let go by the Roosters, exciting tough young back Nic Cotric comes from Canberra where he played 93 games after making his debut as teenager in 2017. Now a State of Origin representative, player Cotric brings class and experience.



Others to sign for 2021, promising forwards Corey Waddell from Manly and Jason Hetherington from Penrith. Hetherington may not be the last player to come across from Penrith with Barrett, as the Bulldogs remain active this off-season.

Hopes are high that the Dogs can snare very promising five- eighth Matt Burton and young forward Spencer Leniu. The biggest prize might be yet to come. Rumours are still swirling that Melbourne Storm’s Josh Addo-Carr will be with the Dogs in 2021.

If Barrett can sign his targets, the Dogs will have a very different look for 2021. Without the signing of Burton and Addo-Carr, Barrett will still have a good squad to work with. By adding the confirmed signings the Dogs will be very competitive.

Matt Doorey looks promising and new signing Hetherington was very impressive during his loan stint with the Warriors last season. The Bulldogs definitely need an injection of talent in their forwards to help Josh Jackson, Adam Elliott and co.

Jake Averillo looks to be a very exciting prospect. Unbelievable pace and agility, Averillo will hopefully get more game time under Barrett. Where he fits into the puzzle will ultimately depend on the outcome of further signings.



The halves will be fighting each other for the starting spots. Kyle Flanagan will be jumping out of his skin to get started. Having been let go by the Roosters after only one season would have hurt him. How he bounces back from such public disappointment and embarrassment will be a test of character for the young man.

Most critics would have given Flanagan a pass mark for his first full NRL season. Like many young halves, he was inconsistent and at times his defence was fragile. Yet not many would have predicted his departure from the Roosters after one somewhat successful season.

Looking at the Bulldogs squad they have a good mix of youngsters and experience. They have added some very good talent and could yet add more. Having signed Flanagan, they have a good half with fire in his belly to prove doubters wrong. What the Bulldogs need though is a playmaker.

Lachlan Lewis, Brandon Wakeham and Averillo will also contest for the other starting spot should the Bulldogs miss out on Matt Burton. Both Lewis and Wakeham have had the starting halfback job at times but never cemented the position.

If they can land Burton from the Panthers they will go from being very competitive to being a team that will challenge for a finals spot. Burton’s limited opportunities with Penrith have shown he is a very classy player and unlucky to have Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai in front of him.

Coach Barrett has proven he can coach. His first season with the Sea Eagles was very successful. His second was impeded by back room and off-field interferences and lack of resources and support.

Should the Bulldogs maintain stability off the field and let Barrett be his own man, Canterbury will be more than competitive. If he is able to pull off the signings of Burton and Addo-Carr, they will be a serious contender at the end of the 2021 season.

 

bradyk

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Imagine the scenes at the Tigers if JAC was at the Bulldogs in 2021. A team/club that finishes around 9th-10th every year but there's just a bad smell around them. Without Harry Grant there next year they could be a disaster (Sharks are currently my favourites for the disaster of the season, don't go there Burton please...)

One thing this article is missing is our hooker position, I'd think that'd be the main talking point when talking about the Bulldogs. JMK and players like Meaney shouldn't be starting for a NRL team, especially in key/spine positions (no offence). We can still rectify that with some signings (we hope!).
 

Bulldogsteve

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its more paper shit
 

Family Guy

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Imagine the scenes at the Tigers if JAC was at the Bulldogs in 2021. A team/club that finishes around 9th-10th every year but there's just a bad smell around them. Without Harry Grant there next year they could be a disaster (Sharks are currently my favourites for the disaster of the season, don't go there Burton please...)

One thing this article is missing is our hooker position, I'd think that'd be the main talking point when talking about the Bulldogs. JMK and players like Meaney shouldn't be starting for a NRL team, especially in key/spine positions (no offence). We can still rectify that with some signings (we hope!).
According to D-Voice we don't have the cap space for a hooker in 21. I would have thought we'd be loaded (at least $1M, even if we get Burton) but apparently not. If the rumours are true and we have signed a top shelf hooker in 22 (Smith), then it's not too bad. One more year of pain. Hopefully Wakeham has a go although I'd like to see BBO be given a shot too.
 

bradtalo

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I really don't understand why we didn't sign Starling from the Raiders. Could have got him for the same cost as Waddell probably. He would have had to prefer a starting spot with us over staying second fiddle to Hodgson. He would have been cheap obviously and if he didn't work out we could have still signed someone better for 2022 and kept him as back-up (much better option than JMK or Katoa as a back-up too).

I think we should have signed Alex Johnston also as a potential fullback. Similar with Corey Allan. Both would be good cheap wingers if they didn't make it at fullback. For f... all we would have had an upgrade at least at fullback and hooker for 2021 and still had the money for Burton (and JAC for 2022)
 

bradyk

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According to D-Voice we don't have the cap space for a hooker in 21. I would have thought we'd be loaded (at least $1M, even if we get Burton) but apparently not. If the rumours are true and we have signed a top shelf hooker in 22 (Smith), then it's not too bad. One more year of pain. Hopefully Wakeham has a go although I'd like to see BBO be given a shot too.
When I compare our ins and outs I still believe we're sitting on 1.5-2m with 3 roster spots (Foran was on 1.2m alone which almost covers all of our 2021 signings alone), we'll see over the coming months how much we really have left tho. We had genuine interest in Burton and JAC together which is at least 1m there, we've also elevated three players into the top 30 who'll be on minimum wage. I think the problem with B. Smith would be the Storm releasing him early, maybe waiting an extra year is a compromise. Our priority should probably look something like: 1. hooker, 2. fullback/five-eighth, 3. winger and 4. prop. Money shouldn't be an issue for a hooker imo.
 
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APUP

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Im prepared to give JMK another go at 9. He has everything you need as a hooker, stout in defense, can kick out of dummy half and has plenty of pace. With barrett being an offensive minded coach who is to say he doesn't excel? as far as Lewis and can EAD, my left toe has more attacking flair
 

BULLDVGS

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Im prepared to give JMK another go at 9. He has everything you need as a hooker, stout in defense, can kick out of dummy half and has plenty of pace. With barrett being an offensive minded coach who is to say he doesn't excel? as far as Lewis and can EAD, my left toe has more attacking flair
Doesnt have it between the ears.
 

Packstar

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2021 Salary Cap = $9.9m (115k min wage)

Spine 30% = $2,970,000
Forwards 30% = $2.970,000
Backs 20% $1,980,000
17-30 20% = $1,980,000

Spine
Flanagan $400k
Averillo ?
JMK?
Wakeham?
Lewis?

Forwards
Jackson 600k
Elliott 475k

Backs
Hoppa 600k

Shit adds up quickly and hopefully Laundy has some good mates who like to sponsor a few players
 

bradyk

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Looks like we don’t need a hooker anymore if we have signed Jason Hetherington. Does anybody even check these articles anymore?
Not the biggest deal, but probably should get his name right :D . Do we know if it's Nick or Nic btw, I've seen people use both.
 

Bulldogsteve

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I really don't understand why we didn't sign Starling from the Raiders. Could have got him for the same cost as Waddell probably. He would have had to prefer a starting spot with us over staying second fiddle to Hodgson. He would have been cheap obviously and if he didn't work out we could have still signed someone better for 2022 and kept him as back-up (much better option than JMK or Katoa as a back-up too).

I think we should have signed Alex Johnston also as a potential fullback. Similar with Corey Allan. Both would be good cheap wingers if they didn't make it at fullback. For f... all we would have had an upgrade at least at fullback and hooker for 2021 and still had the money for Burton (and JAC for 2022)
we did make an offer to starling, but he chose to stay in canberra
 

capt obvious

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Our problem is trying to fill holes when needed from other teams dreggs, if we do land some talent we are paying overs.we are poor at indentifying young guns from anywhere and bringing them through.
 

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Our problem is trying to fill holes when needed from other teams dreggs, if we do land some talent we are paying overs.we are poor at indentifying young guns from anywhere and bringing them through.
Not really. We did target Sam Walker, Harry Grant and now Burton - they're 3 of the best prospects going round.
When Walker was on the market we had Pay as coach so that was never going to happen. With Grant apparently we were $50K short and now we're going for Burton. I think we're on the right track moving forward
 

Baby Blues

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Not the biggest deal, but probably should get his name right :D . Do we know if it's Nick or Nic btw, I've seen people use both.
I disagree. There’s a big difference between us talking about a player here and a reporter doing their job. In this case it’s a completely different player who’s retired.

I think his government name is Nikola so both are wrong lol
 
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