Yes there are times ( too few) where the attack looks great where we chance our arm and it works. Then we return to one out running or perhaps we are so tired from defending mistakes and penalties that all they do is run hard but one out. 
 
There are times in every match where our defence has been great but then we try get out off our line with 5 single runs then resulting in a Burton kick from our 30m or 40m line and our opponents bring the ball to half way on tackle 2 or 3 and the cycle begins again- we defend well and try to ruck it out   with 5 single runs. When running off your line and the defence is coming at you in single defenders, there is a time to shift it 2  or 3 passes to gain metres off our line- are we too buggered to do it or too brain dead to think of this AND  why not coach early shifts to gain field position.

Peter Moore would never have accepted this shit coaching and results, and even if Twitter was around in his day, posted shit calling teams The Knight like Gould did. He conducted business in house without any LOOK AT ME like Gould. He built the Bulldogs because he loved the club and never would get done over like the SBW  Mason Barba  and co crap. I am sure he is looking down and thinking fuck every hanger on off and excuse my language just be a - oops, I just ate my own poop... with one goal WINNING .... Folkesy had that in him as well ..... We are no longer the Bulldogs we are not the DOGS OF WAR we are bottom of the ladder and he would cut anyone who was responsible for that to ensure success. I used to drive from Cairns to watch games, now I would no drive to my local (plus I would be 5 X DUI) on the way back. This club and team are a reflection of those in charge. Not the players..... The CEO, Football Manager and Coach and if Warburton is a CEO's bootlace he will fucking FIX IT and FAST

Seems if ya use Carmichael    - oops, I just ate my own poop... word it changes it too .... be a - oops, I just ate my own poop ........... sort of funny as that is what the Dogs are doing. Eating their own poop. Or in the case of Gould and the club spewing POOP either way POOP and BULLDOGS is sooo hot right now :)

Good summation.
It's what I have been harping on about.

The problem with this team is not defence.
It's attack or lack thereof.

We started the game yesterday with a new intent. From the first few sets, we had decoy players running through the line (although they were so poorly positioned, they nearly became obstructions and im.surprised we weren't penalised).

But the lack of scoring meant they were sapped of energy to continue doing it. We needed to bloody score.

In the end, it looks like we lost a 50-50 game. But the inability to score sapped the confidence and energy levels of the team. That and an inexplicable desire to move away from the first half gameplan and in the end we were completely dominated in the 2nd half. The score didn't reflect the final result as Knights had 3 clear cut trys under the posts that went begging.

We will see if Baz is replaced or if he changes the team next week.

Same team, same coach, probably same result.

We lack 2nd rowers who can hit a hole and break tackles, Kicks is coming next season.

When we do concede tries or dropped balls it is often the same guys making the mistakes each week.
If the attack was firing those mistakes would not matter.

I doubt that the 9,7,1 who have failed to do it for the last 5 weeks are going to flip the switch.
I doubt that 2nd rowers and centres who have failed to straighten the attack are going to adapt.

We need players like Kiaz who's natural instinct is to run hard and Schoupp needs to get good passes.

Topine is another high energy player, good defender, tries hard, up for the contest.

Competitors are not hard to spot, they will be competing at training.

Here's a question....

Can Burton play fullback?
He wants big money. He is fast, can break tackles, is tall, can defend 1 on 1 and has a footy brain.

We need him for clearing kicks or last tackle plays. But I just feel he is taking forever to warm into the 5/8th role. 

He can do everything he still does and it also allows him to roam anywhere in attack.

Can we not play Burton at fullback and use a halves pairing of Averillo and Wakeham?

I feel that if it were to show signs of working, next year we could have a 1-6-7-9 spine of Burton-Avo-Wakes-Mahoney

Right now I wish you coached them.
You seem to have good ideas and very similar to mine.

At the very least you are spotting the issues and making corrections. Baz is not. He's just coming up with the same BS and then does the insane thing of doing it all over again.

Averillo and Tola are better fits for fullback, even Casey and the Fox.

All are bigger bodies than Dufty and Dufty's defence makes Ben Barba look like cemment Gillespie.

Burton is starting to come good.

At fullback I really like what I have seen from Tola.

At half Hayward and Wakeham seem like the best options.

I am also impressed with Kiraz and Casey in any position they have played.

I know Averillo is a class player that will eventually find a role in the side.

I would not be totally surprised if Burton ends up playing lock and Averillo 5/8, probably starting with Averillo comming off the bench.

With Mahoney if Wakeham is half, I can make a case for Averillo in 14, Wakeham can shift to play dummy-half. Averillo can cover any injury in the backline, including fullback, Averillo can play as a running lock when we want to increase the tempo.

Over the last 10 years we have been subject to the same (or very similar) gameplan and the common denominator (with the exception of the Dean Pay interlude) is a bullheaded stubborn coach that has a clipboard with ONE game plan and no backup plans. Desball and Bazball are very similar and you can easily see they both have Manlys fingerprints all over them. The only difference being Des had a cracker team to start with whereas Baz had the Penriff model to plagerise. We need a coach who can unlock the players talents and let them play what is in front of them. Gameplans and structures are only a guide to reset the team when play breaks down. We also need assistant coaches that can actually condition players to perform in this superfast modern game. Old coaching methods are now obsolete and so are long term players from a different era, the Bulldogs need to either adapt or perish...... rant over.

Well rant not quite over. The NRLol also have a lot to answer for. Firstly they keep tweaking the rules and fvcking with the game... they need to butt out and let rugby league progress naturally into a better game. Secondly if they hadn't increased the number of teams over the years we wouldn't have weaker teams due to dilution of the talent pool. The NRL boast they want a national game but in reality the talent is sourced from two states only and the Pacific Island nations. Now it's rant over

Well said ODF, the best plays come from  players using their natural instincts.

I disagree on the expansion side of things impacting on the quality of the game.

IMO the bigger issue is the salary cap floor that forces teams to pay big bucks to shit players (only coz they are on the books) and young talent eventually give up on the sport and do other things.

Piss the cap floor off for bottom 4 teams. Let them field a 12M team in a couple of years and target big name (quality) players.

It will even up the comp and raise the minimum quality level at NRL level

Yuck…

You make some good points.

I look at the Bulldogs and I compare the coaching style to that of my sons Oztag team (coached by someone else) and my sons AFL team (co-coached by me). 

In my sons AFL team, we have 4 standout players, 4 middle level and 4 garbage players. I cosch them like Craig Bellamy (2006-2019 era) where the team is (secretly) split I to the Thinkers and the Robots. The Thinkers are smartest players with the natural ability. They are responsible for the flow of the game and gamestyle. The Robots are just that. They are too dumb to think more than the play in front of them so don't waste your time on 1 play ahead. Just get them to execute their simple task and get them to move the fekk out of the way of the Thinkers.

Needless to say, the AFL team is successful so far and are undefeated - even if they are not the best in  the comp.

The Oztag team, seems to have decent players but are only training for the NSW state cup in a couple of weeks. It's assembled by a bunch of players from various teams who don't know each other. The coach is an Oztag player himself but I feel he is spending too much time trying to get them to play a certain way and not understanding who can do what and when.

That's where the Dogs are. Barrett thinks the dogs players are smart like the Panthers or Storm. They're not. We'd have to have the least smartest players in the game. He continues to have unrealistic expectations of individual players to do certain things, but they simply can't. Thry are robots and should be trained accordingly.

I have a feeling that Gus understands the Robots and Thinkers principle but Barrett doesn't. Unfortunately until we get a coach that can understand our players and coach a gameplan that they can implement, we are stuffed. I see another 2 or 3 years of this pain

Just yuck.

It depends on whether you are talking about expansion of the game or expanding the number of clubs. Redcliffe expands the number of clubs but not the game, it is already a RL area. Thus the dilution of talent.

I've said it before but I'll say it again.
We should make a play at Ben Hunt.
We need an experienced and top shelf halfback and captain to help the team, compliment Burton (if he stays) and bring through the young halves.

Lets face it, our young guys aren't gonna be ready for another 2 years.  So getting Hunt for that period is smart recruiting. Pay him 900k for 2 years. It's worth it.

And I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again, Ben Hunt is contracted till the end of ‘23 and The Dragons are not gonna let him go and he won’t be asking for any release for. $900k considering he’s topping a $$$million$$$ already.

You’re Super coaching, again.. 

The Mock couldn’t handle the pressure of SC…

Dragons won't give him 6 figures again unless they are forced to.
But come November.....we should.

I love Griffin
Everyone else drinks water in coaches boxes.
Griffin drinks coke!

So did we ever find out who Smack was (Kcams)?

A Russian bot…

They’ll definitely give him 6 figures…

George something or other.

Rather fat and sweaty Dog game regular back in the day, maybe still is.

For ‘24, when he’s 34?

We played terrible footy. It was very hard to watch. It was obvious we had no more points in us. I just don’t understand why they are so much worse than we were with any previous coach. 

7 figures...

Kicks brilliant in the Panthers demolition of the Storm.

At least we have 2 good players joining next season.

I have tried to work out what side to run with next game.

Walking back my criticism of Flanagan slightly he was fairly good for the first 20-30  mins.
But when we needed to shift momentum later in the game he wasn't effective.

Topine is playing mostly as a lock/2nd rower, but starts nominally at hooker, with Wakeham doing some of the early dummy-half work.

TPJ is starting on the bench becuase he doesn't have the fitness to start an NRL game.
I have gone for maximum change.

Team next post.