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Marki
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 6.7K,
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+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. Do you think 1st, Reggies, Matts, Ball etc should all be playing the same system???.. I've often said our reserve grade team should be our first grade team. They play with a much better line speed and have more players in motion in attack. It amazes me how bad our first grade team looks in comparison with reserves.... Does that answer your question ?
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Marki
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 6.7K,
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+x+x#offseasonpost… Did all the Volvo drivers sell up and buy a magic car, or are Tesla drivers their own special brand of fekking awful drivers???… KIA are the new Volvo. My other car is a Volvo... (Ducks for cover)
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dman2018
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 8.7K,
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+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. Do you think 1st, Reggies, Matts, Ball etc should all be playing the same system???.. I've often said our reserve grade team should be our first grade team. They play with a much better line speed and have more players in motion in attack. It amazes me how bad our first grade team looks in comparison with reserves.... Does that answer your question ? No, it clearly doesn’t… But none of you’re replies ever actually address the specific question posed… it’s like listening to a politician…
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dman2018
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 8.7K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. Do you think 1st, Reggies, Matts, Ball etc should all be playing the same system???.. I've often said our reserve grade team should be our first grade team. They play with a much better line speed and have more players in motion in attack. It amazes me how bad our first grade team looks in comparison with reserves.... Does that answer your question ? No, it clearly doesn’t… But none of you’re replies ever actually address the specific question posed… it’s like listening to a politician…
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hounddog
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 9.9K,
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IMO attack is mostly a matter of having the right players mainly 8,7,1,and the forwards need to match the opposition.
If the forwards lose the battle the best spine struggles to make a difference.
Defence is partially a matter of having the right players, but the right system and fitness levels can make a difference. This is where coaching can make a big difference.
Attacking coaches can design set moves which sometimes can be used, but the 9 and 7 need to pick the right options.
Reed had a mixed 2023, a competitive forward pack will help his game.
7 is still a work in progress..
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ODF
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 2.3K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial.
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Marki
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 6.7K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. But I get your point... We give these new guys a chance to change our fortunes. Hopefully they can. We've been down for too long. I don't ever remember this club struggling to bounce back like this.
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hounddog
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 9.9K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. But I get your point... We give these new guys a chance to change our fortunes. Hopefully they can. We've been down for too long. I don't ever remember this club struggling to bounce back like this. That is because 1970-1995 we were a well run club. 1996-2004 a bit of a mess but some aspects holding on. 2005-2015 - dysfunctional and Clueless with the playing squad heading south. 2018 - Rock bottom. 2020 - starting to sort things out, playing squad lags management by around 2 years. It was a disaster and it is hard to get from the bottom back to the top. When people inherit a mess that lasted for more than a decade, we can't expect quick results. As far as I can tell Gus and the current management are on the right track, a bit early to make the call on Ciro. Our best players have always been developed through the graded at the club, we stopped doing that 2012-2018 and it takes 5 years to get it back on track.
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hounddog
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 9.9K,
Visits: 0
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My criticisms of Des are limited to his role in development, recruitment and retention, he can coach.
In that era club management were clueless, hopefully in 2024 the club will have fully recovered.
Being short a few key players in a well run club is a temporary problem.
In a well run club a lack of success is a temporary problem.
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ODF
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 2.3K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. You can't use that reasoning. That's like buying a new car and before you drive it off the showroom floor, saying "this car is going to run like a heap of sh!t because my last car drove like a heap of sh!t.
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dman2018
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 8.7K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. You can't use that reasoning. That's like buying a new car and before you drive it off the showroom floor, saying "this car is going to run like a heap of sh!t because my last car drove like a heap of sh!t. So… how did it run???…
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hounddog
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 9.9K,
Visits: 0
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I am ruling a line on the past....
I can’t remember 2006-2022, I assume that the Dogs won a few comps.
The future starts now with a clean state.
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Marki
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Group: Forum Members
Posts: 6.7K,
Visits: 0
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. You can't use that reasoning. That's like buying a new car and before you drive it off the showroom floor, saying "this car is going to run like a heap of sh!t because my last car drove like a heap of sh!t. Hardly the same thing ODF...
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dman2018
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. You can't use that reasoning. That's like buying a new car and before you drive it off the showroom floor, saying "this car is going to run like a heap of sh!t because my last car drove like a heap of sh!t. Hardly the same thing ODF... So.. it ran better???…
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ODF
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Group: Forum Members
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+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+x+xA lot of hard work from coaching staff and players for a good year next year. I feel that the players that were brought in are players that can fill in the holes that we lacked last year. Or at least, that’s what Gus and Ciro believe.
Missing out on AFB and Luai instead of spending money on utilities would have been my choice. Pay them both big dollars. We have had this ‘war chest’ for the last few years and have signed very few players that were elite. Kikau and Fox being the two that stand out.
What has happened to this club? We used to sign the best players and coaches. Now we sign players that are lucky to make first grade. A coach can change the way a team plays, but that takes 2-3 seasons. Sorting out development is 3-5 years. Fans are patient for 3-5 games. If the wrong people are in charge the clock starts when the club has the right leadership . I am patient because any change will probably be a change to the wrong people. Not quite right. There are multiple examples of either coaches or key players instituting change that elevates teams within 1 year. The Bulldogs have done it in 2001 and 2009 and 2012. Parra also 2009. Broncos 2022. Knights afew years back. Etc It's all about finding a playing style that just fits with the roster, or a key positional change that just unlocks the player and team (Barba) or simply luck (stumbling to a winning formula without really knowing) We've been fumbling and stumbling for years, and other than a cameo from Potter last year, haven't stumbled on anything. Yet. All depends on whether the coach has a squad of players who can play the style he wants to play or a style that is good enough to win. Last season the squad could not defend how CC wanted to defend, and our defence wasn't good enough to be competitive in most games. Assembling and building a squad that can defend to the required standard is a 2-3 season proposition. Most of the premiership winning coaches are defence oriented, Ryan, Bennett, Bellamy, Robinson. A scenario where a team can defend adequately but one player having a breakout season in attack often has very little to do with coaching and often only lasts one season. In that case the attack and defence of the side was already competitive, but one or 2 players in top form added a key difference. The big moves on the table are due to the fact that most NRL teams are evenly matched, injuries and luck are a factor. We were not as bad in 2023 as the results indicate, some players did a lot of good work, but errors from other players undid a lot of that. Many of the players who consistently made errors have moved on. The 2024 squad is an improvement on the 2023 squad, but is not yet where we want it to be. There are never 30 top NRL players off contract who fit under the cap and solve our problems. We are churning players until the squad is competitive each week, once we get there 1-2 signings or a tweak to the playing style can make a difference. Your flawed assumption is that we are in the home straight when in reality we are on the start line of the marathon. It doesn't matter how impatient fans get, how much supposed expertise they claim to have or how often they bag the club, what the fans post counts for nothing. It takes as long as it takes. At no stage have I said we are in the home straight! Far from it and in fact the complete opposite. Our playing style does not give us any latitude to defend errors. Due to our poor halves and game management, we routinely concede territory on every set and coupled with ill-discipline, find ourselves defending teams in our own territory. We also fail to put scoreboard pressure. Again, because our spine doesnt take advantage of territory when we do finally get it. When I watch us play....and we fail to score 4 sets on the opposition line, I already know it's going to bite us later in the game. Similarly, when I see us conceding 20-30m per set due to poor defensive line or speed, and we are defending a couple of sets inside our 30m, I just know we are about to concede points. This style needs to change. It's not necessarily a forwards issue. The whole team and coach is responsible for the line speed in defence and the halves are responsible with where they turn over the ball after our sets. What you are saying is based on what the previous squad ( now know for it half arsed training efforts) achieved or more so failed to achieve. Our new squad hasn't even played a game together yet, so your comment is immaterial. Not really immaterial ODF.... You can only judge a team by the way they last played. You can't use that reasoning. That's like buying a new car and before you drive it off the showroom floor, saying "this car is going to run like a heap of sh!t because my last car drove like a heap of sh!t. So… how did it run???… Probably like a new car.
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ODF
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I reckon there will be a lot of egg on face moments next season, and not to those that are supporting the cutrent regime.
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ODF
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Cutrent = current
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hounddog
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+xI reckon there will be a lot of egg on face moments next season, and not to those that are supporting the cutrent regime. I hope so, that is also what my instincts are telling me. The key positions are... 1., 7.. 8. and 10. I have got a hunch that our starting props might be better than expected. Halfback is the big question mark, Sexton has the raw ingredients, but he needs to put it together . If someone can do a decent job at 7., we should have a good season, We have way more halfback options at the start of 2024 than we did at the start of 2023. Any problems management hasn't been able to fix for 2024, they will fix for 2025. Salary cap and junior talent are no longer an issue for us, the issue is finding quality in a few key positions....
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Mick O
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I really hope we improve next year. We have a very different squad and it’s very hard to say what will happen until we know who plays where.
The obvious problems are our lack of an experienced number seven. We could use a Kimmorley or Stuart signing. If one becomes available at any time we should throw big money at them. But with the players we have to work with I would be going with experience. So Hutch probably gets the nod at halfback. I like Sexton but he isn’t anywhere near as experienced.
Fullback is another position that isn’t nailed down. I would g to hire in Chrichton straight away and let him make the position his own. He has a tonne of experience in big games and has more ability than almost any other player in our team. He has to play a very big role.
6 and 9 are obviously Burto and Reed.
That gives us the most experienced spine we could pick. Give them the year together to see if they can form good combinations. Only swapping Sexton for Hutchinson if we need more direction.
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Mick O
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Next looking at our forwards. I would start Curran at prop with Knight. King and another middle off the bench. Preferably two others with real size. That allows Mann to start at lock and obviously Presto and Kiks on the edge.
It’s a light pack but if we play smart with quick play the ball and win the wrestle we could at least match some other packs.
Once again we lack props. If anybody decent is available at any time during the year or for the rest of the offseason we should throw sone coin their way.
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Mick O
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The backline is very open. Most likely Kiraz and Fox are our wingers. Xerri should be one centre. And with his size Skelton would fit right in too.
We could possibly have one of the strongest backline in the comp if both Burto and Crichton play centre but I feel with their experience it’s best to keep them in the spine.
Because of our lack of size in the forwards it’s best to pick big outside backs. We need them to make meters. Xerri, Kiraz and Skelton will give us that. Fox is too good not to pick.
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Mick O
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So after all that. If we play fast. Get the ball to our speedsters as often as possible and Burto kicks us out of trouble and finds his attacking kicking game again we could surprise a hell of a lot of teams.
It’s so important to start strong. Find a way to win some early games. And you never know.
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hounddog
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+xNext looking at our forwards. I would start Curran at prop with Knight. King and another middle off the bench. Preferably two others with real size. That allows Mann to start at lock and obviously Presto and Kiks on the edge.
It’s a light pack but if we play smart with quick play the ball and win the wrestle we could at least match some other packs.
Once again we lack props. If anybody decent is available at any time during the year or for the rest of the offseason we should throw sone coin their way. I would start Curran at lock, Hughes and King at prop with Knight and Patolo on the bench. But it doesn't matter who the lock is. I finally found out who Jack Todd is, Flegg prop from last year. O'Neil, Papalli, and Skelton listed with Todd as our young guns, I agree on the other 3 and Gus said that we had some good young middles, so I am inclined to think that Todd has potential. I see Hutchinson as adding some maturity in the halves even if he doesn't play 7 in NRL, I think he will help the development of Sexton and O'Neil, especially if he partners O'Neil in reserve grade. BBO and Hayward are the other halves options at times both have impressed me, Hayward is a classical half, maybe trending towards becoming a hooker. BBO is more of a Ben Barba, Ben Roberts style half, dangerous at times but perhaps too erratic. Any of the 5 names I have mentioned could be halfback by the end of year. In terms of passing, kicking and running, I would rate them in this order. 1. O'Neil, 2, Hayward, 3. Sexton, 4. BBO, 5. Hutch. If I am rating on maturity, composure and experience, I am rating in this order. 1. Hutch, 2. Sexton 3. BBO, 4. Hayward, 5. O'Neil. It all comes down to what is more important maturity and experience, or skill and talent. We don't have a single player with the lot, but across the group we have the lot. This brings me to KO who is a great talent, but is under an injury cloud. If he can get injury free, he can add something. O'Neil may be too young to play NRL, but no need to hold any of the other players back. I am assuming that Hayward is still at the club, I can see him playing some NRL somewhere one day, perhaps a lot of NRL.
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hounddog
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+xSo after all that. If we play fast. Get the ball to our speedsters as often as possible and Burto kicks us out of trouble and finds his attacking kicking game again we could surprise a hell of a lot of teams.
It’s so important to start strong. Find a way to win some early games. And you never know. That is how I see it and early in the season, fitness, teamspirt, high completions and enthusiasm can spring the odd upset. Too often in 2023 we didn't make the other side fight hard for a win.
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hounddog
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However, I still have no idea who Zac Montgomery is or if he is really part of our 30 man squad.
EDIT ok looks like he played some reserve grade for us last season and he is in the 30 man squad.
KK who played as an oversize second rower in reserve grade is listed at prop.
So there is a 30 man squad on the Dogs website, but I am not sure how final it is.
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ODF
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+xI really hope we improve next year. We have a very different squad and it’s very hard to say what will happen until we know who plays where. We were sh!t this year so we'll be sh!t next year according to Marki.
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Mick O
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+x+xI really hope we improve next year. We have a very different squad and it’s very hard to say what will happen until we know who plays where. We were sh!t this year so we'll be sh!t next year according to Marki. He has a reasonable point. We haven’t added to our team in the positions we are obviously need. Such as halves and props. And we have lost our best props from last year leaving us very light.
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Mick O
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+xHowever, I still have no idea who Zac Montgomery is or if he is really part of our 30 man squad. EDIT ok looks like he played some reserve grade for us last season and he is in the 30 man squad. KK who played as an oversize second rower in reserve grade is listed at prop. So there is a 30 man squad on the Dogs website, but I am not sure how final it is. Plenty of time to settle on a top 30 squad still. With any luck we sign a few experienced middles.
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hounddog
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+x+x+xI really hope we improve next year. We have a very different squad and it’s very hard to say what will happen until we know who plays where. We were sh!t this year so we'll be sh!t next year according to Marki. He has a reasonable point. We haven’t added to our team in the positions we are obviously need. Such as halves and props. And we have lost our best props from last year leaving us very light. We have added some fullback options. I count Sexton, Hutchinson and Taaffe as additional halfback options. Salmon as an additional 5/8 or 14. We couldn't get good props for a reasonable price so we are running with young guys or might be able to add someone late. I wouldn't rule out player swaps before June 30th, we are well stocked in outside backs and utilities. If a good young prop emerges in QLD cup or NSW cup we are a chance of signing them. I think that the salary cap and lower grades are now sorted. We are lacking proven quality in a few positions, but quick fixes are now possible. Don't rule out the promotion of young talent.
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hounddog
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Merry Christmas and a premiership in 2024 Dogs fans.
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