Gotta agree with Zef

Danny F.... built like a Mac Truck yet is the only forward in our pack that ‘Surrenders’ in tackles constantly each game

He’s yet to develop anything.... a step before the line, an offload in traffic, pull off big hits.... nothing in 2018



Another in the Michael Lichaa category... pulls out the odd good game and still gets picked in 1st’s each week.... won’t be upset if he leaves in the off-season


If Peni Teripo is still off contract at the Eels.... another cheap alternative with great strong hit ups and good leg drive would be a handy pick up too to go with Suaso Sue I believe

Real shame for Chris Smith to get that injury..was looking forward to seeing him develop his game.

And bench is one of those positions we lack depth in. We need bodies to come in and lift the tempo, atm once the rotation starts with Danny Fudololololololo we grind to a halt. 

I agree with Villi.
The focus needs to be in positions we will lack depth in, not strengthen already backed up positions.

I have to question whether we have learnt anything in this salary cap mess.

Thoughts? Protected?
https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/nrl/nrl-premiership/cameron-smith-is-under-the-microscope-for-a-chicken-wing-tackle-on-sosaia-feki/news-story/278d09957f5876c80d028d49ca146216

Good to have Ayoub back. I agree that we did look fitter/faster prior to when Idiot Des took over & brought in all his mates....

Not fussed about Sue, good depth signing & much better than Priest.


We need a decent No.9

We need a decent assistant coach/Attacking coach

We need a strike centre

What are people thinking about the centres next year?

I imagine Meaney will be playing fullback.

With Lewis/Cogger and Foran the first choice halves options.

So at present we have Hoppa/Lewis and Holland as centre options.

I'm also thinking Montoya will be a centre option and we have Harper who is class.

Finally Smith could play in the centres at a pinch.

There are lots of good options for the wing.

I'm not thinking we need a fill in depth type centre, we have a few options like that.

I would rather go with a young guy with the potential to be a long term partner for Harper.

The Sue signing shows some smarts. An above value for money player. The sort of signing Melbourne makes.

I like the thinking, now think about some outside backs.

Good siging for booth BUT still short of
1 centre for next year

The Sue signing officially announced. He played great yesterday for the Tigers.  Tony Ayoub to be High Performance Manager.

Yes indeed. don't want to be playing the Sharks in last round to avoid it.
Parra's win wasn't surprising, neither was NQL. But for parra to win by 40 meant they nullified their poor F/A compared to us.
We probably need Parra to beat the Cows and beat them well in Rnd 24 to make the Cows need 2 wins to overtake us

To avoid the spoon we need to win 1-2 games.

If will not be easy to beat the Warriors, but if we do, we are more or less clear of the spoon.

the wooden spoon battle is going 2 be interesting 
round 23
bulldogs last 2018 season games   left     
round 23
bulldogs  vs warriors
st george  vs  bulldogs 
bulldogs  vs sharks  

round 24
cowboys   vs  parramatta   one of these look set 2  lep the dogs 

round 25
titans  vs cowboys
parra  vs  roosters
bulldogs  vs  sharks

Jim Dymock is at the Sharks. Just made an appearance in the sharks dressing sheds. 

Where Trex these day. 

You're judging Penrith on Hook's Penrith.

They got a great chance at finishing 4th now, 3 games from the title. And that's when Gus will end all pretending and take on coaching them 100% - if not earlier.

He'll treat the semi series like a SOO series and just try and win 3 games as if everything that happened before didn't happen and certainly don't matter now. Nobody's better in the game for a "series" coach, not even Mal with his record, and there's not much better preparing a team to play simply and to their strengths.

They're as wild as a wildcard could be. They could go bounce bounce, they could destroy them all... easily. That roster can not be over-stated, which is why Gus is desperate for a comp before has to start paying for it and so dismantling it due to SC space.

"The Moaning Of Life".

Also a bit part in "Derek" (As far as I know, his first scripted role).

The new one is supposed to be scripted, so it'll be different again.

Does Karl have any other claim to fame apart from "Idiot Abroad"..a great show

Just started mate hence comment about Nacho, who is probably the only nice cartel footsoldier in tv history with a great expectation of being a "was" in near future. Netflxi and Stan so painful to watch with s-house internet connection. NBN due soon.

And another show due to start soon is "Sick Of It", starring Karl Pilkington as himself & his conscience (sitting next to himself in the car etc).

Steve, there's a new series of Saul supposed to start soon.

I watched series one of "Get Shorty". It seemed to be the same sort of show as BB/Saul.
It probably sits somewhere between BB & Saul as far as action/tension goes.
It was odd that it starred Chris O'Dowd & Ray Romano. Surprisingly Ray looked the part, he grew a beard & played the struggling producer caught up in it all quite well.
Chris, apart from a few tatts & being a complete b'stard, looked similar to his IT Crowd appearance, but so be it.
They had the Cop (brother-in-law, whatever) from BB in it. I wasn't sure if it was meant to be associated with the BB universe but I don't think it is, just a similar show.

The only equal on the totally fekked scale would be Nacho in "Better Call Saul"

Essentially I agree but it was also obvious that we were lacking direction in the halves and Frawley & JMK are only fill ins in the halves at best.

When Manly went down to 12 men we decide to play out a set of 6 rather than kick the goal, we should have kicked the goal.
What followed was an insipid set of 6 and after that a succession of lame kicks etc.

Klem was also much worse in his 2nd stint after a great first stint, he put too much into the first stint and momentum had turned against us. 

There are lots of good things we can build on, and a few small things that if we do them better could change the result.

For example if Lewis plays we might do much better, possibly even win the game.

This year we are mainly playing to avoid the spoon and set up next year. Avoiding the spoon will not be easy but at least that gives us a challenge to aim for.

I don't think Pay got the team selection / rotation quite right in this game, but in some areas we just don;t have the cattle, the halves this season without Lewis & Foran are problematic, we don't have a star half running around in reserve grade.

Yes I think you are generally right, but I wouldn't be writing off the Sharks and I really believe the Saints can still cause havoc.
Sharks can win both high scoring and tough grudge matches - both of which you need to win a premiership (reason why Penrith wont and reason why we are so far from one its not funny)


Saints just need to string 2 wins together to get confidence back. They have the cattle and can do both high scoring and low scoring wins. There are 2 many players doing individual errors in key play making roles (Widdop, Dufty, Hunt and McKinnes). If they go back to basics and not overplay their hand, their skill level across the park will get them home. Once wins come, they can chance their arm with more flamboyant stuff - which they are capable of but just not executing at the moment.

Same can be said with just about every club that has skill across the park. The key to it is knowing when to play basics and when to chance your arm. Its why Cronk, Smith and Slater were so good for the Storm. Best readers of the game - ever. Lockyer not far behind.

Im not convinced the issue is McGregor, but more the players and how they handle mental fatigue and stay focused on the end prize.

Family.

They'd need too many days.

To win the comp I reckon they'd have to beat two maybe three of Easts, Souths, Melb and Penrith (plus throw in Cronulla). They could have a day and beat any one of them. String two or three together and beat two or three of them i doubt very much.

I predict a typical Warriors final series. Win their first game impressively and then bounce straight out after that.

What about Warriors..."on their day"...a phrase probably used since the time they entered the comp....Widdop could be out for the duration so really St George's goose cooked. Souths with Inglis and Johnston may be the go. Rorters on principle.....NO

"The Dogs sorely missed playmaker Lachlan Lewis, who was a late withdrawal due to personal reasons,"

WTF...

Dragons are shot, I wouldn't be surprised if they dropped out of the 8 altogether, it's only whether The Tigers can keep winning or not that will decide that I think. This will keep happening to them until they get a new coach, because McGregor's been there for every choke so what's he supposed to tell them around July next year that'll have them ready to change it.

I reckon there's only three teams, with perhaps a wildcard fourth who can win it.

Easts - if they get the game played their way - open and fast. Then Mitchell, Tedesco and Ferguson will win it for them.

Souths - through the middle, then Cook will win it for them.

Melb - not the team they were last year, not even close. But they're just playing to get to The GF, and if they get to the GF I reckon they'll just grind their way to another title.

Penrith - the wild card. They have the list and Gus can coach them to a Premiership from here or they could bounce out the short way, who knows?

I still pick Melb, to play v Souths or Easts.

I wasn't overly disappointed last night. The loss hurts us, and we looked insipid in the second half but against that I'd say the first 20-30 mins was the best we've looked with ball in hand for years.

There was ball movement, good ball movement not side to side sh.t, players in motion, running with intent... we scored a try off a play! - and a damn good play. We looked smart, with a plan, players knowing their roles.

But just not the strike to capitalise on it, definitely not the bench to ram home the advantage and neither the players nor experience to turn things around once we went to sh.t.

Still, I count it all as moving in the right direction and really at the moment that's what we're all about..