Bellamy plays horses for courses.
Kasiano is a short burst post-contact meter eater.
But his problem is he can't sustain it for long periods and it shows up in his defence. 
Going into the game against cronulla, Bellamy probably wanted consistency rather than power from his bench. It worked.

Stimson, Welch gave him that. Brandon Smith came on as the burst runner.

You really have to sit back and marvel at what Bellamy has done down there over bv the last 12 or so years. He has made a mockery of the thought that forwards win matches. They don't. Smart players do. Forwards are nothing but pawns in a chess game.

You'll probably say that Smith, Slater, Cronk are once in a generation players. They are. But Bellamy found them, moved heaven and earth to keep them at the expense of numerous dh forwards and backs let go (even at their peak) and his record remains. Prove him wrong at your own peril. 

Morning all... Any bulldogs atrocities to report?..

Sorry tomorrow I think.

None that News Corp can think of.

As yet.

I grudgingly agree.

Hate him for chicken wings, grapple tackle, wrestling, 3 man peeling off but you have to acknowledge their play.  One way or another they seem to have it all covered. Too good last night.

So happy the scummy, druggo, salary cap cheating Shire team got what they deserved.

Marki, I am starting to wonder if you really are a Bulldog supporter, or a Melbourne/Queenslander troll because no true Doggies supporter would heap praise on any other player, team or coach no matter who they play for........ they are the enemy.
As far as bellyache and storm are concerned, no matter how good you think they are, their superiority has only been enhanced by the plethora of assistance they have recieved over the years by the whistle blowers. Without this help they would have only ever been percieved as a good team.

and before you correct me steve, yes I got perceived wrong but couldn't be bothered editing the post.

‘The Referee (or Review Officials) may award a penalty try if, in his opinion, a try would have been scored
but for the unfair play of the defending team. A penalty try is awarded between the goal posts irrespective
of where the offence occurred.’ Section 6 (3d).(NRL Rules and Regulation 2018).
With reference to the slater "shoulder charge". Two questions must be asked, firstly, was it unfair play by slater that prevented cronulla from scoring a try. Secondly, if slater had performed a legal tackle would he have been able to successfully stop the cronulla player from scoring.
These questions will never be answered. I was always under the impression that rules were designed to be non negotiable, and the inclusion of the term "in his opinion" is ludicrous as it leaves the rule open to abuse.

who cares about 2nights game   ..............   go the isp cup  bulldogs  all the way boys   @ lest something 2 cheer for 

Therefore Section 6 (3d) should be deemed a guideline rather than a rule. And while I am ranting why wasn't slater sent to the bin for 10 minutes for a professional foul. Far too many inconsistancies and Greenberg need not worry about players bringing the game into disrepute, him and his officials are doing a fine job of that by themselves.

110% complete and utter ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuubish.

Last years Storm team was the best I have ever seen, no assistance required. They are the best club of The NRL era by the plenty.

And they did it and do it all themselves.

And that's ruuuuuuuuuuuubish too. Every successful Storm season they've had one of, if not the, best packs in the game and it's the same this year - that bench!

Forwards win the metres, backs win the game. Neither can get the 2 points without the other.

That other Smith is one of the best young forwards in the game and already one of the best hole runners.

Real weird head though, he looks like a teen hobbit.

You have your opinion zef, and I have mine. I never said they weren't good, I implied they were made to look "great" by the little 1% legups. As for saying my opinion is "utter rubbish" well that's rich from someone that is always banging on about "playing the ball and not the person".

ODF, believe me I am as hardcore as they come.
But i just appreciate good, winning football I see it.

For example....todays game. I'm torn between which team I dislike more.... roosters or souths.
Most of you would want Souths to win coz you hate Easts more, but I'm the opposite. I dislike Souths more, even though I like their team balance and the way they play.....

Either way, I hope Storm win the whole thing. 

Marki, you are probably right. The storm are faves to win the whole thing, but I wish that the refs would get those little calls right and let it be seen as an even playing field. Dogs supporters are a fickle bunch, especially us older ones because the game today is lightyears from what we witnessed when we were young.

Congratulations to Dale Finucane. What's this now, 5 grand finals since 2012? Unbelievable...

He should be leading our pack alongside Klemmer and Jackson... And Marty Taupau... Fuck you Dez.

The thing is dogbone, what's been done is history. I am excited about what the new regime is bringing and it appears to be an exciting year coming up if what we gave witnessed continues.

Marki, as much as I dislike slater all I can say is if he does get suspended for the GF, he only has himself to blame. That "shoulder charge" was a poor read on his behalf because I think that if he had gone for a legit hit, it would have ended in the same result except he would pulled off a miraculous try saver. Now he finds himself in a spot of bother.

Marki is checking each sms with the hope it will be Billy sending him a "Sam Burgess"

I actually take a different view on Melbourne. They had the home ground. They had a full strength team and Cronulla had 3 guns out in Graham, Dugan and Gallen...the latter being particularly inspirational for the team. They also lost Feki in the first half. Melbourne did not run away as you might expect. I am looking to tonight's game to see the GF winner and hoping it will be Souths....mainly so it won't be the Rorters.

It appears that the biggest debate at the moment is whether slater will play next week or will he attend as a spectator. I believe that to be consistant the NRL have to suspend him just the same as they have suspended players previously for similar offences. The four things obstructing his suspension are:
1. Slater is a protected species.
2. It is the Grand Final.
3. It is slater's final game.
4. Sheer weight of pressure from Melbourne storm fans.
Then again, since when has the NRL ever been consistant?

I never saw the incident live but suggestion is if his hand touched the player first he would be let off.

There is a freeze frame, from the front, that will probably save him.

zef, if there is sufficient evidence to show that he did not shoulder charge, then I guess it's not fair to suspend him but, at the time in normal speed it did look suspect. The thing is if the cronulla player had dived for the tryline there was a good chance he may have scored but in the upright position he was in he was never going to get to the line and slater never had to put himself in that position. A poor read of play on slaters part that may jeopardise his final hurrah.

Plus I can't see them letting the biggest marketing tool/attraction for the GF miss it.

The fairytale GF ending to the greatest fullback of all time in his last game? The guy who rewrote FB play. No way will that end with Billy looking forlornly on from the sideline.

The MRC going through the motions of appearing to be even handed as per script probably.

I don't care either way...but I'd put money on Billy.

I didn't say anything about sufficient evidence that he didn't shoulder charge, I said there's a freeze frame from the front that will probably save him.

Especially since he's got Nick Ghabar, aka The Judiciary Whisperer, representing him. That bloke will take that one freeze frame and convince them they're looking at a classic ball and all tackle and then give them a rub behind the ear.

The Queensland ISP cup is a basically flawed as a legitimate competition.  For example the Storm uses two clubs, Sunshine Coast and East's, as feeder clubs.  The Storm decide how many players they send to each club each week.  It may be only two or maybe five or six players.  They show it on their website each week.  This means an outside entity has influence over the competitiveness of the teams and could potentially distort results.  This is by no means confined to the Storm.  The Titans, Brisbane and the Gold Coast do it to.
The distortion this can have on the competition was obvious when the Sunshine Coast went from premiers to wooden spoon rest when their arrangement with Manly was terminated.  It could almost be renamed the ring in cup.

One must only look at Bellamy's SOO record.
Had one of the best packs yet after many attempts couldnt win a series. I bet if you asked him why, he'd say:
(a) we didnt have Smith, Slater and Cronk.......or
(b) the opposition had Smith, Slater and Cronk 

He wouldnt even know who the forwards are.

ODF, you forgot to mention that slaters arm/hand actually makes contact first just prior to his shoulder. 

Look I hate the shoulder charge rule. I think it has ruined the game. I honestly think they need to reconsider it in try scoring situations. Particularly in the wing like last night's incident. What's the defense suppose to do? Watch the winger score?

These days, wingers dive towards the try line and half the time they are consigned to the fact they will get pummeled yet still manage to score. A guy performing a shoulder on a winger who is expecting to get pummeled is not dangerous. 

Its only dangerous when he is standing his ground or not expecting it. 

Rubbish rule.