Round 26: TITANS vs BULLDOGS

[GCTTSD]

I think mortimer would make a great hooker

[karnage]

Just to prove Ioane was great:
Runs - 15
Metres - 190
Tackles - 29

Unbelievable stuff from a bench player who struggled to get a run under Carty. Well done Mark!

Great numbers. We don't need Bird. We don't need Myles. We need guys like him who try hard.

[lonegull]

Wow what a win, the boys showed today they have got hearts and played with a lot of passion, seems that they were never going to give up no matter what, great win you beauty

[Boonarga]

Zillman huh? Great second half by all the team. It seems like Henry told them to just go out and have fun.
What was with the penalty at half time? The touchie put his flag up. That's the end of play. Ref can't overrule him.

[TITAN PETE]

Can't remember being so excited at that Stadium since our 1st year there , great comeback & it all came on the back of Mortimer going to dummy half , fantastic 2nd half from Taka but I thought it was Binge,Ioane & Kingston that made a great impact in the match & it was a fitting & deserved Man of the Match performance from Mini, he was excellent.....was it just me that thought Sezar was Bulldogs best for the game...


Great way to end the season & get that Cartwright taste of Bad Play out of mouths bring on 2015 👍

[Ausphin]

Really happy for the players and more importantly the supporters to go out that way. I'm optimistic about next year, but think it will take a couple of offseasons to get Henry the roster he wants.

Some observations-

FB - I know i am in the minority but i still think Zillman is our fullback. Defensively he is really sound, but his timing in hitting holes and reading offloads needs work.

Wingers - Don must be in the team. Are set with him and Mead , with Gordo and KFFL waiting in the wings (pardon the pun)

Centres - real hole here. James Roberts is dangerous when he gets clean ball, but no one else obvious for the other spot. Wont be fixed next year, but i would look to a player like Dane Gagai after next year ( would happily send Bird back home in a swap for Gagai next year. ) Taka is not a centre.

Halves - massive question marks. A year ago i was excited to build a team around Sezer but he has really dropped off this year. Mortimer is servicable but looks better at 9. Kelly for me should be an impact player off the bench.

Front Rowers - am happy with a rotation of Douglas, Iaone, James and Hennant (sounds like he is coming) with White and maybe Binge as depth. Dont want Myles in front row.

Hooker - hoping Srama is back healthy, maybe Mortimer depending on what we do in the halves. Falloon tries hard but seems to stall our attack.

Back rowers- fine with our 2 young signings and Myles, Bird, Taylor, Carter and Ridge. Not sure Kingston is up to NRL standard. Was found wanting in the first half today.

Not sure where Taka fits. As i stated earlier, not a centre, but can be an arm grabber in defence and is not typical workhorse backrower. No doubts though the guy is a player and at times looks like our most dangerous weapon which is pretty disturbing.

Either way, happy with the win and excited to see where next year takes us.

[Titan4Life]

Really happy for the players and more importantly the supporters to go out that way. I'm optimistic about next year, but think it will take a couple of offseasons to get Henry the roster he wants.

Some observations-

FB - I know i am in the minority but i still think Zillman is our fullback. Defensively he is really sound, but his timing in hitting holes and reading offloads needs work.

Wingers - Don must be in the team. Are set with him and Mead , with Gordo and KFFL waiting in the wings (pardon the pun)

Centres - real hole here. James Roberts is dangerous when he gets clean ball, but no one else obvious for the other spot. Wont be fixed next year, but i would look to a player like Dane Gagai after next year ( would happily send Bird back home in a swap for Gagai next year. ) Taka is not a centre.

Halves - massive question marks. A year ago i was excited to build a team around Sezer but he has really dropped off this year. Mortimer is servicable but looks better at 9. Kelly for me should be an impact player off the bench.

Front Rowers - am happy with a rotation of Douglas, Iaone, James and Hennant (sounds like he is coming) with White and maybe Binge as depth. Dont want Myles in front row.

Hooker - hoping Srama is back healthy, maybe Mortimer depending on what we do in the halves. Falloon tries hard but seems to stall our attack.

Back rowers- fine with our 2 young signings and Myles, Bird, Taylor, Carter and Ridge. Not sure Kingston is up to NRL standard. Was found wanting in the first half today.

Not sure where Taka fits. As i stated earlier, not a centre, but can be an arm grabber in defence and is not typical workhorse backrower. No doubts though the guy is a player and at times looks like our most dangerous weapon which is pretty disturbing.

Either way, happy with the win and excited to see where next year takes us.

I agreed with many things in your post but:

-Zilly is not 'defensively sound' most of the time. He misses some crucial tackles on our line.
-I thought Kingston had a great game and got through a load of work.
-I think Taka is a second rower. He played good there today, ran hard and can be creative at times.

- - - Updated - - -

Let's have a vote: Like my comment if you think Mortimer should be our hooker.

[K2G]

I think Mortimer is a better hooker than he is a half.

[Ausphin]

I agreed with many things in your post but:

-Zilly is not 'defensively sound' most of the time. He misses some crucial tackles on our line.
-I thought Kingston had a great game and got through a load of work.
-I think Taka is a second rower. He played good there today, ran hard and can be creative at times.




- - - Updated - - -

Let's have a vote: Like my comment if you think Mortimer should be our hooker.

Agree to disagree about Zillman's defence.

Two of the tries for the Bulldogs were because Kingston dropped off defensively back inside.

Also would have loved it in that play before half-time if we had of scored off that ridiculous play by Josh Reynolds. What an a-grade tool.

[karnage]

Just to prove Ioane was great:
Runs - 15
Metres - 190
Tackles - 29

Unbelievable stuff from a bench player who struggled to get a run under Carty. Well done Mark!

Great numbers. We don't need Bird. We don't need Myles. We need guys like him who try hard.

[Mexican titan]

Thanks Titans. I went and watched Manly in Townsville last night and at half time today the jump from the back of the stand was looking good. Forty amazing minutes changed it all.
As Titan pete said the bad taste of the Carty era was fixed today.

[Hail Sezer]

Agree with the majority of discussion in here. Ioane was outstanding and he deserves to be in our 17 week in week out. Mini also played a fantastic game and it was cool to send him out a winner in that fashion.

Mortimer was 10x better than Falloon at 9 which was incredibly awkward really. I'm hoping Srama has a good off season and can cement his spot in the team because IMO a lot of our problems in attack begin with Falloon's service.

Sezer was poor all round as well and didn't like to pass the ball outside him as per. Hoping an off season under a new coach will get more out of him and I'm looking forward to that.

Nice field goal by Zilly but besides that, he was terrible IMO. Gonna leave it there though because I really don't want to take away from the win. Was a fantastic result and seeing the team come together like they did after the win was superb.

[Titanic]

Zillman for president but not fullback ... he was ordinary again fg aside. Ioane was class but is too small really and Don was Don ... otherwise the rest were as always except Minichiello who had a dream send-off. Bring on next year.

[JunctionBlock]

That second half was epic. Don't know how the kids organised it but what a fantastic Fathers Day present.

Worrying signs for me is the across field plays, it's like having Prince back out there. We need someone to take the ball to the line. If Henry is an attacking coach where is our attack? We don't score if not from individual brilliance or determination. Loved seeing Mortimer at hooker thought we looked better, except for Takarangi moving to the halves. First time I have honestly watched Taka in a 2nd row position and he was non existent in the first half, even being subbed before our prop rotation. When he did get involved in the second half he was fantastic, then he caught dumb from Reynolds and the rush went to his head and he thought he was JT and potentially cost us the game. Massive game for Mini and that can be said about him for the entire year, he gave 100% even after not being offered a contract. Ioane, for a small bloke has a lot of go. Can't wait to see him next year, one to watch for sure. Zillman, terrible for 83 and a half minutes but I do feel for him with the relaxed defence leaving him exposed constantly, but his lines, timing and ball handling aren't good enough for NRL.

Anyway, what a finish and what a great way to finish the season. Loved sitting there surrounded by Bulldogs fans to then absolutely give it to them at full time. Got some great bargains at the merchandise store too, so all good. Can't wait for Round 1 team list now.

[Mexican titan]

I am glad Zilly kicked the winning field goal as he seems a nice bloke and deserves some good. That said my recall of him today was dropping the ball when we had half chances and him frequently flashing past on the inside of a tackled player - obviously too late to be in position when needed. We need a far better attacking option there but it's all been said before.