Round 3: BULLDOGS v TITANS (2024)

[DIEHARD]

BULLDOGS v TITANS

[MaroonTitan]

Selection dilemmas for this one. I'd have Weaver at 7 but can Klese give him some shelter? My beef with Klese is that too often he doesn't come off his line and make first contact. I reckon he's got this year if he's going to be anything in the NRL. Hopefully the coaching team are onto him. Tanah is much safer defensively but then does nothing with the ball. Is Stimson a better option with Weaver on the right? The right side defended well for us. Is it crazy to mess with that? Compromises?

On the upside, is Weaver, Kini, Verrils/Randall the future (with JC at 6)?

The left edge is a worry but hopefully Foran can sharpen that up and Fermor does a lot of work to be better for the next one. Otherwise Alick should get the job or can Stimson play on the left? I really didn't want to see Stimson on an edge this year but I'm very worried about our strength there.

Des will give Kelly another run. HSS isn't a good enough option to replace him after one game and I think HS was telling us last year that Jojo is a right side only player. I never want to see Sami in the centres again.

I also don't understand having Randall and Clark together in the 17 if Randall is going to play lots of lock. Clark out for IF would give us more size or Stimson would give us a bit more size, toughness and cover for an edge.

With two weeks it's a good opportunity to make changes and get it right. I fear Des will pick the same 17 again with Foran and then at some point have to make changes with a one week turnaround. I can't see how Foran can help Boyd onfield when they each play their own side of the field. The only argument I can see for keeping Boyd is that he defends better than Weaver.

Then again, Des is probably taking things slowly. He won't be judged on missing the eight. They will just have to be better than last year and that's not hard. He'll have it right by June for sure.

[The Birdman]

1. Kini
2. Lofi
3. Kelly (very thin ice)
4. AJ
5.. Sami
6. Foran (left)
7. Weaver (right)
8. Mo
9. Randall
10. Tino
11. Klese
12. Fermor (expecting he'll be better for the run)
13. Keenan

14. Verrills
15. Jolliffe
16. Pahulu
17. Liu/Stimson

I think this team just has better balance and size on the bench and more direction in the halves. Admittedly its slim pickings at 7 but I feel we have to give Weaver an opportunity and he at least flashed a threatening short kicking game in the opposition 20. Goal kicking could be an issue haha.

[GC Giant]

1. Kini
2. Lofi
3. Kelly (very thin ice)
4. AJ
5.. Sami
6. Foran (left)
7. Weaver (right)
8. Mo
9. Randall
10. Tino
11. Klese
12. Fermor (expecting he'll be better for the run)
13. Keenan

14. Verrills
15. Jolliffe
16. Pahulu
17. Liu/Stimson

I think this team just has better balance and size on the bench and more direction in the halves. Admittedly its slim pickings at 7 but I feel we have to give Weaver an opportunity and he at least flashed a threatening short kicking game in the opposition 20. Goal kicking could be an issue haha.

Hasler will want Boyd / Foran combo. Des won’t give up on what he has trained with all off season.

[The Birdman]

Hasler will want Boyd / Foran combo. Des won’t give up on what he has trained with all off season.

I agree its unlikely he changes the preseason combinations and reps this early. Hopefully he doesn't do the Holbrook/Clark thing where he waits until the season is a write off before he acknowledges a player lacks the threat to play in the spine.

I'm happy to eat humble pie if he proves me wrong but Boyd clearly isn't that guy.

[MaroonTitan]

Makes sense.

Is Palasia our best 13? Does he play there if our best 17 has Randall and Liu/Pahulu in it? How many locks do we need?

[ozynorts]

Will be watching the Dogs with interest this week as their defence in the first half last week was a lot better than last year.

[Cowabunga]

Fermor is a massive concern going forward imo and once Fifita is back he's out for me, He's rusty of the ACL but he was a bottom 10 defender in the league at his best and now he's in the bottom 3 and his attack doesn't look off, Till that changes it's going to be a lot of the same stuff in games I reckon. Beaus turning 26 this year and I think this is just who he is as a player, Haas cops it a lot and sometimes deserves it but Fermor makes him look like Liam Martin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdOS...nalRugbyLeague - Perfect example are these 2 sets which was the story of the game, If they got stuck on the right or in the middle we won the position, It was a free for all the minute they went down left on the 3rd or 4th.

Despite that I think our numbers and spacing were always off one or two which is on Kini, the middles and the left side who were never telling anyone to get over and help them, The amount of times that we had about 6 players covering Sua and Ravalawa who were never getting the ball was wild.

The Flanno try might be the worst defence I've even seen from us and it wasn't even Keenan or Fermors fault really, they had a 9 to 4 overlap which I didn't know was possible. The left including of our guys including Jolliffe are off screen to the left defending noone (Sua and Rav were never ever getting the ball) It's so bad from everyone and so little awareness I don't know who to blame but it happened so often.

I love him but Jolliffe could be dropped for that and had the worst game I've seen from him and was the worst player off the bench. I'd still have him on in the 17 but last chance, I'd swap out Liu for Stimson for more communication and foot speed, I think he's a better vet to have in the team, Liu looked completely done 2 years ago and got his 250th, Thanks for coming.

I'm not as off Clark as others, He's the only one off the bench that runs hard and gets good pcm but needs to have 10 runs. I don't think size is the issue, We had a pretty big team and our defence was trash due to how slow a lot of them are. Our bench usage was as bad as anything under Holbrook as well so who knows, Tino and Randall subbed off 6 mins into the 2nd half on a scrum in our own end, Next tackle Flannagan walks it in due to some of the worse numbering on defence I've ever seen, The RLPA game had way better. Why are our two best defenders subbing off 6 mins in on our own line????????

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxJwg_pBD...rT3d4rLvLhNls-

Our numbering a lot of the game seemed really off but this was close to match fixing.

[Hail Sezer]

Just my take Cowa - but Flanagan's try isn't really a numbers issue. Erin squares too early, so Keenan stays connected and turns his shoulders, Fermor doesn't stay connected and continues sliding before setting, and Flanagan takes the space. It's not executing the defensive system. Even with the B defender making a mistake there, it would've been fixable if they'd stayed in system.

Generally speaking numbers either side of the ruck weren't perfect but it's far from the main reason our defence was poor (moreso in the 2nd half). Edge systems breaking down (on the left), getting schooled in the middle with certain personnel on the field, and missing the mark in our detail/effort areas (looking at you again left edge). As in, literally everything they've apparently been training all pre-season

This match vs Bulldogs I've got as one of the most anticipated in recent memory, not because it's a decent clash or because I think we're gonna do anything great, but last week was just so abysmal I'm really curious to see how Des and the team respond

[Cowabunga]

Is that not ridiculous? There's 4 guys to the left of Haas who aren't even on the screen when the whole thing is covered and Dragons weren't pulling any trickshots, Ravalawa and Sua weren't ever acting like they were getting the ball. I agree with everything you've said and it just stuns me that noone on that left side or in the team had any awareness although shouldn't be surprising.

I don't know, It doesn't look right to me and was happening a lot but not to that extent.

Edit: Sorry saw reposted the vid.

They should just handcuff Randall to Fermor if he's still in the team

[willhelm]

Just my take Cowa - but Flanagan's try isn't really a numbers issue. Erin squares too early, so Keenan stays connected and turns his shoulders, Fermor doesn't stay connected and continues sliding before setting, and Flanagan takes the space. It's not executing the defensive system. Even with the B defender making a mistake there, it would've been fixable if they'd stayed in system.

Generally speaking numbers either side of the ruck weren't perfect but it's far from the main reason our defence was poor (moreso in the 2nd half). Edge systems breaking down (on the left), getting schooled in the middle with certain personnel on the field, and missing the mark in our detail/effort areas (looking at you again left edge). As in, literally everything they've apparently been training all pre-season

This match vs Bulldogs I've got as one of the most anticipated in recent memory, not because it's a decent clash or because I think we're gonna do anything great, but last week was just so abysmal I'm really curious to see how Des and the team respond

TL;DR blame Erin

That's what I've been saying for years but nobody listens to me

[Cowabunga]

Seen enough, Bulldogs are going to put 50 on us.

[Hail Sezer]

Seen enough, Bulldogs are going to put 50 on us.

60 at least

[Whats Doing]

Des needs to sit down with Boyd and Weaver and show the line running and seeing up of play of Hynes in the Trindall try. He ran an unders line on the A defender to turn his shoulder inwards, then changed to an overs run to drag the B defender inwards and then when the B defender turned his shoulder inwards, Hynes then threw an outward pass to Wilton who ran through the gap created by Hynes on the outside shoulder of the B defender who then sent the ball to Tindall to score.

It was brilliant line running and creative play by Hynes which is what our halves need to learn in a hurry

[ozynorts]

Yep we are deadset going to struggle to score against the Dogs