Sack Marshall

Funny that last year Gus kept saying that Dogs are behind Tigers.

In terms of comparison between the two teams/ coaches. Ciraldo has Gus to lean on. He has Mick Potter, Jason Taylor as a part of his team as well. And obviously not to mention that Ciraldo has coached Panthers U20s and Reserve Grade teams for close to a decade as well as coached Italy.

Bulldogs won Jersey Flegg last year. They are in the Top 4 in KOE whereas we are last.

I don't think there is any comparison at all. They're much far ahead of us. The only resemblance is that we are last now, they were last 3-4 years ago.
I get what you are saying and agree that they are well ahead of us; however, the comparison is still useful as the pathway to success is laid out:
  • Quality Administrator; Richo has already made significant changes.
  • Pathways; in development but on track.
  • Coaching staff; the boys club we have is a hangover from the previous administration but it does incude Morris who is experienced and I expect that both Richo and Benji realise that we need assistance in this area. We are well below par in this area - but so were the Dogs under Barrett. Let's see where the new administration takes us. So a fail on this one at the moment - but potential for growth.
  • Playing Roster; we are on the way to developing a competitive roster. Api, Luai, Olam, Taruva, Bula, Stef (if he stays), Bateman, Pole, Matamua, Sam Fianu, Sione Fianu are all servicable. Lobb povides an aerial threat and has the potential to come on. Richo has started the clean out (same as Dogs did) and has commenced recruiting. Again - our roster is well below par but there is a plan in place to correct it. So on the right track.
I wasn't using the Dogs as a direct comparison, as you stated we are too far apart in the journey and of course Gus would say that we are ahead of him - great defelction and foil. As with a lot of what Gus says it is bullshit. The Dogs have laid out a roadmap that is useful for us as outsiders to compare and contrast against. Richo will follow his own path; but it appears to be very similar. Richo has a proven track record - if he is backing Benji you can bet he has a plan to support him. Once he has a decent roster and the right support around him If he doesn't get results there will come a time when he gets the flick. That time isn't now.
 
Well known saying or not...
It doesn't apply...simple
Go back and read post 414 in this thread. The logic and reasoning is laid out very clearly. I didn't invent the saying; but I have shown clearly that it is based on fact. So unless you intend to rewrite the laws of physics every time we are lose we are one loss closer to a win!

It would be great if you could demonstrate how it doesn't apply.
 
Well known saying or not...
It doesn't apply...simple
You’re right Noggon, it doesn’t apply, if there’s no try.
regardless of any goal in life, if you stop trying your goal won’t be achieved.
You can change your approach but not your goal, if you believe it’s worthy, that is.
An NRL team should have as its main goal, “to win the Grand Final.”
Losses are important because they can highlight areas which need improvement. I think this is what underpins the saying.
 
I hate this thread.

We need to stick to this plan.
Although I didn't want Benji as a coach, I 100 percent agree. Regardless of success or failure, changing the coach at this stage would just show the club yet again is clueless in planning success. That in turn would be a further deterrent in attracting players.
 
The only numdskulls on here are those repeat the same things and expect a different result. (Def of INSANITY).

Benji being a rookie coach is something different.
Benji moving a chunk of people on is something different
Benji playing kids is something different
Our NSW Cup are all under 20 this week is something different.

Results Benji has are the same as last 3 years when we had Madge & Sheens - 2 of the most experienced coaches in the NRL.

You may hate Benji as a coach but I don’t see Richo regardless of results punting him anytime soon. He was a very big reason Luai is coming, Richo will give him a crack at coaching next year.
 
Are they missing them? The juniors there have incentive to play to a level to make the FG squad. A far better situation than advancing them before they are ready, and or because they're is no one else.
The ones that left?
No I don’t think they are. It doesn’t change the fact that they managed to recruit on top of them when most of them were still at the club.
I’m not criticising them at all. It’s screwed and decent dealings in all aspect of the salary cap.
Unfortunately with us anyone we sign is seen as to be blocking a promising junior.
 
Funny that last year Gus kept saying that Dogs are behind Tigers.

In terms of comparison between the two teams/ coaches. Ciraldo has Gus to lean on. He has Mick Potter, Jason Taylor as a part of his team as well. And obviously not to mention that Ciraldo has coached Panthers U20s and Reserve Grade teams for close to a decade as well as coached Italy.

Bulldogs won Jersey Flegg last year. They are in the Top 4 in KOE whereas we are last.

I don't think there is any comparison at all. They're much far ahead of us. The only resemblance is that we are last now, they were last 3-4 years ago.
A few of us were saying that last year.
Despite whether or not they were in the grand-final for the junior comps eagle eyed viewers would notice they were sitting at the very top of the table in all the comps.
They were even 1st or 2nd at the end of the year in the NSW cup. Come this year and they replaced all of their plodders or ineffective players with genuine first graders and quality back ups which only boosts the talent competition for their depth.
 
Funny that last year Gus kept saying that Dogs are behind Tigers.

In terms of comparison between the two teams/ coaches. Ciraldo has Gus to lean on. He has Mick Potter, Jason Taylor as a part of his team as well. And obviously not to mention that Ciraldo has coached Panthers U20s and Reserve Grade teams for close to a decade as well as coached Italy.

Bulldogs won Jersey Flegg last year. They are in the Top 4 in KOE whereas we are last.

I don't think there is any comparison at all. They're much far ahead of us. The only resemblance is that we are last now, they were last 3-4 years ago.
Last year the Dogs were behind the Tigers, then they bought Crichton. On top of some already astute purchases, it changed everything.
 
Are they missing them? The juniors there have incentive to play to a level to make the FG squad. A far better situation than advancing them before they are ready, and or because they're is no one else.
This is the issue we currently have. No one is earning their promotions. They're not made to work hard, train well and aim even higher in order to get ahead. They get promotions based on existing. It's terrible for culture. There's no accountability.

How is it the Dogs were able to recruit a bunch of first graders, while still being top 4 in every other grade whereas we don't wont to sign anyone in case it hurts a juniors feelings and slows their growth. One scenario sets a standard that must be reached in order to succeed, the other just gift wraps opportunity and creates a toxic culture of complacency.
 
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Last year the Dogs were behind the Tigers, then they bought Crichton. On top of some already astute purchases, it changed everything.
I agree it was a great purchase for their First Grade team, and maybe Luai could be that for us.

But to me it's the other purchases like Connor Tracey, Drew Hutchison, Kurt Mann, Josh Curran etc who have also made a big difference. There is not a big difference between their best and worst games. We have players like Twal, Papali'i, Matamua etc who I feel are able to have that consistency but for us they end up being plodders.

The difference is the support they're getting. Right now, I actually feel individual players are "doing their jobs" such as taking their hit ups, making the tackles but all other teams are doing a lot more than that. It's about putting kick pressure on every single set, having 2-3 support runners each play, getting to empty spots on the field just in case they are required etc. I feel our players aren't being coached that or there isn't focus on that at training.

The game is won away from the ball these days and we are even worse when we are outside that 5m radius of the football.

I just have no idea how Benji can manage a 30-35 man squad, look at all their strengths/ weaknesses and address them all individually. He has so much learning to do and I feel very strongly that it needs to happen at lower grades, not in First Grade.
 
This is the issue we cuurently have. No one is earning their promotions. They're not made to work hard, train well and aim even higher in order to get ahead. They get promotions based on existing. It's terrible for culture. There's no accountability.

How is it the Dogs were able to recuit a bunch of first graders, while still being top 4 in every other grade whereas we don't wont to sign anyone in case it hurts a juniors feelings and slows their growth. One scenario sets a standard that must be reached in order to succeed, the other just gift wraps opportunity and creates a toxic culture of complacency.

The whole WT philosophy in respect of their squad building is based on what Marshall and Richo say is junior development…

Even in the interview as recent as last night …Richo is saying they need “only another 2-3 outside players “…

I really hope that this is for public consumption only, whilst he is busting his backside trying to recruit another half a dozen at least players to join the other two that are coming ….

If this is what they both genuinely believe … then any real improvement is still years away …Luia is a good player …but only so much he can do…and the other guy is a winger…
 
Isn't the basic issue that WT have no player / players that can really score points to win. As others gave said, we generally need something like 24 points a game ie 4 converted tries, to be in with a good shot at winning. At moment we generally average 2 tries per game. Get a couple of reliable point scorers in the team and I think we are back to being realistically competitive.
 
Isn't the basic issue that WT have no player / players that can really score points to win. As others gave said, we generally need something like 24 points a game ie 4 converted tries, to be in with a good shot at winning. At moment we generally average 2 tries per game. Get a couple of reliable point scorers in the team and I think we are back to being realistically competitive.
Bring in the Fijian flyers. At least they don’t get bundled into touch and can really benefit us in the backfield. Only a few games back both scored hat tricks for their respective clubs.
 
You’re right Noggon, it doesn’t apply, if there’s no try.
regardless of any goal in life, if you stop trying your goal won’t be achieved.
You can change your approach but not your goal, if you believe it’s worthy, that is.
An NRL team should have as its main goal, “to win the Grand Final.”
Losses are important because they can highlight areas which need improvement. I think this is what underpins the saying.
if there’s no try?
Huh? 🤔


Are 9 straight losses important...or could the same objective be realised with less losses?

Ultimately, there is only one goal.
 

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