Signings, Suggestions & Rumours Discussion

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Allan is a fullback.... Burton and Flanagan in the halves. Cotric and JAC on the edges. Thompson and Hetherington in the middle. They still have to improve their pack but they’re shaping their squad very nicely

Their biggest weakness is Trent Barrett... he’s no head coach.

Jackson and Elliott are fringe rep players. They’ll climb the ladder.

 

[sleeve]

The Dogs had the Morris twins and were awful. Spending big on a bunch of outside backs is not how you win this comp. Expect them to continue to finish 8th to 14th for the next 4 years

Dogs were actually competitive for large chunks of games last year but couldn’t score points, I’d say they are filling needs with NRL proven players or ones that look like they have upside (Burton/Hetherington). Honestly I think they’ll push for top 4 maybe miss due to a lack of a hooker.

Do you honestly think the dogs will push for top 4 in 2021?!

No chance. They won't make the 8. They may get close to the 8 in 2021 when JAC and Burton join the team.

Cotric and Allen are upgrades and Flanagan will give them direction. Their pack is NRL standard. I have them 4th-9th. If they miss it’ll be due to Marshall-King at hooker.

The best club of the last decade, moved Flanagan on, so why do you think he will shine in a bottom 2 team?

Allen was moved on, why was that?

There forwards got to an inch of the spoon only because the Bronc’s were the worst ever.

I think they will struggle. Then watch the club implode at board level blaming everyone for the debacle.

Also Burton had big wraps,but what has he done?Some said he will end up in the forwards.

On the one hand, people are saying our young talent strategy is great, then bag the Bulldogs Burton signing - Who will definitely be a long term NRL talent - so which is it?

I swear there’s a few jealous fans on here, we’d be over the moon if we get Cotric, JAC and Burton. And hetherington.

Just like fellow forum posts questioning Simkin,Madden and others,what is Burtons ability based on?Gus said he was a future talent and everyone got on board.Has anyone seen him play? Regarding Dogs signings i agreed there were some good ones,but think the money is spent to quick without much thought .Just my opinion.

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.


And they are paying top dollar for those wingers. It’s a high risk play imo. What do they do when/if they realise none of those wingers are fullbacks? ?

Cotric will play centre, Allen will play fullback and Addo Carr is the best winger in the comp. Burton is a huge signing. As much as the Tigers goggles are preventing everyone from seeing it, the Dogs are actually building nicely. Add a good hooker and they're looking pretty good.

Spot on, hope our club is watching for when our war chest is available.

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Dogs are looking great for a 12th place finish

Maybe in 2021 but they will be very competitive in 2022.


I really don't see it. Still a good hooker and couple of forwards short

Barrett just seems trigger happy to me

They've got 12 months to sort that out.

And they have tied up over 2 mil on 2 wingers and an unproven halfback

Up the doggies.

You say that, but let's look at it realistically.


- Cotric will be playing centre, he's on $650 apparently. Overpriced perhaps, but we can hardly laugh at them when we have BJ on similar. On 2020 form BJ is worth about $2.

- Addo Carr is on rumoured $600k. That's going to be about $100k more than Nofo is rumoured to re-sign for but Addo-Carr is an elite winger in the NRL.

- Burton is rumoured to have signed on $450k per season and is an absolute gun.

- Flanagan was reported by Brent Read to have signed with Bulldogs for $350k per season (of which the Roosters are picking up a huge chunk of 2021) and in 2020 outperformed Brooks in pretty much every stat that matters for a half. He's also an 80% goal kicker.

So it's not $2m on 2 wingers and an unproven half. It's $2m on a centre, the best winger in the game and a new halves pairing.

Careful, that’s way too many facts for one post ?

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Dogs are looking great for a 12th place finish

Maybe in 2021 but they will be very competitive in 2022.


I really don't see it. Still a good hooker and couple of forwards short

Barrett just seems trigger happy to me

They've got 12 months to sort that out.

And they have tied up over 2 mil on 2 wingers and an unproven halfback

Up the doggies.

You say that, but let's look at it realistically.


- Cotric will be playing centre, he's on $650 apparently. Overpriced perhaps, but we can hardly laugh at them when we have BJ on similar. On 2020 form BJ is worth about $2.

- Addo Carr is on rumoured $600k. That's going to be about $100k more than Nofo is rumoured to re-sign for but Addo-Carr is an elite winger in the NRL.

- Burton is rumoured to have signed on $450k per season and is an absolute gun.

- Flanagan was reported by Brent Read to have signed with Bulldogs for $350k per season (of which the Roosters are picking up a huge chunk of 2021) and in 2020 outperformed Brooks in pretty much every stat that matters for a half. He's also an 80% goal kicker.

So it's not $2m on 2 wingers and an unproven half. It's $2m on a centre, the best winger in the game and a new halves pairing.


JAC is going from an origin standard spine to JMK and two rookies. I think his chances will be extremely limited but yes he is the best winger in the game

Same deal with cotric in the sense he is going from a quality spine to an untested one

Kyle Flanagan played behind a good forward pack and still struggled

I think Flanno had personality clashes with the latte sippers. His form was actually good and he had his team on a winning streak when dropped.

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

JAC is the only one I wanted here. The rest are ok or un proven.

Seems that they're spending their entire xap in the first year and the digs will have these guys locked in for 3 years.

If they dont do well they might struggle again..

I would have taken Flanagan and Cotirc aswell. Theres nothing wrong with building for the immediate team/season.

We are taking a different recruitment strategy to them.

We tried to sign JAC and Burton and missed out lol. They quite simply beat us in that regard. We’ve still done well this off season but would’ve been nice to sign some top quality players

James Tamou, James Roberts, Joe Offa say hi.

Jimmy is a risk but there's no doubting his quality.

I won’t death ride those blokes but if you’re looking for faults, (which we are with the Bulldogs signings) it’s not hard to criticise all 3 of those guys for various reasons. Note, I hope they all play brilliantly.

 

[BAGNF05]

The Dogs had the Morris twins and were awful. Spending big on a bunch of outside backs is not how you win this comp. Expect them to continue to finish 8th to 14th for the next 4 years

Dogs were actually competitive for large chunks of games last year but couldn’t score points, I’d say they are filling needs with NRL proven players or ones that look like they have upside (Burton/Hetherington). Honestly I think they’ll push for top 4 maybe miss due to a lack of a hooker.

Do you honestly think the dogs will push for top 4 in 2021?!

No chance. They won't make the 8. They may get close to the 8 in 2021 when JAC and Burton join the team.

Cotric and Allen are upgrades and Flanagan will give them direction. Their pack is NRL standard. I have them 4th-9th. If they miss it’ll be due to Marshall-King at hooker.

How you have the dogs as high as 4th is beyond me. Cotric is an uograde but hel be out of position. Allen isnt any better than what they have. Is this the same Flanagan that couldnt give direction last year? They have massive holes everywhere. Burton sounds the goods but thats next year. If they make it 10-12th they are overachieving.

That's my point also. Flanagan failed in a star-studded Roosters side where Keary did the attacking work and they mostly wanted him to steer and kick.

In fairness to Flanagan I didn't think he was so bad to be dropped, but Roosters obv have different expectations.

But at Dogs Flanagan will be going mostly solo, because I have no idea who they are going to partner him with, because for all the talk of Burton, he's still a year away. Who is otherwise left - Lewis? Cogger?

Teams are going to swarm Flanagan and he's not going to manage if he couldn't perform with Keary and Tedesco.

Had them top two and winning when dropped.

 

[BAGNF05]

They already have DWZ and Hoppa on thier books . That’s over a 1.3 mil right there and another 2-3 years left on thier contracts . Here’s the thing with those 2 . They’re not 600k players but they’re both above average players .

I’d say Hoppa will be on his bike.

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Allan is a fullback.... Burton and Flanagan in the halves. Cotric and JAC on the edges. Thompson and Hetherington in the middle. They still have to improve their pack but they’re shaping their squad very nicely

Their biggest weakness is Trent Barrett... he’s no head coach.

Allan is a mug. Burton is 2022. Flanagan - OK but failed at Roosters. Hetherington is fringe FG. Luke Thompson yet to prove he has what it takes at NRL level.

I honestly think these are generally poor signings and in the same vein as Tigers circa Ivan Cleary, lots of risk vs dollar value.

Bulldogs biggest issue past few years is direction around the park and consistent go-forward. They've done very little to address this and as far as I am aware haven't got a particularly good juniors pipeline at the moment either.

Allan is a solid fullback. Burton is 2022 yea but you said they have no halves but they’ve already signed two. Flanagan was made a scapegoat at roosters, he did fine.

They’ve signed well, doesn’t mean they’ll become a premiership threat but on paper for 2022 their team is looking nice. They need a few better forwards but Hetherington looks solid and Thompson will come good he’s a beast.

if Flannagan couldn't get it done at the Roosters he doesn't have a hope of success
leading the dogs

I didn’t think he was that bad at roosters. He was okay but wasn’t a superstar

Roosters punted him with 1 year remaining after he was originally not wanted at Cronulla, I’m sure the back to back premiers can gauge a players attributes better than us

They’ve also got two of the hottest prospects in Suaali and Walker coming through. I don’t think he was amazing but he was okay, did some nice things for them

Isn’t that telling you something then?

He’s being replaced by guys with no nrl experience. I think if he was good roosters keep him

That is exactly what WT are doing and people on here are jumping for joy????

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

JAC is the only one I wanted here. The rest are ok or un proven.

Seems that they're spending their entire xap in the first year and the digs will have these guys locked in for 3 years.

If they dont do well they might struggle again..

I would have taken Flanagan and Cotirc aswell. Theres nothing wrong with building for the immediate team/season.

We are taking a different recruitment strategy to them.

We tried to sign JAC and Burton and missed out lol. They quite simply beat us in that regard. We’ve still done well this off season but would’ve been nice to sign some top quality players

Plenty of good fish in the sea mate!
Slow and steady wins the race.

When can we sign an origin level fish ? been forever. We’ve got a better chance of developing talent with our young guys I reckon

Outside of the Roosters, the best clubs don't make "big fish" signings, they develop players rather than paying overs for players at their peak. Look at the 2 grand finalists last year.

To not sign one big name player in a decade is awful. Plenty of clubs make big signings whether they’re origin level or not, we haven’t. Not saying our recruitment this season has been bad but we haven’t had a real marquee signing in forever

Packer was a starting NZ international when we signed him. Adam Blair was the "best forward in the world" when we signed him.

They didn't work out, and caused numerous problems because they were carrying so much of the salary cap. I'm glad we've moved away from this model.

Hope we’re not still employing the bright spark who believed they were marquee players.

 

[BAGNF05]

What a about Papa,Keary,Munster,and a dozen others?JAC is brilliant but only for about 5 minutes in an 80 min game.This is what you are missing ,its easy to get carried away with brilliance but sometimes its a small contributor in a game.

Those 15 players are priority signing number one for their respective clubs and unlikely to become available.

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

JAC is the only one I wanted here. The rest are ok or un proven.

Seems that they're spending their entire xap in the first year and the digs will have these guys locked in for 3 years.

If they dont do well they might struggle again..

I would have taken Flanagan and Cotirc aswell. Theres nothing wrong with building for the immediate team/season.

We are taking a different recruitment strategy to them.

We tried to sign JAC and Burton and missed out lol. They quite simply beat us in that regard. We’ve still done well this off season but would’ve been nice to sign some top quality players

Plenty of good fish in the sea mate!
Slow and steady wins the race.

When can we sign an origin level fish ? been forever. We’ve got a better chance of developing talent with our young guys I reckon

Outside of the Roosters, the best clubs don't make "big fish" signings, they develop players rather than paying overs for players at their peak. Look at the 2 grand finalists last year.

To not sign one big name player in a decade is awful. Plenty of clubs make big signings whether they’re origin level or not, we haven’t. Not saying our recruitment this season has been bad but we haven’t had a real marquee signing in forever

Packer was a starting NZ international when we signed him. Adam Blair was the "best forward in the world" when we signed him.

They didn't work out, and caused numerous problems because they were carrying so much of the salary cap. I'm glad we've moved away from this model.

Sheens used Blair horribly. Packer was playing decent when we signed him, but he was no where near worth the amount we paid for him. It’s not like there was multiple clubs offering him huge money like we did.

He’s not the kind of signing I’m talking about - I mean a $600k+ players who’s actually worth that money. Us paying average players $600k+ doesn’t mean they’re ‘top players’ it means we stuffed up

Fair enough, back to bulldogs then, there are no guarantees any of their big signings will provide value for what they're being paid. Closest player they have to a sure thing is JAC, and if he does an ACL this year, there will be huge question marks on him, without his speed, he's nothing IMO.

The storm are the masters of extracting top value out of their players. We should be aiming to follow their lead.

I agree, go out and get a big 3 so everybody wants to play at your club and win trophies.

 

[Guest]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.


And they are paying top dollar for those wingers. It’s a high risk play imo. What do they do when/if they realise none of those wingers are fullbacks? ?

Cotric will play centre, Allen will play fullback and Addo Carr is the best winger in the comp. Burton is a huge signing. As much as the Tigers goggles are preventing everyone from seeing it, the Dogs are actually building nicely. Add a good hooker and they're looking pretty good.

Avo, they’re looking “better,” particularly if the new guys perform according to expectations. My point was they’re paying overs. No doubt about JAC being a talent but $650k for a winger on a long term deal? I thought we were right to offer slightly over $500k.

If we're offering Nofoaluma $500k then Addo-Carr is worth every penny of $650k, and then some.


I thought we offered Nofa $400k? making him one of the highest paid wingers in the nrl.

I heard from a reliable source who is neighbors with his manager he is after $650k....

If this is true we should simply remove our contract offer.

He's joking.

 

[BAGNF05]

While Allan or Flanagan aren't exactly too exciting to me, the fact they were able to successfully lure Cotric, JAC, Burton and Hetherington is still a win for Dogs. A recruitment win.
Not usually too focused on anything regarding other teams but this shouldn't be so easily dismissed(or knocked) as no offence to the club and/or Hartigan, it still appears our biggest stumbling block and some of us are more curious to know what exactly is obstructing us from landing marquee players.

FYI don't mean we as fans should dwell on this or criticise the club yet more that it's an area that needs to be addressed.

For me Lauren , it’s money . I think the club has realised that paying JAC 700k to play wing , or a kid with 6 games experience 600k , just isn’t a sound pop strategy anymore .

I think the analytics team, and talent identification, play a much larger role than ever before . Hetherington probably chose the dogs for career opportunities , as despite how low some of you are on our pack , the talent here now is undeniable .

Agree with the money aspect.
Sorry I'm not questioning our methods at all and prefer our new approach but just find it puzzling how the optional preference of possible career suicide seems to be more appealing than coming to us. Plus we've previously applied a similar method to this and were only able to land Reynolds, McQueen, Packer and Mbye.
I actually like that the Dogs secured JAC and Cotric, as it somewhat refutes the claim that teams at the bottom of the ladder are unable to secure the more elite players.
While it does look more promising for us, over the years we've already watched others such as Knights and Titans also have success in this area, and improve. So for me, its like what gives?! How do we become a stronger selling point because realistically we still may very well require a player or two to put us at a stronger vantage point - a team capable of consistently making the finals.

Bingo. Go work for the club Lauren.

 

[Speed2burn]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Allan is a fullback.... Burton and Flanagan in the halves. Cotric and JAC on the edges. Thompson and Hetherington in the middle. They still have to improve their pack but they’re shaping their squad very nicely

Their biggest weakness is Trent Barrett... he’s no head coach.

Allan is a mug. Burton is 2022. Flanagan - OK but failed at Roosters. Hetherington is fringe FG. Luke Thompson yet to prove he has what it takes at NRL level.

I honestly think these are generally poor signings and in the same vein as Tigers circa Ivan Cleary, lots of risk vs dollar value.

Bulldogs biggest issue past few years is direction around the park and consistent go-forward. They've done very little to address this and as far as I am aware haven't got a particularly good juniors pipeline at the moment either.

Allan is a solid fullback. Burton is 2022 yea but you said they have no halves but they’ve already signed two. Flanagan was made a scapegoat at roosters, he did fine.

They’ve signed well, doesn’t mean they’ll become a premiership threat but on paper for 2022 their team is looking nice. They need a few better forwards but Hetherington looks solid and Thompson will come good he’s a beast.

if Flannagan couldn't get it done at the Roosters he doesn't have a hope of success
leading the dogs

I didn’t think he was that bad at roosters. He was okay but wasn’t a superstar

Roosters punted him with 1 year remaining after he was originally not wanted at Cronulla, I’m sure the back to back premiers can gauge a players attributes better than us

They’ve also got two of the hottest prospects in Suaali and Walker coming through. I don’t think he was amazing but he was okay, did some nice things for them

Isn’t that telling you something then?

He’s being replaced by guys with no nrl experience. I think if he was good roosters keep him

That is exactly what WT are doing and people on here are jumping for joy????

What are you on about? If you’re referring to Liddle / Simpkins replacing grant, I’m nervous but slightly optimistic on potential. Definitely not overly confident though

 

[BAGNF05]

The Dogs had the Morris twins and were awful. Spending big on a bunch of outside backs is not how you win this comp. Expect them to continue to finish 8th to 14th for the next 4 years

Dogs were actually competitive for large chunks of games last year but couldn’t score points, I’d say they are filling needs with NRL proven players or ones that look like they have upside (Burton/Hetherington). Honestly I think they’ll push for top 4 maybe miss due to a lack of a hooker.

Do you honestly think the dogs will push for top 4 in 2021?!

No chance. They won't make the 8. They may get close to the 8 in 2021 when JAC and Burton join the team.

Cotric and Allen are upgrades and Flanagan will give them direction. Their pack is NRL standard. I have them 4th-9th. If they miss it’ll be due to Marshall-King at hooker.

The best club of the last decade, moved Flanagan on, so why do you think he will shine in a bottom 2 team?

Allen was moved on, why was that?

There forwards got to an inch of the spoon only because the Bronc’s were the worst ever.

I think they will struggle. Then watch the club implode at board level blaming everyone for the debacle.

Also Burton had big wraps,but what has he done?Some said he will end up in the forwards.

On the one hand, people are saying our young talent strategy is great, then bag the Bulldogs Burton signing - Who will definitely be a long term NRL talent - so which is it?

I swear there’s a few jealous fans on here, we’d be over the moon if we get Cotric, JAC and Burton. And hetherington.

Just like fellow forum posts questioning Simkin,Madden and others,what is Burtons ability based on?Gus said he was a future talent and everyone got on board.Has anyone seen him play? Regarding Dogs signings i agreed there were some good ones,but think the money is spent to quick without much thought .Just my opinion.

Only a small sample size but in game 1 he showed the confidence to have several match winning shots at field goal - those will go over with experience. Another time he came on and scored a solo try first touch of the ball. Class is sometimes obvious in RL, bit like Harry G.

 

[Speed2burn]

The Dogs had the Morris twins and were awful. Spending big on a bunch of outside backs is not how you win this comp. Expect them to continue to finish 8th to 14th for the next 4 years

Dogs were actually competitive for large chunks of games last year but couldn’t score points, I’d say they are filling needs with NRL proven players or ones that look like they have upside (Burton/Hetherington). Honestly I think they’ll push for top 4 maybe miss due to a lack of a hooker.

Do you honestly think the dogs will push for top 4 in 2021?!

No chance. They won't make the 8. They may get close to the 8 in 2021 when JAC and Burton join the team.

Cotric and Allen are upgrades and Flanagan will give them direction. Their pack is NRL standard. I have them 4th-9th. If they miss it’ll be due to Marshall-King at hooker.

The best club of the last decade, moved Flanagan on, so why do you think he will shine in a bottom 2 team?

Allen was moved on, why was that?

There forwards got to an inch of the spoon only because the Bronc’s were the worst ever.

I think they will struggle. Then watch the club implode at board level blaming everyone for the debacle.

Also Burton had big wraps,but what has he done?Some said he will end up in the forwards.

On the one hand, people are saying our young talent strategy is great, then bag the Bulldogs Burton signing - Who will definitely be a long term NRL talent - so which is it?

I swear there’s a few jealous fans on here, we’d be over the moon if we get Cotric, JAC and Burton. And hetherington.

Just like fellow forum posts questioning Simkin,Madden and others,what is Burtons ability based on?Gus said he was a future talent and everyone got on board.Has anyone seen him play? Regarding Dogs signings i agreed there were some good ones,but think the money is spent to quick without much thought .Just my opinion.

Only a small sample size but in game 1 he showed the confidence to have several match winning shots at field goal - those will go over with experience. Another time he came on and scored a solo try first touch of the ball. Class is sometimes obvious in RL, bit like Harry G.

Brooks was Andrew johns after his first game remember?

 

[BAGNF05]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Allan is a fullback.... Burton and Flanagan in the halves. Cotric and JAC on the edges. Thompson and Hetherington in the middle. They still have to improve their pack but they’re shaping their squad very nicely

Their biggest weakness is Trent Barrett... he’s no head coach.

Allan is a mug. Burton is 2022. Flanagan - OK but failed at Roosters. Hetherington is fringe FG. Luke Thompson yet to prove he has what it takes at NRL level.

I honestly think these are generally poor signings and in the same vein as Tigers circa Ivan Cleary, lots of risk vs dollar value.

Bulldogs biggest issue past few years is direction around the park and consistent go-forward. They've done very little to address this and as far as I am aware haven't got a particularly good juniors pipeline at the moment either.

Allan is a solid fullback. Burton is 2022 yea but you said they have no halves but they’ve already signed two. Flanagan was made a scapegoat at roosters, he did fine.

They’ve signed well, doesn’t mean they’ll become a premiership threat but on paper for 2022 their team is looking nice. They need a few better forwards but Hetherington looks solid and Thompson will come good he’s a beast.

if Flannagan couldn't get it done at the Roosters he doesn't have a hope of success
leading the dogs

I didn’t think he was that bad at roosters. He was okay but wasn’t a superstar

Roosters punted him with 1 year remaining after he was originally not wanted at Cronulla, I’m sure the back to back premiers can gauge a players attributes better than us

They’ve also got two of the hottest prospects in Suaali and Walker coming through. I don’t think he was amazing but he was okay, did some nice things for them

Isn’t that telling you something then?

He’s being replaced by guys with no nrl experience. I think if he was good roosters keep him

That is exactly what WT are doing and people on here are jumping for joy????

What are you on about? If you’re referring to Liddle / Simpkins replacing grant, I’m nervous but slightly optimistic on potential. Definitely not overly confident though

The comment was a negative one about replacing guys with rookies, isn’t that WT new strategy? Simpkin, Blore, Simpkins, Stefano, Laurie, etc. I just think there’s some double standards in lots of comments bagging the dogs. I think our club should be aiming to match their recruiting for 2022 rather than just death riding the good players they are signing.

 

[BAGNF05]

The Dogs had the Morris twins and were awful. Spending big on a bunch of outside backs is not how you win this comp. Expect them to continue to finish 8th to 14th for the next 4 years

Dogs were actually competitive for large chunks of games last year but couldn’t score points, I’d say they are filling needs with NRL proven players or ones that look like they have upside (Burton/Hetherington). Honestly I think they’ll push for top 4 maybe miss due to a lack of a hooker.

Do you honestly think the dogs will push for top 4 in 2021?!

No chance. They won't make the 8. They may get close to the 8 in 2021 when JAC and Burton join the team.

Cotric and Allen are upgrades and Flanagan will give them direction. Their pack is NRL standard. I have them 4th-9th. If they miss it’ll be due to Marshall-King at hooker.

The best club of the last decade, moved Flanagan on, so why do you think he will shine in a bottom 2 team?

Allen was moved on, why was that?

There forwards got to an inch of the spoon only because the Bronc’s were the worst ever.

I think they will struggle. Then watch the club implode at board level blaming everyone for the debacle.

Also Burton had big wraps,but what has he done?Some said he will end up in the forwards.

On the one hand, people are saying our young talent strategy is great, then bag the Bulldogs Burton signing - Who will definitely be a long term NRL talent - so which is it?

I swear there’s a few jealous fans on here, we’d be over the moon if we get Cotric, JAC and Burton. And hetherington.

Just like fellow forum posts questioning Simkin,Madden and others,what is Burtons ability based on?Gus said he was a future talent and everyone got on board.Has anyone seen him play? Regarding Dogs signings i agreed there were some good ones,but think the money is spent to quick without much thought .Just my opinion.

Only a small sample size but in game 1 he showed the confidence to have several match winning shots at field goal - those will go over with experience. Another time he came on and scored a solo try first touch of the ball. Class is sometimes obvious in RL, bit like Harry G.

Brooks was Andrew johns after his first game remember?

Dally M half of the year, I’ve made my thoughts on him clear plenty of times.

 

[Speed2burn]

Dogs recruiting better than us.

They are just recruiting players with little upside and for high prices.

The three origin backs have little upside?

Basically three Origin wingers. If Dogs can sign up Tupou they'll have the box set, shame about their halves, hooker, fullback, centres and forwards.

Allan is a fullback.... Burton and Flanagan in the halves. Cotric and JAC on the edges. Thompson and Hetherington in the middle. They still have to improve their pack but they’re shaping their squad very nicely

Their biggest weakness is Trent Barrett... he’s no head coach.

Allan is a mug. Burton is 2022. Flanagan - OK but failed at Roosters. Hetherington is fringe FG. Luke Thompson yet to prove he has what it takes at NRL level.

I honestly think these are generally poor signings and in the same vein as Tigers circa Ivan Cleary, lots of risk vs dollar value.

Bulldogs biggest issue past few years is direction around the park and consistent go-forward. They've done very little to address this and as far as I am aware haven't got a particularly good juniors pipeline at the moment either.

Allan is a solid fullback. Burton is 2022 yea but you said they have no halves but they’ve already signed two. Flanagan was made a scapegoat at roosters, he did fine.

They’ve signed well, doesn’t mean they’ll become a premiership threat but on paper for 2022 their team is looking nice. They need a few better forwards but Hetherington looks solid and Thompson will come good he’s a beast.

if Flannagan couldn't get it done at the Roosters he doesn't have a hope of success
leading the dogs

I didn’t think he was that bad at roosters. He was okay but wasn’t a superstar

Roosters punted him with 1 year remaining after he was originally not wanted at Cronulla, I’m sure the back to back premiers can gauge a players attributes better than us

They’ve also got two of the hottest prospects in Suaali and Walker coming through. I don’t think he was amazing but he was okay, did some nice things for them

Isn’t that telling you something then?

He’s being replaced by guys with no nrl experience. I think if he was good roosters keep him

That is exactly what WT are doing and people on here are jumping for joy????

What are you on about? If you’re referring to Liddle / Simpkins replacing grant, I’m nervous but slightly optimistic on potential. Definitely not overly confident though

The comment was a negative one about replacing guys with rookies, isn’t that WT new strategy? Simpkin, Blore, Simpkins, Stefano, Laurie, etc. I just think there’s some double standards in lots of comments bagging the dogs. I think our club should be aiming to match their recruiting for 2022 rather than just death riding the good players they are signing.

It's actually quite different, Roosters have the benefit of 3 origin spine players plus a stack of already talented backs/forwards. Gambling on a rookie for them is definitely a lot less risky than the dogs

Its like when the Storm blooded Tino/Paps/Hughes etc over the years. The foundation was set perfectly for them to be stars