Hounddog said:

I am very confident about our future options at hooker and in the halves.

Fullback is a bit of a work in progress, we do have 2-3 guys with potential.

I haven't given up on this season, but I don't expect guys playing flegg to save it.

The guys in reserve grade/injured who might be able to help are Cocherane, Rinakama, Dykes, Readon, Underhill, AJ, Spinks, DSF, O'Donnell, Woods, Todd.

I'm particularly interested in how Cocherane, Dykes and O'Donnell are going and when Woods will be back.

Click to expand...

Maybe it's time for Cirro to show some balls and start dropping players and putting youth in the team. It seems the way the game is going these days and it's so quick that a lot of players in the NRL cannot adapt to the new style.
Look at the Storm they just seem to be spiralling down now. Bellamy looks like he's running out of ideas and the Dragons are just a basket case.
The Broncos and Eels youth just showed what enthusiasm is all about even the Penrith youth guys. They just want to play for their club . Hopefully the Bulldogs youth are in the same league as those guys.

Lower grades lost to the Sharks, still some good players who might be pressing for NRL.

We looked better with Hayward at hooker. Turpin is a good defender, but i think we looked much more dangerous with Hayward at hooker.

IMO replace Montoya with Rinakama.

We need to replace Hayes as he is suspended, probably Curran, Hopoi or AJ.

We need replace Kiks, several options including Spinks.

Play Criitter in fullback in the opponents 20 like we did last season,

We can start giving young guys a run off the bench.

I recon our forwards are playing well, in particular Preston, Hughes, Thompson and Salmon. King was great before he got injured.

Toups and Mann have been good at times.

We need to sort out a few issues in the spine, and obviously on the wing,

Injuries and suspensions may provide an opportunity for some young guys to get a run.

I would like to find a bench hooker option with more spark than Turpin.

No idea what is happening at the Storm, on paper their lineup is stronger than ours.

This season, dropped balls, penalties and weak defenders really get punished.

To win a comp we might need a better fullback and perhaps a new halves partner for Galvin.

Still might be a few twists and turns this season. Storm and Dragons might improve. Dragons form proves that Flanno was a crap coach.

I think the two Grand Final losses in a row for the Storm has deflated the team This is new territory for Bellamy, . They don't seem to be getting the calls that they did for the last 15 seasons so I think now other teams have worked them out well. It definitely takes a lot of effort to make the grand final then you need that extra energy to win one and when you lose two in a row or so many grand finals can' have an effect on a team. Look what happened to us we lost 2012 and 214. That team never recovered well from that .

Sometimes a season can take a lot out of a team.

We can't seem to play with the same intensity as last season.

I recon we have a better squad this aeason.

Storm still have some good players in particular, Grant, Munster, Hughes, Howarth, Stefano.

Tigers, Roosters and Knights are definately benefiting from giving some young players a run over the last 2 seasons.

I am happy that Cirro can coach, but we probably need some better playere.

I have been suggesting the swap we did last season at the opponents end,
Tracey -> right centre
Critter -> fullback

I now think there is a better swap which solves all of our attacking problems.
Tracey -> right centre
Burton -> fullback
Critter -> 5/8

I can tell Cirro is thinking along similar lines, he just hasn't come up with the more radical 3 player swap.

Swapping isn't that hard especially if we get a repeat set, scurm ot tap at the opponents end. We can take 2 early set up plays to do the swap.

Apart from a few issues at the opponent's end, there is no problem with Burto or Tracey in their current positions.

I like the idea of Critter passing to Toupouniua and Xerri hitting holes.

And I think Buro would thrive out the back in space, he would proably be our best fullback option in that role since Benny Barba.

I like it so much I would keep Toups as the starting left side backrower and play Kiks off the bench.

This also suits Cocherane, like Tracey passing at the opponents end is an area he needs to work on.

If the club are holding back Cocherane for any reason, they are worried about our toxic fans shredding him if he throws a few dud passes.

Cocherane is playing fullback and Dykes is playing 5/8 in reserve grade, if there is an injury or suspension on those positions, the guy playing the position in reserve grade should get a run.

When Tuala is back he should be on the right wing and Cocherane or Dykes should be on the bench as the replacement back.

I now have a good idea of our best 19, Kiraz is battling Sua and Rinakana for the left wing position. I am not sure how much of this Cirro would agree with.

I can also see Hughes and Thompson scoring a few trys off Hayward.

I hope we mostly start Hayward and he mostly plays 80 mins.

On a short turn around or if Mann isn't available, i'm happy with Turpin starting.

But other players need to do more defence so Hayward can play 80, higher completions, and fewer dumb penalties would also help.

We need to try O'Donnell or Gordon off the bench to see if they can provide more impact.

Turpin's attacking game might improve, he has been out injured a lot recently.

Once we have Young and Hayward it is a completely different ball game, we probably don't need Turpin and Gordon. We have other good young hookers who can grow into providing depth.

Hayes hasn't been the same since he came back from the HIA, a week suspended might be good for him, and I would probably give him a run in reserve grade to get some timing and confidence back.

So what is happening with Gordon CKT?

My best guess is, he is learning our defensive system and working on match fitness in reserve grade.

I like Gordon, I think he has some attacking strike and personality,

Later in the season off a long turnaround into a game that should be up tempo, we might see Gordon on the bench.

Fozball on fire . Having a club man through and through as a coach can really make a difference. Can we get someone like Polla Mounter as coach call it Pollyball.

Very high standard and high intensity this season

Great to see Wakeham playing well and Parra losing is always enjoyable.

Polly was one of my fsvourite players.

I still think depth will be an asset this season, and i'll be happy if very few of our players play SOO.

I still think our side isn't far off, and when we get rolling we should string a few wins together,

Cirro and Gus should be more than smart enough to see the issues I am seeing.

Manly had some bad injures to key forwards last season and Turbo was injured. Foz does have them firing.

IMO we have the best pack of forwards we have had since 2014-2015. We just need to get the defensive intensity back and stop throwing bad passes and dropping ball.

I am hoping Kiks will not be a long term injury and we get King back soon.

Injuries could still sink any side thus season, including us.

I watched the Storm presser, Bellyache and Harry were struggling for answers. I don't have any.

My best guess is any side that turns up and executes is hard to beat.

Any team that drops too much ball will find it hard to win.

We got away with dropping balls and conceding silly penalties in many games last season, we can't do that this season. And we did string together long periods of error free footy last season.

Marhoney will be wound up against us, i think we need to respond.

I am not saying the Cows will be easy to beat, if I ever think we are set for an easy game, i'll let you know.

If our fans turn up in numbers with a positive attitude they might help us get the ball rolling.

If we can defend their attack, it is unlikely they can defend our attack.

IMO the team will have a dig every week, but we will not win every week.

We can't control what kind of opposition turns up,

Dogs fans are estimating how much we missed King, Kiraz and Tuala.

King and Kiraz generate a lot of our offloads, we need them more when we don't have ball playing halves on both sides.

Tuala is an excellent defender, and he cleaned up many mistakes made by Montoya earlier in the season.

With Tuala starting on the right wing, I'm happy to have Montoya sitting on the bench, because a Montoya / Tuala combo us ok.

Right edge defence is important, Galvin, Preston/Curran, Critter, Tuala ticks all of the boxes.

I wouldn't play Montoya against the Cows to allow him to settle a score with Marhoney, i would sit him on the brench for 70 mins and release him as a winger / forward in the last 10 minutes. 10 mins of running hard at Marhoney at every opportunity, should be enough to satisfy him.

If Marhoney isn't playing the last 10, perhaps give a young guy a run.

When King is back I would still play him off the bench. If he comes on after 15-20 mins, he will dominate the last 20 of the first half and the first 20 of the second half.

Thompson-Hughes-Salmon is complementary in attack and balanced, starting King and Salmon together is a bad idea.

Previously I thought Salmon was the problem, but he seems to be in great form, and he combines well with Thompson and Hughes.

I'll be happy if I see Tuala named tomorrow, even happier if I see Tuala and King, this week or next week.

Some of our fans are just too emotional, having a meltdown after every loss is just venting.

It doesn't help the club, and will never help tne club.

Fans having a toddler like meltdown on social media after every loss are clueless. Get a grip on reality guys.

We are not entitled to anything this season, we need to earn everything, and so far we are not a top 4 side. We were not really a top 4 side last season.

The last 20-30 years don't entitle fans to anything, being a true fan isn't abour being entitled, it is all about sticking with the club in the good times, the bad times and the average times,

Posts here are fine, I'm talking about highly emotional YouTube rants. Having a child like meltdown in public is recorded for prosperity.

Having an emotional reaction and posting after a loss is normal, but don't put it on video and don't get angry and shout.

I still think a few smsll tweaks might get the season back on track.

Cirro and Gus do need to give talented ypung players more opportunities. We can't blame players who don't get a shot for leaving.

Cirro shouldn't give guys too much credit for past seasons. And he needs to realise some squad rotation can be a good thing.

Some of the fans who predicted the Panthers will but 50 on us are predicting the Cows will put 50 on us.

Look at the table, the Cows have scored 211 and conceeded 215.

When they fire, they are the best attacking side in the comp, but if we can stop them scoring, we should be able to score.

The Broncos had deadly pace on the wings, the main danger from the Cows is in the centres, jambing in should be mostly ok.

Something was going very wrong with our defence, becuase our wingers and centres were often well in field the Broncos had a clear overlap with their winger in acres of space.

Cirro will know what has gone wrong and who is to blame, it is a bit beyond my pay grade.

There were plenty of games last season where our defence misfired, Broncos, Dolphins, Tigers and Roosters.

Some of those games were backing up after an intense game, or when we started favourite.

So the fans that had a meltdown this week probably had a meltdown after the Broncos, Tigers and Roosters games last year.

At least we only got 1 injury and one suspension out of the Broncos game this year. Last year was 80 minutes of total embarassment, players losing the plot and multiple suspensions.

Edit: 2 injuries, Turpin playing a game against the Broncos, playing well then getting injured is normal. While his defence was good, our attack looked a bit clunky. He will probably turn up again in another 5-6 weeks play a game and get injured again. His passing would probably improve if he could stay on the field.

So did we play better against the Broncos this year or last year?

I am happy with the side Cirro named, it is what I would have done,

We need to hope that sides like the Broncos, Roosters and Rabbits are peaking or close to peaking, otherwise I am not sure how we will catch them.

Hopefully we are building and we have a good idea what benchmarks we need to hit.

I think that the Dogs, Storm and Raiders all overachieved slightly last season. The Raiders were probably even bjgger overachievers than we were, i was not convinced with the Storm last season, but they did string together some good perfomances in their last few games,

Making the top 4 seems like it will be harder this year, most of the current top 7 might not be easy to beat, but one or 2 might fade.

I would currently rate the Broncos, Rabbits and Roosters above Penrith.

Top finish top 4, we need to beat the Panthers, Warriors, Tigers and Manly,

As for what has gone wrong this season, it is just lapses at key times and not being able to defend errors. Errors are harder to defend this season, we need to get back to our core principles from 2025 being the best defensive side.

If we can get the defence back on, people will see that the attack has improved.

Go Dogs - we need this one and I expect the boys to give it their best shot. Predictions of the Cows putting 50 on us by clueless fans have me slightly confident.

I would probably go with Hopoi, AJ and Mann as the first 3 interchages, last change out of Turpin, Curran and Montoya.

Hopoi and AJ have leg speed, can play backrow and middle and can play long minutes.

The HD master plan is, build up a good lead after 70 mins then unleash Montoya.

Good selection , Montoya had to go .. I think it will give the other players a scare now knowing they will be dropped for bad performances , I sure CC would had dropped more but the whole team was out of form , Montoya unfortunately for him was the fall guy .
Playing at home hopefully will lift the team and team will probably get bigger boos than what Parra fans gave their team if they play crap.

An islander based RU team in NZ recently folded.

IMO this is a big opportunity for an islander basded NRL based in NZ to be the 20th feam.

Play some trials in Tonga and Samoa, a lot of Poly players will want to play for that team.

The Wahs are going great, and local derby against another NZ team would be great for them.

All Black tests don't happen every week, and the NZ RU comp is average at best. Big opportunty for NRL to cement dominance.