If we can make the 8, i think we can win a few games.

I think we will see Critter at 5/8 for a few more weeks.

I have been suggesting that for a while, especially after the Parra game.

Critter did most of the kicks, that seemed to work well enough.

I thought that the attack seemed less clunky and better orgainsed.

We made a lot of errors, but many of the were dropping the ball in tackles.

The left edge defence seemed better,

I hope Xerri plays a few games on the left wing in reserve grade, that might give him another path back into the side.

Not a bad move I was thinking awhile ago if any coach would move players around just play with the heads off the opposition. Maybe the new way to coach now.
Manly seems they were not ready for it
Actually was good defence. That got us over the line for the last couple of weeks. I think we're getting back to that defensive wins now.

We have adapted well to the new rules and players have stopped getting injured.

Tracey looks much better now that he is injury free.

I would rather rush in a young guy who might not be ready for NRL than play an injured player in the first half of the season.

Gus and Cirro insist on protecting young players until we are sure they are ready.

Good win by reserve grade 44-16 after trailing 12-16 at halftime.
Second half try hat-trick by Spinkd, 2 tries for Sua.

Fing played halfback after bumping Puru out of fullback in Flegg.

Flegg lost by 22-20 due to a penalty goal.

We are building some good momentum in the lower grades.

Our NRL win over Manly was a high standard game.

Storm v Manly next Saturday could be a great match.

Our game might have taken some juice out of Manly.

Hounddog said:

The 1995 season is the greatest semi final series by any team in any comp that i know of.

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I personally hold '98 ahead of it, mainly because I made the bold move to back us 5 weeks before finals even started.

That roll was unprecedented and even though we lost the GF, it was a massive wave of excitement.

Hounddog said:

Good win by reserve grade 44-16 after trailing 12-16 at halftime.
Second half try hat-trick by Sua, 2 tries for Spinks.

Fing played halfback after bumping Puru out of fullback in Flegg.

Flegg lost by 22-20 due to a penalty goal.

We are building some good momentum in the lower grades.

Our NRL win over Manly was a high standard game.

Storm v Manly next Saturday could be a great match.

Our game might have taken some juice out of Manly.

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I missed the game live as my wife booked me in to see a comedy show.

Was scrolling through TK for updates and all I can make-out was that we were diabolical.

Watched a full replay yesterday morning only to see a different game - nowhere near as bad as those hypochondriacs make it out to be.

No wonder we can never have players with flair..... The player would make a chance mistake and the whole Kennel would want him stoned in the town plaza.....

I have changed my mind on the NSW SOO side.
Critter 6 / Strange 17 is the 5/8 options.
Critter can kick well enough.
I find it amusing the some commentators think Burto can pass better than Critter.
Critter slightly overcooked the pass to Rinakama, but he had to worry about Saab taking the intercept. Overcooked is better than undercooked becuase Saab usually turns intercepts into trys.

Marki said:

I missed the game live as my wife booked me in to see a comedy show.

Was scrolling through TK for updates and all I can make-out was that we were diabolical.

Watched a full replay yesterday morning only to see a different game - nowhere near as bad as those hypochondriacs make it out to be.

No wonder we can never have players with flair..... The player would make a chance mistake and the whole Kennel would want him stoned in the town plaza.....

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Our fans have an addiction to negativity that is stronger than a drug addiction.

TK fans hated Alamoti with a passion when here was here, now they are probably saying we should never have let him go.

Any kind of win in that game was great becuase Manly played some of the best attacking footy I have seen from any side this year. Brooks probably played the best game I have ever seen him play.

We got a few lucky bounces but Manly got away with a few strips and a clear headshot that resulted in a dropped ball.

We were without Preston, Kiks, Hughes, Woods and Dykes who would all be in consideration for selection. Critter, Kiraz and Toups all probably playing with injury.

I was very happy that the real Harry Hayes is back.

Critter to 5/8 is the right option, I would even have him play 5/8 for NSW. Galvin, Critter, Hayward and Tuala are the only natural ball passers in our side. Kiks, Kiraz, Preston, Mann and Salmon can also pass.

Burto and Tracey throw the odd good pass, around 1 pass every 5 games.

My NSW side.

1. Turbo - cover on the bench
2. Kiraz/Jenkins
3. Latrell
4. Best
5. Toula
6. Critter
7. Cleary
8. Hass
9. Robson
10. May
11. Young
12. Martin
13. Murray

14. Api - on after 20 mins
15. Barnett
16. King/Keaon
17. Strange

18. Drinkwater
19. Radley

If we need to use Drinkwater, then King/Keaon or Strange don't get a run.

Radley only plays if we get 2 HIAs.

I can't see Loz making the changes that need to be made.

What is our winning percentage with Cleary/Robson/Yeo/Teddy?

Staggs is usally a good defender, but Marki and him were turnstiles last game.

Critter is a way better defender than Moses, and covers other positions.

Marki - you have the attacking side of the game down pat.

Marki - why are you playing for the Roosters?

$$$$$$$$$$$?

Marki said:

I personally hold '98 ahead of it, mainly because I made the bold move to back us 5 weeks before finals even started.

That roll was unprecedented and even though we lost the GF, it was a massive wave of excitement.

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1979 was a similar season, i attended all semis and the GF.

Steve Mortimer scored a great solo try in 1979 in a semi against Parra.

I can't think of many teams in any comp that have put together seasons and finals series like, 1979, 1980, 1988, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004.

Other years when we won we were a more fancied team, or had less baggage. 2004 was a fancied team, but they had a lot of hurdles to overcome.

We won a few comps when the Roosters, Parra or Manly were the favourites halfway through the season.

My opinion of 2002 and 17 in a row was, our top 30 wasn't a star studded side, but we had a lot of emerging talented locally developed juniors. Go back to the start of 2002 and see what the experts were predicting, most probably had us bottom of the 8. We were over the cap, but I am sure other clubs were also over, perhaps over by more, in sprit, if not on technical legaility.

Over the years our club has been a punching bag for tne Sydney media and for fans of other clubs jealous of our success, or angry about Super League (which is another story).

No need for our fans to pile in and try to undercut the club when we are building the next great era. Over the years the club has given the fans plenty, with no help at all from the the NRL or Foxtel.

Tits game is vital, Toups has hamstring issue, estimated return - round 25, good time for him to get a spell.

Record for NSW cup has been corrected, Spinks scored 3 trys in the second half, might be his first hat-trick, but he has scored plenty of doubles.

2 of the Spinks trys were collecting kicks over the tryline, all 3 trys were easy, no one went close to stopping him.

Cocherane, Fing and O'Sillivian threw some nice passes for trys. Passing was one thing Cocherane needed to work on, he must be getting closer to ready for NRL.

Presto is going to be pestering Cirro for a run against the Tits, but it might be a good game to give Spinks a run off the bench.

Defense is the area he needs to work on, but our scramble and connection was great against Manly. We can start Curran and play Spinks off the bench.

For a player who is leaving the club, Curran is really putting in a shift, and has been one of our better players the last 3 weeks. IMO he is true Bulldog, and will always be welcome back at the club.

Can we win the comp from here?

If will not be easy, but I can tell that the coach and players are still chasing the dream.

Most of our comp wins come from working hard, team unity, and wanting it more.

Having a team full of flashy star players at the Dogs is extremely rare.

We only scored 2 trys against Manly, but there were patches of promising attack. IMO a lot less clunky attack, and Critter provided a lot of organisation and direction.

Manly forwards defended well, they didn't let in any soft trys. The Galvin try was well set up.

Our stats were not a good as recent weeks, but I credit Manly being a good team in attack and defence.

That is why I think Storm v Manly will be a good game, 2 quaility sides with high energy and lots of motivation.

The current spine is the best option at this time.

Conti, Dykes, Cocherane or Woods might be able to improve the spine if they were fit and ready.

We might be able to find a better player to play some minutes at hooker.

But we also need build combinations, new spine players are more like an option for next season.

The media narratives around our club are incredible, they are suggesting Critter is uncomfortable playing 5/8.

IMO Critter wants to play a bigger role in our attack.

It is all part of the stupid Sexton / Marhoney narrative that the media relentlessly push, and our gullible clueless fans readily swallow.

I want us to win this year, more than I wanted us to win in 1980 and 2004.

And I really wanted to win in 1980, and was desperate for a win in 2004.

Critter was just easing into the role, he threw some good passes to put Burto into space and Garrick did a really good job of reading that and shutting it down.

I was impressed with a lot of the Manly defence, Foran is a way better coach than I expected him to be.

Manly was a bigger test than any other win we have had this season, they were a lot better than the Storm and Parra. Faster and more skillful than the Tigers team that beat us.

Panthers were very clunky when we beat them, with some definate defensive weaknesses.This last win is better.

Hounddog said:

I have changed my mind on the NSW SOO side.
Critter 6 / Strange 17 is the 5/8 options.
Critter can kick well enough.
I find it amusing the some commentators think Burto can pass better than Critter.
Critter slightly overcooked the pass to Rinakama, but he had to worry about Saab taking the intercept. Overcooked is better than undercooked becuase Saab usually turns intercepts into trys.

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Just about everyone in the team is a better passer of the ball than Burton. Burton is probably the worst player at passing I've seen in the game. Even Tracey is better.

Hounddog said:

Tits game is vital, Toups has hamstring issue, estimated return - round 25, good time for him to get a spell.

Record for NSW cup has been corrected, Spinks scored 3 trys in the second half, might be his first hat-trick, but he has scored plenty of doubles.

2 of the Spinks trys were collecting kicks over the tryline, all 3 trys were easy, no one went close to stopping him.

Cocherane, Fing and O'Sillivian threw some nice passes for trys. Passing was one thing Cocherane needed to work on, he must be getting closer to ready for NRL.

Presto is going to be pestering Cirro for a run against the Tits, but it might be a good game to give Spinks a run off the bench.

Defense is the area he needs to work on, but our scramble and connection was great against Manly. We can start Curran and play Spinks off the bench.

For a player who is leaving the club, Curran is really putting in a shift, and has been one of our better players the last 3 weeks. IMO he is true Bulldog, and will always be welcome back at the club.

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He was a fan favourite but once CC started playing him for 80mins or long minutes, errors came to the fore. It's something he has always struggled with.

He does run the ball oddly however and that makes him unpredictable. It's something we need as we are otherwise too monotonous and predictable with too many similar player skillsets.

Marki said:

Just about everyone in the team is a better passer of the ball than Burton. Burton is probably the worst player at passing I've seen in the game. Even Tracey is better.

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Xerri is a worse passer than Burto.

It isn't just about skill, it is knowing when to pass and what pass to throw. Xerri usually just avoids passing.

Critter will be able to throw passes on the left similar to Galvin on the right. Kicking game from both is adequate and Burto can do the occasional kick.

Not as good as many other spines, but better than the last few years.

Dykes is a player who could offer more at 5/8 or fullback, but he got injured just when he was looking promising.

Woods is good, but not available, Conti and Cocherane seem like prospects.

IMO Galvin will eventually play lock. Critter and Tracey are currently the best options at 5/8 and fullback, but they can play other positions.

We have plenty of exciting young spine players, we need to start playing them in the NRL next season.

Galvin can start at 7 and move to lock. Critter can partner an inexperienced young half.

We can try a young fullback next time Tracey is injured.

We might be able to play some of these young players off the bench late in the season.

If our season is done or our spot in the 8 is set, we can give some young guys a run.

I'm only hoping for 6th-8th, and a finish in that range might be settled a week or 2 before the end, or it might go down to the last game.

The young half for the Titans was bumped out of many U19 NSW teams by Woods. So he was the second best half in his age group in NSW and not far behind Woods. Seems to be more of a passer / organiser, Woods strengths are running and kicking.

Tits are a good team, not as good as Manly, but their defence is much better and they have some good young spine players. They have always had some good forwards and backs.

If we run hard enough, they will miss some of the tackles Manly made.