Bulldogs Debate Page

[Hounddog]

My latest thought is:-
17. Wilson, Sua, Woods.

I have checked the weather forecast in Sydney for Saturday it is fine 11am-5pm and no rain forecast after 5pm.

The best way to upset the Panthers might be with speed and linebreaks, especially at the back end.

Burto can start in the centres with Sexton and Galvin in the halves.

If necessary, Burto can shuffle back to the halves.

I'm also happy for 17 to sit on the bench all game.

We all know what Wilson can do, IMO both Sua and Woods have the speed and footwork to create trys and linebreaks out of nothing.

Sua might be suspect in defence, but he may be the best attacking centre at the club.

Cirro might need to pull a rabbit out of the hat, if he thinks that he needs to do that, I'm happy for him to try.

And i still think Curran starting at lock and Hughes at prop, give Salmon a rest this game. I don't think that we want to out last them in an 80 minute grind.

We need to grind early, and play footy when it counts.

I am all for risk and adventure this game.

 

[SAQFLY]

I am happy for Cirro to keep backing his judgement, when we lose the critics are out in force, that doesn't mean that the coach is wrong.

Sometimes it means valuable lessons for the coach and he might do things differently in future.

With the benefit of hindsight i might have rested more players against the Tigers, Roosters and Sharks.

But if we lost the first 2 games while resting players critics would have been out in force.

We weren't playing well at the time and the only thing that fixes poor footy is Gametime.

 

[Hounddog]

We weren't playing well at the time and the only thing that fixes poor footy is Gametime.

Yes Panthers have the advantage of being able to rest seasoned proven experienced players.

But Cirro also recognised that a few players who played against the Roosters shouldn't have played.

 

[Hounddog]

I am still happy with the performance against the Storm.

With a bit more luck or playing at home, we might have won.

If our season ends next game , I am mostly going to conclude that we don't quite have the squad.

We are not far off having the squad, and we should be a few steps closer in 2026.

If we win the next game and somehow win the comp, I'm still going to conclude that we will be better in 2026.

 

[Hounddog]

Our last bye was round 16 - 26th of June.

The last 12 weeks were always going to be the hard part of the season.

We only managed to win 5 games out of that last 12.

IMO we were not far off winning another 4 games. And a bit of squad rotation might have jagged an extra win.

IMO whether or not Sexton and Marhoney played would have made little difference. We might have won and lost different games, but an extra win during the season would have been the upper limit.

If the forwards lose the battle by a big margin, the half and hooker rarely make a difference. Max King bottomed out in the Roosters game and still isn't 100% right, not far off and he might be back to his best next game. Curran, Mann and Salmon had patches of unusually poor form, but are back to their best now. Toups is back and we really need him.

The team was right for the Storm semi.

Our forwards are good now, or as good as they are going to get. We have problems in the outside backs. But IMO our forwards are the key to our chances because that is where the opposition might get on top.

We definitely had more easy games earlier in the season and more teams were way out of form earlier in the season.

Winning the next game will change everything. I am sick of the negative narratives about our club in the media.

If ex-players from other clubs think that they can do a better job of coaching an NRL team, no one is stopping them.

 

[SAQFLY]

Don't know how the Raiders lost that.. I was certain Jed Stuart knocked that ball backwards def think they got it wrong.. oh well thats footy!

 

[Zoz2025]

Our last bye was round 16 - 26th of June.

The last 12 weeks were always going to be the hard part of the season.

We only managed to win 5 games out of that last 12.

IMO we were not far off winning another 4 games. And a bit of squad rotation might have jagged an extra win.

IMO whether or not Sexton and Marhoney played would have made little difference. We might have won and lost different games, but an extra win during the season would have been the upper limit.

If the forwards lose the battle by a big margin, the half and hooker rarely make a difference. Max King bottomed out in the Roosters game and still isn't 100% right, not far off and he might be back to his best next game. Curran, Mann and Salmon had patches of unusually poor form, but are back to their best now. Toups is back and we really need him.

The team was right for the Storm semi.

Our forwards are good now, or as good as they are going to get. We have problems in the outside backs. But IMO our forwards are the key to our chances because that is where the opposition might get on top.

We definitely had more easy games earlier in the season and more teams were way out of form earlier in the season.

Winning the next game will change everything. I am sick of the negative narratives about our club in the media.

If ex-players from other clubs think that they can do a better job of coaching an NRL team, no one is stopping them.

I think the club bought that on themselves. I cannot recall in history where a team has been leading the competition only to decide to change its format halfway through year . I am not saying Galvin is not a good player but he came from a different system and a losing culture at the Tigers : He needed time to get equipped with the Bulldogs one You cannot just slot him in and expect miracles.. Took three years to build this team and all players knew their roles and worked .
Look at the Panthers , Broncos and Raiders . They were persistent with their players now a reaping rewards ..
Whether Sexton and Mahoney were going to get us over line is irrelevant but the way these guys have been treated by the club is questionable.
I guess now it is what it is and hoping the boys are fired up for the Panthers .

 

[Zoz2025]

Don't know how the Raiders lost that.. I was certain Jed Stuart knocked that ball backwards def think they got it wrong.. oh well thats footy!

I feel for the Raiders especially that crappy field goal rules . Reminds me of the James Graham Good Friday incident.
The worst thing that could happen to a minor premiers team is to lose two semi finals .. Hope they win next week .
If we beat the Panthers then It will be of to Suncorp to play the gronks:
Going to be very hard to win this year GF.

 

[Hounddog]

The coach has to pick what he thinks is the best 17.

No point in picking players that the coach doesn't think are good enough.

Do fans want to go back to being coached by Barrett?

The club just extended Cirro and Gus. I am 100% happy with every decision Cirro and Gus are making.

Des inherited a squad in good shape, Cirro and Gus inherited a total rebuild. Starting with a rebuild of juniors, pathways, training and conditioning.

We don't have talent in key positions this season. Prop, 80 minute lock, halfback, fullback. Teams like the Broncos, Canberra, Storm and Panthers have far better options in those positions.

 

[Hounddog]

Preston in the centres is another option that we could use for a week or 2.

Curran is great at right edge backrow. We could have a winger/centre on the bench.

In spite of my comment above Tracey is a good fullback and is currently our best opinion. With a good halfback and better middle forwards he is good enough to win a comp.

If we win this season, it will not be due to talent. It will be due to coaching, conditioning and a totally committed effort from the players.

 

[Beretta]

Sexton going for scans today.

he could also be out.

 

[Hounddog]

The Broncos are stacked with talent, more or less in all positions.

I am glad that we are playing the Panthers first and at home. Whatever the odds of winning are, a large vocal crowd will double our chances.

Panthers have an edge in the forwards and at halfback. If a tight game, Cleary is the master of setting up a few plays to score the required points.

It is too late to start playing when your team is behind, and even when leading, don't stop playing.

We possibly have the edge in fitness and mobility, but only if we can keep the game tempo cranked up to 11. In attack we need to execute in defence we need to scramble.

Let's worry about the Broncos if we clear the next hurdle.

 

[Hounddog]

Sexton going for scans today.

he could also be out.

Yeah shame about Sexton. Like Tracey perhaps injured when probably playing his best game for the club.

Marhoney or Turpin might start at hooker with Hayward on the bench.

Or as I suggested we might add a winger or centre to the bench and/or play Preston in the centres.

I'm not even 100% confident about Kiraz, Montoya and Rinakama, but I hope at least 2 out of 3 are ok.

Even if we need to play Wilson and Sua that probably will not cost us the game.

The real wild card is Tia would could cover the halves and centres off the bench.

We just run with 17 fit players, we are still a chance.

Latest update - Tuala out for the season, Critter might only miss one game, everyone else probably injured, but ok to play.

In the case of Sexton, playing him off the bench is ideal, he has an impact when he comes on and he helps us cover other positions.

Mitch Kenny probably back for our game. Panthers ensured that he would be right. Makes the grind and winning in the middle harder.

 

[Hounddog]

Do we bother the Panthers?

They rested Kenny to be sure that he is right against us.

And they rested players last time they were due to play us.

Or is it just them being professional?

The Broncos seems like a bigger challenge, but are they are just making sure that they get to that game?

Our first game against them was possibly our best performance of the season.

If the Panthers beat us, then the only advantage that the Broncos get from finishing top 4 and beating the Raiders is, home ground advantage.

 

[Hounddog]

Interesting that last time against the Panthers we had 9. Marhoney 13. Hayward.

My thoughts are 9 Turpin 13 Hayward
14 Sexton, 15 Mann, 16 Toups, 17 Hayes.
It is important to get the starting 9/13 right and the bench.

The rest of the side depends on who is fit, but 4 Preston is a good fit with 14 Sexton.

Turpin instead of Marhoney is because I want a player to wack the opposition hard in tackles at the start of the game. When Mann comes on, Hayward can move to hooker.

Or, because it is a sunny Sunday afternoon simply go for pace with Wilson on the wing.

Since Hayward has now played 80 minutes at hooker in an intense game, he can manage 80 split between hooker and lock.

If Cirro prefers Marhoney to Turpin, that is fine. It is easier to include Turpin this game. Both can be in the 23-man squad.

I would like to bring Sexton on for the last 20 mins, move Burton to centre, Xerri to the right and Possibly Preston back to the forwards. Or if we have a good lead, just use Sexton at 7/9 and give Galvin or Hayward a rest.

Moving players around wasn't why we lost the Storm game. It was having the changes happening in an unplanned and unexpected way, and luck.

There was no lack of effort and desire from the team, we had that in spades.

 

[Marki]

HD you are talking like Penrith are easy beats, with constant look towards the Broncos.

Mate, we are on a hiding to nothing. Beating Panthers at this time of the year required us to be fit, healthy and full of confidence. We are quite the opposite.

As a fan, i will go to the game and support the team in the faint hope we can pull off a miracle, but reality suggests we will get rolled.

 

[Hounddog]

HD you are talking like Penrith are easy beats, with constant look towards the Broncos.

Mate, we are on a hiding to nothing. Beating Panthers at this time of the year required us to be fit, healthy and full of confidence. We are quite the opposite.

As a fan, i will go to the game and support the team in the faint hope we can pull off a miracle, but reality suggests we will get rolled.

I was purely talking about talent.

The standout talent in the Panthers is Cleary, we don't have a half anywhere near that good, that is the biggest difference between the sides.

The Broncos have more talent than us in just about every position. Their half isn't as good as Cleary.

Fan support at the game is the only thing that might get us over the line against the Panthers.

Last time we troubled them by putting pressure on Cleary so we know the best method of defending them.

Attacking wise dry sunny conditions at least gives us a chance to try to beat them with ball movement, mobility and speed.

If they blow us away in the forwards in the first 10 minutes,but we are no hope.

But if we can't match the Panthers forwards it would be worse against the Broncos forwards.

Dry sunny conditions, Broncos have more skill and speed than we do.

If we somehow beat the Panthers then Carrigian and Walters being out of the Broncos helps. We will not have the same crowd support but the team will have more confidence.

All I was saying is that I think that the 2 games are in the sequence that gives us the best chance. That chance is probably only a 5% chance of making the GF but it isn't 0%.

Watch the speech Cirro gave at the presentation night. I think unity, trust and confidence within the team is higher than many fans and media pundits think there is.

We just might not have the talent and injuries are part of that. They can only give it their best shot with what they have.

 

[Hounddog]

One example of where we need to vary the attack.

Curran dropped a pass from Galvin against the Storm running an inside angle. Everyone on the field and watching the game knew that Curran was getting the ball.

Instead Galvin could sometimes dummy to Curran and pass to Tracey running an inside out angle, or cut out Tracey and pass to the centre.

Our players need to stand a bit deeper to buy the time and space to vary the attack.

Simplying the attack shouldn't mean doing the same plays all of the time.

Occasionally I am very happy for our playmakers to simply dummy to the predetermined option and then trust their instincts. It is important to not over do that, but for example 3 set plays might earn a playmaker on free play. They can bank them and use them in the opposition red zone.

IMO the Panthers don't actually have that much attack, they defend well, kick well, complete high and execute opportunities.

I don't think that we can out grind them, especially when they are expecting a grind.

If we can skip out to a lead we can grind from there, the pressure is on them to score.

So IMO spend all week mostly working on the attack and adding variety. Trust that the defence we have is good enough.

Attempt to entertain the crowd, and play some exciting footy.

 

[Hounddog]

Gavin isn't actually playing as a 1980s style halfback, he is in the side to add variety to the attack, and move the ball to the right places at the right times.

Coming off the bench also suits Sexton right down to the ground, no pressure, he comes on fresh and has a licence to play.

Ask yourselves a simple question, who knows more about footy Cirro or Buzz?

Anyone who thinks that is even a contest should sign up for Buzz's "string theory" course.

And I am not the only one who thinks Galvin will eventually be an 80 minute lock, perhaps sharing that role with Todd and both of them playing long minutes.

The classical organising halfbacks at our club are Woods and O'Neill, IMO both are good enough to play halfback at NRL level.

Woods is more of a Mortimer, Sherwin, Alchin style half.

O'Neill is more of a solid organising half who can also play 14.

Tia can also play 14 and can play centre and in the halves.

Galvin might not be wearing 7 this time next year. Cirro knows what he is doing.

 

[Hounddog]

I watched a few minutes of the first game against the Panthers.

Good news - our attack had a lot of the elements we need. Probably in the best 3 attacking performances of the season.

Bad news - for all of that good attack, we only scored 1 try against the Panthers.

When I get time, I am going to rewatch the entire game, the lessons for our coach and players are in that game.

Our good performance in that game had a lot to do with 9. Marhoney 13. Hayward. In particular, those 2 guys producing 2 long accurate passes to move the ball quickly.

Sexton and/or Galvin starting probably doesn't make a big difference. 9/13 are the key positions.

What we need to do is, improve on that attack, Toups is one improvement, but not enough.

I am now wondering if more speed is what we need. DSF only lasted 28 seconds. Hughes would last longer, but perhaps Todd off the bench offers more speed and impact.

It will be interesting to see what side Cirro names, we definitely need to pull a couple of rabbits out of the hat.