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We played O'Sullivian at fullback in reserve grade. That might work.

Readon at right centre and Critter at 5/8 might work.

Alantini plsyed left centre in reserve grade.

Left side needed to fo more defence against the Cows, but normally we could start Toups at left backrow.

Normally our left centre and winger need to make fewer tackles.

Does Xerri deserve another chance? His attack is fine.

We neec to think about how we handle the opposition deliberately conceding 6-agains.

We need edge playmakers who can make plays.Galvin is fine.

And perhaps after a 6-again we simply need to punch a couple of hard running forwards up the middle. If we are spreading the ball off a slow play the ball, thst will not work.

IMO the coaches and players hate losing even more than the fans. They will try to find the answers.
 
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Why are the Dogs and Storm losing?

Teams a fitter, faster, closer to full strength and in form.

Both sides are lacking some key players, are out of form, make too many errors and can't defend them.

Our attack is clunky, but it was also clunky last year, we don't have the fitness and energy we had last year,

Burton and Tracey are never going to improve their passing. It is probably time to move Tracey to right wing snd Burton to left centre.
 
Is the coach choosing the wrong players and playing our better players out of positon? If so we will not improve. From yhe backend of last season our defence has gone backwards and what has happened to the fitness levels. As far as attack goes it was pretty ordinary under Taylor but it is worse under O'Brien. Please bring back Mick Potter.
 
ODF the attack is about the same as last season.

The players we had on the field tried very hard for 64 minutes, then just clocked off on an offload and got burned by speed.

There were 2 little moments in the game which counted against us.

1. A great long kick from Hayward took one roll too many.

2. Sua tried to pass the ball around the back of Burns and was ruled to have lost control.

Apart from that we keep trying to go wide off a slow pay the ball, it seems like we have been doing that since 2013. Or when Ennis left the club?

It is a gamble, but I think the following spine might work.

1. O'Sullivan 6. Chrichton, 7. Galvin , 9 Hayward, 14 Young

I'm not sure how O'Sullivian would go catching bombs.

Our players are trying hard, but are occasionally switching off at the wrong times. Apart from that, we can't get much luck, or we are not good enough.

No one really deserves to be dropped but Burton is a better option for left centre than Xerri. Tuala is a better option for right centre.

Burton and Xerri were most responsible for the critical 3rd Cows try.

We are not dead and burried, but the body is in the coffin.

Slow play the ball I would like to see 2 forwards running hard lines off Hayward. That way when we do go wide, it might be a surprise.

All of our forwards showed that they were willing to run hard.
 
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Not surprising parra plays so good against us now they're going to get flogged by other teams . Seems to be happening over the years I think Mick Ennis said once every side lifts up against the Bulldogs that's why the boys have to play that much harder every week knowing that sides are going lift up against them.
 
As for what went wrong, the season was on track before the Parra game. We had a bit if a slow inconsistent start, but it wasn't surprising.

Even while watching the Panthers game i doubted that we could repeat that each week. But 3/4 of that would be enough to win most games.

Parra lifted for us like we lifted for the Panthers, that effort against the Panthers drained our energy for the Parra game.

The narrative about Parra and the Broncos having a lot of players out was misleading, we still needed to play well to win.

Cirro must have decided to give Montoya a final chance against the Broncos, and that blew up badly.

I expected a response against the Broncos, we started well, but leaked some soft trys.

I knew the Cows would be hard to beat, but I expected us to find a way. We are only making one mistake in attack, trying to go wide off a slow play the ball.

The problem isn't Galvin, the problem is we are too dependent on Galvin, if he doesn't make it happen in attack, it doesn't happen. The other members of the spine need to contribute more.

Most worrying for me was the low energy levels from Cirro and Critter in the post match presser after the Cows, it seemed like all of the fan and media criticism had ground the team down.

I think that we need a reset and we need to change up the spine.

The big plus is we are starting matches far better than we have for many years. If we can find a way of turning the early dominance into points on the board, winning will become a lot easier,

Part of the reset is mental, learning to ignore criticism.

The biggest mistake Cirro has made so far was selecting Montoya against the Broncos.

Quite a few teams might hit a flat patch at some stage this season, if we can reboot, we might be able to catch up some ground.
 
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Forget what I posted earlier, inspite of O'Sullivian wearing 1 Dykes played fullback in reserve grade.

That makes more sense, Dykes threw a good pass for a Rinakama try, and scrored a great indivual try stepping past a few players.

Apart from passing, past injures limit Tracey's ability to step.

This was important, becuase we may have left out Cocherane to try a fullback who was closer to being ready for NRL.

Most of the reserve grade attack in the highlights seem to come from Conti and Dykes.

The game against Souths is why I am dubious about O'Sullivian in the front line of defence.

Dykes can play 6 and 1, he has made a few long runs in reserve grade in recent weeks and shown some passing and stepping ability.
 
Cocherane played fullback in Ron Massey.

Jope Rauqe played wing in Massey, Rauqe and Rinamaka are a likely future wing combo for us.

Bulla re-signed by the Tigers, his manager might have cleverly uaed the Dogs to get a better deal.

IMO Dykes, Spinks and Rinakama are not far away from NRL.

Woods, Conti, Readon, Young, Cocherane, Toy, and Rauqe might play NRL this year.

Giving some new players a shot might help turn the season around.
 
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Hounddog said:
As for what went wrong, the season was on track before the Parra game. We had a bit if a slow inconsistent start, but it wasn't surprising.

Even while watching the Panthers game i doubted that we could repeat that each week. But 3/4 of that would be enough to win most games.

Parra lifted for us like we lifted for the Panthers, that effort against the Panthers drained our energy for the Parra game.

The narrative about Parra and the Broncos having a lot of players out was misleading, we still needed to play well to win.

Cirro must have decided to give Montoya a final chance against the Broncos, and that blew up badly.

I expected a response against the Broncos, we started well, but leaked some soft trys.

I knew the Cows would be hard to beat, but I expected us to find a way. We are only making one mistake in attack, trying to go wide off a slow play the ball.

The problem isn't Galvin, the problem is we are too dependent on Galvin, if he doesn't make it happen in attack, it doesn't happen. The other members of the spine need to contribute more.

Most worrying for me was the low energy levels from Cirro and Critter in the post match presser after the Cows, it seemed like all of the fan and media criticism had ground the team down.

I think that we need a reset and we need to change up the spine.

The big plus is we are starting matches far better than we have for many years. If we can find a way of turning the early dominance into points on the board, winning will become a lot easier,

Part of the reset is mental, learning to ignore criticism.

The biggest mistake Cirro has made so far was selecting Montoya against the Broncos.

Quite a few teams might hit a flat patch at some stage this season, if we can reboot, we might be able to catch up some ground.
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I suppose coaches do not want to bag out the team in public . They have to sometimes sugarcoat the loses saying things like we will take a lot out of this loss .Cirro knows he has got the team to beat anyone on their day needs to find a way now to get them in form . .The Galvin problem is what you say the team are looking constantly at him to steer things around . Probably stems from the media hype before he came to the club .
There was no pressure on Sexton last year the team knew they had to do what needed to be done .
 
The main difference between Gavlin and Sexton is, Galvin is confident and he wants to be involved.

Sexton was great at times, and disappeared at other times.

IMO Cirro not making enough changes, is the problem we are likely to have.

If the whole team plays to its full potential and we get a 50/50 share of the luck we can win.

But iMO the problem is Burton and Tracey are not natural ball players. Tney are both good players and should be in the 17.

Kurt Mann is funny he does some great stuff, but at times we is part of the attack being clunky.

The other reason we need to change things up is, we are too predictable.

We did have more forwarda running hard against the Panthers and we tried that against the Cows.

I'm just not confident about the current spine taking the next step. But if we can beat the Phins that might start a run.

Anyway is is Cirro's call, and we need a win
 
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The main reason why the team is struggling this year is, Turpin isn't as good as Marhoney. And Turpin picks up a lot of injures.

Marhoney and Fox contributed a lot to the club turn around, but probably cost a lot of cap space.

After the 2024 semi loss to Manly, I marked Marhoney's card, and the club made a similar decision, we were not going to offer Marhoney an extension on the same money.

Marhoney wanted the same money and possibly more, he wanted to find out what sort of deal he could get elsewhere.

Last season when Mann got injured, Hayward could come off the bench, play lock and do a better job than Mann or Salmon,

Marhoney was supposted to be here in 2026, long term I think Young will be the hooker and Hayward might be more of a hooker / lock, though Hayward will start for a while.

Now Turpin is injured we need to find a replacement Gordon isn't shooting the lights out.

We could try starting AJ or Hayes at lock with Salmon on the bench. Salmon can moderate his game to play longer minutes. Salmon can probably play the last 60.

Gordon can offer some impact at hooker off the bench, saving a interchange at lock allows 2 interchanges at hooker.

When the players try very hard and are totally spent at the end of the game, being booed by fans is the last thing they need.
 
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I don't think Burton or Tracey were playing better in 2024/2025.

Our patches of good footy were Mann or Hayward playing first receiver and the halves standing wider.

Tracey could slot into that first receiver role, just play like Hayward did 2024/2025.

If we have more forward runs off the dummy-half Tracey can run as a support runner.

Cirro will be searching for a tweak like this, and the right move might make a big difference.

Salmon does a lot of good things, but the style with him getting the ball at first receiver is predictable.

If he is getting the ball of Tracey, running as a support runner or hitting holes off the dummy-half he will be more effective.

Salmon might have fewer touches, but a higher quality output for the same level of effort.

Tracey will be doing the same amount of running or a bit less running. He will be doing more passing which might turn out to be good or bad.
 
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IMO the injury carnage is partially due to a faster game.

But it is more due to all teams being stronger, and contests being a higher intensity.

If we can stay in touch and transition some young guys, our depth will work for us.

After a while, the intensity and the grind will start to wear players and teams down.

Sometimes an NRL season can be like a marathon.

Injuries are pilling up for most teams. The Warriors and Newcastle seem to be in good shape, but 2-3 weeks can change that.

In addition to the losing Marhoney, players being a bit out of form and structural issues with our attack, injuries have impacted on us.

Thompson, Woods, King, Kiraz, Critter and Todd are the most odvious examples.

AJ, Turpin and perhaps Young also count.

Dykes, Sua, Spinks, AJ, DSF and Rinakama have been getting ready for NRL in reserve grade.

I don't know when Woods will play or even if he will play NRL this season. However, Conti is getting an opportunity to play halfback in reserve grade and is making great progress.
 
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Many fans are suggesting that service to the halves through Salmon is too slow and that is a big part if why our attack is misfiring.

I tend to agree, our play the ball speed is not that slow, service from tne hooker could be faster, but the main problem js we have an extra step in our attack which achieves nothing, and gives the opposition defence more time.

This isn't the fault of the players, our coaches are to blame.

Change that up and the lock can be a ball runner, i think many teams might pass straight from the hooker to the halves. Galvin can play first receiver both sides and we tend to pass to Galvin most of the time.

Tracey can play first receiver on the right and simply pass to Preston. Our edges are dangerous when they get early ball.

Hayes or AJ can start if needed instead of Salmon, and Salmon can be a ball runner / decoy when he starts.

We are trying to copy a Penrith style of attack which doesn't work for us. That style is far from the most dangerous attack in the NRL.

We can defend Penrith, becuase they don't play much faster than we do.
 
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Jimmy Graham reckons we should be playing flatter.

If he is talking about players running hard over the advantage line off Hayward, I agree. That is a good play for any part of the field.

Hayward has the ability to throw those passes.

Galvin should sit out the back, count the numbers, watch how the defence is reacting and spot opportunities. When there is an opportunity, Galvin should position himself in the right spot and call the ball of Hayward.

It is a very simple game plan and we don't go wide for no reason, we try to go wide when there is an opportunity, hopefully off a quick play the ball.
 
Anyway the team i would like to see v the Phins is.

1. Dykes
2. Tracey
3. Burton
4. Tuala
5. Sua
6. Chrichton
7. Galvin
8. Hughes
9. Hayward
10. Thompson
11. Tupioniua
12. Preston.
13. Hayes

14. King
15. AJ
16. Salmon
17. Young
18. Rinakama
19. Spinks
20. Curran
21 O'Sullivian
22. Xerri

We need to change The team and change how we play.
 
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The agruments about Galvin not being an organising halfback are pretty lame, regardless of who is making them.

1. Getting around the park, we have no problem getting to the opponents end, and little problem having a kicker in place for yardage kicks.

2. Repeat sets / attacking kicks - this area could be improved, but Galvin and Burton are ok, we need more tall fast wingers who are good targets for attacking kicks, Rauqe and Rinakama are the solution.

3. Making plays, too many of our plays already come through Galvin. What can a 20 year old half realistically do if the opponents know he is getting the ball and are up on him before he catches it?

We need more plays coming off the dummy half, Hayward has it, and Young is even better.

We need better passing from the 5/8 and fullback, hence my team changes.

For all of his grestness, Joey Johns hasn't had a lot of success as a halves coach. That is becuase he coached a generation of halves that couldn't do what he can do.

Woods/Teapua teamed with Conti/Galvin should result in better passing and kicking at the opponents end.

If we can get Woods on the paddock and ready for NRL that might add 10-20 points per game to our attack, especially if he has wingers he can kick for.

I will be more sold on O'Sullivian when i see him make plays and tackles at NRL level. He may have a higher ceiling that Sexton, but is not as good as Woods, Conti and Teaupa.

People will quicky forget Marhoney if Young and Hayward make the progess I expect them to make.

The club isn't clueless.
 
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Unsurprisingly, Cirro gas gone for a less radical team selection.

I don't think Gordon can play before round 11?

If O'Sullivian plays, I hope that he defends a lot better than he did against Souths.

I hope that the starting pack is as named.

Spinks might get a run, this game or next game.

If we are not changing the team, we really need to change how we play.

If this team plays like we did against the Cows, the Phins will beat us by a lot.

I don't want to see slow service to Galvin with the opposition defence right on top of him as he catches the ball.
 
NSW cup we have Dykes back at 5/8 and Cocherane back at fullback.

We should be trying to develop a better NRL fullback ASAP.
 
Apparently Dykes needs more time, they might be limiting his minutes at fullback as part of a rebuild strategy.

Dykes, Woods and Thompson fully fit rounds 1-9 probably changes the season.

A fully fit off-contact Dykes would take a lot of cap money.

I'm impatient becuase the clock is ticking on the season, but I also want our best players on deck at the business end.

I'll be delighted with any kind of ein against the Phins.
 
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