Admin Message:

BDP Regulations: Posting on the BDP effective from 18 February 2009 signals you have read the regulations, understood them and accept that the BDP and its users will be moderated and managed in accordance with these regulations.

Email bdp@rleague.com (Helen, Anna, Nathan, Rowdy and Joebee) if you have complaints, questions, registration issues or want a post removed/edited.

Quick Links: Retrieve password | Bulldogs Official Website | Bulldogs Membership | Junior Bulldogs | Bulldogs Grandstand | Bulldogs on Youtube | BDP on Facebook
 

Rooney, i like you, unlike some others, surely . you must understand for goodness sake, that a team of non achievers on the field , are not popular even i n hospitals or tree days, or whatever ----the sponsorship, will be gonsky.-----sorry guys , but that is the facts

oh thank you, oh so educated one, and before i forget, please go and get get f-ck't.

I enjoyed your "Hasler doesn't rate Barba" crusade earlier in the year better.

LOL you ain't seen nothing yet. Gonna get worse real soon.

Barba is a fullback through and through, he has really excelled in the position and is learning more and more by the day, every week he comes up with something to show me he is learning and learning fast. He is one of the form fullbacks in the competition, why on earth you would want him to move is beyond me and Josh Reynolds, whom Mark Geyer and a few others would have selected for origin obviously thinks he is pretty good in the 6 and so do I, the kid is still learning as well and has been our most consistent over the past month or so IMO.

Does anyone else think Trent Hodko will take a long time to get back to full fitness? He wouldn't have done to much running and leg weights lately so for a player that is usually very slow and lagging I think he will take a few weeks in reggies. 7 is the position I am not sold on.

Stop smoking crack Smack, it's harming ya

Name: clem2
Date: Thursday, 17th May 2012, 06:07:49 AM

Gordon has not will say again has not signed with Cronulla and has not spoken to any other club either except Penrith.

Onya Clemmy :)

lol Clem said this morning he hadn't even spoke to the sharks !!!

reynolds is not a no.9 never has been he is a 6 0r 7 fullstop !!

so who was it on here that said michael gordon hadn't signed with cronulla ? he has just signed a 3 year deal with the sharks from 2013 !!! so those on here who said he would be coming here instead hang your heads in shame !!! oh well dean collis may still be availavble !!

Your words let you down considerably

Got to love buzzwords "branding" we are a football club that plays football nothing more nothing less.

Perfect summation. We can all have blind faith in hasler but if we don't find the right players at 1 6 7 9 he won't do jack.

We have 6 in barba 9 Reynolds we need a fullback and a halfback

No it's actually because people support their club through the good times and bad.

It will last a supporters lifetime.

on hype of hasler and rebuilding, see how long it lasts ole son.

We haven't made the finals since 2009.

Yet crowds and memberships have increased?

you mean , because of demographics,???----keep losing and see if that sticks??----even us wogs have a limit----lol

kyle bowman þ@KyleBowman89
@RLW_Mole any truth to a quiet word about Jennings going to parra at all?

Reply RetweetedRetweet The Mole þ@RLW_Mole
@KyleBowman89 Now @TheParraEels MAY be silly enough to throw 600K at him. So possibly.

...agree...

...hard to imagine though that the club would let the community involvement get in the way of the focus on performance...

...and if it also keeps the players off the streets (so to speak) - then it's all good...

Yes i have ran out of patience with goodwin in the side :))

He is a more experienced coach now though mate so hopefully with that experience it might quicken up the process

I think to be fair though we need to look at the roster he inherited this year. We had no blokes in either of the test sides and only one bloke in the orgin sides

As can be seen by Wayne Bennett this year, you still need the cattle to challenge for comps. The knights are the first ordinary side he has coached and he will miss the finals with them.

Agree unfortunately fans in general never really have any.

Yes the fans do for sure compare. Many on here very very impatient indeed

but ofcourse results affect membership which is just as important as sponsorship..

We need patience compare !!!

He will do the same with us. I have every bit of confidence in Unkie Des & Crusher

Agree compare but during that time he got rid of all the dead wood and brough in only one or two quality signings each year while unearthing talented youngsters

He made the tough calls and it paid dividends with 3 grand finals in 5 years for 2 wins

The same needs to be applied to the bulldogs going forward

Storm are sponsoed by you know who and why, against A F L, Titans??are well that is an another deal altogether get wise mate,

Hope so mate

:)

Finally, I agree By 4 only difference is we have a better junior base, better facilities and maybe more money depending who you listen to :) so hopefully we will click before then.

Does anyone remember the two weeks of serenity that recently occurred on this page???

Wish we could bring that back.......

If sponsors wish to be associated with a winning team, why are Melbourne the least sponsored team in the NRL?? How did the Titans secure a new sponsor after winning the wooden spoon?

I will say it again compare, it took Unkie Des 4 years to get Manly to a GF! He took over in 04 and made the GF in 07.

I see smiliar at the Dogs - 2014 before we really make a serious challenge IMO.

the bulldogs will always have a very strong sponsorship base..its a very marketable brand second only to the broncos..

:)

I don't know what Des gives to charity personally, you never know he might have parted with some coin for his haircut the other day lol and nothing wrong with earning $800.000 I am sure if you were offered that much you would take it?

Oh and last time I checked we have set record membership numbers in the last few seasons and sponsors have lined up even offering sponsorship for the coach! not bad for not winning anything.

It is obvious we lack speed in the backline & quality play maker in the halves (though willing to give Hodkinson a chance to prove himself), a hooker/captain that just wont run from dummy half & another strike back rower

Our go forward with Tolman, Graham, Kasiano has being great this year & would be better if we had Taupau or gavet stand up & take bench spot for 4 prop rotation.

The conitnued use of Romelo is a waste as he plays mimimal minutes when we could have another big bopper

Eastwood starting to come good now since Storm game but still needs more fitness to play more minutes

If we make the semi finals it will be a great result but going forward some hard decisions really need to be made about our squad if we are to challenge for the title.

Im sure they wont make everyone happy but the time has come to bite the bullet & move on some players & bring in " QUALITY" not quantity & promote the great young juniors like Jacksoon, Funicane, Sila & Klemmer

We are a:

1) WINGER - WOLFMAN
2) CENTRE - JENNINGS
3) BACKROWER - TREX

DONT INCLUDE THE HALVES BECAUSE NO ONE OFF CONTRACT THAT FULLFILLS OUR REQUIRMENTS

short of being a title contender, I have to admit i thought this team would make the top 4 but after 10 rounds i am being a realist & will setlle for top 8. we have unearthed great players in kasiano & reynolds but have to many gaps to fill in other areas where the quality just isnt there

Sometimes we have to take the blue & white glasses off & look at these things realistically.

And completely misses the point.

FMD that's truly pathetic.

Wow - you're a handful.

Good luck with this crusade!

:) not having a go at anyone smack, just trying to clarify that it's the first season Des is in charge and it will take time to bring home the silverware thats all. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I am just sick of all the he said she said, this is why thats why when we don't have all the facts.

I also don't claim to know what the exact functions of a rugby league clubs personnel are but I am sure you understand what I meant by Des, Crusher and Greenberg without mentioning everyone at the club ;)

And like I said in a previous post I know sports is now a business it has been for sometime and in business it ruthless. I feel for people like Moore, the Hughes brother, Haz etc because they were all a big part of the bulldogs history and also love the club but that won't stop me supporting them because I don't fall into the trap of becoming a fanatic one of those people that will stop breathing if we happen to loose games, sad yes, unhappy yes but life goes on.

how much did you kick in?

Yes mate i will be there Monday night for sure

Billy wont be coming either has school the next day

Billy wants to be the next Ben Barba...his new thing is to practice taking bombs in the backyard...he takes them, then runs & tries to put a side step on lol !!!

Hasler wants to big note himself on TV, getting his 30 yr old out of style hair cut off,-----HEY DES, how much did you personally chuck in, c'mon, tell us,????-----if we are so dedicated to these charities????

i appreciate what you say, but my point is, and for the last time ,(oh my goodness)is sponsors want to be associated with a winning team, its all about exposure of company brand name,-----charities are very commendable, but winning games, keeps the supporter base, the fan base and the revenue rollin in,----tree planting, etc, won't do that or Des gettin his hair cut,-------btw, if Des is Fair dinkum, --how much did ole Scrooge , got the first dollar hew ever earned DES, earning $800,000 per year give these kids,---C'MON , ANYONE KNOW???--------sMACK , WHAT DO YOU RECKON???

lol got to love at the hypocrisy. your having a go at everyone else about providing a distorted view but you have come to the conclusion that recruitment and retention is a secret between greenberg cleal and hasler lol. Obviously performance managers and assistant coaches are kept in the dark lol . Mate from what i understand the club has movers and shakers and as much as hasler thinks he has autonomy on football operation, its not the case. it is not one of those you have mentioned. food for thought they put in moore's son but got rid of him too. everyone is dispensible.Even the best coaches.

We need to make sure we keep BURR ....

Yes winning brings great things and I want the team to win but this is the thing.

1. Des came a year before he was originally signed up for.
2. Crusher or Des did not do the recruiting for this season.
3. We are playing a completely different structure.
4. We have only failed to secure the service of 1 player that I am aware of being Foran.
5. We have the most players unsigned for next season, which means this is a perfect time to see which perform and which don't.
6. The club made it clear that we were concentrating on retention rather than recruitment.

I can go on and on, the problem is most people listen to every single rumour from people who have no idea what they are on about. I admit there are a few people they may have an idea of certain things but NOT one that sits there with Des, Crusher or Greenberg behind closed doors, not one!

If I was working for the bulldogs and knew anything regarding recruitment etc I would not come on this or any other forum to give anyone the "SCOOP" as I wouldn't need to prove anything to anyone. Take rumours for what they are just that rumours.
If someone has proof that we missed all these players because of charity work or Foran because someone at the club let something out of the bag, or that Greenberg is an illuminati sent by the masons to destroy the club :) yadda yadda show me it and I will gladly retract everything I have said.

i hope not !!! pretty sure he is signed up with us anyhow maybe another burr like another reynolds who every idiot on here thaught was going to souths too - it was adam reynolds not josh reynolds but you cant tell people on here with peanuts for brains who think they know all what is going on

Agree. What else are these players going to do with all their spare time? These players have it too easy.

Most of them don't know anything else. Im sure there are exceptions where players don't need to turn up to charity events due to other work commitments, studies or whatever.

I do not think its unreasonable to have our players attend charity events or public events after all WE as the people and supporters OWN them and without us there is no game and no club.

We aren't travelling that bad. Apart from the Titans game i've enjoyed every win and loss. We have the potential and a very good nucleus to work with.

"Danger Sign: Any time the ball shifts wide into the hands of the Bulldogs’ outside backs. A staggering 70 per cent of Canterbury’s tries have been scored by their centres, wingers and fullback. And their threat from long range is huge – the Bulldogs lead the league in tries scored from within their own half (seven) as well as from between 21-50 metres out, where they’ve posted 16. Incredibly they’ve crossed for just nine tries within 10 metres of the opposition line."

That is an amazing stat right there.

DarrenB any truth to lachlen burr talking to souffs !

If its true can we get Luke Keary halfback from souths his a gun !

Ray Thompson?
Is he the guy in trouble with Julia Gillard?

Bulldogs v Sharks preview

ANZ Stadium
Monday 7pm

Beating Melbourne without Paul Gallen is one thing… but taking on the Bulldogs without both Gallen and star playmaker Todd Carney? That’s the question that must be gnawing away at Sharks fans as they prepare to make a pilgrimage of hope to ANZ Stadium on Monday night.

Meanwhile Des Hasler has spent the past week squashing the complacency that torpedoed his side at Suncorp Stadium last Friday, with the much-vaunted Bulldogs delivering a lacklustre display when falling to the lowly Titans. The surprise 25-14 loss was at odds with their blistering form from Round 9 when they tore apart Parramatta in an eight-try, 46-12 savaging.

He has a personnel headache of his own, with Josh Morris also missing to the NSW Origin camp.

A victory by Cronulla, who sit in equal second place alongside Brisbane on 14 competition points, would be excellent tonic given their daunting next two months: they will be without their superstar pairing for three games and are one of just three teams that don’t receive a pressure-relieving bye during the Origin period. However, a loss this week wouldn’t be earth-shattering, as they’d drop no lower than fourth.

And after last week’s heroics, who is to say they can’t beat the Bulldogs, and with dominance? A quick look at the stats reveals the meat to their season so far: Cronulla currently lead the league in average line-breaks, offloads, tackle-breaks and metres gained per game!

Expect the Bulldogs to have a fierce focus though: they have another tough Monday night assignment away to the Roosters next week before they rest up with the bye. Hasler knows a maximum six competition points in that time will see them nudging the top four exactly halfway through the season.

In Bulldogs personnel changes, Luke MacDougall makes his 2012 debut on the wing with Jonathan Wright shifting to the centres to cover for Morris.

Meanwhile Shane Flanagan has opted to shift lock Wade Graham to five-eighth to cover for Carney, with stand-in skipper Jeremy Smith dropping from second row to lock. Sam Tagataese has been promoted from the bench to start in the second row, with Jon Green and Tyson Frizzell the new faces on the interchange.

Watch Out Bulldogs: Bryce Gibbs must wake up every day and thank his lucky stars he left the Wests Tigers. In his new black, white and blue jersey Gibbs is currently averaging the most runs and metres gained in his decade-long career (13.3 runs and 119.4 metres) – plus he’s exhibited newfound stamina, with an 11 per cent increase in his playing time from last season.

Another Tigers discard, Andrew Fifita, really stepped up last week; coming off the bench he made a season-high 11 tackle-breaks against the Storm – no mean feat against the best defence in the NRL.

The Bulldogs will really miss Josh Morris – he was a standout in attack last time the sides met, with 127 metres and five tackle-breaks. He’s also leading the way for tries by centres with nine in 2012.

And team-mates will need to rally around Josh Reynolds; although he’s been sensational in attack he is missing the second-most tackles by any player every week (45 to date). Expect the Sharks to send plenty of tall timber his way.

Danger Sign: Centres Ben Pomeroy and Colin Best need to be wrapped up effectively – they are the strongest-running and most creative centres in the NRL. Combined they’ve busted 73 tackles and rank second and third among three-quarters with 19 and 16 offloads respectively.

Watch Out Sharks: Ben Barba is the clear and present danger. The Sharks did magnificently well to shut down Billy Slater last week but Barba will be a tougher prospect to halt if given half a chance off a dropped ball or defensive mistake. The No.1 leads all players for tackle-breaks (68) and his 10 line-breaks is just one shy of Greg Inglis’ benchmark in 2012.

The Bulldogs’ excellent go-forward (fifth-most metres) can be attributed to their hard-working pack, with prop Aiden Tolman a standout. The blond-haired powerhouse is averaging 116 metres a game and will be desperate to thrust his name back into consideration for future Origin games should injuries hit the current line-up. The Sharks will still be nursing bruises after their last run-in with Tolman, when he made 19 hit-ups, 160 metres and 31 tackles in just 52 minutes.

While the Sharks are flying in key stats categories they do need to watch their handling: Cronulla commit 12.6 errors per game, with only the Titans making more each week. All it will take is a few dropped balls more than that average to place them under extreme pressure.

Danger Sign: Any time the ball shifts wide into the hands of the Bulldogs’ outside backs. A staggering 70 per cent of Canterbury’s tries have been scored by their centres, wingers and fullback. And their threat from long range is huge – the Bulldogs lead the league in tries scored from within their own half (seven) as well as from between 21-50 metres out, where they’ve posted 16. Incredibly they’ve crossed for just nine tries within 10 metres of the opposition line.

Frank Pritchard v Jeremy Smith: Two hard-as-nails competitors butt heads. Pritchard has shown greater consistency this season; he ranks second for offloads among second-rowers (14) and is averaging 102 metres a game. He clawed out 117 metres against the Titans and the last time these sides met he dominated with 15 runs, 150 metres and two offloads. Stand-in Sharks skipper Smith will again relish the leadership role after taking it to the Storm pack last week. His try was the difference. The ’Dogs will need to be mindful of supports trailing Smith – he leads all second-rowers for line-break assists (four).

Where It Will Be Won: Throwing the right pass at the right time. Cronulla rank No.1 for offloads (14.4 per game) with the Bulldogs nipping at their heels with the second-most second-phase play each week (14.2). Both sides love to throw the ball around before getting to the defensive line too – Canterbury have recorded the most passes so far (2214) with Cronulla making the second most (2120). Clearly, making the most of their passes will count on the night.

The History: Played 83; Bulldogs 51, Sharks 30, drawn 2. The Bulldogs have won six of the past eight clashes – and have lost just 15 games in their past 50 clashes. Cronulla won one of the two games played between the sides last season – their 26-10 win in Round 15 was their first over Canterbury since 2007. The Bulldogs hold a 4-3 advantage at ANZ Stadium.

The Last Time They Met: The Bulldogs defeated the Sharks 19-12 in a hard-fought Monday night clash at Toyota Stadium in Round 23 last year.

The visitors opened the scoring when lock Dean Halatau ran an inside line off a Trent Hodkinson pass to plunge over adjacent to the right upright for a 6-nil lead after 13 minutes.

The Sharks struck back when Nathan Gardner streaked through up the middle off an inside shift in the 34th minute – before Ben Barba broke Sharks fans’ hearts on the stroke of halftime with a 50-metre dash after receiving a popped ball from Greg Eastwood. There was some controversy surrounding the try, which sent the Bulldogs to the break with a 12-6 lead, with Eastwood felled but not held by the defence inside his own half before getting up and running again.

A Steve Turner penalty goal in the 58th minute extended the Bulldogs’ lead and when Turner crossed three minutes later in the right corner after fielding a Hodkinson chip kick the blue and whites looked comfortable leading 18-6.

However, Sharks interchange Sam Tagataese immediately bridged the gap to a converted try when he steamrolled through some flimsy defence from 20 metres out to make things interesting at 18-12 with 14 minutes remaining.

The following 10 minutes were tense before Hodkinson clinched the match with a field-goal from in front with two minutes left on the clock.

It was a big effort by Canterbury to overcome 35 missed tackles to still hold tight against the determined Sharks attack.

The Bulldogs owed their victory to some determined running from their back three and centres – with all five players topping triple figures in metres gained (Steve Turner leading the quintet with 142 on the night).

Paul Gallen was insatiable in his workload with 26 hit-ups for 223 metres, with three offloads and 29 tackles.

Match Officials: Referees – Gerard Sutton & Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials – Dan Eastwood & Nick Beashel; Video Referee – Chris Ward.

The Way We See It: It really is a toss of the coin but the Bulldogs should be favourites. Carney played a huge role in the Sharks’ win without Gallen. But with him also missing this week, the advantage surely shifts to Canterbury – especially at home. Bulldogs by six points.

Players train for a couple of hours twice a day and play a game once a week. For about five months they don't even play once a week. Charity work, training and education is part of the job description at the Dogs.

Helps the players, helps the team and helps the club, not to mention the ppl that are the beneficiaries of the charities. Many ppl point out that with so much spare time a lot of players get into trouble because they have sweet FA to do apart from punt, play Nintendo or get maggoted.

A smart club makes this all a win win win for players, clubs, fans and charities.

Besides it is a straw man. Someone asserts that ppl don't want to come to the club because of some rumour that charity work is part of the contract and now a bunch of ppl take it as truth.

Come on DM you don't think our sh*t doesn't stink do you?

RAY thompson re-signs with the cowgirls..

Please! & bigbird too. Bring back Ian & get on with life.

he is a good player
as of next year his at saints cant blame him nulla has some great 2nd rowers

I agree with you to an extent.

You can, however, quantify the result of such immeasurable drive.

I'm sure its not a stretch to say Hewitt would scramble to cover a lot more territory and reach a lot more returns than Philipousis. Whether statistics measuring this would tell you anything that you can't see with your own eyes is the question.

The point is advanced metrics just aren't necessary or applicable to many sports. Their basic statistical analysis tells you enough.

The problem with baseball was its traditional statistics were all carried over from cricket, so stats used to valuate players didn't give a complete picture of their productivity.