diggity said:
The Dogs are still to be found out this year. You have a great forward pack (there is no denying that) but your halves will ultimately let you down. Look for Holdsworth to string a number of bad games together....and Shifty just isn't the same player anymore.
You'll bow out first round of the semi's........and it will be a number of seasons til you see the top 8 again.
The next "number of seasons" depends a lot on the signatures we can get on paper, but I agree we are looking light outside the forward pack.
I'm honestly not a big fan of our backs - Phelps and Cutler don't really impress me; and Utai runs hot and cold. Tonga looks like he'll head over to Union, or at least will leave the Dogs, and Sonny Bill will most likely move to the 2nd row following Asotasi's departure. For this year, Sonny Bill is a huge asset, but he's probably a forward before he's a back.
Even if Maitua resigns, he's really still a forward. I think what you say holds a certain amount of truth.
The trouble is that even if Holdsworth develops into a good player, we'll probably end up losing him if we try to retain our other stars (particularly SBW, who as he begins to realize his potential, looks like he is going to cost a fortune).
I will disagree by saying that I thought Shifty was gun on the weekend. However whether he is consistent will ultimately write the story for our season. One game isn't enough to really say he's "back".
If DJ and Shifty can combine well in the halves, we're a chance. However so much of rugby league relies on the half combination - if we can't get it right, then we'll bow out as you suggest. The next few games will be a test - Tigers, Cowboys and Storm. We've played some average teams this year, in average form; even the Knights weren't firing on all cylinders. This next month will be key for us.
