Needling toughens veteran halfback Brett Kimmorley, says coach Kevin Moore
While Kevin Moore is not pleased Kimmorley is being used as one of the scapegoats for NSW's State of Origin I loss last week, he knows that kind of targeting of his half brings out the best in him.
"It will just toughen him up mentally as he's always been confident in his ability and shows that every week," Moore said. "He just goes out and does his job."
The fact Kimmorley is up against New Zealand half Benji Marshall, when the Bulldogs meet Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium tonight also pleases Moore as the Dogs try to lift themselves from 13th on the table.
The side that nearly won the minor premiership last year has just three wins this year -- the same as Cronulla and North Queensland.
"Noddy always loves a challenge and responds tremendously to those tests," Moore said. "It'll be that way when he faces Benji."
The pair have comparable statistics when it comes to try and line-break assists.
The difference is that Marshall is a hard man to put on the ground -- he has made 50 tackle breaks to Kimmorley's 20 -- but the Bulldogs half works harder in defence, making an average 22 tackles per game to Marshall's 10.
Kimmorley has also made 92 kicks in play so far to Marshall's 67.
Moore said he had been a keen admirer of Kimmorley before he arrived at the Bulldogs at the end of 2008.
"He's won a grand final, collected a Clive Churchill Medal, has double figures in the number of times he's played for Australia and in Origin but yet for whatever reason he cops criticism," Moore said.
"I think it's pretty unfair.
"Noddy I thought was fantastic in the first Origin and was one bloke who could hold his head pretty high.
"His workrate in defence and trying to get his team going forward was great."
Kimmorley has been "a bit flat" at training this week and Moore puts that down to fatigue from two hard games in five days, against Queensland and then Melbourne.
"But he was positively buzzing today," Moore said.
"He's pretty immune to all the talk. He's been around a long time and unfortunately for a bloke who's achieved so much, he's still a target."
But Kimmorley's days might be numbered at the Bulldogs due to the club's pursuit of Manly half Trent Hodkinson.
The Bulldogs have made a three-year offer, believed to be worth $270,000 a year, to the 21-year-old.
He has played just 10 NRL games but made his representative debut after seven, when he was picked for City.
The Dogs are waiting to hear back from Hodkinson, who says he would like to remain at Manly as he and Kieran Foran have formed a firm partnership and friendship in the halves.
But if he does come to Canterbury, Kimmorley, 33, may not be offered another year.
Hopefully a recent comment by him.
