Rumoured targets 2

[macavity]

I seriously doubt we are offering him 800k under the cap. We were apparently below the Titans offer, which was 400k a year over two - so it is more likely we have come up to 400k a year over three. Happy with that, even if it is all under the cap, and never know we may have even pulled a 3PS out of our arses.

TBH in the above scenario I would be signing Hokko AND throwing 200k at Taylor (who at worst would be a better bench utility than Randall) - the only club who could offer Taylor a shot at FG is Gold Coast so they are the most likely option, but it's worth a punt.

 

[Noname36]

But if you sign a guy like Taylor for say $200k, you're not BANKING on him, you're putting a bit of spare change on something paying very good odds. Hodkinson is a player that the dogs have deemed isn't worth any more than $500k, this is the team that know his game better than any other, they're willing to bank on the guy who's played about 10 games over the current NSW half, what does that tell you?

You may not be banking on him as much financially but you're still banking on him to get the job done. We can't just keep rolling the dice with cheap, untested halves and hope that one of them come good. How many more young halves do we have to f**k up before we acknowledge that system hasn't worked for us? Hodkinson could very well be an epic failure...but I'd be more comfortable taking the risk on someone that's proven that at the very least he's capable of handling first grade.

If we had a player like Mbye then we probably wouldn't need Hodkinson either...however we don't have that luxury. Also the Dogs wanted to keep Hodkinson but not at the price he wanted...all that says is that maybe they're under cap pressure which is fairly obvious given their roster.

 

[Joker's Wild]

But if you sign a guy like Taylor for say $200k, you're not BANKING on him, you're putting a bit of spare change on something paying very good odds. Hodkinson is a player that the dogs have deemed isn't worth any more than $500k, this is the team that know his game better than any other, they're willing to bank on the guy who's played about 10 games over the current NSW half, what does that tell you?

It tells me they are under some salary cap pressure for 2016 and are looking to offload am expensive half for a cheaper one

 

[aqua_duck]

You may not be banking on him as much financially but you're still banking on him to get the job done. We can't just keep rolling the dice with cheap, untested halves and hope that one of them come good. How many more young halves do we have to f**k up before we acknowledge that system hasn't worked for us? Hodkinson could very well be an epic failure...but I'd be more comfortable taking the risk on someone that's proven that at the very least he's capable of handling first grade.

If we had a player like Mbye then we probably wouldn't need Hodkinson either...however we don't have that luxury. Also the Dogs wanted to keep Hodkinson but not at the price he wanted...all that says is that maybe they're under cap pressure which is fairly obvious given their roster.

How many untested halves have we really tried? Beau Henry? That's about it, Carlos Tuimavave was signed as depth more than anything else.

 

[perverse]

I seriously doubt we are offering him 800k under the cap. We were apparently below the Titans offer, which was 400k a year over two - so it is more likely we have come up to 400k a year over three. Happy with that, even if it is all under the cap, and never know we may have even pulled a 3PS out of our arses.

TBH in the above scenario I would be signing Hokko AND throwing 200k at Taylor (who at worst would be a better bench utility than Randall) - the only club who could offer Taylor a shot at FG is Gold Coast so they are the most likely option, but it's worth a punt.

It depends who you ask as far as to who's offering what. $400k a year is no worries, $800k a year is big worries. That's pretty much what it comes down to. Taylor is certainly worth a punt, I'm surprised Brisbane are letting him go... although Wayne has shown in the past he'll let a player move on if he's not going to get first grade time, regardless of the talent.

 

[aqua_duck]

It tells me they are under some salary cap pressure for 2016 and are looking to offload am expensive half for a cheaper one

There are many blokes on more money than him there and he plays in one of the most important positions, yet they deem he obviously isn't a priority

 

[The Showstopper]

When is Mullo off contract. End of next season? Having Hodko would make me more comfortable if in the unfortunate event we have to tap Mullo on the shoulder over his next contract. By having a decent halfback as our top playmkaer it really does change the ball game for us when it comes to our roster. No more overs cos we had no other option. You have to have that one or two players you can build an entire squad around. A proven and experienced player is essential in my eyes for that to happen. Then we can go after a Cornish or Taylor. We can roll the dice on them and if they fail we still have the main man to fall back on so to speak. Stone needs to make sure his spine by 2017 is excellent quality and then we can build with players on the rise for less money. It is how Melbourne have been so successful. 9,7,6 and 1 are always top notch. Bellamy picks and develops the lesser knowns into better players by being with that solid base to begin with.

 

[Joker's Wild]

How many of those guys are off contract next year? How many have a decent, FG proven replacement already at the club?

Williams is being shopped around, Prichard is moving on. The Dogs are making room for younger, cheaper players to manage their cap. It isn't a reflection on Trents ability imo

 

[perverse]

When is Mullo off contract. End of next season? Having Hodko would make me more comfortable if in the unfortunate event we have to tap Mullo on the shoulder over his next contract. By having a decent halfback as our top playmkaer it really does change the ball game for us when it comes to our roster. No more overs cos we had no other option. You have to have that one or two players you can build an entire squad around. A proven and experienced player is essential in my eyes for that to happen. Then we can go after a Cornish or Taylor. We can roll the dice on them and if they fail we still have the main man to fall back on so to speak. Stone needs to make sure his spine by 2017 is excellent quality and then we can build with players on the rise for less money. It is how Melbourne have been so successful. 9,7,6 and 1 are always top notch. Bellamy picks and develops the lesser knowns into better players by being with that solid base to begin with.

Mullen isn't off contract until the end of 2018.

 

[aqua_duck]

How many of those guys are off contract next year? How many have a decent, FG proven replacement already at the club?

Williams is being shopped around, Prichard is moving on. The Dogs are making room for younger, cheaper players to manage their cap. It isn't a reflection on Trents ability imo

What about benching him when the game was there to be won against st george a few weeks back, is that a reflection on his ability?

 

[Noname36]

There are many blokes on more money than him there and he plays in one of the most important positions, yet they deem he obviously isn't a priority

Or maybe they have 3 first grade quality halves and 2 spots and Hodkinson was the one off contract.

 

[Johns Magic]

I seriously doubt we are offering him 800k under the cap. We were apparently below the Titans offer, which was 400k a year over two - so it is more likely we have come up to 400k a year over three. Happy with that, even if it is all under the cap, and never know we may have even pulled a 3PS out of our arses.

TBH in the above scenario I would be signing Hokko AND throwing 200k at Taylor (who at worst would be a better bench utility than Randall) - the only club who could offer Taylor a shot at FG is Gold Coast so they are the most likely option, but it's worth a punt.

Regardless of anyone's opinion on Hodkinson, that 400K a season figure just cannot be right. Poor journalism I believe. It is not possible that two desperate clubs in a bidding war over the NSW halfback are offering the same or less as what we re-signed Tyrone fcking Roberts for after 50 first grade games. The quoted figure of 800K must have been per season...it wasn't clear either way. If we get him for 400K a season then fantastic.

There are a couple of other clubs Taylor could play 1st grade at, including Manly who are the hot faves for him.

 

[Joker's Wild]

What about benching him when the game was there to be won against st george a few weeks back, is that a reflection on his ability?

That's a reflection of how he was playing in that game, yes. Maybe how he has been this season

I have no doubts that if they could afford to keep him they would. I think he cam be valuable to us like he has been in the past to them. Let's not forget the huge part he played in their 2012 and 2014 GF runs.

 

[aqua_duck]

Mate he wasnt there in 2012, he was watching from the sidelines when Kris f**king Keating lead them to the GF behind that pack.......

 

[macavity]

There are a couple of other clubs Taylor could play 1st grade at, including Manly who are the hot faves for him.

True, I had the impression Manly were going to run with DCE/Lyon halves though... but not like them to pass on a quality kid.

 

[Joker's Wild]

Ok, fair enough I wasn't sure of that one. I'm guessing he was still at Manly. He still played a more than small part in their good form last year

I recall Isaac Luke getting dopped to the bench this year too. It happens when good players are in a slump, well at least at clubs with good coaches

We aren't going to agree on his quality so I'm not going to try and convince you. I think he is our best bet if we aren't paying him stupid money. With the cap rises and the equivalent rises in the NRL grant, I think $500 - $700k is probably not all that high in the scheme of things

 

[aqua_duck]

Ok, fair enough I wasn't sure of that one. I'm guessing he was still at Manly. He still played a more than small part in their good form last year

I recall Isaac Luke getting dopped to the bench this year too. It happens when good players are in a slump, well at least at clubs with good coaches

We aren't going to agree on his quality so I'm not going to try and convince you. I think he is our best bet if we aren't paying him stupid money. With the cap rises and the equivalent rises in the NRL grant, I think $500 - $700k is probably not all that high in the scheme of things

No he was injured. Issac Luke's benching strangely coincided with him signing for the warriors, wonder if that had anything to do with it....
The point I'm trying to make with 2012 is, that number 7 jumper at the dogs isn't a tough gig, it requires very little creativity, it's a game manager position for them, I think the current parameters for a number 7 in our team are vastly different.

 

[Johns Magic]

I'd like to see his stats from last year. I'd wager they stack up to the other halves in the comp

Hodkinson played 22 games in the REGULAR season last year, so didn't miss any bar Origin.

These are each player's regular season stats last year in order of Tries, Try-assists, Linebreaks, Linebreak Assists:

Hodkinson: 4 Tries, 9 TA's, 5 LB's, 7 LBA's

B Hunt: 13 Tries , 19 TA's, 20 LB's , 18 LBA's
Jeff Robson: 4 Tries, 11 TA's, 3 LB's, 9 LBA's
Tyrone Roberts: 9 Tries, 12 TA's, 7 LB's, 13 LBA's
DCE: 3 Tries, 12 TA's, 9 LB's, 9 LBA's
Thurston: 10 Tries, 29 TA's, 9 LB's, 22 LBA's
Johnson: 9 Tries, 12 TA's, 11 LB's, 15 LBA's
Sandow: 1 Try, 15 TA's, 7 LB's, 15 LBA's
Soward: 7 Tries, 19 TA's, 9 LB's, 15 LBA's
Benji: 3 Tries, 13 TA's, 7 LB's, 12 LBA's
A Reynolds: 4 Tries, 13 TA's, 4 LB's, 6 LBA's
Pearce: 6 Tries, 19 TA's, 8 LB's, 16 LBA's
Brooks: 6 Tries, 12 TA's, 3 LB's, 8 LBA's
Cronk: 5 Tries, 23 TA's, 4 LB's, 16 LBA's

Second worst on that list in terms of try-assists was Jeff fking Robson with 11...Hodkinson a clear last with 9. This while Hodkinson is playing in a team that made the grand final.

The top halves are getting more than double the TA's he got. Our own Tyrone Roberts make his stats look paltry.

Benji who you bagged yesterday blitzed him and missed the first half of the season in another code.

I know stats aren't everything but this talk that he is just having a down season this year but was in the top echelon of halves the last couple of years is off the mark. His stats have never stacked up that well.

 

[The Showstopper]

JT is an immortal in the making. Look at those stats!

 

[Joker's Wild]

So where were the Bulldogs scoring all of their points last season? Who was getting them across the line?

I watched a lot of the regular season last year and liked Hokkos work in the Dogs games I saw. Im surprised his numbers were that low but it never looked like he was not getting involved and i certainly remember him making some key clutch plays for them, especially in the semis.

His composure is what i like about the bloke and its something i think we can all agree our side currently lacks