So, what went wrong with 2012 ?

[ozbash]

There have been major rumblings around the joint that its the coaches fault. I dont go along with that but do concede that Bluey's settling in period has taken longer than expected.

Reality says we are 1 spot off the 8 and when you consider the injuries to certain senior players and the inexperienced players trying to cover for them, I dont see the season as a total write off.

Juniors are starting to come good..

Your thoughts...

 

[Warmess]

Players:

Too many inexperienced players out wide.
Halves never really dominating throughout entire games and controlling when we need them to.
Bench props form has been quite average.
Tupou and Henry are lol.

Coach(es):

Poor use of the bench.
Inability to get the best out of the youngsters.
Letting Inu go.
Defensive structures are hilarious, and haven't gotten better.

Out of our control:

Injuries.
Lack of decent wingers. (Somewhat out of our control, I guess)

I would probably be more lenient on Bluey if it weren't for what Maguire has done at Souths, and what Hasler has done at the Dogs. I know Hasler is a great and seasoned coach, but IIRC he came in just as they were starting pre season training, right? Done a fantastic job over there. We, on the other hand, haven't gotten any better. Seriously, have we actually made progress in any one area? We don't start slow now, but we sure as f**k end slow.

 

[jaseg]

Too young, and perhaps too much expectation on such a young team (despite the GF appearance last year - let's be honest, we had a hot run to finish what was a disappointing season up to that point, and got lucky in the finals). Not playing and then releasing Inu was incredibly stupid. Outside backs who can't defend (and defence in general - even more so early in the season). Rough changeover in regards to the coaching situation. An injury list that has rivalled any in the NRL for the entire season. Lillyman is not quite what he was, either.

I'm still extremely hopeful for next season, but it would appear this one is beyond the young fellas. Watching Souths is really killing me - also with a first year NRL coach, have linked the young generation (that came through the same time as ours) with the significantly more experienced players and are getting results.

 

[Aragorn]

There have been major rumblings around the joint that its the coaches fault. I dont go along with that but do concede that Bluey's settling in period has taken longer than expected.

Reality says we are 1 spot off the 8 and when you consider the injuries to certain senior players and the inexperienced players trying to cover for them, I dont see the season as a total write off.

Juniors are starting to come good..

Your thoughts...

FMD.

Answer me this -
1.who decides the team each week?
2.who decides the teams strategy, set plays and game plan?
3.which clown decided to let Inu go early and still pay his salary?
4.which clown signed up Ropati only for him to get injured the very next weekend?
5.who decided to promote Toyota Cup players too early?
6.who decides that diabolical inter-change bench?
7.who is suppose to motivate the team?
8.which clown talked himself and the team up at the start of the season?

your thoughts please.....

 

[vvvrulz]

The key points for me:
- Dodgy interchange
- Injuries to Locke and Luck
- Fish and the Ro having shockers earlier
- Foolishly letting Inu go
- Mannering is a very good player, not a leader
- Taylor is not even close to Luck

Topou and Benry are average but they don't usually cost games

Its frustrating because we usually have 17 players good enough to be top four material and we show glimpses of greatness every week. Why we keep falling apart is a combination of small things, but more than players alone I'm going to put the boot into player management and motivation, which is sorely lacking.

 

[Cheops]

Our fitness has been an issue from round 1 and the reason we can't put 80 minutes together. I seem to remember Bluey saying at the start of the year that he was focusing more on ball skills and set plays than fitness which sounds well and good in theory, but when you're out on your feet after 25 minutes all the skills in the world won't help you.

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

Without getting into the specifics at this stage: We've lost so many games that we should have won (not based on potential, based on how the game actually panned out) that if we'd won them all we'd be 1st on the table

Dominating strong opposition like the Storm and Broncos and still losing is bad enough, but losing to the Knights, Sharks and Tigers in games we had full control of was just outrageous

 

[Manu Vatuvei]

I also feel sorry for Mannering, it's like the guy can't win.

Previously he apparently wasn't vocal enough as a captain (even though he had good success in his first 2 years in the job). Now he never stops talking to the referees, and the stats are there to show he talks to the refs more than anyone else in the comp. I'd also suggest he does a pretty good job as he has a good rapport with the refs and never seems to rub them the wrong way either. Yet STILL he is apparently not doing enough.

 

[Aragorn]

I also feel sorry for Mannering, it's like the guy can't win.

Previously he apparently wasn't vocal enough as a captain (even though he had good success in his first 2 years in the job). Now he never stops talking to the referees, and the stats are there to show he talks to the refs more than anyone else in the comp. I'd also suggest he does a pretty good job as he has a good rapport with the refs and never seems to rub them the wrong way either. Yet STILL he is apparently not doing enough.

maybe he should talk less to the ref and more to his team?

 

[LeagueNut]

Mannering is doing too much of the wrong things IMO. Let's have less talking to the referees and more on-field guidance for our rookies.

Also, at the risk of re-hashing an old argument, I just can't understand people who blame anyone but Inu for Inu's departure. It's called personal responsibility people - if you have a bad day on the job would it be everyone else's fault and never yours??

 

[Fast Eddie]

Tell me this then, one bad day on the job saw him gone from the club. Multiple other players have had a ton of bad days on the job this season, not much personal responsbility from there.

And how do you know that Mannering isn't talking to his players enough? Especially compared to other leaders? The only way you could even slightly judge that is if you went to every teams games in person and specifically only watched what the captains do the whole game.

 

[LeagueNut]

You really think he was sacked after one bad day??? How long had there been Inu discussions going on in this forum alone? It wasn't a new issue, it was a long-standing issue that came to a head.

IMO the on-field captains need to vary their style based on the team they're leading. Younger teams need plenty of on-field guidance, reassurance, etc, not just a "do as I do" mentality. We've all seen images of Pricey and even Micheal Luck "motivating" the team behind the deal goal line but I can't remember a single instance of Mannering doing the same.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Well he played about 3 games this season for the Warriors, had a bad game against the Storm out of position and was never going to get another look in after that. Meanwhile other players have racked up bad game after bad game and still start every week. Inu has gone to be awesome for the Dogs, playing his normal way. They also let him go despite us having minimal decent outside back cover. If that is not bad coaching/management i don't know what is.

 

[Fast Eddie]

We've all seen images of Pricey and even Micheal Luck "motivating" the team behind the deal goal line but I can't remember a single instance of Mannering doing the same.

I can. Multiple times. And I don't even watch the games closely anymore.

 

[tangalife]

- Getting rid of Inu
- No Luck, and realising that Taylor is not a Luck replacement (at this stage)
- Players like Maloney, Brown, Mateo at times, Lillyman not as good as last year.
- Young side, we are relying way to much on rookies and 2nd years such as Hurrell to score all our tries, playing Henry in his first year out of position, Johnson to control everything, Taylor to be Michael Luck...

Also dissapointing: Fish, injuries to Locke and Ropo, defence, giving away leads.. could go on.

There are a few positivies, but CBF atm

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Mannering is doing too much of the wrong things IMO. Let's have less talking to the referees and more on-field guidance for our rookies.

Also, at the risk of re-hashing an old argument, I just can't understand people who blame anyone but Inu for Inu's departure. It's called personal responsibility people - if you have a bad day on the job would it be everyone else's fault and never yours??

I've never been an Inu fan. Wasted talent gives me the sh*ts - especially when my club takes that on for big $.

But people are blaming Inu's departure on the management in regards to the fact we are still paying his salary. While he plays, and betters the premiership credentials of, another club. The Dogs were desperate for outside backs so us and the Roosters just hand them Inu and Perrett?

It's clear why it's an issue. Look at how poorly Tupou and Omar are going. Look at the fact Lewis Brown has had to play centre.

 

[JoeD]

For the fans Bluey is a love him or hate him kind of guy. It seems like that goes for the players as well. Some of his decisions have been puzzling. It really started back in Rd1 by picking a rookie out of position and then persisting with him. Getting rid of Inu. Not talking with at least one first grader. Having players train and prepare all week in one position and then swapping things around hours before kickoff.

 

[hitman82]

-Letting Inu go to another club. Should have let the tosser rot in reserve grade, rather than allowing another team to benefit from his poor attitude at the Warriors.

-High expectations brought about by our "lucky" finals run last season, and ill-advised over-confident comments from Bluey in the pre-season.

-Lack of experience throughout the ENTIRE team. I'd love to see a rundown on average age of our roster (sans injured players) compared to others. This inexperience is what has cost us in the close games - and there have been many of those.

-Time taken for the team to adapt to Bluey, and Bluey to adapt to the NRL. In my opinion he has the game plans to beat the best teams in the NRL but our defensive structure lets us down, along with bad luck and individual failings from our players.

-Weak roster. This seems like a ridiculous thing to say, but looking at 2012 squad compared to 2011... we are seriously lacking depth (read: experience) all over the park. The only area we haven't struggled to cover is the halves, and that's purely down to Johnson and Maloney being tough merkins. When I look at our squad compared to other teams and play the "which player would I want" game, half the players I choose from our team are chosen on potential, not on current value.

-Rookie squad. This team will be destroying the NRL in a couple of seasons. In the meantime it's going to be tough. Even our more experienced players like Mannering, Package, Matulino, Vatuvei are all in their early-mid 20s.

-Injuries!!!!!!!! Having had Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Micheal Luck, Manu Vatuvei, Jacob Lillyman, Jerome Ropati, Glen Fisiiahi, Alehana Mara, Steve Rapira all out for extensive periods - including Ropati, Rapira, Luck effectively gone for the season - we were always going to struggle.

-Form. Maloney hasn't kicked on from last year. Johnson is still finding his place in the universe. Vatuvei, Rapira, Lillyman have struggled to regain form even when not injured. Hell even our rookies such as Omar have been playing coming back from major injuries, and it shows.

-Composure. I have no idea whether the cheap penalties, lazy dropped balls, poorly timed passes, bad split-second decisions are the fault of players, coaching, conditioning, inexperience, attitude, or what. But we SERIOUSLY lack composure and this shows in close games, and in games when we get ahead then slacken off, our lack of ability to adjust to a change in the other team's tactics... and so on.

...despite this, we are only a few close losses out of the top 4. Which f**king sucks! But we HAVE the ability in our team, we just aren't applying it this season.

 

[Brando]

Have the Bulldogs lost a game since Inu joined their ranks?
Are they top of the table now, whilst we pay half his salary?

 

[Rich102]

For the fans Bluey is a love him or hate him kind of guy. It seems like that goes for the players as well. Some of his decisions have been puzzling. It really started back in Rd1 by picking a rookie out of position and then persisting with him. Getting rid of Inu. Not talking with at least one first grader. Having players train and prepare all week in one position and then swapping things around hours before kickoff.

As a matter of interest... is that player still in the team?