{"id":126474,"date":"2021-09-10T00:24:19","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T00:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=126474"},"modified":"2021-09-10T01:00:01","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T01:00:01","slug":"the-glaring-problem-with-gus-bulldogs-rebuild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=126474","title":{"rendered":"The glaring problem with Gus' Bulldogs rebuild"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bulldogs<\/a> finished 2021 with their tails well and truly between their legs, collecting the wooden spoon for the first time since 2008 and winning just three games.<\/p>\n

Yet the atmosphere at Belmore is one of immense optimism for next year – the only way to go is up and the club has already made some giant strides in that direction.<\/p>\n

They have signed six quality players<\/a> and if they all settle in and fire, the Bulldogs could challenge for a top-eight spot in 2022.<\/p>\n

Most of all, they have brought in one of the most respected minds in the NRL, Phil Gould<\/a>, to fix what has become a broken mess in recent years.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Michael Schumacher's wife breaks down discussing legend's near-fatal skiing accident<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Phil<\/p>\n

The one concern, however, remains the key halfback spot.<\/p>\n

The club signed classy half Matt Burton<\/a> from Penrith to play number six but who plays alongside him is the big question.<\/p>\n

The much-maligned Kyle Flanagan doesn't seem the answer – he was dropped three times during the season and Trent Barrett did the youngster's confidence no favours with the yo-yo selection policy.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Jake Averillo is the other alternative but he is still learning his craft in the challenging playmaking role.<\/p>\n

The key hooking position is another area of concern but if Jeremy Marshall-King can stay fit – he managed just nine games this year – he could be a stop-gap solution for a year or two.<\/p>\n

Off-field discipline has also been an issue in recent seasons<\/a> but Gould should ensure the Dogs keep their minds on football and stay out of trouble.<\/p>\n

\"Phil<\/p>\n

Best player:<\/strong> Luke Thompson led the way up front – yet the Bulldogs' salalry cap is such a mess for a while they were considering selling him off at one stage.<\/p>\n

Biggest disappointment:<\/strong> Nic Cotric – paying huge money for an outside back is always a big gamble and the former Raider had a disappointing season marred by injury – he bagged just three tries in 14 games.<\/p>\n

Key signing:<\/strong> If Burton can re-produce his Penrith form with a far weaker team around him, the Bulldogs are in for a fine season in 2022.<\/p>\n

Gains:<\/strong> Josh Addo-Carr (Storm), Matt Burton (Panthers), Matt Dufty (Dragons), Paul Vaughan (Dragons), Brent Naden (Panthers), Tevita Pangai Jnr (Broncos\/Panthers)<\/p>\n

Losses:<\/strong> Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Warriors), Nick Meaney (Storm), Will Hopoate (St Helens), Renouf Atoni (Roosters), Lachlan Lewis (released), Dean Britt (released), Sione Katoa (released), Dylan Napa (released), Chris Smith (released), Brad Deitz (released).<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bulldogs finished 2021 with their tails well and truly between their legs, collecting the wooden spoon for the first time since 2008 and winning […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126474"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126476,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126474\/revisions\/126476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}