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Round 2: Dolphins vs Newcastle

Dolph said:
I rate Kurt D but I think you are right. Unless he can suddenly start playing well at hooker giving JMK a rest and injury cover for any backline player, he won't see out the season in first grade. Unless Hammer keeps stinking it up like he did last week and Woolf decides to move him to the centres.
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he wont be fullback if he does ( it be jake ) n max or jnr be there )
 
Dolph said:
I rate Kurt D but I think you are right. Unless he can suddenly start playing well at hooker giving JMK a rest and injury cover for any backline player, he won't see out the season in first grade. Unless Hammer keeps stinking it up like he did last week and Woolf decides to move him to the centres.
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Dangerous to rate Kurt Donoghue in here :)
 
257Matt said:
Dangerous to rate Kurt Donoghue in here :)
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stop saying you rate him, as if you did you be telling us why we should be , all you say is he played few positions seen no reasoning behind , it ie wha he shows in those roles
 
mr_c said:
there lies my issue if harrison cant n hes a qld jr who only plays hooker he wont plaths more of a hooker than him n hes shit at hooker
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Kurt D? I agree. He's a rubbish hooker. Plath is far better. But Plath isn't a good edge forward either. Woolf needs to stop screwing around with his strange selections. Fair enough for this week because Lemuelu and Finefuiaki are both out but the first 3 backrowers picked in no particular order should be Keeley, Lemuelu and Finefuiaki. Only if 2 of them are out should Plath be considered. Gilbert and Plath both need to be in the 17 but one has to start on the bench.
 
Dolph said:
Kurt D? I agree. He's a rubbish hooker. Plath is far better. But Plath isn't a good edge forward either. Woolf needs to stop screwing around with his strange selections. Fair enough for this week because Lemuelu and Finefuiaki are both out but the first 3 backrowers picked in no particular order should be Keeley, Lemuelu and Finefuiaki. Only if 2 of them are out should Plath be considered. Gilbert and Plath both need to be in the 17 but one has to start on the bench.
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Something to look at especially on Thursday is if JMK has to come off use Plath at 9 and Donoghue on the edge in attack. Bennett used Donoghue on the edge at times last year and Donoghue whether some like it or not will be in the 17 all season unless he's injured or suspended. The game has now changed with HIA's so clubs either naturally or artificially manufacturing utility players before they evolve into specialist position players. Daine Lawrie proved his value for Penrith the other week scoring two tries and playing 77 minutes.

Plath was the Dolphins best last week in a sub standard team performance and Woolf is trying to fit him onto the field for longer periods. Is it working?
 
257Matt said:
Something to look at especially on Thursday is if JMK has to come off use Plath at 9 and Donoghue on the edge in attack. Bennett used Donoghue on the edge at times last year and Donoghue whether some like it or not will be in the 17 all season unless he's injured or suspended. The game has now changed with HIA's so clubs either naturally or artificially manufacturing utility players before they evolve into specialist position players. Daine Lawrie proved his value for Penrith the other week scoring two tries and playing 77 minutes.

Plath was the Dolphins best last week in a sub standard team performance and Woolf is trying to fit him onto the field for longer periods. Is it working?
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lol daine you comparing him to kurt lol daine plays well in all roles ( kurt doesnt )


he cant even play well in halfs lol so not sure how you can say hes our utility when he plays nothin well
 
Denan Kemp on SEN today has called for Kurt Donoghue to be Dolphins full time 5/8

What do you all think?
 
257Matt said:
Denan Kemp on SEN today has called for Kurt Donoghue to be Dolphins full time 5/8

What do you all think?
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He can't fill in at hooker, Kodi can. So if he is close to as good as Kodi at 5/8, I think it's good. If he is close to as good as Kodi at 5/8. Jury is out on that.
 
Josh said:
He can't fill in at hooker, Kodi can. So if he is close to as good as Kodi at 5/8, I think it's good. If he is close to as good as Kodi at 5/8. Jury is out on that.
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5/8 is an issue at Dolphins and they went hard for Hunt, expressed some interest in Oloapu and tried to manufacture Averillo.

All clubs are worried by the HIA ruling out players at the drop of the hat in games and carry a 17th player that covers all sorts of outside backs and utility positions and use a 3 forward rotation. Most sides don't change their second rowers and if they rotate the dummy half it's tied in with a utility player or they get extra out of their lock or props.

Gone are the days of 4 specialist forwards on the bench and coaches who go down that path are failing to read the current game. HIA's and 6 agains have made the game so much faster. Melbourne, Penrith and Souths in 2020-21 adapted so much faster than every other club, Souths went on the decline post Bennett and every other club been playing catch up since the change to 6 again in 2020.

Players may start as utilities then eventually evolve into a one position player Cooper Cronk was a prime example of this.
 
The boys struggled against Newcastle last year in two matches that they were heavily favoured to win. The latter had a playoff spot as a reward. The Knights game plan consisted of field position in an attempt to negate the Dolphin's strike weapons. It worked perfectly which deeply frustrated the fanbase. Hard to gauge the two teams this early in the season. Most experts have stated that there won't be any post season play for either club this campaign. I'm hopeful of the Dolphins opening their account tonight.

Dolphins by 4
FTS- Tupou
MOTM- Katoa.
 
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Blockade said:
The boys struggled against Newcastle last year in two matches that they were heavily favoured to win. The latter had a playoff spot as a reward. The Knights game plan consisted of field position in an attempt to negate the Dolphin's strike weapons. It worked perfectly which deeply frustrated the fanbase. Hard to gauge the two teams this early in the season. Most experts have stated that there won't be any post season play for either club this season. I'm hopeful of the Dolphins opening their account tonight.

Dolphins by 4
FTS- Tupou
MOTM- Katoa.
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I think right at this moment Newcastle are in the 7-8 range. They tend to win games against teams below them on the ladder and they play a very simple brand of football that works against clubs who find ways to beat themselves.

The only club that flopped in round 1 I'm not prepared to write off are the Cowboys because they have too much talent and Payten is trying to send out a message no spot is comfortable in the side. Whether it works or not is another question.

Canberra was the most impressive of the teams outside of the Top 6 and they showed something different to their game from last year. This week they'll come back down to reality.

It's so clear after round 1 that there's a clear top 6 spots 7-8 are wide open and Dolphins need to beat teams in the 7-8 range and in the spoon range otherwise they'll be much closer to the spoon than the 8.

Many on here don't believe Plath is a second rower and there's too many question marks over positions and where players best fit into 17 for the Dolphins to be a serious contender for the 7-8 spots.

I expect Thompson, J Saifiti and Frizzell steam roll the Dolphins up the middle Thompson is now a premier forward.
 
257Matt said:
I think right at this moment Newcastle are in the 7-8 range. They tend to win games against teams below them on the ladder and they play a very simple brand of football that works against clubs who find ways to beat themselves.

The only club that flopped in round 1 I'm not prepared to write off are the Cowboys because they have too much talent and Payten is trying to send out a message no spot is comfortable in the side. Whether it works or not is another question.

Canberra was the most impressive of the teams outside of the Top 6 and they showed something different to their game from last year. This week they'll come back down to reality.

It's so clear after round 1 that there's a clear top 6 spots 7-8 are wide open and Dolphins need to beat teams in the 7-8 range and in the spoon range otherwise they'll be much closer to the spoon than the 8.

Many on here don't believe Plath is a second rower and there's too many question marks over positions and where players best fit into 17 for the Dolphins to be a serious contender for the 7-8 spots.

I expect Thompson, J Saifiti and Frizzell steam roll the Dolphins up the middle Thompson is now a premier forward.
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So....what's your numbers and player performances for tonight then? Most of the members on here make their three predictions and then we compare notes later on.
 
257Matt said:
I think right at this moment Newcastle are in the 7-8 range. They tend to win games against teams below them on the ladder and they play a very simple brand of football that works against clubs who find ways to beat themselves.

The only club that flopped in round 1 I'm not prepared to write off are the Cowboys because they have too much talent and Payten is trying to send out a message no spot is comfortable in the side. Whether it works or not is another question.

Canberra was the most impressive of the teams outside of the Top 6 and they showed something different to their game from last year. This week they'll come back down to reality.

It's so clear after round 1 that there's a clear top 6 spots 7-8 are wide open and Dolphins need to beat teams in the 7-8 range and in the spoon range otherwise they'll be much closer to the spoon than the 8.

Many on here don't believe Plath is a second rower and there's too many question marks over positions and where players best fit into 17 for the Dolphins to be a serious contender for the 7-8 spots.

I expect Thompson, J Saifiti and Frizzell steam roll the Dolphins up the middle Thompson is now a premier forward.
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What do you base Thompson been a premier forward on because he signed for penriths 2nd team, it’s been a couple of seasons since frizzle has steamrolled anyone.
 
Blockade said:
The boys struggled against Newcastle last year in two matches that they were heavily favoured to win. The latter had a playoff spot as a reward. The Knights game plan consisted of field position in an attempt to negate the Dolphin's strike weapons. It worked perfectly which deeply frustrated the fanbase. Hard to gauge the two teams this early in the season. Most experts have stated that there won't be any post season play for either club this campaign. I'm hopeful of the Dolphins opening their account tonight.

Dolphins by 4
FTS- Tupou
MOTM- Katoa.
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In the latter, Ponga dominated. One of the best games I've seen him play.
Dolphins by 10
MOM = Herbie
FTS = Isaako
 
257Matt said:
I think right at this moment Newcastle are in the 7-8 range. They tend to win games against teams below them on the ladder and they play a very simple brand of football that works against clubs who find ways to beat themselves.

The only club that flopped in round 1 I'm not prepared to write off are the Cowboys because they have too much talent and Payten is trying to send out a message no spot is comfortable in the side. Whether it works or not is another question.

Canberra was the most impressive of the teams outside of the Top 6 and they showed something different to their game from last year. This week they'll come back down to reality.

It's so clear after round 1 that there's a clear top 6 spots 7-8 are wide open and Dolphins need to beat teams in the 7-8 range and in the spoon range otherwise they'll be much closer to the spoon than the 8.

Many on here don't believe Plath is a second rower and there's too many question marks over positions and where players best fit into 17 for the Dolphins to be a serious contender for the 7-8 spots.

I expect Thompson, J Saifiti and Frizzell steam roll the Dolphins up the middle Thompson is now a premier forward.
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Frizzell is a edge forward. How do you think he's going to steamroll us up the middle?
 
  • Dolphins by 12
  • First try: Hammer
  • MoM: Gilbert
Hammer and Gilbert need to bounce back after poor games last week.
 
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