Hopefully zero.

But I hope the ball spins frequently out of Kimmorley's hands and into Barba's.

there no point to it, doesnt reveal anything worthy.
Could be anything.

Its like asking, How many spins will the football spin when noddy passes the ball to holdsworth if he is 10 meters away?

Two things

1. Welcome to Owen, latest Bulldog fan who arrived 3.16pm Thursday. Look out for him in the squad in 19 years time. Mum, a Manly fan, already concedes defeat as we both know who he'll go to games with.

2. Menacer and Nathan B. Interested in RLWC games? I can get us into SFS and Parra games, working on the Newcastle (ENG vs NZ - game of the series IMO) and WIN games. Let me know via email (work email ok) ASAP. Nice comfy box seats so your whole family can be seated in comfort :)

Cheers,
JK

Yeah and we'll still win another comp before the dragons.

Eats you up, doesn't it??

Reni may have a good year in 2009 - albeit to secure another contract.

However he is not one of our workhorses and if he slips into his 'norm' of producing little, then next year will be the beginning of the end of his career. Pity really. He had a lot of potential but never really delivered on a consistent basis.

Good point...

what is wrong with it?

Well let's just say the Bulldogs couldn't be heading south. You can't get much lower than last.

Injuries 100% correct.

IMO with our fair share of luck with injuries we can finish bottom half of the top 8.

Speaking of Noddy, I saw him 2day @ a kids birthday party at Shelly Beach, Cronulla.

He is already a Bulldog as he wore a white tee with blue jeans, LOL

Who cares about mason & sbw
Theyre gone lets all build a bridge & get over it
No point bringing up the past, whats happened is history, lets look forward to the future & get behind the dogs & stop bringing up old Noad deabtes

Lets hope roberts,millard, holdsworth & te maari join reni out the door in 2009

Where we finish next year will be largely contingent on one thing. Injuries.

Have a look at all the top eight side this year. All , bar canberra, who I think will be the real dark horses next year,
had a very low injury rate.

Whenever this unique club of ours has gone out on a genuine spending spree we have rubber banded out of the doldrums in double quick time. Compare 82-83, 92-93, 2000-2001. All of those eras we spent up big, but wisely, and rose massively the following year. Karma, the universe, whatever meta physical belief sytem you have, it was on our side. Why not next year??.

There is no reason why it wont be.

Fark this "I'll be happy with 10th or 11th", horsehit.

This club goes in cycles. We are heading north, people. It will be quicker than some of you think.

Will the luck and good fortune that evaded us this year on so many levels turn around next year? It has previously in a big way. Why wouldn't it again???????

Mate the side will prove all their doubters wrong. 2009 will be the stepping stone for years to come. Its a fresh out look and it a exciting time. Enjoy it mate.. we've been here before & we'll no doubt get the job done again. But for starters we need a good off season, no dramas at all on and off the field. Get everyone fit and for god sake lets have an injury free season.

The Dogs may not be premiers in 2009 but I am willing to bet that they will upset a lot of the serious contenders

Totaly agree. His on field presence next season is a big key factor. Ricky Stuart and Bradley Clyde did the same when they played with us.

He also compared the signing of there BK (Ben Kennedy) to ours in Brett Kimmorley. Not necassarily just a player but a leader who will instill much needed professionalism within the club. He may not be here when we win our next comp but just as Kennedy has a big part to play in Manly's success so too hopefully will Kimmorley.

One of my closest mates is a Manly fan and I was talking to him today and he said he can't really believe where Manly are today compared to 4 years ago. They instituted a 5 year plan and in the fourth year they have won a premiership. I reckon if we are smart about what we are doing we can win it in 3 years. It will be a tough ask and some tough decisions will need to be made but I am very confident about were we are headed.

that doesnt mean anything..a lot of players with famous football fathers want to make it on their own and distance themselves from their fathers' role.

oh man, who came up with the silly latest Poll????????

Reveal yourself!!!!

Love my cricket, so I don't mind.

The only question is, where's training this pre season? I used to enjoy going down to Belmore and having a sticky beak.

hillarious.......http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=C0kGc6UEGVc

Yes, can it start next weekend please as I am not a cricket follower lol

Bring on 2009 is all I want to say.

I know what you mean I Understand that there are two others also but they are in certain poeples good books so you will not see them bagged on this page or any other site of the Dogs Supporters

Like I said Clem, it's MY UNDERSTANDING that there's two others ...
[edited]

Shush you are not suppose to mention the other LOL two

LOL yes I wonder

I agree 09 is the first step in a long journey to the Premeirship, Me I will be happy finishing 10th or even 12th I do not expect miracles in the first 2 or 3 years of the rebuilding, both on the feild and off the feild, been there seen it all before.

I understand there's actually 3 members, including Reni, left from the Bling parade ...

hmmm ... yes ... wonder how many people know about the incident after the Bronco's semi in '06?

There's some very romantic notions about what's gone on.

Getting the spoon probably more than anything will galvanise the club to realise that the incompetence and negligence of 2002, and the good and bad of 2004 are long in the past.

I'm with Joe, bring on 2009! I don't hold high hopes but it will be the first step back towards the long journey to the top.

Some poor choices were made. Our hands were tied though.

I agree with your last sentence. However whenever your bring up your POV I will be sure to bring up mine :)

i don't think that excuse can be taken seriously anymore.

you cant blame something that happened in 02 for the next 6 years.


I think it is quite obvious that we will never agree on this issue so there is no point going on any further

Why spoil a good story by telling all the facts, poeple are trying to rewrite the History of the Club , you know the old saying say something often enough and it becomes fact no matter how incorrect it is.

We got busted rorting the salary cap. lol what else do you want?

They cheated and the fans and players paid the price. Were you a supporter back then? do you know how it felt to be a Dogs supporter?

Players took paycuts to stay together and win a premiership. Those same players wanted that loyalty returned. We ended losing most our stars as a result of 02. Others simply stabbed us in the back.

They may be good business men and know how to run a football club - they are the perfect people to advise the current board. Lets hope it stays that way and they don't go anywhere near anything official :)

All stems from 02. The last 2 administrations have been failures though.

Arthur coorey and todd greenburg were part of the previous administration.

what's your point.

Todd and DR G often have lunch with members of the previous administration to seek advice on issues regarding the club, maybe they are not as bad as the newspapers would have you believe!!!

wouldn't hurt to listen to their another opinion instead of swallowing whatever you are told!!!!!

and thankfully so is the previous administration - the root of our recent issues. Wont hurt to listen to a different opinion instead of swallowing whatever you are told.

nah we already fixed the problem!!! Noad is gone.

but thanks for the offer

Spot on my friend. The talk of SBW, Mason etc etc is all dead water, bringing it up again has no value.

Bulldogs 2009.

Mortimer only asked for a release in 1987 He was coming off contract in 1986 when he received an offer from Manly. in saying that Mortimer had earned the nickname amongst players as "run to Moore" as stated in his book you fail to say that Mortimer also said that the only time he went to Moore was when he asked for a release. i also didnt read anywhere that he all but had the coach sacked. where do you get all this crap. i encourage everyone to get Mortimers book and read it for yourself. i got it off ebay for a dollar

Mason, Noad, Folkes etc - All have one thing in common?

No longer at the club & is the past

Get over it, lets move on & be enthusiastic about 09 & beyond.

Lets now control our future

Go Bulldogs 2009

PS - My little girl cant wait for Round 1 vs Manly

I wont shoot you down on that one, I want the same.

Reni was always going to leave, he is going to do it in a more honourable way though.

It is pretty simple and not to difficult to understand really.

I'll explain it to you one day if you like

Nice long post Matt but it is nothing more than agenda driven bull shite. Sure Turvey wanted to go and no doubt your great mate 'Punchy'preventesd him from going which was a great result for us as a club. I understand that Noad in your opinion failed to do the same with Mason but you are missing the point.

It isn't even close to a fair analagy. How many negative headlines had Turvey been involved in? How many drug tests did he fail? How many late night binge drinking episodes was Turbey involved in that were all in the papers? How many cabs did he run away from to avoid paying? How many sponsers events did he not show up too? How many times did he wear his own personal clothing sponsers gear instead of the clubs?

Did you ever actually think that the club wanted him to go? In 1986 we wanted to keep Turvey and we did just that. In 2007 we wanted to be rid of Mason and his ridiculous antics and behaviour and we did just that. There is major, major floor in your arguemnet Matt. No doubt Noad made many mistakes and his recruitment efforts were atrociuos but in this instance, in dealing with Mason he was 1000% right in every way imaginable.

When you compare Turvey to Mason in the same sentence that's blasphemy in my books. Because the one thing you leave out in your comparison is THE most important:

Turvey's attitude and influence at The Dogs and more importantly FOR The Dogs was positive from day one till today - with everything in between inc his flirtation with Manly taken into account.

Mason's attitude and influence at The Dogs and more importantly FOR The Dogs was poisonous from day one and it still stenches a year after his departure.

There be the difference, may be the ONLY difference - but it's THE difference that counts.

Please don't mention Turvey and Mason in any sort of comparison again.

I dont want Reni Maitua at our club but every time i say it, ive been shot down by other BDP posters about it.

Buster , we both agree that it is a waste him being here and that we could have so much more talent in his position which after 2009 we will have.

It wouldnt suprise me if he does play 2009 without being spectacular or if he doesnt play a game at all or even better his form is so bad he spends the year in NSW Cup.

I didn't mean to infer that you had an agenda but I can see how you came to that conclusion so I do apologise. I understand your disapointment in losing top line players but I honestly feel the club is much much stronger without Mason and SBW at the club. Their destabilising influence and lazy attitude would have continued to drag the club down.

FENDER.

Didn't you say something about the Dogs not being able to use AIS because it is tax funded or something along them lines?

The Sea Eagles players are tested using the sports science equipment every six to 12 weeks, allowing the club to work out the lung capacity, leg speed and leg-power ratio for each player.

Essentially, the club can tune to the minute how long each player is capable of running at optimum fitness levels, hence time to the second when they are fatiguing and should be replaced during a match.

There's no question this is a competitive advantage but hardly the secret calves' blood or Lact-away Manly's physiologist Steve Dank is said to have the Sea Eagles using.

Hasler has done a great job developing Manly into the club it is today. His attention to detail is a hallmark. But trying to stop the media from doing a tour of a tax-payer funded, NSW government-owned facility - which numerous other athletes have access to - seems a little over the top.
-------------------------------------------------------

This sort of stuff is to be expected from our club, although I cant be sure Id assume Folkes wouldn't go to this much detail in his approach to training the squad

I wonder how how far Moore will go in his approach to training and
attention to detail when dealing with the teams fitness and physical preparation.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24481401-5006066,00.html

THE unassuming demountable office seems to understate the nerve-centre of the Manly Sea Eagles HQ at Narrabeen.

Put it on crumbling blocks on any building site in Sydney and you've got a makeshift office.

But the unmistakable insignia on the side of this modest, temporary dwelling gives away its purpose at the Sydney Academy of Sport - the home of the 2008 premiers.

This is coach Des Hasler's 'under the radar' base, a picturesque complex amid bushland surrounding Narrabeen Lake, 8km north of Manly's spiritual home Brookvale Oval.

As The Sunday Telegraph discovered on Thursday, it's a compound Hasler doesn't want anyone prying around without warning.

Just 86 hours after the Sea Eagles had been crowned premiers at ANZ Stadium, we organised a tour through the Academy of Sport.
Related Links

The brief was simple enough. Go inside the NSW government-owned, tax payer-funded northern beaches complex where Manly have metamorphosed from finishing 13th (2004), to eighth (2005), to sixth (2006) to second (2007) to NRL champions. Explore the facilities. Write a story.

Everything was progressing smoothly as two staff from the academy walked us around the gymnasium, the sports science room, the ovals and then the outdoor ropes circuit - until we stopped by the Sea Eagles offices to say hello to Hasler.

Not happy. After we offered a congratulatory handshake and introduced our photographer, Hasler demanded to know why he hadn't been told we were coming.

"Where have you been?'' Hasler asked. We reasoned we had arranged the visit through the Academy of Sport - who manage the facility - but Hasler wanted no truck with it.

What seemed to be causing the premiership-winning coach most angst was the fact we had been escorted through the sports science room - supposedly a deeply-guarded Sea Eagles secret.

To be frank, it was underwhelming. It looked more like a bunch of old-school props out of a 1970s James Bond flick than the latest cutting-edge technology.

We were greeted by Academy of Sport analyst Phil Riddington, who proceeded to explain the surrounding equipment.

To the naked eye, it appeared like any other gymnasium.

A rowing ergometer, a treadmill that has clocked more than 100,000km and a stationary bicycle _ and what looked like an old deep freezer with some oversized red, green and yellow buttons on the top of it.

This is where things got interesting. There were three gas cylinders and an oxygen mask, and a computer you could hook up to the treadmill, which then measures the VO2 max or lung capacity of an athlete.

Riddington proceeded to tell us a variety of stories about all sorts of elite athletes the academy has done testing on.

The Australian 2004 women's eight rowing team from Athens would train in 28C heat surrounded by rubbish bins in every corner so they could strategically vomit, then get back on the machines.

Skiers and cyclists would push themselves to the point of collapse, when the academy staff would have to intervene and press an emergency button to stop the treadmill.

The athletes would often just fall off the side of the machine and collapse, Riddington said.
Some Manly players had pushed themselves to this sort of limit.

The Sea Eagles players are tested using the sports science equipment every six to 12 weeks, allowing the club to work out the lung capacity, leg speed and leg-power ratio for each player.

Essentially, the club can tune to the minute how long each player is capable of running at optimum fitness levels, hence time to the second when they are fatiguing and should be replaced during a match.

There's no question this is a competitive advantage but hardly the secret calves' blood or Lact-away Manly's physiologist Steve Dank is said to have the Sea Eagles using.

Hasler has done a great job developing Manly into the club it is today. His attention to detail is a hallmark. But trying to stop the media from doing a tour of a tax-payer funded, NSW government-owned facility - which numerous other athletes have access to - seems a little over the top.

Buster - You going to Controversy Corner tonight? You will be staggered to hear what happened in St Marys yesterday. This is going to explode and it's only the beginning.

He was not sacked. He asked for a release, and had it granted.

sounds like a great follow up, why don't you post it at the end of the raggy article.

I Don't know why you bother reading this shit, it does nothing more than rile up the emotions.

the problem is we let them get away with too much - that is a lesson for our club to learn - i feel we will be alot harder in future -

maitua is just wasting his time and ours - it would be better if he was released now and we can use the money elsewhere - unfortunately a talent that will never reach his potential....

i just read it - i would have more respect for the writer if she had come out said what she really wanted to say - some people are just born with racism etched into their brains - i saw all the celebrations in 2004 - i didn't see any bonfires - i saw firecrackers going off - i actually didn't see any riots -
was there any riots ????? - there was drunks around -

maybe J.Alice Hofler from Dee Why should take a stroll after mid-night on the Corso - i think she will be very surprised and another thing J.Alice Hofler from Dee Why - that silver spoon you refer to - SHOVE UP YOUR YOU KNOW WHAT !!!

Can't agree with you there MoH.

If this kid has any self-pride he would be more inclined to play elsewhere (from where his father is employed) so that there are no issues of nepotism.

Also, as an individual I'm sure he wants to see how far he can go in the game.

Mason could have been one of the greats but for the flaws in his character.

Essentially, laziness and selfishiness has ruined his chances of being first class. I think in the future Mason may look back at his career with regret that he never really fulfilled his potential as a player and a man.
And as for talk about him being a "leader" -look where he led people like Matua and Tonga. The culture of a club is perhaps the most important thing and Mason was undermining all the best qualities of the Bulldogs. The bloke is a mile wide and a quarter of an inch deep.

As they say - "Talent will get you to the top, but it's character that will keep you there"

It will be interesting to see where Mason goes with his career from here but I suspect it is all downhill.

All this talk about Mason and SBW is dead water. We should move on people.

Frankly i have said numerous times over the year that Reni Maitua will not be here after 2009 and if he during the offseason makes more issues expect him to be gone before a football is kicked.

He is the last of the bling group and is not wanted by this great club.

Ennis, Noddy, Morris, Hannant and other future signings shows a change of the culture and a positive step.

have you also bought the Telegraph today? Have a read in the letters to the editor section there is a massive dig by a Manly supporter against us Dogs supporters and the way we supposedly behaved after our grand final victory..some people are just delusional

i skipped through a couple of posts and I'll throw my two cents in.

1-Malcolm Noad letting Mason go was a good thing IMO. Mason was a butter fingers, lazy so and so. The club knew they were in a rebuilding stage and what better position to be in then one where we are cashed up to the teeth! With Mason still in the team i doubt we would have signed half the players we did. Noad never planned on us going anywhere this year that's why Mason (and sherwin) was gone. I am glad we signed who we signed and we have the biggest war chest in the comp to sign a lot more.
2-Folks has hinted at SBW and a couple of others being responsible for why the club let Mason go. Those with a good memory will know this. Apparently they approached the board and were not happy with Mason's attitude and his constant disregard for club events/sponsors (do people remember the issues he created for us(and nike) when he constantly wore his champion clothing? And the was only if he showed up in the first place)
3-I don't know how many Roosters interviews you guys saw this year but every time they spoke about Mason not being in the team they always said 'His PRESENCE on the field will be missed' They NEVER spoke about work rate, or defence, or attack, but his 'Presence'. Even the roosters are realising that mason is more of a name then a man. I bet my life that if you ask the raiders about Allan Tongue, or the Eels about Nathan Hindmarsh, or the Panthers about Petro, they will all talk about Work Rate/Defence/Attack/Attitude (all the good stuff) not just presence. And Mason was definatly meant to be as good (if not better) then these players.
4-I agree with Anna, as a Bulldogs supporter i got sick and tired of coming up with excuses for something that Mason had done. For every step forward he was sending us too steps back.

Let him drink his **** lattes and eat his scones, we need players who are committed to football and to this club, players who foster respect and hard work, not players who want flashy cars and french sticks.
And don't get me started on SBW.

Now I'm off to the pub, it too good of a day to spend indoors. :)

All three were offered one year deals. Gone are the days middle of the road players get two year deals. We need to be in a strong position cap wise to have a shot at the big names.