Bateman

[Stewbojevic]

He mostly played as an edge backrower when he was coming through the Bulldogs pathway system. I feel that the Bulldogs tried to reimagine him as a middle due to their shortage of effective middles st the time, and may well have set him back in his development as an NRL player by doing so. I dont believe that Seibold will make the same mistake.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1110660149339688

CHRIS PATOLO
Patolo, a local junior from the Bankstown Sports club is a talented edge back rower or middle forward. He has been a member of the club’s Harold Matthews and SG Ball sides, as well as representing the NSWCCC side in 2018. Patolo is a graduate of the club’s High-Performance Youth Program and will be a first year Jersey Flegg player in 2021.

Official - Bulldogs 2021 Development Squad

Bulldogs 2021 Development squad bulldogs.com.au - Thu 12 Nov 2020, 02:38 PM The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are pleased to announce Matt Doorey, Paul Karaitiana, Jackson Topine, Kurt Picken and Chris Patolo as the club's development players for the 2021 season. Every club is allowed up to...

thedogsquad.co

Chris Patolo​

A local junior from Bankstown Sports, Patolo can play either on the edge or in the middle, and has moved into the Jersey Flegg side this season and also made his NSW Cup debut.
The forward came through both the Harold Matthews and SG Ball system with Canterbury, and is a player with enormous potential.

Analysing every NRL club's development list and their chances of playing first grade | Sporting News Australia

With round 11 upon us, NRL clubs are now allowed to pick from their development squad for first grade fixtures without having to ask for an exemption.

www.sportingnews.com

I would only play Tevaga as the starting hooker for 20 minutes, and then bring Simpkin on for the next 60 minutes. Tevaga is a good defender in the middle, and would give Simpkin an opportunity to come in and control the ruck after the defensive intensity in the middle has dropped off somewhat. Tevaga would then join the bench rotation due to his utility value. (Covers all positions in the forwards)

Interesting, I dug up that video myself after asking the question.

He always had big wraps on him in the juniors, would be great to see him have a breakout year

 

[Stewbojevic]

If that's the case, we need to hope and pray the rest of league and teams don't improve, because staying the same means regression otherwise.

Our defensive systems and the way we play as a team don’t rely on who is in the squad. If they improve then we will improve as a team. And I believe having a steady squad actually fosters better defensive cohesion but it can take years to improve, not just an offseason.

I’m also hopeful to see some people perform better than we expect. Nathan Brown was better than anyone expected this year and Lehi came from the clouds to be a genuine first grader and potential superstar.

If someone from the extended squad has a similar trajectory to Lehi it could fill a void we are looking to.

 

[Dion Johnson]

If that's the case, we need to hope and pray the rest of league and teams don't improve, because staying the same means regression otherwise.

Hard not to agree with the recruitment being behind other teams that were in the top 4, Sharks and Storm have improved their squad with a big name forward.

Recruiting got off to a flyer in getting Onitoni Large and its has nosed dived at a rapid rate with other steady signings.

The cap must be near red lining with no significant signing, the players reported to be on below dollars.

Turbo reported to be on 1.2M, fair enough best player.

Jake reported to be on 950K, have two more seasons of this contract to run.

Guaca reported to be on 900K, best forward at the club but need more out of him.

DCE reported to be on 800K, he has copped the hair cut and is still playing up to that figure.

Brooks reported to be on 700K, need him to be more consistent.

Garrick reported to be on 650K, below par in 2024 and is on big dollars for a winger.

Alioia reported to be on 650K, hard to fathom how he got extended.

Koula reported to be on 600K, needs some quality ball to shine.

Tent reported to be on 600K, fair enough for me, best prop at the club.

7 million taken up by nine players is a considerable whack of the cap, that leaves 4.4 million for the remaining 21 players, noting that Hoppa and Talau had great success in 2024 and should be rewarded, particularly Hoppa he is a generational player for the club.

If the above is close to the truth of what has been reported Mestrov needs too make a few hard calls.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Ideally we will get another signing but if not I think we have to pin our hopes on that left edge of Burbo continuing to Improve or Patolo or Navale (who Ive seen as a middle but seem to play so edge late season) really breaking out.

Seems a dicey strategy

I think Ben T will improve, though for me he is good for 60 minutes based on 2024, that first 20 minutes of a game took it out of him and he didn’t look ready to be a first grade backrower playing 20 odd games a season.

Will get the best out of him bringing him off the pine and that’s what was probably in the heads of the coaches until Schuster went off tangent.

 

[eaglebuzz]

Hard not to agree with the recruitment being behind other teams that were in the top 4, Sharks and Storm have improved their squad with a big name forward.

Recruiting got off to a flyer in getting Onitoni Large and its has nosed dived at a rapid rate with other steady signings.

The cap must be near red lining with no significant signing, the players reported to be on below dollars.

Turbo reported to be on 1.2M, fair enough best player.

Jake reported to be on 950K, have two more seasons of this contract to run.

Guaca reported to be on 900K, best forward at the club but need more out of him.

DCE reported to be on 800K, he has copped the hair cut and is still playing up to that figure.

Brooks reported to be on 700K, need him to be more consistent.

Garrick reported to be on 650K, below par in 2024 and is on big dollars for a winger.

Alioia reported to be on 650K, hard to fathom how he got extended.

Koula reported to be on 600K, needs some quality ball to shine.

Tent reported to be on 600K, fair enough for me, best prop at the club.

7 million taken up by nine players is a considerable whack of the cap, that leaves 4.4 million for the remaining 21 players, noting that Hoppa and Talau had great success in 2024 and should be rewarded, particularly Hoppa he is a generational player for the club.

If the above is close to the truth of what has been reported Mestrov needs too make a few hard calls.

I doubt those figures for the top 9 are fully accurate, there is a long serving player allowance and also TPA's that would muddy those waters some.

But yes, the contracts we have for Jake and DCE are making it very hard to manage the cap. Jake especially because we are not getting $900k worth of bang for our buck.

 

[Dion Johnson]

I doubt those figures for the top 9 are fully accurate, there is a long serving player allowance and also TPA's that would muddy those waters some.

But yes, the contracts we have for Jake and DCE are making it very hard to manage the cap. Jake especially because we are not getting $900k worth of bang for our buck.

Yes I don’t think they would be accurate, though maybe not far off, no room in the cap to sign a significant player for 2025.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Scraped into 7th, after coming 12th & 11th the years before.

Guess we are going to need marked improvements from....honestly, I don't even know anymore....to lift us into competing with the top 4 (or contending for a title).


Anyways, apparently I'm Mr negativity, it's all roses, and we are just magically going to improve. Sadly, I have VERY little hope.

It doesn’t take a lot of improvement to not give up the big leads against Canberra, Parramatta, Dolphins and Warriors, and the ‘scraped’ into 7th , turns into 3rd with those 7 points

 

[jbb/james]

It doesn’t take a lot of improvement to not give up the big leads against Canberra, Parramatta, Dolphins and Warriors, and the ‘scraped’ into 7th , turns into 3rd with those 7 points

Not if you only talk point differential. And ignore the fact that top teams have a different mentality and find ways ti overcome those stumbling blocks. Winning a comp is a seasons work, not cherry picking games and hope to get a run on in August.

In that aspect we are not a few 20 minute fade outs away. Its how we chase that lead and stall when the possesion turns. Still flat trackers

 

[Phobia]

Hard not to agree with the recruitment being behind other teams that were in the top 4, Sharks and Storm have improved their squad with a big name forward.

Recruiting got off to a flyer in getting Onitoni Large and its has nosed dived at a rapid rate with other steady signings.

The cap must be near red lining with no significant signing, the players reported to be on below dollars.

Turbo reported to be on 1.2M, fair enough best player.

Jake reported to be on 950K, have two more seasons of this contract to run.

Guaca reported to be on 900K, best forward at the club but need more out of him.

DCE reported to be on 800K, he has copped the hair cut and is still playing up to that figure.

Brooks reported to be on 700K, need him to be more consistent.

Garrick reported to be on 650K, below par in 2024 and is on big dollars for a winger.

Alioia reported to be on 650K, hard to fathom how he got extended.

Koula reported to be on 600K, needs some quality ball to shine.

Tent reported to be on 600K, fair enough for me, best prop at the club.

7 million taken up by nine players is a considerable whack of the cap, that leaves 4.4 million for the remaining 21 players, noting that Hoppa and Talau had great success in 2024 and should be rewarded, particularly Hoppa he is a generational player for the club.

If the above is close to the truth of what has been reported Mestrov needs too make a few hard calls.

Garrick, Koula and Tent are all on <600K. I have no idea where you got those figures from. It's not as dire as you say. Jake's contract is the only one that's truly holding us back.

 

[Tragic Eagle]

Our recruitment thus far for 2025 has been underwhelming and our decisions in respect of retention were questionable to say the least.. Our cap management is poor. These need to be the focus for Mr. Penn if he wants a premiership winning team.

 

[master blaster]

Our recruitment thus far for 2025 has been underwhelming and our decisions in respect of retention were questionable to say the least.. Our cap management is poor. These need to be the focus for Mr. Penn if he wants a premiership winning team.

It seems a bit strange that we have pulled out of the Bateman move, being that his manager is Moses. You think that he would be doing his best to get him there

 

[Disco]

I wouldn't completely rule out Bateman yet, fancy it could just be a bit of gamesmanship.

Though that is based on nothing but vibe.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Not if you only talk point differential. And ignore the fact that top teams have a different mentality and find ways ti overcome those stumbling blocks. Winning a comp is a seasons work, not cherry picking games and hope to get a run on in August.

In that aspect we are not a few 20 minute fade outs away. Its how we chase that lead and stall when the possesion turns. Still flat trackers

It’s not cherry picking games, it’s showing the fine margins between “we are top 4, we are awesome” and “we only just got in, we are ****” and there seems to be no middle ground with people. It’s a very even competition with some variables that can see jumps up and down the ladder, Bronocs and Warriors good examples last year.

Wasn’t too flat a track in that finals game against the Dogs …

Next year, I won’t be surprised if we are 4th, and I won’t be surprised if we are 12th, and can run that assessment over probably 10-12 teams

 

[jbb/james]

It’s not cherry picking games, it’s showing the fine margins between “we are top 4, we are awesome” and “we only just got in, we are ****” and there seems to be no middle ground with people. It’s a very even competition with some variables that can see jumps up and down the ladder, Bronocs and Warriors good examples last year.

Wasn’t too flat a track in that finals game against the Dogs …

Next year, I won’t be surprised if we are 4th, and I won’t be surprised if we are 12th, and can run that assessment over probably 10-12 teams

I thinks its a way of trying to minimise the reality. The team folded because its lazy and has an attitude issue. Its just not prepared to do the things it takes to be the next level.

I agree we could be 4th of 4th last, said it many times but i dont think there are as many clubs that swing with the breeze in the numbers you suggest.

Cherry picking, attitude its just a word

It was great winning against the dogs from a fans perspective as it extended manlys season for a week but to suggest much more, is akin to those who had us winning the comp in 22 after the tomathon . Our premiership cough cough window. Great for the young guys to gets 2 semis but the dogs were there to be shafted, and thats our specialty as flat trackers.

 

[jbb/james]

It seems a bit strange that we have pulled out of the Bateman move, being that his manager is Moses. You think that he would be doing his best to get him there

More about the reasoning suggests maybe a ploy. No spots for him then why were we in the hunt until recently. Did we have a release lined up with one of our own we were hoping to offlload and it fell through

 

[Eagle 1]

Brbo has a long way to go before he becomes a certainty for the 17! His versatility is nothing to write home about. Too slow for Center, not hard enough for back row & not the best defender. Maybe a little more speed training & bulk he can get better. Bateman offers way more to the team in my opinion. As much as I like the Trbojevic’s…Brbo & Jrbo are not match winners!

Agree, Burbo will be used as cover for Centre, 2nd row and bench. Just not good enough to command a starting spot, would love to see it, but really can't see it.

 

[Dion Johnson]

Garrick, Koula and Tent are all on <600K. I have no idea where you got those figures from. It's not as dire as you say. Jake's contract is the only one that's truly holding us back.

Reported doesn’t mean it’s factual, they could be on more or less.

The guidelines of salaries reported are based on innuendo, the Dave Riccio list, the buzz and Brent read list, SEN sport talk and Zero tackle, there is discrepancies between these reported salaries.

The take away point is the club couldn’t sign Bateman on a reduced salary unless they cut a player or two, the salary cap must be out of whack with recent player upgrades, otherwise they could have used the Schuster dollars on Bateman.

Look at the recent signings, there is no significant signing that improves the roster in 2025, Onitoni Large great signing but not in the 30 man squad, MCK handy player let go by Souths, SKO hasn’t played NRL for two years, Tevaga handy player let go by the Warriors and Patolo could be handy let go by the Dogs.

I didn’t say dire that is how you have perceived it to be.

 

[Phobia]

Reported doesn’t mean it’s factual, they could be on more or less.

The guidelines of salaries reported are based on innuendo, the Dave Riccio list, the buzz and Brent read list, SEN sport talk and Zero tackle, there is discrepancies between these reported salaries.

The take away point is the club couldn’t sign Bateman on a reduced salary unless they cut a player or two, the salary cap must be out of whack with recent player upgrades, otherwise they could have used the Schuster dollars on Bateman.

Look at the recent signings, there is no significant signing that improves the roster in 2025, Onitoni Large great signing but not in the 30 man squad, MCK handy player let go by Souths, SKO hasn’t played NRL for two years, Tevaga handy player let go by the Warriors and Patolo could be handy let go by the Dogs.

I didn’t say dire that is how you have perceived it to be.

Yeah, agreed with you on that. With regards to "dire", wasn't necessarily quoting you there, but the implication of Garrick being on $650k might actually bring some particular people on this forum to burn down Brooky.

 

[jbb/james]

Reported doesn’t mean it’s factual, they could be on more or less.

The guidelines of salaries reported are based on innuendo, the Dave Riccio list, the buzz and Brent read list, SEN sport talk and Zero tackle, there is discrepancies between these reported salaries.

The take away point is the club couldn’t sign Bateman on a reduced salary unless they cut a player or two, the salary cap must be out of whack with recent player upgrades, otherwise they could have used the Schuster dollars on Bateman.

Look at the recent signings, there is no significant signing that improves the roster in 2025, Onitoni Large great signing but not in the 30 man squad, MCK handy player let go by Souths, SKO hasn’t played NRL for two years, Tevaga handy player let go by the Warriors and Patolo could be handy let go by the Dogs.

I didn’t say dire that is how you have perceived it to be.

Dont they base they list of data provided by the NRL. I thought they got copies of each clubs cap but with No names attached just a numerical breakdown, then they put the names to it best they can

Managers work far more effectively if stories are leaked so i suggest it's a cosy relationship with much swapping of info

 

[Frogz]

Yeah, agreed with you on that. With regards to "dire", wasn't necessarily quoting you there, but the implication of Garrick being on $650k might actually bring some particular people on this forum to burn down Brooky.

I just bought a new pack of fire starters 😎 😎