Nice appraisal here of the Canterbury team, from Nick Tedeschi:
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Bulldogs Player Ratings 2021
As regular readers know, your author is a rusted on Canterbury fan, a heavy burden to carry in these times. Continuing on a semi-annual tradition, here is the assessment of every Canterbury player to turn out this season. All players are graded out of 10.
- Corey Allen (2): Represented Queensland last year. Heaven knows how based on this year.
- Jake Averillo (4): Classy runner doing his best being played out of position as an organising half.
- Bailey Biondi-Odo (5): Offered some spark since debuting. Loves a crash ball though.
- Dean Britt (1): One bench showing. Being unable to get a run this year says plenty.
- Nick Cotric (3): Rep three-quarter signed on big money and proved another bad value buy before being injured.
- Brad Deitz (4): Had an outstanding debut but given only limited opportunities since.
- Matt Doorey (5): Underrated player. Left out early. Runs hard. Far from the worst.
- Adam Elliot (4): Absolutely cannot fault his effort but his lack of football IQ is something to behold.
- Raymond Faitala-Mariner (4): Solid enough in two games before a serious injury. Hard to judge.
- Kyle Flanagan (1): Hailed as a coup by the Bulldogs. They’ve been trying to move him on since before mid-year. Horrid. Has he run the ball yet?
- Jack Hetherington (4): Spent a significant part of the season suspended as he is a complete nutjob but at least he competes and plays hard.
- Will Hopoate (5): Nothing but a defensive centre these days and will not be missed when he goes to St Helens but has hardly been the biggest problem.
- Corey Horsburgh (6): Loan player who has added some punch in his two appearances.
- Josh Jackson (6): Just a plodding one-pacer now but never gives less than 100%.
- Ryan James (7): Played just two games as a loan player but adds some professionalism and go forward in the middle. Should be signed immediately by the Bulldogs.
- Sione Katoa (0): A complete liability who should never be near first grade again.
- Tui Katoa (3): Bad but not even close to the worst Katoa on the team.
- Lachlan Lewis (5): Not a particularly talented player but he has probably been the best half despite limited chances.
- Falakiko Manu (1): It says plenty about where the Bulldogs are at that he managed four first grade games.
- Jeremy Marshall-King (5): Honest player but really astonishing that he was re-signed for 2022 and beyond.
- Nick Meaney (6): Not the fastest or the biggest but has probably been Canterbury’s most consistent. Scored seven tries and saved a fair few to boot.
- Dylan Napa (3): Historically bad signing by the Bulldogs as a replacement for David Klemmer. No impact. No workrate.
- Ofahiki Ogden (2): Completely non-descript showing as a fringe bench forward.
- Jayden Okunbor (1): Slow with the turning circle of a drunk King Kong Bundy. It is hard to grasp how little understanding of the game he has.
- Chris Patolo (2): I doubt Trent Barrett could identify him in a lineup.
- Aaron Schoupp (7): Been a shining line in an impossible-to-watch backline. Fast. A good mover. Can defend and score. A rare discovery.
- Ava Seumanufagai (5): Solid enough contributor after returning from Super League.
- Chris Smith (2): Unclear how he is in the squad.
- Joe Stimson (1): His signing was utterly ridiculous at the time and playing just eight games from the bench this year says it all.
- Luke Thompson (8): Canterbury’s best this year, no risk at all. Hard-nosed with some skill. Given his all.
- Jackson Topine (5): A complete disgrace how little opportunity he has been given. One of the few prospects coming through.
- Corey Waddell (-2): An indictment on Trent Barrett and maybe the worst player to ever pull on a Bulldogs jersey. No redeeming features. Lacks talent, intelligence and commitment.
- Brandon Wakeham (3): Being the fourth or fifth-choice half in this team is not a great spot.
- Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (2): Arguably the best day of 2021 for the Bulldogs was the day he was shunted to the Warriors.