With the likelihood that the Bulldogs will lose Ben Barba, the Bulldogs are reportedly trying to get Josh Dugan on their books for 2014.
The Sydney Daily Telegraph is reporting that the Bulldogs have shown interest in recruiting Dugan despite the fullback being in negotiations with the St George/Illawarra Dragons to extend his stay at the club.
The Bulldogs are also said to be chasing Parramatta Eels discard Reni Maitua.
Considering how many of the current Bulldogs squad is under contract with the club, it is a bit of a turbulent time at Belmore. With the Ben Barba saga dragging on, rumours that Frank Pritchard will be heading to Super League, as well as talk that the Warrington Wolves will make a huge play for James Graham, the curse of the Bulldogs seems like it is alive an well.
With that in mind I wonder why the Bulldogs would be after Dugan and Maitau.
While there is no doubting Dugan’s talent, his injury record and off field issues are enough for me to think that any team chasing his signature is crazy!
Josh Dugan is reliably unreliable.
Even as recently as this week he was attacking the Canberra Raiders for the way they treated him. As though he was not completely responsible for his sacking from the club.
This is a player that has not learned a lesson. The clock is ticking on him getting in trouble again. With all of the quality fullbacks in the game and the ability of players to step into the position and play really well, I don’t think any team needs to waste their time on Josh Dugan.
As for Reni Maitua, this is a player that the Parramatta Eels don’t even think is good enough to remain a their club. He is an older forward who I think has been over rated by people since his return from a suspension for drug use.
With all of the great forwards at the Bulldogs, why would the club want to burn any money on a player that simply isn’t going to add anything to the side? Signing Maitua would be a set backward in my opinion. I think the better option would be for the club to put more faith in some of their juniors, some of whom have shown a lot of promise this season.
The Bulldogs are really close to being a top side in the NRL. They were Grand Finalists last season, and while they have taken a step backwards this year, they should still be there or there about if they can make the finals again this season.
While they are almost certain to lose Ben Barba, they are still a very dangerous team that players will want to go and play for because they are so close to being one of the Premiership favourites.
I don’t think the Bulldogs should be looking to settle for old players or players with potential off field issues. They should be looking to bring players to the club that they know are reliable and who will hopefully end their run of losing key players to other clubs.
The Bulldogs don’t need Dugan or Maitua. There are better players out there the club should be targeting.
Josh Dugan denied that any approach was made to him from the Bulldogs. If anything the Bulldogs are looking at Cummins who is a junior at the Dragons, and with Dugan in the way, is looking for another club to go to.
As for Matai, I have no problem with us grabbing him, though he would have to be happy to only play NSW Cup most of the year. He would be a good depth signing, and has changed his off field activities a lot since leaving the Bulldogs.