SEN’s Greg Alexander believes the Bulldogs have more questions about their best 17 following their underwhelming loss to the Parramatta Eels in Round 1.
After a slew of off-season acquisitions including Stephen Crichton, Kurt Mann, Blake Taaffe and Drew Hutchison, the Bulldogs were comprehensively outplayed 26-8 by the Eels.
Alexander said it was clear that Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo was still unclear on which players made the best combinations.
“Toby Sexton has much more footy in him than Drew Hutchison,” Alexander said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“Matt Burton isn’t a five-eighth. He’s a much better centre. Do you then put Drew Hutchison in the halves with Toby Sexton?
“That means you’ll then have Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton on either side.
“I don’t think Blake Taaffe is the answer at fullback either.
“They’ll work out the combinations in the coming weeks but this is certainly not a settled team.”
Ciraldo raised eyebrows when he named Hutchison as the starting halfback despite signing Toby Sexton from the Gold Coast Titans last season as a mid-year recruit.
SEN’s Cameron Smith was adamant that Sexton had to play in the seven jersey in Round 2.
“Toby Sexton needs to come into the footy side,” Smith said on SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“At the end of the day, he needs to play in the position that’s best for the team and the Bulldogs need to put out their best 17.
“The next couple of weeks, Cameron Ciraldo will sit and watch and let the team settle into itself.
“However, Sexton will find his way into the footy side over the next fortnight.”
The Bulldogs face the Cronulla Sharks at PointsBet Stadium on Friday night.