Over the course of the pre-season bulldogs.com.au will analyse each position in the Bulldogs Top 30 squad, along with the options Dean Pay has in 2020.
The four players Pay has available to wear the six and seven jerseys are Lachlan Lewis, Jack Cogger, Kieran Foran and Brandon Wakeham.
Lewis made 15 appearances in the halves during the 2019 season. His outstanding kicking skills have seen him average close to 360 metres per match, alongside forcing 11 dropouts and he has complemented those skills with a great passing game and tough defence. With eight line-breaks, five try assists and a tackle efficiency of 85.5%, the 23-year old has emerged as a real find for the Bulldogs. He has played 24 games since making his debut in 2018 and is contracted to the club until the end of the 2021 season.
Cogger arrived at Belmore in 2019 from the Newcastle Knights having played 20 NRL matches. Jack made his club debut against the Melbourne Storm in round four and finished the season with 17 appearances, three tries, 11 forced dropouts, three try assists and an average of 255.7 kicking metres per game. The 23-year old spent nine games in the number six jersey and seven matches at number 7, which was the jersey made famous by Steve Mortimer.
Foran played in fourteen games in his second season at the club, 13 of those spent in the number six jersey. An experienced half with over 150 NRL games under his belt, Kieran is a player who has always taken the ball to the line with great skill and timing. An excellent short side player who last season scored three tries, created 10 try assists, forced six dropouts and ran an average of 72.5 running metres per game. The 29-year old was selected for New Zealand in the end of season Test matches, but, unfortunately, suffered a shoulder injury during the match against Great Britain that has required surgery. At this stage a timetable on his return is unknown.
Wakeham, a local junior from the Chester Hill Hornets club made his NRL debut in 2019 against the Cronulla Sharks. The talented half played three NRL games, including scoring a try against the Brisbane Broncos. The 20-year old also featured in all three of Fiji Bati’s Test matches this year and played a starring role in the halfback position. He scored a try, kicked eight goals and was named Man of the Match in the mid-season Test match win against Lebanon, kicked five goals and had two try assists in the 44-18 win over Samoa, as well as kicking three conversions in Fiji’s Oceania Cup victory over PNG in Christchurch. His performances across the representative scene saw him named as a contender for the Golden Boot award. He also featured in nine fixtures for the club’s Canterbury Cup side.
