It goes without saying that the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs are a team in crisis. Over the past weeks they have been the ire of criticism due to their underachieving results which have poorly reflected on the team and the coach in particular.
Many would argue that the first to be lined up at the Belmore shooting range is Kevin Moore. On the heels of a disastrous 2008 season, Kevin Moore steered the Bulldogs to one game away from the Grand Final and enjoyed the fruits of a successful 2009 season. However, the blockbuster game between the Eels and Bulldogs in front of 75000 at ANZ Stadium began to show cracks which would eventuate into the 2010 season.
In 2010 as a Bulldogs member, I along with many others, whether it be in the members stand or even at home watching the game, sat through 26 rounds of cringe-worthy footy. At times, the Bulldogs showed glimmers of hope only to trample our happiness with lacklustre footy material as the inside ball reared its ugly head many a times throughout the game. It was a season which many, including myself, choose not to remember.
Fast forward to 2011 and the Dogs along with their supporters enjoyed three straight wins however soon faced a predicament as the engine room couldn’t match it with the teams sitting above us in the form of Melbourne and St George. Personally, I thought the team was starting to gel and would eventually click to soon become top four material. The cracks soon began to show after the team travelled to Canberra Stadium and couldn’t execute a win against a team who were clearly lacking in form. Our halves were nowhere to be seen and had it not been for the livewire known as Ben Barba then we’d probably have been left at zero for the entirety of the game.
Soon after, the team lacked any go forward against the Sharks and in one of the most humiliating games of the season, the team fell apart against the Manly Sea Eagles. If I could just touch on that game for a second and as I was sitting in the stands I couldn’t help but wonder what game plan this team had because the Sea Eagles were all over them and they looked like a team of scrambled eggs. Perhaps some may not share the same argument as me but I have always believed the Dogs play better under an expansive style of footy compared to a one out style.
The axe had to be wielded. Bulldogs supporters across the state and perhaps the country voiced their anger at a team which seemingly had it all but produced nothing. Some were calling for the axing of some players while others pointed the finger at Kevin Moore. I write this blog not to be critical of a team which I passionately support but as a supporter to voice my concern at the state of our team.
The media always likes to pry on such cases of turmoil and as my intro paragraph stated the Dogs are in turmoil. It has gotten to the stage where the Board of Directors have provided our coach with an ultimatum…beat the Melbourne Storm or you’re gone. It’s easy to point the finger and victimise somebody however a coach can only do so much. It does come down to a team effort and the Dogs need to show that they are long from gone and Kevin Moore needs to prove that not only to him but to the thousands of loyal Dogs supporters everywhere.
Canterbury needs to be careful because although as a club they may enjoy a large membership base and produce great revenue from merchandising, the performance of one club can easily take away these fruits.
In closing, it’ll be interesting to see what the team does this weekend against the Melbourne Storm. Could the team turn its fortunes around against a side which in my opinion will be there on the first Sunday of October or will we be reading about the exit of Kevin Moore from the Bulldogs?
All in all, this is a big week for everybody involved with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
By Moodey
Many would argue that the first to be lined up at the Belmore shooting range is Kevin Moore. On the heels of a disastrous 2008 season, Kevin Moore steered the Bulldogs to one game away from the Grand Final and enjoyed the fruits of a successful 2009 season. However, the blockbuster game between the Eels and Bulldogs in front of 75000 at ANZ Stadium began to show cracks which would eventuate into the 2010 season.
In 2010 as a Bulldogs member, I along with many others, whether it be in the members stand or even at home watching the game, sat through 26 rounds of cringe-worthy footy. At times, the Bulldogs showed glimmers of hope only to trample our happiness with lacklustre footy material as the inside ball reared its ugly head many a times throughout the game. It was a season which many, including myself, choose not to remember.
Fast forward to 2011 and the Dogs along with their supporters enjoyed three straight wins however soon faced a predicament as the engine room couldn’t match it with the teams sitting above us in the form of Melbourne and St George. Personally, I thought the team was starting to gel and would eventually click to soon become top four material. The cracks soon began to show after the team travelled to Canberra Stadium and couldn’t execute a win against a team who were clearly lacking in form. Our halves were nowhere to be seen and had it not been for the livewire known as Ben Barba then we’d probably have been left at zero for the entirety of the game.
Soon after, the team lacked any go forward against the Sharks and in one of the most humiliating games of the season, the team fell apart against the Manly Sea Eagles. If I could just touch on that game for a second and as I was sitting in the stands I couldn’t help but wonder what game plan this team had because the Sea Eagles were all over them and they looked like a team of scrambled eggs. Perhaps some may not share the same argument as me but I have always believed the Dogs play better under an expansive style of footy compared to a one out style.
The axe had to be wielded. Bulldogs supporters across the state and perhaps the country voiced their anger at a team which seemingly had it all but produced nothing. Some were calling for the axing of some players while others pointed the finger at Kevin Moore. I write this blog not to be critical of a team which I passionately support but as a supporter to voice my concern at the state of our team.
The media always likes to pry on such cases of turmoil and as my intro paragraph stated the Dogs are in turmoil. It has gotten to the stage where the Board of Directors have provided our coach with an ultimatum…beat the Melbourne Storm or you’re gone. It’s easy to point the finger and victimise somebody however a coach can only do so much. It does come down to a team effort and the Dogs need to show that they are long from gone and Kevin Moore needs to prove that not only to him but to the thousands of loyal Dogs supporters everywhere.
Canterbury needs to be careful because although as a club they may enjoy a large membership base and produce great revenue from merchandising, the performance of one club can easily take away these fruits.
In closing, it’ll be interesting to see what the team does this weekend against the Melbourne Storm. Could the team turn its fortunes around against a side which in my opinion will be there on the first Sunday of October or will we be reading about the exit of Kevin Moore from the Bulldogs?
All in all, this is a big week for everybody involved with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
By Moodey
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