Aaron Woods excited about fresh start at Canterbury Bulldogs
AARON Woods has only been at Belmore for three days, but the former Tigers skipper has officially moved on from his seven-year tenure at the joint-venture club.
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WHATEVER you do, don’t mention the Wests Tigers.
Aaron Woods has only been at Belmore for three days, but the former Tigers skipper has officially moved on from his seven-year tenure at the joint-venture club.
Woods may have been raised above a newsagent on Norton St and dons a tattoo of Leichhardt’s postcode on his arse, but he is fully focused on his future in the blue and white.
Asked what was appealing about the Bulldogs, he replied: “I don’t know — it was just one of the clubs that came and approached.
“And I had a bit of time at the Tigers, but I don’t really want to talk about the Tigers. I’ve moved to another club, so that’s all I want to talk about.”
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Woods, though, was more than happy to chat about his fresh start at Canterbury alongside best mate David Klemmer.
He expressed his excitement to play under new coach Dean Pay — the former Dogs prop turned man mentor.
Pay has vowed to bring back the Bulldogs’ bite in 2018 and Woods believes this aggressive mindset will suit his game.
“It’s a good thing. Even the style he wants us to play suits us front-rowers a lot more,” he said.
“Especially with Deano, he’s an ex-front-rower so to learn off him and to get guidance in how to play the role is really good.
“He wants to hurt players. Dean was a really tough player, but he had a lot of skill about him as well. He wasn’t the biggest guy, but he could play.
“The Bulldogs are also renowned for having that big, rugged style, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Away from the field, Woods conceded he had heard whispers about Canterbury’s boardroom battles last season.
The Bulldogs host their annual elections next month, but he insists the club’s internal struggles haven’t impacted the players.
“We’ve been getting flogged and the boys’ attitudes have been outstanding,” he said.
“There are times in pre-season when you think, ‘oh, we’re getting flogged again today’, but there is no chat about that.
“There is a new coach and everyone is just excited to perform under Deano. He has got that attitude that if we are at training or in a meeting he wants us to be 100 per cent focused towards it.
“But once we are away, he wants us to enjoy ourselves.”
Woods reserved particular praise for Bulldogs boss Ray Dib, revealing the chairman was a major reason why he decided to link with the Belmore-based club.
“I had a lot of meetings with Ray and we got along like a house on fire,” he said. “Everything he said, he has backed up.
“I’ve got all the faith in him, but I don’t know the other side. I’ve had no dealings with them (the board).
“But if anyone asks about Ray, I think he has done a great job for myself. He has changed the club and made a couple of tough decisions that had to be made and the club has come full forward since then.”
As captain at the Tigers, Woods was the club’s main voice.
He is now in a new environment at the Bulldogs, but he says he won’t be changing his leadership style.
“No, not at all,” he said. “If I can help someone, I can will.
“You give your two cents if you think you can help someone improve.
“But you’ve got to get to know everybody. That’s one thing at the Tigers, I was lucky enough to get a read on some players and how they handle certain situations.
“Whereas I haven’t been in those situations with these players yet, so I’ve got to figure out what sets them off.”
Woods also confirmed his AC shoulder injury, which required a painkilling injection to get through Australia’s World Cup win over England, was on the mend.
“It’s good and coming along a bit quicker than we thought,” he said.
“Hopefully I’ll do contact late next week or the start of the week after.”