Bulldogs forward David Klemmer defends under pressure coach Des Hasler

CANTERBURY enforcer David Klemmer has sprung to the defence Des Hasler, saying who should really be held accountable as the coach’s future is placed in doubt.

Coach Des Hasler talks to his players.

CANTERBURY enforcer David Klemmer has sprung to the defence of his coach, calling on his teammates to take responsibility for a disappointing season.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday that the Bulldogs have called a board meeting for Friday to discuss the future of Des Hasler.

The meeting comes after months of rumblings that sections of the board were unhappy with the coach, who commands a salary of around $1.2 million a season.

The Bulldogs finished the season in the top eight but bowed out of the finals in week one, after suffering a 28-12 loss to Penrith.

According to Klemmer, the coach isn’t to blame.

The 22-year-old backed his club coach from inside Australian camp, where he is part of the Test side and placed the blame on the team for their poor performances.

David Klemmer of the Bulldogs is tackled.

“It’s pretty unfair,” Klemmer told foxsports.com.au of the criticism of Hasler.

“(Des) gives the playing group everything all the tools and everything we need. We haven’t been performing well on the field, as you can see.

“As a playing group, we’ve got to perform.

“It’s the team’s fault, not Des’s. We’ve got to come together and perform better next year.”

Speculation has run rampant in recent weeks that Hasler is on the nose and that has only intensified following the departure of several high-profile staff members from Belmore.

Klemmer said he is unaware of unrest within the club but has backed the board to reach the best outcome for the club’s future.

Coach Des Hasler with his assistants during training.

“I only hear that in the media, I’m not too sure what’s going on at the club,” he said before the Kangaroos relocated camp to Perth on Sunday.

“But if that’s how the club decides to move forward then you’ve just got to go in there and train and perform. That’s the club’s decision.”

Part of the criticism aimed at Hasler is a result of the team’s attack.

The Bulldogs were accused of lacking direction at times, while their halves came under fire late in the season for not commanding the ball or producing the right plays.

There were several times in attacking territory where a forward was first receiver and failed to look for a pass when attacking the line.

David Klemmer celebrates a try with his teammates.

But Klemmer denied Moses Mbye and Josh Reynolds were at fault.

Instead, he said it was the responsibility of more senior players to help the duo execute the game plane.

“I thought our halves went alright, to be honest,” Klemmer said.

“But it’s a team game and if we’re not going well, then it’s hard for them to go well. It’s not entirely their fault but it is a different structure we play with, I thought they were doing alright with it, with what they were working with. It is a game plan that works, we just couldn’t execute it.

“For Moses controlling the game, he was getting frustrated ... but we all were. It comes back to the team. We haven’t been making his job easy, that’s how I see it.

“We’re not helping him with where we get to in a game.”

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Originally published as Bulldogs forward David Klemmer defends under pressure coach Des Hasler