Bulldogs boss Phil Gould blames club’s dire predicament on salary cap sins of Des Hasler era

Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has blamed the club’s torturous rebuild on the salary cap sins of past management, predicting more pain for Canterbury and its long-suffering fans.

Phil Gould has blamed Bulldogs' current crisis on the Des Hasler era.

Bulldogs boss Phil Gould says the salary cap sins of past management has left the club with a torturous rebuild that makes it impossible to predict when they will return to finals footy.

In a veiled swipe directed at former coach Des Hasler and CEO Raelene Castle, Gould gave a brutal reality check for disgruntled fans by warning Canterbury were destined for more pain due to the long and arduous process of developing the club from ground up.

Hasler took the Dogs to five finals series in six seasons, including runners up in the 2012 and 2014 grand final.

Canterbury haven’t played finals in six years while Hasler and Castle have remained staunch in their decision to adopt a contract model that included huge back-ended deals.

Gould took it upon himself to front the press on Tuesday following the club’s humiliating 66-0 nil loss to Newcastle last Sunday.

The general manager offered a 15-minute overview of the club’s flagging season, including an admission that he couldn’t predict when the club would be back in the finals race.

“I can’t answer that, no one can answer that,’’ Gould said.

“But I just know we can’t cut corners in the process. Because as soon as you do, you put yourself further behind. It hurts you in the long term.

Phil Gould has blamed Bulldogs' current crisis on the Des Hasler era.

“If you go out and try and look for quick fixes, it never works that way and you’re just pushing the problem further down the track.

“Someone has to come in and make the tough decisions and realise this is going to be tough for a while, I wish they (previous management) had done this six or seven years ago.

“If they had of, we wouldn’t be in this position today.

“My aim is that we’re not in this position in five or six years’ time.

“My aim is that this club is never in this position again.

“It (club) has been at the tail of the field for a long time. I think they ran 13th, 13th, 15th, 15th and 16th before I got here and it’s going to be painful for another couple of years yet.

“We just need to make sure this club doesn’t go through this type of period again.’’

BOO DOGS

In a sad moment for the club, fans turned on the players at halftime of the Knights thrashing on Sunday.

Gould said he had no issue with fans venting their emotion, while pointing out the club had received a trail of emails from fans apologising for their reaction.

“I have had so many emails from people apologising for booing. But that’s part of sport. People feel emotion on the day,’’ Gould said.

“It’s been coming for a while, it was sort of the breaking point for our club.

“It’s an extremely inexperienced team right at the moment.

“It happens in rugby league, it’s not nice.

“I don’t think they’re looking too much at the Rabbitohs at the moment. I think they’re looking inwardly at their own performance.’’

Furious Canterbury fans turn on pitiful Bulldogs, demand answers from Phil Gould and Cameron Ciraldo #NRLBulldogsKnights#NRL Tackle: https://t.co/XSpWV3I5KXpic.twitter.com/gKYvRFCu3X

— Telegraph Sport (@telegraph_sport) July 2, 2023

GONE BACKWARDS

Gould rejected any suggestion that the club had failed to improve over the past 18-months. He said the club was simply suffering from an imbalanced roster.

“I don’t think the club has gone backwards, I’m certain that hasn’t happened,’’ Gould said.

“The first grade roster is vulnerable at the moment. If we‘re at full-strength we’re not getting these results.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t been at full strength all year and that’s just worn us down.

“That’s not going to change either. With the roster and this timeline, this year was always going to be difficult.

“We’ve just got to stick to our task of rebuilding the club over a period of time. It’s going to take time, we know that.

“We’ve used more players than any other club, we’ve debuted more players than any other club, and players have probably been exposed to the top grade before their time.’’

DOGS’ OWN CAM MURRAY

Gould was asked for his opinion on Karl Oloapu, the rising star that Canterbury poached from the Brisbane Broncos with the aid of a $500,000 transfer fee.

Oloapu is currently sidelined with a shoulder complaint.

“He’s done a really good job, at 18 years of age. He was blooded before his time in a position that’s probably not going to play long-term,’’ Gould said.

“We gave him a couple of weeks off because he had a little injury.

“I see him as a lock forward going forward, very much in the Cameron Murray (South Sydney and NSW Origin lock) mould.

“He’s going to be a really great player for a very long time.’’

Karl Oloapu . Picture: NRL Photos

RECRUITMENT

Having secured Titans halfback Toby Sexton for the remainder of the season, Gould didn’t shy away from the fact that the club were on the hunt for an enforcer in their pack.

Broncos and NSW Origin prop Payne Haas is free to negotiate with rival clubs from November 1.

The Dogs boss didn’t dismiss interest in arguably the best prop in the game.

“He’s the most powerful and the biggest, so I suppose yeah,” Gould said.

“He’d be pretty expensive too, I’d imagine. It would be nice to work out how many of those you can buy.

“We don’t want to go out and have knee-jerk reactions in the market place either, we need to plan what we’re doing.

“I think that would be a knee-jerk reaction. I think it would be a panic move.

“I think unless the right type of player becomes available, that may happen before the deadline.

“We’ve got the money to do it and we’ve got money for next year too.

“But there’s not a lot on the market with 17 teams in the competition now.

“We just need to be patient.”

Originally published as Bulldogs boss Phil Gould blames club’s dire predicament on salary cap sins of Des Hasler era