5 reasons to be excited about the Bulldogs in NRL season 2018

CAN a new coach, a new culture, and a couple of marquee recruits turn Canterbury’s fortunes around? Here are five reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2018.

The Bulldogs have made some sweeping changes but will it help?

• REVIEW: How it all went wrong for Bulldogs in season 2017

CAN a new coach, a new culture, and a couple of marquee recruits turn Canterbury’s fortunes around?

Here are five reasons for Bulldogs fans to get excited about 2018.

NEW COACH

As soon as the points started drying up on the field, fans started turning their attention to the coach.

The cries got louder that Des Hasler lacked the famous Bulldogs DNA, that the coach they called the mad scientist was suffocating his footy team with paralysis by analysis.

The cries got so loud he was shown the door even though he had signed an extension in April.

The Bulldogs are forming a Captains Circle of their past five premiership captains under new coach Dean Pay (front). It includes Andrew Ryan, George Peponis, Peter Tunks, Terry Lamb, and Steve Mortimer. Picture: Phil Hillyard

His sacking opened the door for the Belmore club to return to its roots.

And they did exactly that when they appointed Dean Pay as head coach, a former player who wore the blue and white of the Dogs 108 times.

DOGS CULTURE

For years now, fans and former greats alike have lamented the erosion of the club’s culture.

Under Hasler they had moved away from the values and the history that earned them the tags of the entertainers and the ‘Dogs of War’.

In a bid to recapture the essence of what it means to be the ‘Bulldogs’, everything that is old is being made new again at Canterbury.

A new Captain’s Circle of former club greats has been established, including the likes of Steve Mortimer, Terry Lamb, Andrew Ryan, Peter Tunks and George Peponis. Together they led the Dogs to their last five premierships and they’ve been tasked with handing down the club’s ethos of success to current players.

The Bulldogs have made some sweeping changes but will it help?

“My role is to support the club and support Deano as coach and to come down and have a beer with the players after the game,” Lamb said.

“Let the players know who we are and what we did at the club.”

KIERAN FORAN

You can sugar coat it any which way you like, Foran has disappointed as a marquee recruit at both his previous clubs – the Eels and the Warriors.

There’s his dodgy hamstring, an injury which only seems to be more troublesome as time goes by. Then add the fact that the man who helped secure his signature has been shown the door and all of a sudden their highest profile recruit comes with the highest of stakes.

But there’s still reason to be excited about Foran, especially if his presence helps unlock the potential in Moses Mbye’s game.

Mbye is not a halfback and his ability has been stifled in that position. The weaknesses in his game as a half are Foran’s strengths – his game management, his capacity to direct and general kicking.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs new recruit Kieran Foran will hope to lift his injury curse.

With Foran taking over those responsibilities, Mbye is released from the pressure of having to organize. A move which could prove fruitful to his naturally running game and in turn, to the Bulldogs’ flailing attack.

AARON WOODS

Filling the void left by James Graham seems like an insurmountable task but the addition off Woods helps soften the blow. The NSW and Australian Test forward is a no-nonsense prop that will get the job done. His strength is to truck the ball forward and he averaged 160 metres per game this year for the Tigers. Woods’ addition could also have a ripple effect on David Klemmer’s game. The Blues and Roos bash brothers take their bromance into clubland and their bond on and off the field can only be fruitful for both their games.

MICHAEL LICHAA

Remember when Michael Lichaa was considered the best up-and-coming attacking hooker in the game? New coach Dean Pay does. He worked with Lichaa at the junior representative level and knows exactly what he is capable of. With one foot out the door at the time, Lichaa admitted his natural game had been stifled under Des Hasler’s coaching.

Michael Lichaa could get a decent shot with a coach who knows him well.

The 23-year-old looked like a different player in the last three rounds of the season and while playing for Lebanon in the World Cup. He returned to his natural game as a running rake and even put up a man of the match type performance against the Dragons in round 26. The Bulldogs struggled to score points this year and a probing hooker can help give Canterbury’s attack a new lease on life in 2018.

Originally published as 5 reasons to be excited about the Bulldogs in NRL season 2018