‘The club has brought us all in for certain roles’: Bulldogs hit back at recruitment criticism

The battle for spots at the Bulldogs is heating up over summer, with a couple of key recruits revealing exactly where they want to play in 2024.

Stephen Crichton appeared the obvious choice to play fullback when he signed with the Bulldogs, but Blake Taaffe has his nose in front at this stage. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Bulldogs recruit Blake Taaffe has made it clear he wants the fullback spot next year and is confident his side can return to the finals for the first time since 2016 after a strong start to the pre-season.

It appeared a fait accompli that Panthers superstar Stephen Crichton would be Canterbury’s fullback next season after he signed a four-year deal back in January, but it’s looking more likely that he’ll remain in the centres, with Taaffe leading the race for the No.1 jersey.

The former South Sydney utility says it will ultimately come down to who impresses coach Cameron Ciraldo the most over the next few months, and the competition for spots is bringing out the best in the new-look squad.

Blake Taaffe is leading the race to be Canterbury’s fullback next season. Picture: NRL Photos

“Obviously that’s the position where I’m most known to play,” he said when asked about the fullback battle.

“I just want to come here and train my heart out and earn the respect off the boys. Whatever position I’m put in, I’ll put everything I’ve got into that role.

“The competition is good because it keeps you pushing. No competition is bad because it stops you from being complacent in certain areas.

“I feel like I’m getting better each day here and I’m getting a lot of good feedback off the coaches and players.”

The 24-year-old burst onto the scene in 2021 when he replaced an injured Latrell Mitchell at the back and helped the Bunnies reach the grand final where they lost to Penrith in an epic encounter.

People questioned whether he was too small to play fullback and assumed he was simply a half playing out of position, but Taaffe has scoffed at those suggestions.

Taaffe praised former coach Wayne Bennett for helping him during the 2021 finals. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“It was a bit weird when everyone was saying that I wasn’t a fullback, but I came out in the media back then and told everyone that I’ve pretty much been playing fullback my whole life,” he said, having played 20 of his 31 NRL games at the back.

“It was nothing new to me, but it was just on the biggest stage at the biggest time of year.

“I can’t praise Wayne (former Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett) enough for how well he handled the whole thing and the trust he put in me. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but it’s made me want to get back in the same moment in the next few years.”

The battle for spots isn’t restricted to fullback, with former Panther Jaeman Salmon keen to win a spot in the back row, although he concedes it’ll be tough to unseat Viliame Kikau and Jacob Preston.

“Back row is obviously the goal for me. I know we’ve got some great back-rowers in Kiks and Presto, so I’ll be doing everything I can to get a spot in the 17,” he said.

“I like to think of myself as versatile, so if anything happened, I can fill in in the halves or the centres.”

Salmon is in the rehab group and has heard plenty of chat in recent weeks about Canterbury’s decision to recruit a stack of utilities like Kurt Mann, Connor Tracey, Drew Hutchison and Jake Turpin.

But according to Salmon, the scepticism is unwarranted.

Jaeman Salmon doesn’t agree with claims the Bulldogs have only recruited utilities. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

“The media has seen us as utilities, but the club has brought us all in for certain roles,” he said.

“‘Manny’ is a lock, Connor Tracey prefers to play centre or fullback but he can fill in in the halves or whatever.

“I think it’s good to have a team of versatile players. It means that we’re all footballers and we can do whatever job is asked of us. The club struggled with depth last year, and the thing is you can never have too many footballers in the team.”

The confidence around Belmore is nothing new at this time of year, but the recruits who have all come from winning cultures are confident the Bulldogs can do something special next year.

“Yeah, 100 per cent,” Taaffe replied when asked if they could play finals footy in 2024.

“What Ciro and the coaching staff are doing here is really good.

“Everyone is buying into it and we’re all ripping in.

“We can see that the results are getting better week by week. We know what we need to get better at, but there’s not one person here who’s dropped their head and hasn’t bought in.”