NRL 2022: Canterbury Bulldogs players tough enough to cop a lesson from Gould

Canterbury Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould delivered some home truths to the playing group this week, now the players have responded.

The Bulldogs have had a miserable season

Canterbury players have backed Phil Gould’s involvement declaring “if you can’t handle the heat you’re in the wrong spot”.

Bulldogs players have broken their silence on the highly publicised video session which saw Gould deliver a few home truths to a struggling Canterbury outfit.

Back-rower Corey Waddell said while Gould’s involvement was not uncommon he took no issue with Gould’s message which “wasn’t so much a spray”.

“Everyone knows Gus (Gould),” Waddell said. “He says it how it is and he is honest. If you can’t handle the heat you’re in the wrong sport. This is the NRL and we’re here to get results. It’s his job to make sure we are getting results. It’s professional football.

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Corey Waddell appreciated the Gus Gould honesty session. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

“There has been a lot of stuff in the media about Gus and Baz (Barrett). What’s put out there is different to how we feel in the four walls. Gus is always around the club – he is the general manager. To have his help is special. We look to any help we can get. We know who the coach is. Baz is the head coach. He is there for us 100 per cent of time. For Gus to come to a video session is not out of the blue. It’s pretty normal for us.”

Centre Jake Averillo missed the last-start loss to Brisbane after being struck down by Covid-19. Watching on from his home he said it was easy to identify the missteps his side took.

Trent Barrett and Phil Gould.

“They scored a try and we dropped our heads,” Averillo said. “We have to stay positive and be a bit more resilient.

“I’m used to (the outside noise). I’ve been at the club for a couple of years now and it seems to be common. I don’t look too much into it. We just have to win footy games, that usually solves it.

(Gould) gave us honest feedback – what we need as individuals to improve.”

Wadell threw his support behind Barrett who has come under-fire as the Bulldogs again slump at the bottom of the premiership ladder with just one win this season. They share a long-bond having spent time together during Barrett’s first stint at the Panthers.

“He hasn’t changed,” Waddell said. “He has always fronted and copped the flack for us week in and week out. He gives us positivity and some negatives. He has always wanted us to get better. He doesn’t do it for himself, he does it for us.”

Luke Thompson and Josh Addo-Carr are expected to share the captaincy duties against the Roosters on Saturday in the absence of regular skipper Josh Jackson (Covid-19).

STAT ATTACK: IS BARRETT THE WORST COACH OF NRL ERA?

- By Paul Crawley

Is this Canterbury Bulldogs team the worst of the NRL era – or is Trent Barrett the worst coach?

As harsh as that sounds, the stats don’t lie.

As the fallout continues over Phil Gould taking charge at Canterbury training this week, it can be revealed that the current Bulldogs under Barrett have the lowest winning percentage of any team since 1998.

It’s even worse than South Sydney under Paul Langmack when the ­Rabbitohs were a basket case, and Western Suburbs when Tommy Raudonikis was in charge of a Magpies team that many rate among the worst there ever was.

What the stats show is that Barrett’s record at the Bulldogs is four wins from 31 games, for a winning percentage of 12.9.

Trent Barrett has only had four wins in 31 games at the Bulldogs. Picture: NRL Imagery

To put it in perspective, Langmack had five wins from 35 games for a 14.3 per cent strike rate in 2003-04, while Raudonikis had seven wins from 48 games for 14.6 per cent during the 1998-99 seasons.

Phil Economidis was the only other coach during the NRL era with a winning record below 20 per cent. He had four wins from 24 games at Gold Coast in 1998 for 16.7 per cent.

It’s important to note these statistics only relate to coaching records at one club with a minimum of 20 games, and in respect to Raudonikis and Economidis, they don’t include their records before 1998.

But further to Barrett’s overall record, including his previous stint at Manly, Fox Sports Stats also show his is now the second worst in rugby league history for any coach in charge of 100 games or more.

The only coach below him on that list is Ron Hilditch, who coached the Illawarra Steelers and Parramatta for a total of 32 wins in 109 games, and a winning strike rate of 29.4 per cent.

Barrett is just marginally better with 33 wins from 104 games for a 31.7 per cent strike rate.

It highlights why everyone’s patience is wearing thin at the Bulldogs ahead of Saturday’s game against the Sydney Roosters.

Gould and Barrett can publicly spin it any way they like but it is hard to justify how Gould taking control at training is going to in any way improve the perception that the club still has faith in Barrett.

There is no way Gould would get away with doing it if he was the general manager of football at any of the successful NRL clubs. Can you imagine what Craig Bellamy, Ivan Cleary or Trent Robinson would do if it happened on their watch?

Paul Langmack had a forgettable stint as Rabbitohs coach in 2003-04, winning just five games.

And you are also entitled to ask what message it sends to future recruits Viliame Kikau and Reed Mahoney, who have agreed to terms for next year.

Kikau is currently part of a premiership-winning system at the Panthers, while Mahoney is going from strength to strength at Parramatta – and is only marginally behind Harry Grant in the debate for who should be Queensland’s Origin hooker.

What hope would Mahoney have if he was playing in a team running last or even down near the bottom of the ladder next year?

It has obviously reached a crisis point at the Bulldogs, who have won just once in the opening seven games.

There was justifiable expectation this year that there would be a dramatic improvement following the key signings of Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Burton, Tevita Pangai Jr, Paul Vaughan, Matt Dufty and Brent Naden.

The Bulldogs are last on the NRL ladder after seven rounds. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

But not only are they still at the bottom of the ladder, they have scored the least points.

That has to be another massive concern given Barrett arrived with a huge reputation in that department after being attack coach at Penrith.

But in his time in charge at Belmore the Dogs have gone backwards from where they were under Dean Pay, who was sacked with a 33.3 per cent winning record.

There is also no disputing that Pay had nowhere near the strike power Barrett has at his disposal.

If the Dogs lose this weekend, Barrett’s record will drop to 12.5 per cent and equal the club’s worst on ­record set way back in 1935, Canterbury’s first season.

Bulldogs defiant amid Gould ‘power struggle’ slur

-Fatima Kdouh

“The boys know who the coach is.”

That was Trent Barrett’s defiant message on Thursday after it was revealed Canterbury supremo Phil Gould ran a training session at Belmore this week, raising concerns about the coach’s future at the club.

Barrett said Gould was not trying to undermine him as coach but was rather invited to take a hands-on approach in a bid to finally snap the Bulldogs’ six-game losing streak.

Before taking the coach’s whistle on the paddock, Gould also conducted a scathing video session that took aim at halfback Kyle Flanagan and a number of other players.

“No way. The boys know who the coach is,” Barrett said when asked about any confusion it causes players.

“Gus doesn’t interfere with any tactical things. He will give an opinion and give an opinion to me. We speak regularly. That’s his job and that’s what he’s here for.

“And again, why wouldn’t I ask for Gus’ opinion?

The Bulldogs players have endured a miserable season

“And if I think a different voice can help the team at a certain stage, why wouldn’t I? I’d be silly not to.

“I have someone like Steve Hansen (former All Blacks coach) here who will be back from Japan in a few months. He’s a resource we have and I’m going to use him.

“If it’s going to help us win I am going to use him. If I think he can help motivate the players in a different way. That’s what they’re here for.”

Barrett rejected the suggestion that having Gould take over training would turn into a power struggle between the two figures at the club. Gould, a former premiership winning coach, is likely to run video or on-field sessions next week.

“He certainly does not undermine me in anything I do here,” Barrett said.

“If anything, he is here to help. Why wouldn’t I ask for his opinion on different things?

“I think if he can help in certain areas I will definitely use him. I’ll use him again. We’ll probably have a similar meeting again next week.”

It’s not the first time Gould has taken a more hands-on approach.

Gould was heavily involved at Penrith as the club’s general manager of football.

During Gould’s time at the Panthers, the club sacked Ivan Cleary in 2015 and then Anthony Griffin in 2018, when the side was closing in on the top four.

Barrett was at the Panthers as an assistant in 2015 but is adamant Gould’s increased involvement at Belmore is not a threat to his job.

“Pretty well exactly the same,” Barrett said when asked if there was any difference between Gus’ time at Penrith and Belmore.

“There were times when I was at Penrith when Gus would be involved in certain things. In video and on the field. Certainly not anything out of the ordinary for myself and for Phil Gould.”

Bulldogs players were spotted conducting their own honesty sessions, away from coach staff and Gould, on Tuesday.

The club is desperate to avoid another loss against the Sydney Roosters but that job has been made harder after skipper Josh Jackson tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.

Barrett is also sweating on the four players who contracted the virus last week.

Jake Averillo, Brent Naden and Ava Seumanufagai have all been named, but will need to pass blood tests and other training protocols to take the field.

Barrett believes Gould’s fiery video session earlier in the week will elicit a response from the struggling outfit.

“They were good. But it’s not the first time we’ve done it,” Barrett said.

“We did the same thing the previous week on the same day with the same data. There was a vast improvement last week against Brisbane, albeit not for long enough. They responded to it, and I thought it was good.

“There are a lot of KPIs for everyone’s different positions and different ways they contribute to the overall performance. We have to keep getting better, we came up against a good side this week in the Roosters, they’re coming off a loss which they won’t be happy with. We’re looking forward to the weekend.”

Originally published as NRL 2022: Canterbury Bulldogs players tough enough to cop a lesson from Gould