NRL news: Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett laments 2021 but insists Canterbury are on right track

As the Bulldogs bring down the curtain on the club’s most lamentable season since 1964, coach Trent Barrett has opened up on how Canterbury will turn their fortunes around in 2022.

Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Canterbury coach Trent Barrett has spoken of the “pain and pressure” at being stranded in the club’s worst “hole” in 57 years.

In a revealing interview to end what could be the Bulldogs’ most lamentable season since 1964, Barrett admitted: “It was never going to be a quick fix and it was never going to be an easy fix. Results certainly aren’t pointed that way but we’re on the right track.

“We will be doing everything in our power to make sure we climb the ladder. That’s our commitment. Things will turn around, things will get better.”

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Canterbury has won just two games this season and face Wests Tigers on Sunday. A loss would ensure the club’s most dire season since the ’64 Dogs, who won just one game.

But having recruited well, Canterbury head into 2022 full of hope – albeit aware the club will be under excruciating pressure to succeed.

Trent Barrett is under pressure to turn the Bulldogs’ fortunes around next season. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

THE PLEDGE

Barrett has a message for his club’s despondent fans.

“We will be doing everything in our power to make sure we climb the ladder,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for. We have as much pride in the jersey and the club as anyone.

“That’s our commitment. We will do everything we can to get ourselves out of the position we’re in. It’s not just the players and coaching staff that are working hard, it’s everyone. It’s a team effort.

“We are putting all the right things in place. We just have to stick together, stick to the plan. We have to keep working hard and things will turn around, things will get better.”

THE COACH

Barrett watched 21 losses this season as the Bulldogs claimed the wooden spoon.

“Coaching is an everyday thing. We all have long-term plans and we all want to win grand finals one day,” Barrett said. “There is a hell of a process you need to go through and a fair bit of pain to get through, in our case, to be able to put yourself in that position.

“It’s one day at a time. If we prepare, train, review and educate consistently over the seven weeks into Christmas and then consistently every day for another seven weeks after Christmas, we will put ourselves in a position to play well.

“Results certainly aren’t pointed that way but we’re on the right track.”

Trent Barrett has had a tough first season in charge at the Bulldogs. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

THE STRUGGLES

How did Barrett manage to stay upbeat throughout such a lean season?

“That’s part and parcel of being a good leader,” he said. “You front up and show them the way out of it. That’s really important.

“I’m upbeat with everything we do and I have tried to be level-headed with it all and focus on what my job is. I can only look after what I can control. I can’t control the other s--t that happens and I won’t be bothered by it.

“Whilst you have to point out what we’re doing wrong, and we don’t miss them in that regard, we are dealing with a lot of young players as well who make mistakes and unfortunately they make their mistakes on the big stage.

“We had six (Jersey) Flegg guys playing on the weekend who are learning on the job. They have had very little footy over the past two years and they haven’t got the grounding that we would have liked through circumstances.

“They have been thrust into first grade probably 18 months to two years before they would have or should have. But that will set us up.”

THE MAN

“I’m a realist. I’ve been okay, it’s part of the job. We just have to hang in there during these tough periods and hopefully we will get rewarded in the next few years,” he said.

“We all like to win – that’s why we do this. But you have to put things into perspective as well. You always take losses harder in games you think you could have won. Games where we beat ourselves through unforced errors, lack of discipline or lack of game management. They’re the ones you take the hardest.

“But it’s not about me – it’s about helping the players and making sure we prepare, review and educate them properly.

“I know we prepare the players as best we can and we look for things that we did well and then review those and then the things we need to improve, not just for the short-term but long-term.

“The board and CEO (Aaron Warburton) have been really good giving me a lot of support, enabling us to plan for the future. We are all on the same page. Obviously they want to win as much as we do.”

The Bulldogs have had a horrible season. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

THE SEASON

Asked how he found the 2021 season, Barrett said: “Long”.

“It’s been hard,” he said. “We had a lot of challenges, on and off the field. It’s been challenging for everyone.

“But in terms of the character we have shown, the willingness to stick together, even this late in the season, knowing there are a dozen guys that won’t be here next year, they are still trying really hard, they’re still playing for each other.

“That’s a good sign because I’d be worried if they weren’t.

“I’m really proud of how the team has hung in, every week. They keep fronting up and we will again this weekend against the Tigers.

“Watching our team, I don’t think you could say we haven’t competed, we haven’t been in most games that we’ve played. We certainly would have liked to have gotten more outcomes but this will make us more focused on what we need to do, looking forward to next year.

“It was only the Manly game seven or eight weeks ago (66-0) — after those Covid breaches and we had about 10 blokes missing — that was a touch-up. But outside of that, they have competed really hard.

“I still think there were a handful of games, four or five, we could have won had we managed things a little better. That’s disappointing.”

The Bulldogs didn’t have too much to cheer this season. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

THE BRAND

Asked if the pride still existed in Canterbury’s famous jumper, Barrett said: “One hundred per cent. We’d be getting flogged every week if it wasn’t.

“That is what makes it such a great club. The club has been in a hole for a fair few years now. It was never going to be a quick fix and it was never going to be an easy fix. It’s a good club, it’s a tough club.

“Everyone at the club is involved for the right reasons. This is all about the club and getting it up to where we need to be.

“It’s a privilege to be here. Not only do I feel that but all the players do as well.”

THE FUTURE

The troops will shortly be riding into Belmore — Tevita Pangai Junior, Paul Vaughan, Matt Burton, Matt Dufty, Josh Addo-Carr and Brent Naden.

“There is pressure everywhere,” Barrett said. “The expectations will rise, that’s only natural. We have high expectations of ourselves. The expectation externally is probably not as high as the expectations we have of ourselves.

Storm and Origin star Josh Addo-Carr will join the Bulldogs next season. Picture: Peter Wallis

“That’s certainly not a concern for me, it’s not a concern for anyone at the club or on staff.

“We have recruited some good players but I still think we have a hell of a lot of work to do in the pre-season.

“The players that are coming in are going to help a lot, but the experience a lot of our younger guys have got this year, they probably played first grade prematurely. They now have a good dozen first-grade games under their belts.

“And we’d like some luck and good fortune along the way. That would help.”

THE FIXER

Newly minted Director of football Phil Gould now forms the club’s brains trust with Barrett.

“He will bring knowledge and experience,” Barrett said. “He brings a know-how in certain administration situations, how to handle media, how to handle a crisis.

“Gus has been around a hell of a long time. He’s a Bulldog, a premiership-winning coach and player here. He brings a lot — everyone knows what.”

Originally published as NRL news: Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett laments 2021 but insists Canterbury are on right track