NRL 2021: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs belt Wests Tigers in final game of regular season

The Bulldogs have ended their dismal 2021 campaign on a high, proving far too strong for the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

The Bulldogs recorded their third win of the season on Sunday. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Michael Maguire’s career at the Wests Tigers is on life support after his players produced one of the most pathetic 80 minutes by any club in 2021 to heap more pressure on their already under fire coach.

The Wests Tigers were simply awful on Sunday afternoon, finishing the year with an embarrassing 38-0 loss to a Bulldogs side that will head back to Sydney with the wooden spoon after they snapped their 10-game losing streak.

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Maguire still has two years to run on his current deal, but calls to replace him will only grow louder in the coming days as the reality of another failed campaign sinks in.

“I know exactly where the team is going, and the organisation knows where the team is going,” he responded when asked if he was the right man to coach the club next year.

“We’ve got to make sure that we continue to be disciplined about what we’re trying to build here.

“Changing teams and changing pathways of clubs takes a little bit of time.

“It doesn’t mean that you can’t get better performances on the park, I’ll acknowledge that, but it’s about continually sticking to the path of where we’re going with this group.”

The ongoing internal review will reveal harsh truths about a club that hasn’t played finals footy since 2011 and has seemingly gone backwards under Maguire.

“We’re in the process of changing that,’ he said, adding that the injection of youth this year would pay off in the long run.

“No doubt people will continually refer to 10 years, but it’s about the future and where we’re going. That’s one thing that I’ve spoken about quite a bit, about the transformation of what we’re doing at the club.

“When you look at all those young boys that we’ve played…I know you talk about Jackson (Hastings) and Oliver Gildart who we’ve got coming…

“(When you look at) the younger boys and then bringing in about 10 of our players who are sitting on the sidelines at the moment, we’ve got the makings of what it takes to move forward in the competition and grow the team.”

It’s not his fault that they can’t tackle, and he doesn’t deserve all the blame for props taking settlers from 10 metres out after four sets in a row in attack, but it’s clear things aren’t working.

The only consolation from 2021 for a @WestsTigers fan is that there's no relegation from the #NRL#NRLTigersBulldogs

— Tony Yoo (@TonyYooAUS) September 5, 2021

Tigers awful today but the wooden spooners, several leaving the club after this game, have shown something - and great things ahead for those staying. @NRL_Bulldogs#NRLTigersBulldogs

— Bill Woods (@bmrwoods) September 5, 2021

There’s going to be a very, very quiet Wests Tigers change room after that one. Sad to watch. Okay to lose. But not without a fight against the bottom team. Minimal commitment from a few players today. #nrl#nrltigersbulldogs

— Robert Grasso (@RobertGrasso) September 5, 2021

Tigers were still in the hunt for finals three weeks ago. Since then they’ve had the aggregate score of 112-36 against them, with two of those games against bottom-eight sides. Fitting end to a decade of disappointment. #NRLTigersBulldogs

— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) September 5, 2021

They finished the year in 13th spot with just eight wins, and the Round 25 result was up there with one of their most embarrassing offerings as a club as they failed to score against one of the worst defensive units in the NRL.

It’s a far cry from the pre-season optimism when the Tigers pumped an understrength Sea Eagles side at Leichhardt Oval to give their long-suffering fans false hope of success in 2021.

They made the toothless Bulldogs look like apex predators, and their attack was worryingly bad. They asked as many questions as a rookie reporter at a Wayne Bennett press conference, and defended like it was a game of Oz Tag.

Fans just wanted to see some fight from their club after an abysmal first half saw them trail 16-0 at the break, but things just got worse from the opening set when David Nofoaluma and Zac Cini collided to gift Jack Hetherington the first try of his career.

The clean-out at the club will begin in the coming days, but it might not be just the players who are asked to clean out their lockers.

“People talk about culture, and it’s up to us to continually forge forwards,” Maguire said.

A new hope

The Bulldogs of 2021 were never going to beat teams on skill, but that should change next season when the likes of Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr, Matt Dufty and Tevita Pangai Junior arrive in Belmore.

If they can pair that potential with the effort they showed on Sunday then perhaps things will get better for a club that has struggled on and off the field for a number of years.

One man who won’t be there next year is Nick Meaney, but he was again one of Canterbury’s best with a couple of tries in a sign that he will be terrific at the Storm.

Even when things didn’t go to plan, the Bulldogs were able to dig themselves out of trouble, like when Brandon Wakeham dropped a kick-off but then won back possession by finding touch from the line dropout. That’s effort.

“That means a lot. That can springboard us into our pre-season next year,” Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett said.

Tommy Talau suffered a suspected ACL injury on Sunday. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

Injuries to insult

If their performance wasn’t bad enough, the Tigers could be without Tommy Talau for the start of 2022 after the centre was carted off with what looks to be an ACL injury.

That’s on top of Adam Doueihi’s knee injury that will keep him out for the opening rounds of next season, while Jake Simpkin was also forced off early with a shoulder concern.

It capped a horror afternoon that saw them reduced to 11 late in the game when back-rowers Luciano Leilua and Shawn Blore were sent to the sin bin.

Originally published as NRL 2021: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs belt Wests Tigers in final game of regular season