Things are “getting worse” for the Canterbury Bulldogs after an underwhelming Magic Round loss to the inconsistent Sharks.
But Roosters premiership winner Luke Keary believes the Dogs are only “a few little recruitment tweaks” away from getting back on track.
Sliding into the bottom four of the NRL premiership ladder amid a five-game losing streak, the back-to-back finalists have endured a dramatic fall after sitting at the top of the competition at this stage last year.
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They have been unable to recapture the defensive resilience that formed the foundation of their success, with the side also undergoing more changes than any other team in the competition this season.
The Bulldogs trailed 30-6 at half-time with Keary questioning coach Cam Ciraldo’s judgement afterwards.
“The most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard, the coach said there was a lot of good stuff in the first half,” Keary said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters.
“I’m going to have to rewatch it tonight and I’m going to find the good stuff from the first half.
“The first set, the Bulldogs in defence, their forward pack didn’t get behind the ball until tackle four after 40 seconds of the game. So I’m unsure what they’re seeing.”
Whether they can turn things around to make the finals this year remains to be seen but Keary is adamant it will not be a “long-term” slide.
He pointed to meetings with Warriors halfback Luke Metcalf, who has since signed with the Dragons, and Titans hooker Sam Verrills, who has yet to settle his future, as a positive sign.
“That is an admission to me that, yes, they got it wrong,” Keary said.
“Everyone gets things wrong but I think it’s just a few little recruitment tweaks, and they’ll be back on track. Because I think Cam Ciraldo is a good coach.”
Leading NRL journalist David Riccio said he does not think the Verrills situation “will eventuate” for the Dogs.
But Keary said they still need to find a long-term hooker, while questions linger over the No.7 jumper.
“If Mitch Woods can get himself right, or you bring a genuine half,” Keary said.
“One or two tweaks. Mate, it’s all there. They’ve admitted, probably, that they might have got it wrong.”
Former Bulldogs forward Aaron Woods views the current outfit as a group lacking confidence more than lacking the personnel to be competitive and challenge for finals.
“I look at Connor Tracey, that is a different player to what I’ve seen last year,” Woods said.
“I look at the whole group, they’re not upbeat, they’re not buzzing.”
Riccio felt the Bulldogs were hamstrung by a lack of selection pressure from the NSW Cup side.
But former Broncos captain Corey Parker bluntly described the Dogs’ collapse as “garbage” given the side’s only two significant losses in the off-season were halfback Toby Sexton and hooker Reed Mahoney.
“This is a team that finished third in the regular season last year,” he said.
“There has been two players leave, that is it.
“If you’re telling me that Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton are two of the most influential players within this group, so much so that they can only get a couple of wins to start this season (without them) — absolute BS.”
Keary posited that halfbacks and hookers “should be” a team’s most influential players.
“So you’re saying they were the glue for this team that made them the second-best defensive team in the comp last year?” Parker responded.
Keary replied: “I think they helped. I think they were a bigger factor than people are going to admit. Reed Mahoney’s one of the toughest hookers in the competition.”
Parker said he did not disagree but was adamant “that doesn’t mean the whole house falls down”.
“We keep going to it’s Galvin, it’s Burton, it’s that combination,” he said.
“We just keep going around and around and around with no one having any definitive idea of what’s going on.
“The messaging from Ciraldo in his press conference was alarming. I don’t know if that’s just the public message to portray to his players.
“But some of the movements defensively from their biggest stars, their highest earnings, are appalling. They’re not NRL standard.”