Dogzof95
Kennel Enthusiast
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2016
- Messages
- 3,205
- Reaction score
- 2,527
Ivan Cleary, John Cartwright head list if Hasler leaves Bulldogs
Canterbury coach Des Hasler. Picture: Adam Yi
Ivan Cleary and John Cartwright are ready to step into Des Hasler’s shoes should Canterbury cut loose their high-profile coach.
It’s understood both are eager to take over the reins at Belmore if the board and Hasler part ways.
Canterbury chairman Ray Dib and his fellow six directors, who will meet on Friday to discuss Hasler’s future, are playing a dangerous game with a coach known for doing things his own way.
Just a month after taking Manly to a premiership in 2011, Hasler quit following a disagreement over the terms of his contract upgrade.
The Bulldogs face a similar scenario five years later, with performance clauses added to a new two-year deal that were not part of original discussions, upsetting the coach.
Hasler’s five years at Canterbury have been relatively successful, with the Bulldogs reaching the finals each year.
When he joined the club in 2012 he made an immediate impact, taking the Dogs to the grand final that year, only to lose to Melbourne. They made the decider again in 2014 but lost to South Sydney.
However, the past season witnessed their quickest exit, after the team let slip a top-four finish during a mid-season slump and lost their last three games to scrape into the top eight in seventh position. In that time Hasler and the club agreed upon a two-year extension and a contract was close to being signed. But after the Bulldogs lost 28-12 to Penrith in the first week of the finals, the board changed its mind, making big changes to the terms of his deal.
The contract has not been withdrawn but the Hasler camp is unhappy that many of the initiatives agreed to earlier were missing in the revamped version.
This came at the same time as the club made cuts to Hasler’s football department, sacking his loyal recruitment chief, Noel ‘Crusher’ Cleal, and club psychologist John Novak.
Hasler has one year to run on his current deal but it seems unlikely that the 55-year-old, who has a solid record in finals football with 12 appearances including five grand finals since 2005, would see out 2017 knowing he would not be around in 2018-19.
But there are quality coaches standing in the wings, including Cleary, who was sacked from Penrith a year ago, reportedly for being burnt out and stressed — claims he has since denied.
Panthers football director Phil Gould made the decision to part ways with Cleary and sign former Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin for the 2016 season.
Cleary was in charge of the Prime Minister’s XIII in Papua New Guinea last year and has been doing some consultancy work for the NRL this year.
Taking on the Bulldogs job would see the 45-year-old coaching against his son, Nathan, who had a breakthrough NRL season this year.
The 19-year-old signed an extension with Penrith in June to remain at the club until 2019.
Ivan Cleary has said he would not have handed his son a debut this year because of his age, and it is not clear whether Nathan would play under his father in the future if he got the job at Belmore.
Cartwright, meanwhile, was head coach at the Gold Coast for eight years before becoming an assistant for North Queensland’s 2015 premiership triumph and an assistant to rookie coach Trent Barrett at Manly this year. He has coached against his nephew Bryce Cartwright for the past three seasons.
Canterbury coach Des Hasler. Picture: Adam Yi
Ivan Cleary and John Cartwright are ready to step into Des Hasler’s shoes should Canterbury cut loose their high-profile coach.
It’s understood both are eager to take over the reins at Belmore if the board and Hasler part ways.
Canterbury chairman Ray Dib and his fellow six directors, who will meet on Friday to discuss Hasler’s future, are playing a dangerous game with a coach known for doing things his own way.
Just a month after taking Manly to a premiership in 2011, Hasler quit following a disagreement over the terms of his contract upgrade.
The Bulldogs face a similar scenario five years later, with performance clauses added to a new two-year deal that were not part of original discussions, upsetting the coach.
Hasler’s five years at Canterbury have been relatively successful, with the Bulldogs reaching the finals each year.
When he joined the club in 2012 he made an immediate impact, taking the Dogs to the grand final that year, only to lose to Melbourne. They made the decider again in 2014 but lost to South Sydney.
However, the past season witnessed their quickest exit, after the team let slip a top-four finish during a mid-season slump and lost their last three games to scrape into the top eight in seventh position. In that time Hasler and the club agreed upon a two-year extension and a contract was close to being signed. But after the Bulldogs lost 28-12 to Penrith in the first week of the finals, the board changed its mind, making big changes to the terms of his deal.
The contract has not been withdrawn but the Hasler camp is unhappy that many of the initiatives agreed to earlier were missing in the revamped version.
This came at the same time as the club made cuts to Hasler’s football department, sacking his loyal recruitment chief, Noel ‘Crusher’ Cleal, and club psychologist John Novak.
Hasler has one year to run on his current deal but it seems unlikely that the 55-year-old, who has a solid record in finals football with 12 appearances including five grand finals since 2005, would see out 2017 knowing he would not be around in 2018-19.
But there are quality coaches standing in the wings, including Cleary, who was sacked from Penrith a year ago, reportedly for being burnt out and stressed — claims he has since denied.
Panthers football director Phil Gould made the decision to part ways with Cleary and sign former Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin for the 2016 season.
Cleary was in charge of the Prime Minister’s XIII in Papua New Guinea last year and has been doing some consultancy work for the NRL this year.
Taking on the Bulldogs job would see the 45-year-old coaching against his son, Nathan, who had a breakthrough NRL season this year.
The 19-year-old signed an extension with Penrith in June to remain at the club until 2019.
Ivan Cleary has said he would not have handed his son a debut this year because of his age, and it is not clear whether Nathan would play under his father in the future if he got the job at Belmore.
Cartwright, meanwhile, was head coach at the Gold Coast for eight years before becoming an assistant for North Queensland’s 2015 premiership triumph and an assistant to rookie coach Trent Barrett at Manly this year. He has coached against his nephew Bryce Cartwright for the past three seasons.
