Steve Price: Why I left the Bulldogs
In this edited extract from his new book, Steve Price talks of his move from the Bulldogs to the Warriors.
I still love the Bulldogs - that will never change - but in 2004 I had started to see things differently. I've mentioned Garry Hughes' sacking. The biggest gripe I had about Garry's departure was the club's reason for doing it.
About a week after the Coffs Harbour scandal broke - when a woman claimed she had been sexually assaulted by a number of Bulldogs players after our trial match against Canberra - we copped a whole heap of criticism for players turning up to police interviews wearing shorts and T-shirts. Apparently those concerned were being disrespectful towards what was obviously a very serious issue.
The truth is that none of the players knew that they were required by police when they turned up to training that day - and shorts and T-shirts are what players wear before and after training. Not everyone wears a suit and tie to work. What happened was that the boys turned up for training, the club was then informed that they had to go into the city for interviews immediately and when they arrived they were suddenly confronted by a media throng. Later that night they were shown on every television channel turning up to their interviews wearing the wrong clothing and it looked as though the Bulldogs had absolutely no respect for the situation.
That wasn't the case at all but there was a lot of pressure from outside for the club to be seen to be taking action - and Garry turned out to be the fall-guy despite the fact that what happened wasn't his fault. That certainly got me thinking. It would never have happened under the previous administration because the club was all about the people and had always dealt with things internally.
For Garry to be fired over that really opened my eyes. He was a Bulldogs man through and through. He had played all of his footy there, his family was very, very involved in the club and he had been part of the administration ever since his playing days had come to an end. I had a wonderful relationship with him and if he had still been there I would never have left.
The other big change that contributed to my decision to leave the Bulldogs was the significant shift in culture. By this stage, the younger guys were starting to have a bit of an influence on that by going out and partying whenever they could. I was used to the family-orientated club the Bulldogs had always been and I wasn't really jumping on board with where the club was going and what was being allowed to happen.
For the club to then say, "We can't really afford to pay you that much", when they were paying other players plenty, made me feel as though they considered them to be a more important part of where the club was going than I was.
I realised that it might be best to accept what was happening and go to a club where I could start to make a difference. Maybe everything I had been through over the previous two years had started to wear me down. I was starting to feel a little bit stale that pre-season and I was ready for a new challenge. I wanted to sign a three-year deal but "Folkesy" only wanted to sign me for two. He also wanted me to retire from representative football to focus solely on the Bulldogs.
I don't blame anyone for what happened.I still left the club on good terms and I've got absolutely no regrets. I would have finished at the Bulldogs a very happy person just like I'll finish at the Warriors a very happy person.