Reynolds ‘forever grateful’ for Bulldogs, Hasler as he reveals reasons for Super League move

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January 21, 2021 1:35pm
Darcie McDonald FOX SPORTS


Former NRL star Josh Reynolds has praised Des Hasler as the “best coach” he’s ever had and revealed the reason he decided to make the move to the English Super League.
Reynolds was granted a release from the final year of his Wests Tigers contract in December to take up a two-year deal with Hull FC.

The 31-year-old touched down in England a fortnight ago and has since told By the Balls podcast that it was the opportunity to play footy every week, to “fly under the radar” and the signing of former Tigers assistant Brett Hodgson as Hull FC’s new coach that got him over there.


“I’ll be completely honest ‘Hodgo’ was a massive factor because I’ve obviously had a fair bit to do with him at the Tigers and I knew if I was going to go over there I wanted to have a coach who knows what I’m all about,” Reynolds said

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got to prove myself to everyone at the club but I know he’s a good person. I know he’ll need to make a couple of hard decisions here or there but I know he’ll always have my best interest at heart.”

Reynolds has had a tumultuous couple of years away from the field and he admits the opportunity to live a quieter life with much less media attention was also a big factor in his decision.

“I’ll be brutally honest, back in Australia the media is onto rugby league players a lot more and love exposing everything about their lives... and they don’t really care about what happens after it,” he said.

“But over here it’s a bit different, it’s not as big in a sense and you fly under the radar a bit more... I like that in this point of my career.

“After what I’ve been throughout these past couple of years, I sort of just want to fly under the radar, play good footy and just have fun.

“In the end that’s why I came here, I know it’s going to be tough sometimes but in the end if I’m playing footy it’s what I love most so if I’m doing that I’ll be sweet.”


Reynolds joins Hull FC with 160 NRL games under his belt. His last two seasons in the NRL were full of highs and lows but he says he still has plenty of fight left in him.

“I just want to show my teammates and myself that I’ve still got a lot to give,” he said.

“In the last couple of years I probably haven’t been able to show that because of certain reasons but I definitely know I’ve still got the passion and the love for the game.”

The Belmore product had a prolific rise in the NRL during his seven seasons with the Bulldogs which included two NRL grand finals and a State of Origin debut.

He spent six of those seasons with Hasler, whom he has credited for his success.

“He’s definitely the best coach I’ve ever had... in the sense of just knowing how to deal with certain people and players,” Reynolds said.

“He knows the game too, he really helped me with my game and made it very simple what I have to do. A lot of the stuff he wanted me to do was all the little things and that was my role in that team.

“He was funny too, he’s a very different man.

“The way he treated the media and everyone on the outside was so different to how he treated us. He made us feel like we were a family.

“He’s very footy based but he also did care about what was going on the outside.

“I’ll be forever grateful for him and what he’s done for my career.”

Reynolds and Hasler left the Bulldogs at the end of 2017 but for very different reasons. He took up a lucrative offer from the Tigers, while Hasler was sacked.

The two however, have stayed in contact, with Reynolds revealing Hasler — who also spent a season playing for Hull FC in the 90s — gave him a cheeky congratulatory call when he heard the news.

“He actually gave me a call before I came over here and told me he’s the king of Hull and I have to pay him some tolls for being over here.”


Reynolds’ career took a bad turn when he joined the Tigers. He had a cruel run with injuries and when he was healthy he struggled to lock down a position in the team.

“The last couple of years haven’t been ideal. I signed with the Tigers and had high hopes but injury and selection just came into it,” he said.

“It is what it is, there’s nothing else to it. I tried my hardest, trained my hardest but it just wasn’t supposed to be.”

His time there was a stark contrast to the day he was chaired off the field at Belmore Sports Ground after a Dogs’ win in 2017, a magical memory to go with the many others — some good and others painful — he has from his time at the Bulldogs.

“My best memories are from being at that club — that’s nothing against the Tigers — it’s just where I had the most success and the best memories. I take a lot of pride in what I did there,” Reynolds said.

One that is still fresh in his mind is the 2012 grand final loss to the Storm — Reynolds’ first NRL grand final in just his second season in first grade. He recalls it as the “most hurt” he’s felt during his time in the game

“I’ll never forget the week leading in, the streets of Belmore were something I’ll never forget. We were treated like kings,” he said.

“We were so close but so far. I think we were the better team all year but Melbourne just out-Melbourned us in the end. They were too classy, too smart... it’s probably the most hurt I feel from rugby league because I just know we were so close.”


Two years later, Reynolds experienced more grand final heartbreak. But he says that was “very different.”

“We had a great year, but Souths were a pretty special team. I feel it was already made for them.”

With two grand final losses behind him, Reynolds is hopeful he can go one better in the Super League.

“You shouldn’t go into any season without thinking you want to win the comp. Let’s face it, whether people think you can or not you should want to do that so I feel that’s where the bar should be,” he said.

“We may have a long way until we do get there but that’s I suppose the expectation. For me, that’s why I’ve come here. I didn’t come here to win a few games and sail off into the sunset, I still haven’t won a comp... that’s the goal, everyone wants to get to the big dance and win it.”

 
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Kempsey Dog

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Yeah I really wanna thank Hasler for not letting me kick on the last and hindering my development #best coach ever lol
 

Wahesh

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I don't understand why he is grateful after Hasler decided to go with Foran instead of him. That I cannot fathom. That only thing I can think of is he's over it and doesn't care, he just doesn't want to stir trouble.
 

BELMORE

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I don't understand why he is grateful after Hasler decided to go with Foran instead of him. That I cannot fathom. That only thing I can think of is he's over it and doesn't care, he just doesn't want to stir trouble.
Because one action doesn’t erase history.... it’s not that hard to understand....
 

Cappuccino

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Because one action doesn’t erase history.... it’s not that hard to understand....
Hes been told to keep out of the footy forums before, guess he went out of bounds again
bad washesh!
Back to the lounge!
 

Bulldogsteve

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“We had a great year, but Souths were a pretty special team. I feel it was already made for them.”

interesting qoute about the souths GF being already made for them...
100% agree with that, they even had Souths ring the bell, they were never going to lose that game unfortunately.
Reynolds had a great career with the dogs IMO, always gave 100% and thats all you can ask for in a player, he would have died for the jersey.
hope he kills it in england, they will love his attitude and style of play.
 

alchemist

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all the best to Reynolds in the Super League... although I thought it correct to move on from Reynolds from the 'Dogs perspective or at least not match the Tigers inflated offer (and still do), he had a lot of great moments for the club and always gave his all
 

Bulldog1966

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Had some flaws and let's be honest he was never a gun player BUT he was all about the bulldog culture hence why he was pretty popular, bled blue and white the man did.
Also wish him good luck in the UK..and no more bad calls on scamming hoes ok Joshy, surely has learnt his lesson there ffs.
 

Bob dog

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Thanks Canterbury for putting up with his lack of ability to lead a football side around the park.
Sure Des had his good weeks and remains one of Leagues best characters and I doubt the salary cap dramas were all his fault.
 

KiwiDog7

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Both 2012 and 2014 hurt equally and I was at the last one !!

Even 94, 98 still hurt FFS!

It’s like your kids you can’t compare one over the other all the same
 

alchemist

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Both 2012 and 2014 hurt equally and I was at the last one !!

Even 94, 98 still hurt FFS!

It’s like your kids you can’t compare one over the other all the same
I still remember the crap I had to put up with at school after the '86 GF loss... the price you pay for being a fan
 

Bulldog1966

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Well..i can separate them even though they all hurt, maybe it was the way they had made it to the GF in the years 94 and 98 they were VERY painful plus we sort of got smashed/manhandled too especially in 94 by Canberra(thank fuck i did not see the raiders fans again that i had unloaded on bigtime when we nailed them in the semi final with a field goal), so those two games gutted me even though we beat Manly in 95 and Baa the legend deservedly got another premiership ring.

And if we had won in '98 i believe that year would have been regarded maybe forever as the greatest finals series by an NRL team ever.
 

Motorhead

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“We had a great year, but Souths were a pretty special team. I feel it was already made for them.”

interesting qoute about the souths GF being already made for them...
That game was as fixed as fuck. They probably had that munted-headed dribbler's name already etched on the Clive Churchill medal a few days before the game. Him or the wife-bashing lizard.
The NRL got it's wristy and the resultant happy ending that year.
 

craigo

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Run or bomb on the last tackle for 6 years straight that is great coaching.
 

_G-Dog_

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Prone to brain explosion.. but I still have a soft spot for him.. brang plenty of energy & always have his all..

Plus some great memories & wins in his time with us..
 

MatstaDogg

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He was like that Special Ed kid with ADHD who lacked true talent but was all heart and gave 100% when on the field. He did love the club and bleed for the blue and the white, you got to give him that.
 
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