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Bulldogs captain Reed Mahoney has shut down suggestions there is a cultural problem at the club following revelations this week that a player took indefinite leave after he was lined up to wrestle all of his teammates for being late to training.
Mahoney defended the expectations of coach Cameron Ciraldo, and said the intensity and workload of training was no different to clubs he has played at before.
“Training is always hard. If it was easier, everyone would be doing it. It’s harder to get in, and it’s also harder to stay,” Mahoney said.
“I definitely think he’s [Ciraldo] a mate before he’s a coach, and that’s what everyone loves about him. He’s easily approachable, his door is always open, and a lot of boys go and talk to him just about life advice, and then footy comes second, and that’s how he is.
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“But he has standards, and we have standards as a playing group and as a club with where we want to go. I think Cam is stressed out a lot that this is the way we’re going, and if you don’t really like it, then it’s probably not the place for you.”
The Bulldogs have held talks with the management of the player who hasn’t returned to the club, stressing his welfare is their priority.
Bulldogs media staff wouldn’t let the skipper comment specifically on the player in question, and whether wrestling his teammates was a fair punishment for being late, but Mahoney said he had reached out to offer support.
“His welfare is our priority and the club and the group are doing a great job of that,” he said.
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“I don’t want to talk about it because this is his thing, and we’re worried about his welfare – I don’t want to sit here and talk about it, but there was more than just that. There was other stuff going on.”
Mahoney said the playing group had spoken about the criticism, and said if they were winning games there wouldn’t be so many rumours.
“If we were winning, I don’t think we would be having these conversations, but when you’re losing, and the amount of points that we’ve conceded during the year, quite obviously we look at it every day [the culture] and for us to get better, ourselves [we] have to get it right,” he said.
“As a group, as a leader of the club, we need to cop it on the chin and just move on.”
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Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, under whom Cirlado was an assistant at Penrith, said the Bulldogs coach had his full support.
“It’s pretty obvious what he’s trying to do. He’s a great coach, he knows what he’s doing. It’s important that he gets supported from above. If they do that, then that club will be on the way up for sure,” Cleary said.
Having coached at three different clubs, Cleary said he knows the struggles and hurdles that come with rebuilding a team.
“Rebuilds [of clubs], it’s a hard slog,” he said. “I’ve been through few myself, so I understand it’s hard going. If you want to change things, change culture in any workplace, it’s not always going to be smooth.
“From the outside looking in, they’re just going through those growing pains.”
When Ciraldo fronted the media on Wednesday, he said the Bulldogs have used several methods to punish players who didn’t meet the club’s standards and said those who “don’t want to work hard and don’t want to tick every box to win NRL games ... don’t have to be here”.
“The reality is we need to change behaviours here, and I think we’ve done a good job of that throughout the season.”
Mahoney defended the expectations of coach Cameron Ciraldo, and said the intensity and workload of training was no different to clubs he has played at before.
“Training is always hard. If it was easier, everyone would be doing it. It’s harder to get in, and it’s also harder to stay,” Mahoney said.
“I definitely think he’s [Ciraldo] a mate before he’s a coach, and that’s what everyone loves about him. He’s easily approachable, his door is always open, and a lot of boys go and talk to him just about life advice, and then footy comes second, and that’s how he is.
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“But he has standards, and we have standards as a playing group and as a club with where we want to go. I think Cam is stressed out a lot that this is the way we’re going, and if you don’t really like it, then it’s probably not the place for you.”
The Bulldogs have held talks with the management of the player who hasn’t returned to the club, stressing his welfare is their priority.
Bulldogs media staff wouldn’t let the skipper comment specifically on the player in question, and whether wrestling his teammates was a fair punishment for being late, but Mahoney said he had reached out to offer support.
“His welfare is our priority and the club and the group are doing a great job of that,” he said.
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“I don’t want to talk about it because this is his thing, and we’re worried about his welfare – I don’t want to sit here and talk about it, but there was more than just that. There was other stuff going on.”
Mahoney said the playing group had spoken about the criticism, and said if they were winning games there wouldn’t be so many rumours.
“If we were winning, I don’t think we would be having these conversations, but when you’re losing, and the amount of points that we’ve conceded during the year, quite obviously we look at it every day [the culture] and for us to get better, ourselves [we] have to get it right,” he said.
“As a group, as a leader of the club, we need to cop it on the chin and just move on.”
Advertisement
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, under whom Cirlado was an assistant at Penrith, said the Bulldogs coach had his full support.
“It’s pretty obvious what he’s trying to do. He’s a great coach, he knows what he’s doing. It’s important that he gets supported from above. If they do that, then that club will be on the way up for sure,” Cleary said.
Having coached at three different clubs, Cleary said he knows the struggles and hurdles that come with rebuilding a team.
“Rebuilds [of clubs], it’s a hard slog,” he said. “I’ve been through few myself, so I understand it’s hard going. If you want to change things, change culture in any workplace, it’s not always going to be smooth.
“From the outside looking in, they’re just going through those growing pains.”
When Ciraldo fronted the media on Wednesday, he said the Bulldogs have used several methods to punish players who didn’t meet the club’s standards and said those who “don’t want to work hard and don’t want to tick every box to win NRL games ... don’t have to be here”.
“The reality is we need to change behaviours here, and I think we’ve done a good job of that throughout the season.”
