Baby Blues
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DES Hasler’s talent as a coach is to turn the intangibles into something real.
A slow play-the-ball, a lazy pass, Hasler realised that areas previously given only passing reference could be turned into markers for genuine improvement, and it was the great difference when he arrived at the Bulldogs and steered them to the grand final his first season.
The Bulldogs found something real to build on ... and then lost it last year.They limped into the final series, torn apart by injury and internal strife which, we know, led to Ben Barba joining Brisbane after a season of constant disruption. Yet from the rubble of that season the Bulldogs, as is their way, have found a small diamond to drive them forward.
“It gave guys like Tim Brown and Drury Low some opportunities to play some first grade,” captain Michael Ennis said.
“The other thing out of it was that probably, after the successful year that we had in 2012 ... it was a realisation that just because we had a good roster and that we had good staff and a good club, that it is just not going to happen for you.“That we have to work hard every week in this competition.”
Hasler has already moved past it. “It is pretty well documented throughout the year what happened and I don’t want to dwell on it,” he said “Distractions and interruptions."
In their grand final year six key players - Barba, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard, James Graham, Greg Eastwood and Krisnan Inu - missed just six games. Last year, combined, they missed 46. In the road to the playoffs, that’s more than a pothole. It was a key reason why the Bulldogs, with injuries to Graham and Kasiano, along with Barba’s suspension, started poorly. They won just one of their first six games.They recovered somewhat to win 11 of the next 14 before injuries and suspension again saw them drop off towards season’s end.
“We played a bit like a car that wasn’t serviced,” Hasler said. “We ... what’s the word? We sputtered along. “We’d start to recover and then bang, you get hit by injury or suspension again.” More than anything, the Bulldogs are after consistency this season. Consistency in performance, which brings consistency in results. “There’s all sorts of areas that we can improve on,” Hasler said,. “Getting that consistency on the field is really the key factor for us. “We probably never got into any rhythm last year.”
For such reasons the first month is crucial, and the Dogs are eyeing the season start with a special conviction.
Early wins build momentum, a weapon in itself. The Bulldogs should get away with Brisbane in round one before three solid tests against Cronulla, Penrith and Melbourne. And it does not get any easier. After Melbourne, they play the Roosters and then the Warriors.
“The start of the season is super important, we need to get out of the blocks and get some wins under our belt to allow us to get into that middle part of the season,” Ennis said. “We missed that last year.”
To do that, Ennis said, the Dogs have to keep it simple.“Just really staying in that contest for the full 80 minutes,” he said. “You don’t have to drop off much to get beat.”
Their constant reminder will be last season, and how a few small problems here, a major inconvenience there, can unravel a season.
Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ca...14/story-e6freuy9-1226823920231#ixzz2t2bXJrzc
A slow play-the-ball, a lazy pass, Hasler realised that areas previously given only passing reference could be turned into markers for genuine improvement, and it was the great difference when he arrived at the Bulldogs and steered them to the grand final his first season.
The Bulldogs found something real to build on ... and then lost it last year.They limped into the final series, torn apart by injury and internal strife which, we know, led to Ben Barba joining Brisbane after a season of constant disruption. Yet from the rubble of that season the Bulldogs, as is their way, have found a small diamond to drive them forward.
“It gave guys like Tim Brown and Drury Low some opportunities to play some first grade,” captain Michael Ennis said.
“The other thing out of it was that probably, after the successful year that we had in 2012 ... it was a realisation that just because we had a good roster and that we had good staff and a good club, that it is just not going to happen for you.“That we have to work hard every week in this competition.”
Hasler has already moved past it. “It is pretty well documented throughout the year what happened and I don’t want to dwell on it,” he said “Distractions and interruptions."
In their grand final year six key players - Barba, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard, James Graham, Greg Eastwood and Krisnan Inu - missed just six games. Last year, combined, they missed 46. In the road to the playoffs, that’s more than a pothole. It was a key reason why the Bulldogs, with injuries to Graham and Kasiano, along with Barba’s suspension, started poorly. They won just one of their first six games.They recovered somewhat to win 11 of the next 14 before injuries and suspension again saw them drop off towards season’s end.
“We played a bit like a car that wasn’t serviced,” Hasler said. “We ... what’s the word? We sputtered along. “We’d start to recover and then bang, you get hit by injury or suspension again.” More than anything, the Bulldogs are after consistency this season. Consistency in performance, which brings consistency in results. “There’s all sorts of areas that we can improve on,” Hasler said,. “Getting that consistency on the field is really the key factor for us. “We probably never got into any rhythm last year.”
For such reasons the first month is crucial, and the Dogs are eyeing the season start with a special conviction.
Early wins build momentum, a weapon in itself. The Bulldogs should get away with Brisbane in round one before three solid tests against Cronulla, Penrith and Melbourne. And it does not get any easier. After Melbourne, they play the Roosters and then the Warriors.
“The start of the season is super important, we need to get out of the blocks and get some wins under our belt to allow us to get into that middle part of the season,” Ennis said. “We missed that last year.”
To do that, Ennis said, the Dogs have to keep it simple.“Just really staying in that contest for the full 80 minutes,” he said. “You don’t have to drop off much to get beat.”
Their constant reminder will be last season, and how a few small problems here, a major inconvenience there, can unravel a season.
Source: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ca...14/story-e6freuy9-1226823920231#ixzz2t2bXJrzc
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