TalDog
Kennel Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2011
- Messages
- 3,188
- Reaction score
- 2,313
JANUARY 14 2017 - 12:00PM
Canterbury Bulldogs' Josh Jackson says turmoil of 2016 driving club in 2017
Writer : Jamie Marcuson
Canterbury do not want to relive 2016 any time soon.
A season that promised so much ended with the club embroiled in a tense off-field skirmish that eventually led to legend Steve Mortimer resigning from the board after saying he feared the Bulldogs were "losing our DNA" under coach Des Hasler.
Months of disquiet reached fever pitch after the Bulldogs were unceremoniously booted out of the finals in the first week by a young Penrith side.
Hasler eventually hung onto his job, but only after a marathon board meeting, and his long-term future at the club remains clouded.
"When we first started back, everyone was pretty keen because we all were pretty disappointed with the way – particularly the last six weeks of the season last year – went," he said.
"We weren't playing to our potential and we weren't playing how we thought we should be, and it didn't end well for us. So everyone was definitely keen to get back into it, for sure."
Canterbury's disappointing end to the season was a poor return for a squad that looked capable of mounting a title challenge early in the season. And Jackson says starting well will be the key to 2017.
"Obviously going into every season you're goal is to win the comp," he said. "If you're not thinking that you might as well not play the game.
"But early on in the season it would be great to get that top-four spot ... It would be good to just start the year well."
In an otherwise tough year, Jackson was one of the club's standouts, backing up his club form with three strong Origin performances for NSW and, ultimately, he collected the Brad Fittler Medal as the Blues' best.
With longstanding captain Paul Gallen retiring from representative football, Jackson's name has surfaced as a contender to lead the Blues come game one on May 31 in Brisbane. But while he would relish the chance to lead the state, Jackson says the NSW side is full of players who could do the job.
"It would definitely be great to be the Blues captain," he said. "It would be a very humbling thing. But there's a lot of guys in the group that could do it; there's a lot of leaders.
"Aaron Woods is the captain for his club [Wests Tigers], Matt Moylan, Robbie Farah, he's obviously been the vice-captain for a number of years; there's definitely a lot of other guys that could do it, too.
"No matter who gets the job, I'm sure that job will be a lot easier because there are a lot of guys there that have that leadership quality as well.
"[Gallen's] been the leader for a great number of years – nearly the best part of a decade – so it's definitely going to leave a big hole.
"He's inspirational to play with, and he's a great leader on and off the field. He leads by example. I'd imagine he'll leave a hole, but there's a good bunch of guys coming through at the moment that have played State of Origin, and a lot of guys who haven't played but have been a part of the squad and the emerging squad.
"It's really exciting at the moment for the Blues. I definitely think we're going to be successful in the future."
Canterbury Bulldogs' Josh Jackson says turmoil of 2016 driving club in 2017
Writer : Jamie Marcuson
Canterbury do not want to relive 2016 any time soon.
A season that promised so much ended with the club embroiled in a tense off-field skirmish that eventually led to legend Steve Mortimer resigning from the board after saying he feared the Bulldogs were "losing our DNA" under coach Des Hasler.
Months of disquiet reached fever pitch after the Bulldogs were unceremoniously booted out of the finals in the first week by a young Penrith side.
Hasler eventually hung onto his job, but only after a marathon board meeting, and his long-term future at the club remains clouded.
"When we first started back, everyone was pretty keen because we all were pretty disappointed with the way – particularly the last six weeks of the season last year – went," he said.
"We weren't playing to our potential and we weren't playing how we thought we should be, and it didn't end well for us. So everyone was definitely keen to get back into it, for sure."
Canterbury's disappointing end to the season was a poor return for a squad that looked capable of mounting a title challenge early in the season. And Jackson says starting well will be the key to 2017.
"Obviously going into every season you're goal is to win the comp," he said. "If you're not thinking that you might as well not play the game.
"But early on in the season it would be great to get that top-four spot ... It would be good to just start the year well."
In an otherwise tough year, Jackson was one of the club's standouts, backing up his club form with three strong Origin performances for NSW and, ultimately, he collected the Brad Fittler Medal as the Blues' best.
With longstanding captain Paul Gallen retiring from representative football, Jackson's name has surfaced as a contender to lead the Blues come game one on May 31 in Brisbane. But while he would relish the chance to lead the state, Jackson says the NSW side is full of players who could do the job.
"It would definitely be great to be the Blues captain," he said. "It would be a very humbling thing. But there's a lot of guys in the group that could do it; there's a lot of leaders.
"Aaron Woods is the captain for his club [Wests Tigers], Matt Moylan, Robbie Farah, he's obviously been the vice-captain for a number of years; there's definitely a lot of other guys that could do it, too.
"No matter who gets the job, I'm sure that job will be a lot easier because there are a lot of guys there that have that leadership quality as well.
"[Gallen's] been the leader for a great number of years – nearly the best part of a decade – so it's definitely going to leave a big hole.
"He's inspirational to play with, and he's a great leader on and off the field. He leads by example. I'd imagine he'll leave a hole, but there's a good bunch of guys coming through at the moment that have played State of Origin, and a lot of guys who haven't played but have been a part of the squad and the emerging squad.
"It's really exciting at the moment for the Blues. I definitely think we're going to be successful in the future."
Last edited:
