Canterbury Bulldogs to finalise life after Des Hasler at Tuesday board meeting

[beastwood89]

Canterbury's pursuit of Des Hasler's successor will ramp up on Tuesday when Dean Pay fronts the board to put his case forward to take on the job as Bulldogs coach.

Canterbury will hold a board meeting on Tuesday night to finalise plans for life after Hasler but aren't expected to make a decision after the gathering.

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Just over a month out from the start of pre-season, the Bulldogs board will get a strong indication of whether Pay is the right man for the job when they listen to what the Canberra assistant coach has to say about potentially returning home to Belmore.

Jim Dymock and Michael Maguire will also be the subject of discussions, but it's understood the board will deliberate over a number of candidates. But it's Pay who will get the chance to leave a strong first impression when he outlines his plans to bring the best out of a Bulldogs roster that left a lot to be desired in 2017.

The board will also discuss its options in relation to the looming legal battle with Hasler, who was told the heads of agreement signed earlier in the year – that gave Hasler the impression he would be at the club until the end of 2019 – was non-binding.

The board will also need to determine the structure of the football department, but without a coach and a chief executive in place, it will leave some of the key decisions to the people set to take control later in the year.

Gone: Des Hasler's replacement at the Bulldogs may be named on Wednesday.
Gone: Des Hasler's replacement at the Bulldogs may be named on Wednesday. Photo: AAP
Canterbury had already decided to limit its expenditure on the football department this year, offloading a number of Hasler's staff. It's likely the incoming coach will get a say in his staffing appointments, but the roster is all but finalised for next year.

As of last week, the NRL still had not registered the contracts of marquee recruits Kieran Foran and Aaron Woods. Despite Canterbury offloading James Graham to the Dragons to help their salary cap predicament, the governing body requires the Bulldogs to release at least one more player before rubber-stamping the deals with Foran and Woods.

The new Canterbury coach will have a number of pivotal positional decisions to make when he arrives given the club's attacking woes in recent seasons.

Hasler had planned to play Moses Mbye at hooker next year, but the club is now considering keeping Michael Lichaa if it can find room in the salary cap for a player who was unable to realise his potential under Hasler.

Andrew Hill, appointed as Raelene Castle's successor as chief executive, won't join the club until December when he finishes his current role as the chief executive of the Rugby League World Cup.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Pls sign Lichaa

 

[Natboy]

Pls sign Lichaa

Hopefully someone teaches him how to pass left to right

 

[bcmf]

get rid of tolman, he's the best prop in the game, anyone would be glad to have him.

 

[CrittaMagic69]

Hopefully someone teaches him how to pass left to right

It was fine in his final few weeks tbh. He isn't a hooker that's going to consistently throw fast crisp passes from the ground, but it will hardly matter when he plays to his strengths.

 

[Superuber]

Hasler planned to play Mbye at hooker.
The physco still had no stable long term plan for the most important positions, the spine. His coaching philosophy is so far of the pace, he has been left behind in the current environment that any team would be crazy to take him. I would find it incredible that he would be signed just on his record without considering his style of coaching over the last 4 years plus his recruitment strategy.

 

[GrogDog]

Hasler planned to play Mbye at hooker.
The physco still had no stable long term plan for the most important positions, the spine. His coaching philosophy is so far of the pace, he has been left behind in the current environment that any team would be crazy to take him. I would find it incredible that he would be signed just on his record without considering his style of coaching over the last 4 years plus his recruitment strategy.

Only a desperate club would sign Hasler now IMO. A club where being in the 8 is good enough, Bulldogs should be aiming top 4 finish every year with an minimum expectation of 2nd week of finals.....I don't think that is unrealistic considering clubs like Storm, Bronc's and Roosters have been there abouts for the last decade. As Raging Bull always says, every year the Bronc's turn up with the firm belief of wining the GF and anything different is a waste of everyone's time.

 

[speedy2460]

"Hasler planned to have Mbye as hooker". Total stupidity. Mbye is not a 6,7,or 9. He is totally bereft of any organising ability.
He cannot set up players, he cannot organise the plays, he needs to be put elsewhere if we cant unload him.
The only position he may go OK is as a centre. Just catch the ball and run, make a few tackles, and no requirement to think very much.

 

[GrogDog]

"Hasler planned to have Mbye as hooker". Total stupidity. Mbye is not a 6,7,or 9. He is totally bereft of any organising ability.
He cannot set up players, he cannot organise the plays, he needs to be put elsewhere if we cant unload him.
The only position he may go OK is as a centre. Just catch the ball and run, make a few tackles, and no requirement to think very much.

I think making any deductions on any of our players under Hasler would be unfair. Time and time again it was proven that players we thought were duds actually weren't...it was Des and Desball. I ate my humble pie with Ennis. I think Mbye would be good in 1, centre, 9 or 6 (with an organising 7). I'm going to wait until someone else comes in to Coach and see what he can do with these guys. Only players who did well under Des was Jackson, Montoya and Klemmer.....and Des had nothing to do with why they are good.

 

[Bob dog]

Good on the board for addressing the issues, even if Lichaa is dropped for a while next year he may well still be at the club.

 

[rogueflare]

Can I just say - well I can because I am - that I am sick of these board meetings. We are having one every second week and 9 times out of 10 they are unproductive.

They met a few weeks ago to discuss Des and came out of it with "we are going to review his performance" ... you needed a fucking meeting to decide that you will review the performance of your coach??

They know who will be coach and don't need a board meeting to decide that. Just make the freaking announcement and stop wasting people's time. Most decisions seem like they are being made without board approval, so why the charade?

 

[Kelpie03]

I think making any deductions on any of our players under Hasler would be unfair. Time and time again it was proven that players we thought were duds actually weren't...it was Des and Desball. I ate my humble pie with Ennis. I think Mbye would be good in 1, centre, 9 or 6 (with an organising 7). I'm going to wait until someone else comes in to Coach and see what he can do with these guys. Only players who did well under Des was Jackson, Montoya and Klemmer.....and Des had nothing to do with why they are good.

Add the fact that JJ and Klem were the two best NSW forwards in SOO while Des was not coaching them.

 

[Kelpie03]

Can I just say - well I can because I am - that I am sick of these board meetings. We are having one every second week and 9 times out of 10 they are unproductive.

They met a few weeks ago to discuss Des and came out of it with "we are going to review his performance" ... you needed a fucking meeting to decide that you will review the performance of your coach??

They know who will be coach and don't need a board meeting to decide that. Just make the freaking announcement and stop wasting people's time. Most decisions seem like they are being made without board approval, so why the charade?

Don't agree particularly been without a CEO, the matter of who is going to be appointed coach should not be decided by one person, or in an ad-hock manner.

 

[yearofthedogs2018]

"Hasler planned to have Mbye as hooker". Total stupidity. Mbye is not a 6,7,or 9. He is totally bereft of any organising ability.
He cannot set up players, he cannot organise the plays, he needs to be put elsewhere if we cant unload him.
The only position he may go OK is as a centre. Just catch the ball and run, make a few tackles, and no requirement to think very much.

i gotta disagree with you there mate. I believe Mbye would go alright at fullback, centre or as a running five-eighth with an organising halfback like Milford or May. Since his biggest strength is his speed, he can't be playing hooker next year.

 

[rogueflare]

Don't agree particularly been without a CEO, the matter of who is going to be appointed coach should not be decided by one person, or in an ad-hock manner.

I agree, they shouldn't be. And I am not suggesting that it should be. What I am saying is that decisions are being made in this manner and that "board meetings" seem to be an act/facade and are in actual fact ineffective - for the reason you pointed out: there is no CEO.

 

[vegny]

Only a desperate club would sign Hasler now IMO. A club where being in the 8 is good enough, Bulldogs should be aiming top 4 finish every year with an minimum expectation of 2nd week of finals.....I don't think that is unrealistic considering clubs like Storm, Bronc's and Roosters have been there abouts for the last decade. As Raging Bull always says, every year the Bronc's turn up with the firm belief of wining the GF and anything different is a waste of everyone's time.

Sorry mate but i disagree with your expectations. My view is you are not the only one here. Not being negative but i think ppl sometimes forget we are struggling to get the best talents. We dont have the biggest junior catchment area, we are rich but there are richer clubs, there are clubs that have more potential tpa sponsors, there are sexier clubs for kids to go to etc.
E.g. we have keebra high in qld as our nursery but their best talents decided to sign with broncos. What have we got to entice them to come down to belmore? If you are a talented kid and both roosters and dogs are showing interest in you, would you go to bondi or belmore?

 

[bcmf]

i gotta disagree with you there mate. I believe Mbye would go alright at fullback, centre or as a running five-eighth with an organising halfback like Milford or May. Since his biggest strength is his speed, he can't be playing hooker next year.

Yep. 100% agree.

The only reason you'd allow mbye at hooker is if you allowed for a running hooker. Des doesn't want that, so if he put him there you'd nullify his biggest strength.

The fact that he wanted mbye there showed he wanted quick ball to forwards, so he could carry on desball. Mbye had good crisp passing.

So glad he's gone.

 

[XR6T]

Sorry mate but i disagree with your expectations. My view is you are not the only one here. Not being negative but i think ppl sometimes forget we are struggling to get the best talents. We dont have the biggest junior catchment area, we are rich but there are richer clubs, there are clubs that have more potential tpa sponsors, there are sexier clubs for kids to go to etc.
E.g. we have keebra high in qld as our nursery but their best talents decided to sign with broncos. What have we got to entice them to come down to belmore? If you are a talented kid and both roosters and dogs are showing interest in you, would you go to bondi or belmore?

I agree and disagree.
The Bondi or Belmore thing, I agree to a certain extent but then again, when we recruited SBW, Thurston, Price, Asotasi, O'Meley, Mason, Maitua, Myles, Tonga etc....Bondi was always there, wasn't it?
It comes down to your recruitment manager and in this case, we had shit **** Cleal.

We already had great talent in our hands and we had people with great talent begging to be given to us, and due to the incompetence of Cleal and Co. we have lost out big time.
We already had talent like Ese' Ese, Finucane, Latu, Tapau.....just off the top of my head. What do Des and his idiot recruiter do, let great talent leave to keep the likes of Holland, Mbye, Tolman, fumble hands Elliott etc....
Then, we were offered Munster, Mitchell, Connor Watson and probably others but Cleal the fucking mastermind thought they were no good.
It's not Bondi or Belmore always...

 

[FAS33]

It's not your players. The coaches made you play terribly.

 

[Natboy]

I agree and disagree.
The Bondi or Belmore thing, I agree to a certain extent but then again, when we recruited SBW, Thurston, Price, Asotasi, O'Meley, Mason, Maitua, Myles, Tonga etc....Bondi was always there, wasn't it?
It comes down to your recruitment manager and in this case, we had shit **** Cleal.

We already had great talent in our hands and we had people with great talent begging to be given to us, and due to the incompetence of Cleal and Co. we have lost out big time.
We already had talent like Ese' Ese, Finucane, Latu, Tapau.....just off the top of my head. What do Des and his idiot recruiter do, let great talent leave to keep the likes of Holland, Mbye, Tolman, fumble hands Elliott etc....
Then, we were offered Munster, Mitchell, Connor Watson and probably others but Cleal the fucking mastermind thought they were no good.
It's not Bondi or Belmore always...

4 of them ended up at Bondi after leaving us though haha