News Canterbury chairman insists Bulldogs won’t take shortcuts back to the top

2144superman

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NRL 2021: Canterbury chairman insists Bulldogs won’t take shortcuts back to the top

Dean Ritchie
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Canterbury chairman John Khoury has made a pact with coach Trent Barrett not to take any “selfish” shortcuts in a bid to turn the club back into a premiership force.

Canterbury chairman John Khoury has made a secret pact with head coach Trent Barrett to deliver his struggling club a premiership — without taking any “selfish” short cuts.

And Khoury said his board was firmly behind Barrett, despite the club’s horror 0-5 start to the season.

“We’ve got the coach’s back,” Khoury said.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Daily Telegraph, Khoury revealed:

— His players were using a sports psychologist to bring mental toughness.

— There was no easy fix or answer to the current dilemma.

— That the “pressure was on” without improved results.

— He told fellow directors not to focus purely on being re-elected.


— His club was refusing to panic and adopt a “short-term fix”.

— Canterbury will be highly active in the player market and his club has remained calm and united.

Victory on Sunday against North Queensland in Townsville will ease pressure at Belmore, defeat though will increase scrutiny.

Khoury stressed he and Barrett had a clear plan and vision to drag his underachieving club back to the penthouse of rugby league.

“Trent and I have a pact – and I’m happy for you to quote this – we are not going to take any short-term selfish fixes that will win us one or two more games,” Khoury said. “This is about how we get to the top four long-term and stay there.

“We want to get to the top, we want to win a grand final but we won’t take shortcuts to take a bit of pressure off us. This is about the right, long-term decisions


“With the board, I’ve told them not to worry about being re-elected. ‘If you really love the club, I will lead by example’. This is about what is in the best interests of the club. If we don’t get improvements in results, you’re right, the pressure is on. All of us.

“To be fair, Trent has only been here since November 1 and he deserves a chance. We (the board) do as well. I’ve only been in charge since late October.

“The results are there to be seen – I’m not going to try and sugar-coat it. Defensively, it’s been very disappointing and unacceptable.

“The key now is club stability and unity because if we panic and look for short-term fixes, that will set us back. And that’s what has happened in the past.”

Khoury said Canterbury’s front office was well positioned financially but on-field results had to improve – and quickly.

He wasn’t offering excuses but did say: “We’ve got sports psychologists, (skipper) Josh Jackson, everyone is talking to the players. We’re leaving no stone unturned in terms of mental toughness and the physicality.


“We agree, we’re disappointed, we’re through it, mate. There’s no easy fix or easy answer. The buck will stop with the players. There are players playing for contracts. Only a week ago, we only had 20 players to pick from because of injuries and suspensions. We know where the squad is at.

“Me and Trent aren’t at the stage where we have said who is staying and who is going but we are watching things very, very closely but all those players know they are coming up for contract. That’s the big, bad world of NRL.

“Boards come and go, coaches come and go, so do players, you have to get the results, you’ve to progress.”

Canterbury has lost all five games this season by an average of 28 points.

The Bulldogs’ usually vocal fans have so far remained silent – but another loss could trigger supporter outrage.

“Some of the blokes, we want them playing better but they are still young and ‘Baz’ will make them good players as they grow,” Khoury said. “More importantly, we’ve got (Matt) Burton and (Josh) Addo-Carr coming next year and we are definitely active in the player market for this coming season, 2022.



We turned the corner in attack (last week) – we were the first team to put 18 points on Melbourne this year. Defensively, that’s where our big concern is and I know that is a big focus for Trent Barrett and the coaching staff.



“We are helping keep things quiet and calm and being transparent with members. I am working the phones, as are other directors, talking to sponsors and key member groups and everyone can see the harmony and that there is a plan.

“If you’re looking in from the outside, and I’m not trying to say we’re the best, but in terms of the clubs that are struggling, there is no bad noise coming out of the club because there is this sense that finally there is calm, there’s a plan and they’re united.

“I look at the camaraderie and culture in the club at the moment – and it started really with the boardroom – and everyone is really busy and clear on how we are helping.”


And Canterbury’s board has overseen another increase in finances for 2021.

“For the first time in four years, our sponsorships are up, we sold all our (playing) kit two weeks before round one, which includes people sponsoring a player. And there is a waiting list on that,” Khoury said. “Our shorts, jersey, sternum, everything, all sold out. The business is very healthy.

“Separate to that, if you look at our SG Ball, there are probably seven players that are going to get picked for Australia or NSW. Five of those kids have already been earmarked as future first graders. Trent is totally checked into the long-term plan for the club.”


 
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Cappuccino

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I love a good secret pact
The best pact in nrl history was luke ricketson. After being bashed by the warriors he grabbed all his players and said they wont be intimidated and will fight back. Carried on about it all week in the media too.
Then come game time he clotheslined someone who was all over their player and got suspended for the grand final as a result hahahaha sucked in u fuckin wank stain.
 

S.B.W_Jnr

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Right now we're frustrated because we haven't won. I rather invest in young upcoming players and sign a few good players and focus on the junior system like we have done before des came along with Noel cleal and stuffed all that up. I was a big fan of Mulholland as our recruitment officer he brought some good young talent to the club, that's where we should be focusing!
 
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bullanth

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I think the board should be congratulated on what they have achieved in a short space of time,they are also aware that jac and burton coming next next year will b an attraction for the club,and we are in a better space in as far as junior development,we finally have juniors coming through that other clubs want,and are signed with us,we should all just b patient and hang in there.
 

B-Train

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At least Khoury didn't sugarcoat anything and acknowledged how unacceptable the defence was while pointing out how limited and average our current squad is.

Baz seems to have a lot of security, which is good for the stability of the club, but he needs to prove he's worthy of that with better selections/rotations and tactics with the limited squad he does have available. As bad as it is right now, we can still do better.

As long as they nail recruitment for next season, I'm confident we'll be a top 8 team. But getting through this season will be painful for all involved. Hopefully a few wins and scoring some points can help us all see more hope heading into next season...
 

Bulldogz82

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It's frustrating right now no doubt but I really want our club to get back into the top 4 permanently so if this is the road we have to take then so be it......

P.s a win this week would be nice though lol
 

boggie23

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If it was Lynne she would have said we were ambitious to say 5 years. Team like west tigers still haven’t made the grand final since 05 and we are following their successful model :p

It was obvious the andersons and the others associated with that board had self interest in mind. Not about the club or the team, just about themselves.

I have always been excited that it’s not the same regular faces in charge. We needed a clean out, and we needed success and that starts at the top in this case.

Also interesting to hear we have potential in our sg ball ranks. Was he referring to alamoti?
 

James zac

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As they say patience is a virtue but surely bullfrog left notes somewhere on how he did it
 

CBDoggies

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Ok this is me just thinking out loud.... so the dragons are 1-4 and are travelling well. Does anyone question why they are going so well and we are putrid? Like our rosters are not so diff with a lot of inexperience... yes our halves ain’t as experienced and they have a couple of decent front rowers but my question is how can they compete and even beat a parra side so convincingly? Anyone question how things are being done at our club? Again just wondering how we are travelling so bad and yet dragons who where favourites to win the spoon are looking so good
 

bullanth

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Ok this is me just thinking out loud.... so the dragons are 1-4 and are travelling well. Does anyone question why they are going so well and we are putrid? Like our rosters are not so diff with a lot of inexperience... yes our halves ain’t as experienced and they have a couple of decent front rowers but my question is how can they compete and even beat a parra side so convincingly? Anyone question how things are being done at our club? Again just wondering how we are travelling so bad and yet dragons who where favourites to win the spoon are looking so good
In answer to your questions,the dragons have a much better pack of forwards,for starters which in turn makes it a lot easier on their backs to make progress,and this is the difference between McGregor and griffin,his forwards are maki g progress,where ours are getting steamrolled each week,we badly need 2 to 3 big mobile units,minus Napa and a couple of other’s
 

bradtalo

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I just wonder why we have all this money and we're in rebuild but the Sharks (who have made the semis the last 2 years) are capable of hatching a plan much better than ours by making a very strong play for Bellamy and now they're favourites to sign Adam Reynolds plus they have a new coach (while we have Barrett and Flanagan). Why didn't we ever make a serious play at Bellamy ?

I'm frankly sick of reading report after report telling us fans to wait longer and longer for success.

Yes we don't want to spend another 1.2M a season on a broken Foran type player (even though he was our best player when actually on the field) but FFS we need a plan like buying 2 of the best spine players in the comp (just like the Roosters did a few years ago in Tedesco and Keary)

Buy Grant and Papa for up to a MIL each a season and I'm happy if we fill the rest of the team with local juniors (plus a few imports like Burton) but we need at least a couple of ELITE players to build a team around. These 2 are young and fit and virtually guaranteed to be great players for at least 3 years. Sign them for 3 year contracts only.

A team with a spine of Papa, Burton and Grant would be half way to winning a comp as long as the rest of the 17 were just solid.

We need our own big 3. A big 1, 2 or none won't cut it.
 
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Craystar

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Khoury's brother is a juniors coach at the Roosters.

Fatso should be sending some players our way
 
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