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thruthick&thin
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Sorry Des, the Bulldogs are now the benchmark
By Craig Bellamy
The Australian
Des Hasler won't like it, but this is my opinion. Canterbury-Bankstown is a fair bit ahead of everyone else in the NRL at the moment.
Last weekend's win over North Queensland merely confirmed it. In my eyes, that shaped as a real danger game for the Bulldogs.
They were without halfback Kris Keating and prop Sam Kasiano, up against a North Queensland side with Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen in outstanding form, and they still managed to stretch their winning streak to nine NRL games regardless.
Again they found a way to win. To me, that stamped them as the real deal. I thought they might have been vulnerable but to win like they did . . . if anyone had any doubts before last week, they were gone afterwards.
Des deserves a huge rap for what he has done with the club. I don't know him that well but when we have spoken, I have always found him a humble guy.
He has done a wonderful job when you consider their style of football, their results and what they have done in the past eight or nine weeks -- especially after what happened last year when the club endured some turmoil.
Results obviously tell part of the story, but the other notable change under Hasler has been the improvement in the players.
A bloke like Ben Barba has always had that wonderful ability to score tries. Under Des, he has become safer under the high ball and defensively more reliable. If anything, his strike rate in attack has improved as well. This time last year or thereabouts, Josh Morris was playing reserve grade. On form, he is now as good as any centre in the game.
Prop Sam Kasiano has come on in leaps and bounds. You could run through the entire side and say the same thing.
As for their style of play, I think that also highlights what a remarkable job Des is doing. I don't see the Bulldogs playing like Manly did the past few years. That tells me that he is coaching to the strengths of his players. That is the sign of a smart coach and a good coach -- you're not relying on the one style all the time. Your systems are designed to use the players at your disposal.
Des has done just that and the results are flowing as a result. Nine straight wins and the premiership lead has some suggesting they need a loss before the finals. It's a theory I don't necessarily subscribe to. Winning form is good form and you want to keep that feeling going.
Rather than thinking his side needs a loss, I am sure Des would be more concerned with the need to keep performing and do the basics well. If you stop getting the basics right, the fancy things won't work for you. There will be no foundation.
We won nine straight at the start of the year. Now we play Penrith this afternoon having lost five in a row. What I am seeing is us not being consistent with those things that are important to our game.
When those things start falling away or you're not doing them for as long in a game as you should be, that's when the other stuff will start falling away as well.
I imagine Des would be well aware of that. He's a smart guy. He's always gone out of his way to play the underdog or fly under the radar. Not any more.
Sorry Des. You mightn't like it, but the jig is up. The Bulldogs, at the moment, are the dead-set benchmark in the NRL.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ow-the-benchmark/story-e6frg7t6-1226442524409
By Craig Bellamy
The Australian
Des Hasler won't like it, but this is my opinion. Canterbury-Bankstown is a fair bit ahead of everyone else in the NRL at the moment.
Last weekend's win over North Queensland merely confirmed it. In my eyes, that shaped as a real danger game for the Bulldogs.
They were without halfback Kris Keating and prop Sam Kasiano, up against a North Queensland side with Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen in outstanding form, and they still managed to stretch their winning streak to nine NRL games regardless.
Again they found a way to win. To me, that stamped them as the real deal. I thought they might have been vulnerable but to win like they did . . . if anyone had any doubts before last week, they were gone afterwards.
Des deserves a huge rap for what he has done with the club. I don't know him that well but when we have spoken, I have always found him a humble guy.
He has done a wonderful job when you consider their style of football, their results and what they have done in the past eight or nine weeks -- especially after what happened last year when the club endured some turmoil.
Results obviously tell part of the story, but the other notable change under Hasler has been the improvement in the players.
A bloke like Ben Barba has always had that wonderful ability to score tries. Under Des, he has become safer under the high ball and defensively more reliable. If anything, his strike rate in attack has improved as well. This time last year or thereabouts, Josh Morris was playing reserve grade. On form, he is now as good as any centre in the game.
Prop Sam Kasiano has come on in leaps and bounds. You could run through the entire side and say the same thing.
As for their style of play, I think that also highlights what a remarkable job Des is doing. I don't see the Bulldogs playing like Manly did the past few years. That tells me that he is coaching to the strengths of his players. That is the sign of a smart coach and a good coach -- you're not relying on the one style all the time. Your systems are designed to use the players at your disposal.
Des has done just that and the results are flowing as a result. Nine straight wins and the premiership lead has some suggesting they need a loss before the finals. It's a theory I don't necessarily subscribe to. Winning form is good form and you want to keep that feeling going.
Rather than thinking his side needs a loss, I am sure Des would be more concerned with the need to keep performing and do the basics well. If you stop getting the basics right, the fancy things won't work for you. There will be no foundation.
We won nine straight at the start of the year. Now we play Penrith this afternoon having lost five in a row. What I am seeing is us not being consistent with those things that are important to our game.
When those things start falling away or you're not doing them for as long in a game as you should be, that's when the other stuff will start falling away as well.
I imagine Des would be well aware of that. He's a smart guy. He's always gone out of his way to play the underdog or fly under the radar. Not any more.
Sorry Des. You mightn't like it, but the jig is up. The Bulldogs, at the moment, are the dead-set benchmark in the NRL.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...ow-the-benchmark/story-e6frg7t6-1226442524409
