Developing success: the rise of Penrith, the fall of Canterbury

Status
Not open for further replies.

chisdog

Kennel Legend
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
8,165
Reaction score
7,811
http://leagueunlimited.com/news/31690-developing-success-the-rise-of-penrith-the-fall-of-canterbury/

Robert Crosby takes a look at the contrasting fortunes experienced by Penrith and Canterbury over the past six seasons.

Round 1, 2012.

"Masterminded by current premiership winning coach Des Hasler, Canterbury has ensured Ivan Cleary's tenure as Panthers coach begins with a loss, after the Bulldogs recorded a 22-14 win at Penrith."
Six years later the fortunes facing the combatants of Friday's fixture have changed considerably.

While it may appear to be a tenuous conclusion to draw, the fates of Penrith and Canterbury have been intriguingly aligned over the past six seasons.

With both clubs appointing coaches fresh off the achievements of the 2011 grand final, the philosophies of achieving success varied greatly to the extent that while initial triumphs were gained through novel tactics, the key to establishing enduring results lay in player development.



In Phil Gould's first full season as General Manager of Football at Penrith, the decision to appoint Ivan Cleary, signed from a club renown for bringing junior players through to first grade, resulted in short-term pain on the scoreboard with a dispiriting 15th placed finish.

Hamstrung by a mismanaged salary cap and with a limited sense of connection between the roster and the local region, the decision to take a holistic view and identify the potential of investing in junior talent resulted in a vastly different roster six seasons later.

Using 23 players in first grade over the first seven weeks of 2018, 14 of those players have made their debuts for Penrith having progressed through the lower grades, with the likes of Isaah Yeo, Reagan Campbell-Gillard and most recently Jack Hetherington playing leading roles in helping the club achieve two National Youth Competition titles (2013, 2016), two reserve grade premierships (2014, 2017) along with claiming the 2017 State Championship.

As a result of this direction, along with recruiting well-established talent and consciously pivoting following the replacement of Ivan Cleary with Anthony Griffin in the wake of an anomalous 2015 regression, the Panthers have reaped the rewards on the ladder with semi final finishes in the past two seasons, while being entrenched within the highly coveted top four after the first two months of the competition.


In contrast to the Panthers development strategy, the approach favoured by Canterbury after securing the coup of dual premiership winning coach Des Hasler, focussed on a forward-dominated strategy to enable the side's prodigious talent Ben Barba the freedom to single-handedly impact the outcome of matches.

Standing out from all other competitors in style and placement on the ladder in 2012, the early results the Bulldogs achieved in finishing as minor premiers and defeated grand finalists suggested Hasler's tactics would deliver a highly sought premiership.

Over the following four years the Bulldogs featured regularly in the play-offs, even qualifying for a second decider in 2014 following a stellar finals run ultimately brought to a close by the undeniable South Sydney juggernaut, yet despite managing above average win-loss records, the departure of Barba, a preference to poach talent and the increasing awareness of the initially novel game plan from the other 15 clubs saw the side progressively deteriorate to the point that having limped into the 2016 finals series, the internal frustrations present throughout the playing ranks resulted in a shattering exit at the hands of the Panthers.

Unwilling to accept the declining results that culminated in the NRL side missing the finals for the first time since 2011, the Canterbury hierarchy elected to appoint former premiership winning player Dean Pay to the top job, despite earlier extending Hasler's contract for a further two seasons, resulting in an on-going legal drama.

In attempting to justify the change of coach as necessary to return the Bulldogs to their former glory, the impact of Hasler's management of the salary cap has severely hampered the side's ability to conduct an overhaul of the roster, leaving a club regarded as both ‘The Entertainers' and ‘Dogs of War' with an absence of recognised talent to draw upon during trying times.


As a result of the varying strategies implement by Penrith and Canterbury earlier in the decade, the fortunes of the two clubs have shifted greatly.

Outlining a plan to see the majority of first grade talent develop through emerging pathways to ensure a productive stream of players to draw upon for years to come, the Panthers have established a blueprint for success emulated by rivals such as Newcastle, while being willing to make difficult roster decisions in the interest of ensuring the club succeeds beyond the present.

Having placed on-field success above all else, the Bulldogs have been made to face the consequences of an inability to capitalise upon their premiership window with the financial implications of heavily back-ended deals, the lack of junior development and a costly stubbornness in their style of play leaving the side with few options of improving their fortunes in the immediate future.

With lessons to be drawn from the respective cases, the test for both Penrith and Canterbury as they face off at the foot of the mountains on Friday night will be whether either side is defined by their past actions or capable of forging a path towards the ultimate rugby league prize based solely on their current merits.
 

dogg4life

Waterboy
Joined
Feb 15, 2008
Messages
13
Reaction score
5
The article was good and is a reminder of the bred not bought days when we won in 04 with a side full of developed players. But one thing the article doesn’t mention is the abundance of junior talent that sits at Gould’s door step that Gould would get first crack at to funnel into their system. Would like a comparison of junior numbers in Bankstown vs penrith. And also how many go into junior rep sides from each region.
 

Mr Invisible

Banned
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
0
Reaction score
47
Yeah but one thing everyone needs to remember is that the Panthers have a state of the art Rugby League Academy that the Panthers group built for them for $22 million.

They also nurture talent and control all the Penrith junior grades from like Under 8s upwards. Panthers pour over a million a year into junior leagues (more than double any other club), and yet still have nothing much to show for it.
 

Vlasnik

Kennel Legend
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
10,442
Reaction score
8,181
This thread should be renamed
Developing success: the rise of Penrith, the curse of Des Hasler
The neo-Nazi road this club into the ground along with our foreseeable future while his great mate stuffed every pie he could find into his face.
 

Realist90

Kennel Legend
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
13,949
Reaction score
3,261
This thread should be renamed
Developing success: the rise of Penrith, the curse of Des Hasler
The neo-Nazi road this club into the ground along with our foreseeable future while his great mate stuffed every pie he could find into his face.
Neo Nazi? So Raelene castle wanting to take in refugees, caring more about pc antics, looking diverse is your definition of a neo Nazi foundation? Lolllllllll you antifas are hilarious. As for Hasler, he allowed a Mormon a day off on Sunday for his mormonic beliefs lol, had more fobs in his team and minorities than whites. Wouldn’t drop players to not hurt their feelings. Very neo Nazi indeed.
You got a social science degree?
 

GoTheDoggies

Kennel Immortal
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
19,871
Reaction score
18,676
Gould's 5 year plan turned into a 10 year plan and soon to be 15.

They are on a premiership drought like us, we've had better results under the Hasler era compared to Penrith.

Looking at it now they are closer to winning the comp but still have obvious weaknesses in their squad. This year is a great chance for them to win I mean come on the Warriors and Dragons are top of the table. This years comp has seen a drastic turn around for a few clubs. The usual suspects, Storm, Roosters & Broncos don't look as strong. This will probably be the Warriors best chance as well.
 
Last edited:

milkdog

Kennel Participant
Joined
May 21, 2009
Messages
169
Reaction score
172
If we won one or two of those GFs we made this article would mean shit all. Panthers haven't won shit.
 

Baby Blues

Kennel Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
4,274
Reaction score
2,780
Cleary is arguably Penrith's best player and that was due to good fortune. If we had signed Cleary instead of Hasler he could have been ours
 

D- voice

Kennel Addict
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
7,851
Reaction score
11,232
Yeah but one thing everyone needs to remember is that the Panthers have a state of the art Rugby League Academy that the Panthers group built for them for $22 million.

They also nurture talent and control all the Penrith junior grades from like Under 8s upwards. Panthers pour over a million a year into junior leagues (more than double any other club), and yet still have nothing much to show for it.
That's where we are going wrong, from being the best club in nurturing juniors to probably the worst thanks to Greenberg for allowing Hitler Hasler and Criminal Cleal do it to us !!!
 

Boxer

THE BOSS
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
So can someone please remind me what has Penrith achieved??
I’m confused, the rise of Penrith??
What did they rise to??
Last GF was in 2003 .
 

Wolfmother

Kennel Legend
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
14,576
Reaction score
3,801
We just need to implement more dirty play .

We're not going to win by playing like choirboys or trying to milk penalties..

Our whole attitude is the problem. The 2014 finals led by 'that grub' Ennis was the closest we got to Dogs of War since the dogs of war era.

None of this bullshit where the team needs time to gel. It's all about backing each other up and causing havoc on the other teams psyche
 

Wolfmother

Kennel Legend
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
14,576
Reaction score
3,801
In my experience watching junior footy for 6 years the teams that came up best always had an on-field pre game war chant..
 

GDR

Kennel Addict
2 x Gilded
Premium Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2013
Messages
6,758
Reaction score
10,247
I think the point is being missed by most.. neither of the club's achieved anything over the past 6 years.. but looking forward Panthers are looking capable of sustaining a really competitive team and the bulldogs look like they will struggle to put a competitive team together in the foreseeable future..
 

Moey

Kennel Enthusiast
Premium Member
Tipping Champion
Joined
Jul 27, 2008
Messages
2,718
Reaction score
3,652
Penrith might not have won a premiership but neither have we...

At least they have identified talent and brought them through the ranks, have unearthed some exciting talent and played great football. And are a big chance of winning a GF.
We are going nowhere, have a diabolically shit squad and not 1 potential junior coming through that could be a superstar. No salary cap space, bleak future for next few seasons.
Penrith at least are trying, let's see if our club can turn it around and produce superstar youngsters like we used to..
 

Mr Invisible

Banned
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
0
Reaction score
47
That's where we are going wrong, from being the best club in nurturing juniors to probably the worst thanks to Greenberg for allowing Hitler Hasler and Criminal Cleal do it to us !!!
Not really...

Penrith Junior League have a HUGE area they can pull talent from... far larger than Canterbury Bankstown districts these days (because theres not as many getting into league in those areas to begin with).

Combine that with the money spent on the Rugby league Academy and it's no suprise they are competitive in most grades.

NRL: 3/16
NSW Cup: 6/12 (injury depleted first grade pulling players from NSW Cup).
Flegg: 4/12
Tarsha Gale: 5/11
Womans: 6/ 9
H Matts: 1/15 (and in semi finals).
SG Ball: 2/16 (and in semi finals).
Sydney Shield: 9/11
Ron Massey: 10/11

Their Shield/Massey teams are impacted by having to drag players into NSW Cup and Flegg to cover for injuries.
Their NSW Cup and Flegg sides are impacted by having to drag players into NRL to cover for injuries.
 

D- voice

Kennel Addict
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
7,851
Reaction score
11,232
Not really...

Penrith Junior League have a HUGE area they can pull talent from... far larger than Canterbury Bankstown districts these days (because theres not as many getting into league in those areas to begin with).

Combine that with the money spent on the Rugby league Academy and it's no suprise they are competitive in most grades.

NRL: 3/16
NSW Cup: 6/12 (injury depleted first grade pulling players from NSW Cup).
Flegg: 4/12
Tarsha Gale: 5/11
Womans: 6/ 9
H Matts: 1/15 (and in semi finals).
SG Ball: 2/16 (and in semi finals).
Sydney Shield: 9/11
Ron Massey: 10/11

Their Shield/Massey teams are impacted by having to drag players into NSW Cup and Flegg to cover for injuries.
Their NSW Cup and Flegg sides are impacted by having to drag players into NRL to cover for injuries.
I wasn't comparing junior base sizes.
I agree that their juniors base has always been much larger than ours but it didn't stop us tapping into the country NSW or QLD and NZ junior talents,
The whole debacle started when Greenberg announced that it's a waste of money investing and nurturing young talents then loose them to other clubs, what followed was worse, Hasler and Cleal butchered our roster and refused young talents such as L. Mitchel, C. Watson and Munster.
Now we are paying for it !!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top