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Johnathan Thurston has launched an extraordinary attack on Des Hasler, accusing the ex-Canterbury coach of stripping the Bulldogs of their aura during his tenure at the club.
Hasler spent six seasons at the helm of ‘The Family Club’ before he was sacked in 2017.
The two-time premiership-winning coach led the Bulldogs to the 2012 grand final and to the NRL finals on five occasions.
But the Bulldogs finished 11th in Hasler’s final season and missed the finals in 2018 and 2019 after a series of back-ended deals and questionable signings during Hasler’s tenure left the Bulldogs in salary cap hell.
Dean Pay, who took over from Hasler in 2018, on Monday resigned after leading the 16th-placed Bulldogs to just one win this season.
But Thurston, who played 29 games for the Bulldogs before going on to enjoy a legendary career with the North Queensland Cowboys, laid the blame for the current state of the Bulldogs squarely at Hasler’s feet.
“It’s obviously a mess and it’s hard for me when I think about the Bulldogs because they gave me my first opportunity when I was an 18-year-old to live out my dream,” Thurston told WWOS Radio.
“All through the 80s and 90s and the early 2000s the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs were a powerhouse club.
“They were the family club as they were known back then but they’ve certainly lost that aura about themselves probably over the last decade and I think probably Dessie Hasler has something to do with that and they’ve just never recovered from when he’s left.
“It’s very unfortunate for a man like Dean Pay who is a former player and captain of the club too, and to see the way that he’s exited is not great.
“Hopefully whoever they get in there knows the tradition and the history and the culture of the club and the ‘Dogs of War’ which they were known for all those years ago.
“So hopefully whoever comes in understands that and can get them back to the powerhouse club they once were.”
Former Sea Eagles coach and current Penrith assistant Trent Barrett is the prohibitive favourite to win the head coaching role in 2021 after he was interviewed on Monday night.
But Thurston cast doubt over the 42-year-old’s credentials and urged his former club to target two of the greatest coaches in NRL history.
“I don’t know if that (Barrett) be the right (choice) in my opinion,” Thurston said.
“I’d be going after someone that’s got a hard edge about them and has got a lot of experience, a Wayne Bennett-type, Craig Bellamy-type that can rule the roost with an iron fist and get the club back to the glory days.”
https://www.sportingnews.com/au/lea...yld3lbk7Koj_Y8P2WbXWLwWtNacsodPYl0ty8gjTenO7Q
Hasler spent six seasons at the helm of ‘The Family Club’ before he was sacked in 2017.
The two-time premiership-winning coach led the Bulldogs to the 2012 grand final and to the NRL finals on five occasions.
But the Bulldogs finished 11th in Hasler’s final season and missed the finals in 2018 and 2019 after a series of back-ended deals and questionable signings during Hasler’s tenure left the Bulldogs in salary cap hell.
Dean Pay, who took over from Hasler in 2018, on Monday resigned after leading the 16th-placed Bulldogs to just one win this season.
But Thurston, who played 29 games for the Bulldogs before going on to enjoy a legendary career with the North Queensland Cowboys, laid the blame for the current state of the Bulldogs squarely at Hasler’s feet.
“It’s obviously a mess and it’s hard for me when I think about the Bulldogs because they gave me my first opportunity when I was an 18-year-old to live out my dream,” Thurston told WWOS Radio.
“All through the 80s and 90s and the early 2000s the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs were a powerhouse club.
“They were the family club as they were known back then but they’ve certainly lost that aura about themselves probably over the last decade and I think probably Dessie Hasler has something to do with that and they’ve just never recovered from when he’s left.
“It’s very unfortunate for a man like Dean Pay who is a former player and captain of the club too, and to see the way that he’s exited is not great.
“Hopefully whoever they get in there knows the tradition and the history and the culture of the club and the ‘Dogs of War’ which they were known for all those years ago.
“So hopefully whoever comes in understands that and can get them back to the powerhouse club they once were.”
Former Sea Eagles coach and current Penrith assistant Trent Barrett is the prohibitive favourite to win the head coaching role in 2021 after he was interviewed on Monday night.
But Thurston cast doubt over the 42-year-old’s credentials and urged his former club to target two of the greatest coaches in NRL history.
“I don’t know if that (Barrett) be the right (choice) in my opinion,” Thurston said.
“I’d be going after someone that’s got a hard edge about them and has got a lot of experience, a Wayne Bennett-type, Craig Bellamy-type that can rule the roost with an iron fist and get the club back to the glory days.”
https://www.sportingnews.com/au/lea...yld3lbk7Koj_Y8P2WbXWLwWtNacsodPYl0ty8gjTenO7Q
