kevin moore to be shown the door
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...immediate-review/story-e6frexp9-1226069391555
KEVIN Moore is facing the sack as Bulldogs coach - possibly even before the end of the season.
The Sunday Telegraph learned after last night's demoralising 38-4 loss to Manly that Moore had lost board-room support and his position was under immediate review.
The Bulldogs plummeted to their fourth loss from five matches and looked a disorganised and disinterested rabble.
Not even Moore's standing as a loyal servant and one of the family club's favourite sons will save his job despite having 18 months left on his contract.
Apart from the team's diabolical recent form and their failure to make the finals last year, there is another issue simmering over Moore's insistence that the club retain veteran skipper Andrew Ryan next year, while recruitment manager Peter Mulholland and the board think he should retire.
Even the club's CEO Todd Greenberg conceded Moore was under pressure after one of their worst losses in recent years.
"I'm not surprised you're writing the story - I'm sure after a performance like ours tonight, any coach is going to be under pressure," Greenberg said.
"But it's not just Kevin - it's all of us. There's no internal drama, or anything like that, but we're just not playing well enough considering we recruited all the players we needed.
"There were very high expectations for this year."
Blues State of Origin coach Ricky Stuart is being linked to the Bulldogs as the man to take over from Moore.
Stuart enjoys a tight relationship with a number of senior Bulldogs officials from his playing and coaching days at Canterbury, the club he joined from the Canberra Raiders.
A source told The Sunday Telegraph late last night that Moore's untenable position with the board could not be reversed.
"He'd have to win the grand final to keep his job," the source said, "and that's just not possible the way the team is playing.
"And unlike other clubs, Canterbury have the money to pay out the coach the last 18 months of his contract with no strain on their budget."
In a disastrous night for the club, thousands of supporters walked out midway through the second half as Manly turned on a seven-tries-to-one thumping.
Moore described it as his side's worst loss of the season, just a week after thinking the Dogs had turned the corner with a win against Gold Coast.
"Yeah, by far," Moore said when asked if this was a new low for 2011.
"We got totally dominated by a side who played well and we were terrible.
"Right from the first minutes of the game they physically dominated us. Any tactics we may have had coming into the game went out window. When you don't compete against quality sides they'll just put points on you. They dominated us right across the park.
"I was disappointed with the game against Canberra (because) aside from that we were pretty consistent. But tonight, I didn't see it coming.
"It just wasn't good at all."
