These are my thoughts on the wooden spoons received over the years and my take on them:
2002: We saw the Roosters win the 2002 premiership, after which it was found out that they were over the salary cap by $150,000. The Roosters walked away completely unpunished, kept their premiership in hand, and prize money of $400,000. The Bulldogs were allowed to keep accruing points, however were automatically put in a situation into the wooden spoon position with 3 rounds remaining, and we were given no way of avoiding it. In seasons since, teams like the Warriors and Eels who also had salary cap breaches were allowed to accrue points AFTER they got their papers in order. We were not afforded that luxury.
I'll also add that were didn't deserve to win in 2002, however we certainly didn't deserve the wooden spoon either.
My verdict: Not Valid.
2008: Not valid. Now this was a train-wreck of a season. In the off-season before 2008, Willie Mason left our club and went to the Roosters. The Roosters released Danny Williams to make room for Mason in their cap. Now, if that wasn't bad enough, Sonny-Bill Williams leaves midway through 2008 over pay. David Gallop fronted the media and said what Sonny-Bill Williams had committed was border-line fraud. Whether or not that was the case, the NRL did not support us in any way, not even salary cap exemptions to sign anyway midway through 2008 and saw us stumble to the wooden spoon.
Since then, it has become standard practice that the NRL allows players to transfer mid-season as long as salary cap space is agreed upon. Furthermore, the NRL allowed Sonny-Bill Williams contract to be registered for 2013 less than 5 years after he committed this fraud against the code. Yet another time the NRL has screwed the club over.
My verdict: Not Valid.
2021: What a train-wreck of a season this was. It was one of those seasons where the ending couldn't come soon enough, but let's take a close look at what lead to this wooden spoon... and we have to rewind a fair bit. In 2017, Des screwed the teams salary cap space by signing broken half Foran to a million a season, effectively putting a big strain on our cap. Keiran wasn't effective and spent more time on the sideline. Again, the NRL did not give us any cap assistance. Sure, players get injured but when your biggest signing gets injured the NRL has a duty of care to mandate the competition, not screw teams over. Fast forward 3 seasons to 2020, Des was gone, and we had cap space to sign players for 2021. There was one little problem... there were no good players to sign. It was almost as if Des timed this to a tee and planned it from the start. Not only that, but, the management of our club gave Des 100% control of the team which something our club has never allowed for a coach. He's simply meant to coach the team. This is NOT the roots of our club and it was evident when Raelene Castle, the worst CEO our club has ever had, and one of the worst in the history of Australian sporting clubs, was shown the door. The wooden spoon for 2021 is on Des Hasler, not the club.
My verdict: Not Valid.