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New Canterbury Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett will give his players a detailed history lesson into the club’s halcyon days of the 1980s and 1990s, declaring: “It would be nice to get back to those days.”
Barrett officially started as Bulldogs head coach on Monday morning, his first task to show the 20-strong football staff a video of the club’s amazing success over the past 85 years.
And in another crash course, Canterbury players will watch the footage when they return next Monday from their off-season break. The club’s long-term past is glorious, their short-term history diabolical.
Canterbury has not won a premiership since 2004 and has only claimed two titles in the past 25 years. The Bulldogs have not reached the finals since 2016 and since that time the underachieving Dogs have won just 31 of 92 games.
Barrett will provide new hope and enthusiasm for Bulldogs fans who have endured 61 losses in the past 4 years.
“This is a club the local area should be really proud of and I know that they are.” Barrett said. “Our fans and members certainly deserve some success and we will have to work really hard to give that to them.
New Canterbury Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett on his first day in the job.
“This is a very proud and big club, one of the biggest clubs in Sydney. You probably don’t realise it until you look a little deeper about how big the area is and how big the club is and how much success we have had.
“It would be nice to get back to those days. We had a bit of a history lesson on the club today. We watched the success the club had through the 1980s and then the grand finals we made and won in the 1990s, then the same in 2004, then a couple of grand finals under Des Hasler.
“Canterbury has been a very successful club for a long time. The club has a hell of a lot of history. It is important the players and staff know that.
“The video started when the club was founded right through the Berries and the club’s eight premierships. The more the players know about the club’s history the better. You could use the video as a recruitment tool as well.”
Barrett was due to begin as coach next Monday but decided to kick off seven days early. While he arrives having just guided Penrith to a grand final as the attacking coach, he is aware lifting the 15th placed Bulldogs will be his greatest challenge.
Trent Barrett on his first day at Canterbury.
“We have some work to do and the club is not happy where we finished this year. The goal is to get better. I think we have a talented squad,” he said.
“It’s a new season and our job is to get in there and improve the players and improve our performances.
“It’s a short pre-season. We only have a five-week block before Christmas so it is really important we don’t waste a session.
“The club did lose a lot of close games last season and there are areas we have identified as coaches where we need to get better.
“We will go in with an open mind and to coach the players the best we can and get them as fit as we can.
“There are some blokes that we don’t know a hell of a lot about given there was no Canterbury Cup this year which was difficult. We are hoping there might be a few surprises there and a few players that jump out of the ground. It was good to get all the staff together today. We will now spend the week planning and getting ready for next Monday when the boys come back.”
Kyle Flanagan will be at the Bulldogs in 2021.
Canterbury has secured Kyle Flanagan, Nick Cotric, Jack Hetherington and Corey Waddell for next season while continuing to talk with Panthers half Matt Burton.
While he still has another year to run at Penrith, Canterbury is monitoring the future of Panthers and NSW centre Stephen Crichton. Blues and Penrith teammate Isaah Yeo is another player Barrett is closely watching.
Barrett officially started as Bulldogs head coach on Monday morning, his first task to show the 20-strong football staff a video of the club’s amazing success over the past 85 years.
And in another crash course, Canterbury players will watch the footage when they return next Monday from their off-season break. The club’s long-term past is glorious, their short-term history diabolical.
Canterbury has not won a premiership since 2004 and has only claimed two titles in the past 25 years. The Bulldogs have not reached the finals since 2016 and since that time the underachieving Dogs have won just 31 of 92 games.
Barrett will provide new hope and enthusiasm for Bulldogs fans who have endured 61 losses in the past 4 years.
“This is a club the local area should be really proud of and I know that they are.” Barrett said. “Our fans and members certainly deserve some success and we will have to work really hard to give that to them.
“This is a very proud and big club, one of the biggest clubs in Sydney. You probably don’t realise it until you look a little deeper about how big the area is and how big the club is and how much success we have had.
“It would be nice to get back to those days. We had a bit of a history lesson on the club today. We watched the success the club had through the 1980s and then the grand finals we made and won in the 1990s, then the same in 2004, then a couple of grand finals under Des Hasler.
“Canterbury has been a very successful club for a long time. The club has a hell of a lot of history. It is important the players and staff know that.
“The video started when the club was founded right through the Berries and the club’s eight premierships. The more the players know about the club’s history the better. You could use the video as a recruitment tool as well.”
Barrett was due to begin as coach next Monday but decided to kick off seven days early. While he arrives having just guided Penrith to a grand final as the attacking coach, he is aware lifting the 15th placed Bulldogs will be his greatest challenge.
“We have some work to do and the club is not happy where we finished this year. The goal is to get better. I think we have a talented squad,” he said.
“It’s a new season and our job is to get in there and improve the players and improve our performances.
“It’s a short pre-season. We only have a five-week block before Christmas so it is really important we don’t waste a session.
“The club did lose a lot of close games last season and there are areas we have identified as coaches where we need to get better.
“We will go in with an open mind and to coach the players the best we can and get them as fit as we can.
“There are some blokes that we don’t know a hell of a lot about given there was no Canterbury Cup this year which was difficult. We are hoping there might be a few surprises there and a few players that jump out of the ground. It was good to get all the staff together today. We will now spend the week planning and getting ready for next Monday when the boys come back.”
Canterbury has secured Kyle Flanagan, Nick Cotric, Jack Hetherington and Corey Waddell for next season while continuing to talk with Panthers half Matt Burton.
While he still has another year to run at Penrith, Canterbury is monitoring the future of Panthers and NSW centre Stephen Crichton. Blues and Penrith teammate Isaah Yeo is another player Barrett is closely watching.
