I'm not buying into this curse on the club nonsense, but there are a number of reasons why we are as bad as we currently are and the first is the least of those and that is a fall out from the Des back ended contracts era which has had a flow on effect as player managers and their clients know that if you're more than half decent player at another club and you're nearing the end of your contract, the Bulldogs will pay overs for you.
We've bought talented players who have won Grand Finals with other clubs and have let go players who are not only killing it at their new clubs they are now more chance of winning a Grand Final than they were if they stayed with the 'Dogs. Take D W-Z and Montoya for the Warriors they now look like rep players compared to when they played for us. Then you look at how well Meany is playing for the Storm. Averillo will be a star for the Dolphins next year.
We're buying players on huge $$$$$ that are milking us for what they're really worth and it's been going on for years now. On top of that we're being crucified by NRL officials on and off the field.
I heard Gus say, when he came to the club, that we're going to nurture our very own talent and it starts at grass roots level, it takes time, but we're not Penrith Gus and probably never will be. Rugby League heartland is out west and when we were dominant in the past, we had a lot of depth and talent right through the whole club with a few good signings that saw us win premierships in the '80's and few more after that with last being 2004.
