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Ryan feels dogs reality bite
Ryan feels Dogs reality bite
By Iain Payten
April 15, 2005
A FEW weeks before the NRL grand final last year, Warriors-bound Bulldogs captain Steve Price invited his mate and probable successor over to dinner.
Price thought he'd give Andrew Ryan a little advice on the finer points of leadership he might need to assume the helm of the highest profile club in the game.
"I believed he was the right guy for the job, so we talked and it worked out he was doing most things right already. There wasn't much more advice to give," Price recalls. "Funny thing was it was not long after he took over the job."
Price will always remember the knee injury that robbed him of captaining the Dogs to grand final glory last year, and so will Ryan.
Having not captained a side since his school days, the quietly-spoken Bulldogs forward was suddenly leading his club into a premiership decider.
Later that night, a dazed Ryan would hoist the trophy aloft for the victorious Bulldogs, an emphatic symbol of triumph over several years of adversity at Belmore.
It was a dream debut and, not surprisingly, Ryan struggles to remember the detail.
"It happened so quick, and I just wanted to get on with the game. I had the (c) next to my name but there were plenty of leaders out on the field, so it wasn't such a big deal," Ryan says.
Price was struggling on the sideline but he knew one thing: a new Bulldogs captain was born.
"He was outstanding that night. He led by example as all good skippers do and with no disrespect to Willie's [Mason] award, I thought Andy was the best player on the field," Price says.
It was heady stuff but with a bubble that size when it burst it was always going to be messy, Ryan now admits.
Summer saw Price shift his life across the Tasman and Ryan was officially named the new captain of the Bulldogs.
For a moment, it seemed as if his dream captaincy would continue, with a first half walloping of St George in the season opener.
But four games later and the injury-depleted premiers have not won another half of football.
With a 1-3 record the pre-season favourites for back-to-back premierships have now spiralled down to 11th on the NRL ladder.
For Ryan, reality has bitten.
"Yeah, it was a pretty good start. I was lucky enough to take the grand final and then a good win against St George first up," Ryan says.
"I guess it's hit home the last three rounds that it's not going to be like that forever. It is definitely a good test for me [as captain]. There are going to be times when you have to work hard, and everyone needs to dig deep at training."
After just five weeks at the helm, Ryan and the SS Bulldog are facing one of those times.
But good leaders are forged more often in times of trial than success, and the 26-year-old's capacity to inspire by example is highly regarded at Belmore.
Just as the affable Price steered the troubled club through years of controversy to a premiership with his no-nonsense leadership, Ryan has been deliberate in his reaction to the Dogs' slow start.
He has done nothing.
Well, nothing more than he has always done.
"They just said to me nothing needs to change. The reason you're captain is through what you have done before," Ryan says when quizzed on his philosophies of leadership.
"I am not naturally a big talker. Folkesy said: 'You don't have to go berserk and talk your head off for the sake of it. Just keep doing what you're doing and try and lead by example - at training and in the games and that's all I have been trying to do I guess."
Much like the straight-forward Folkes, Wayne Bennett's simple rule with picking a captain is going with "a doer over a talker".
Ryan would be his type of man, although the reserved Dubbo boy admits he is still coming to grips with the more foreign off-field duties of a captain; press, sponsors, fans, a general middle-man between players, coach and club.
"Some guys are born with it, or at least been a captain since they were young," the Dogs skipper says.
"Some develop over time. I guess that's what I have done. I've played in some good sides and played under good leaders and I've tried to learn from them.
"I always try to be disciplined with myself in training, and I guess I have developed over time into a leader and I am enjoying the position at the moment."
Ryan admits the infancy of his captaincy has been "frustrating at times" but the Kangaroo forward knows his behaviour is a cue for his team, his club and his fans.
It is a heavy weight of responsibility trusted only on the shoulders of the right bloke.
"The thing as captain is you have to be the one who handles things. As soon as you start to crack, or give it to the ref or whatever, it's an excuse for your team to do the same," Price concurs.
So with the world watching, it's been business as usual for Ryan - and the Dogs - this week in preparation for tonight's grand final replay against the Roosters.
Playing for two points is usually a cliche for these clubs but now it is a stark reality.
With the Bulldogs facing their fourth straight loss for the first time since 2000, Ryan can only preach what he knows.
"You can't go shooting your mouth off at anyone. You just have to accept things that are happening on the field, and work even harder," he says.
"If you're asking blokes to do things right, and you are not doing those things yourself, it rings hollow. You want to back up things that you say, you have to lead by example."
A good captain always does.
Ryan feels Dogs reality bite
By Iain Payten
April 15, 2005
A FEW weeks before the NRL grand final last year, Warriors-bound Bulldogs captain Steve Price invited his mate and probable successor over to dinner.
Price thought he'd give Andrew Ryan a little advice on the finer points of leadership he might need to assume the helm of the highest profile club in the game.
"I believed he was the right guy for the job, so we talked and it worked out he was doing most things right already. There wasn't much more advice to give," Price recalls. "Funny thing was it was not long after he took over the job."
Price will always remember the knee injury that robbed him of captaining the Dogs to grand final glory last year, and so will Ryan.
Having not captained a side since his school days, the quietly-spoken Bulldogs forward was suddenly leading his club into a premiership decider.
Later that night, a dazed Ryan would hoist the trophy aloft for the victorious Bulldogs, an emphatic symbol of triumph over several years of adversity at Belmore.
It was a dream debut and, not surprisingly, Ryan struggles to remember the detail.
"It happened so quick, and I just wanted to get on with the game. I had the (c) next to my name but there were plenty of leaders out on the field, so it wasn't such a big deal," Ryan says.
Price was struggling on the sideline but he knew one thing: a new Bulldogs captain was born.
"He was outstanding that night. He led by example as all good skippers do and with no disrespect to Willie's [Mason] award, I thought Andy was the best player on the field," Price says.
It was heady stuff but with a bubble that size when it burst it was always going to be messy, Ryan now admits.
Summer saw Price shift his life across the Tasman and Ryan was officially named the new captain of the Bulldogs.
For a moment, it seemed as if his dream captaincy would continue, with a first half walloping of St George in the season opener.
But four games later and the injury-depleted premiers have not won another half of football.
With a 1-3 record the pre-season favourites for back-to-back premierships have now spiralled down to 11th on the NRL ladder.
For Ryan, reality has bitten.
"Yeah, it was a pretty good start. I was lucky enough to take the grand final and then a good win against St George first up," Ryan says.
"I guess it's hit home the last three rounds that it's not going to be like that forever. It is definitely a good test for me [as captain]. There are going to be times when you have to work hard, and everyone needs to dig deep at training."
After just five weeks at the helm, Ryan and the SS Bulldog are facing one of those times.
But good leaders are forged more often in times of trial than success, and the 26-year-old's capacity to inspire by example is highly regarded at Belmore.
Just as the affable Price steered the troubled club through years of controversy to a premiership with his no-nonsense leadership, Ryan has been deliberate in his reaction to the Dogs' slow start.
He has done nothing.
Well, nothing more than he has always done.
"They just said to me nothing needs to change. The reason you're captain is through what you have done before," Ryan says when quizzed on his philosophies of leadership.
"I am not naturally a big talker. Folkesy said: 'You don't have to go berserk and talk your head off for the sake of it. Just keep doing what you're doing and try and lead by example - at training and in the games and that's all I have been trying to do I guess."
Much like the straight-forward Folkes, Wayne Bennett's simple rule with picking a captain is going with "a doer over a talker".
Ryan would be his type of man, although the reserved Dubbo boy admits he is still coming to grips with the more foreign off-field duties of a captain; press, sponsors, fans, a general middle-man between players, coach and club.
"Some guys are born with it, or at least been a captain since they were young," the Dogs skipper says.
"Some develop over time. I guess that's what I have done. I've played in some good sides and played under good leaders and I've tried to learn from them.
"I always try to be disciplined with myself in training, and I guess I have developed over time into a leader and I am enjoying the position at the moment."
Ryan admits the infancy of his captaincy has been "frustrating at times" but the Kangaroo forward knows his behaviour is a cue for his team, his club and his fans.
It is a heavy weight of responsibility trusted only on the shoulders of the right bloke.
"The thing as captain is you have to be the one who handles things. As soon as you start to crack, or give it to the ref or whatever, it's an excuse for your team to do the same," Price concurs.
So with the world watching, it's been business as usual for Ryan - and the Dogs - this week in preparation for tonight's grand final replay against the Roosters.
Playing for two points is usually a cliche for these clubs but now it is a stark reality.
With the Bulldogs facing their fourth straight loss for the first time since 2000, Ryan can only preach what he knows.
"You can't go shooting your mouth off at anyone. You just have to accept things that are happening on the field, and work even harder," he says.
"If you're asking blokes to do things right, and you are not doing those things yourself, it rings hollow. You want to back up things that you say, you have to lead by example."
A good captain always does.
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