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Bulldogs' skipper Michael 'The Menace' Ennis has mended his ways with the umpires
It couldn’t be scripted any better. Des Hasler and the minor premiers the Bulldogs up against the team he won the grand final with in 2011....
Play
OF all the changes Des Hasler has made at Canterbury in 2012 here's one that has flown right under the radar.
In the countdown to tonight's ANZ Stadium blockbuster between the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles, The Daily Telegraph can reveal statistics that prove Michael Ennis is no longer the NRL's biggest menace.
Ennis was leading the way as the game's most penalised player after conceding 13 penalties in his first 11 games this season.
But there has since been a dramatic turnaround with the Bulldogs captain only giving away five penalties in his last 12 matches.
Incredibly, he hasn't made a single infringement in his last five games of footy. For a man long regarded as the referees' worst nightmare, this is Ennis' equivalent to walking on water.
So how did this old Dog learn his new tricks?
For years teammates and people close to him have spoken about what a wonderful bloke Ennis was off the field, and that is why he was made the Canterbury captain this year following Andrew Ryan's retirement.
But his constant niggling tactics also earned him the unwanted tag as one of the game's most hated players.
When Ennis first took over as captain he said he wouldn't change his game to accommodate his new responsibilities but it appears he has now made subtle changes and they have won the approval of referees.
Asked this week if Hasler was responsible for making him a more disciplined player, Ennis said: "You can never control whether a referee is going to blow his whistle or not but I am certainly buying right into everything Des challenges me to do.
"I think he has changed my whole on-field persona, for sure."
Last year Ennis gave away a whopping 17 penalties in 12 games but this year has conceded 18 in 23 matches.
And remember, most of those penalties came early in the season.
Referee Tony Archer lays down the law to Michael Ennis. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
In fact, the last time Ennis was penalised was way back in round 20, ironically against Manly, when he was pinged for holding down Tony Williams in a tackle and on that occasion he could have considered himself hard done by.
Ennis was averaging more than one penalty a game throughout the opening three months and at that point came under heavy criticism from rival players and fans.
There was probably no more challenging time for him than when Ennis was carrying a groin and knee injury early in the season and his form was suffering as a result. He was under huge pressure to keep his Origin spot and ended up losing it to Robbie Farah after Ennis was forced to withdraw from City-Country because of injury.
At the time I wrote a column about his niggling tactics and said that Ennis should look to Paul Gallen for inspiration and clean up his game.
Hasler wasn't impressed with the article and called to say that he thought the criticism of his captain wasn't entirely fair.
Hasler said Ennis was working hard to improve all areas of his game and to Ennis' credit that work has paid off in the months since.
Not only has he done a wonderful job leading the Bulldogs to the minor premiership but Ennis has done it without making a single headline for what used to get him in constant trouble.
Asked this week if Hasler had helped change him as a man, Ennis said: "Definitely. For my first season as being captain he has been a huge help for me both on and off the field.
"I have learnt a lot over the 12 months I have been involved with him and I would say, yes, he has changed me.
"The best way to explain it I have understood how to execute a game plan to the nth degree and I certainly understand my responsibility to the playing group both on and off the field."
It couldn’t be scripted any better. Des Hasler and the minor premiers the Bulldogs up against the team he won the grand final with in 2011....
Play
OF all the changes Des Hasler has made at Canterbury in 2012 here's one that has flown right under the radar.
In the countdown to tonight's ANZ Stadium blockbuster between the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles, The Daily Telegraph can reveal statistics that prove Michael Ennis is no longer the NRL's biggest menace.
Ennis was leading the way as the game's most penalised player after conceding 13 penalties in his first 11 games this season.
But there has since been a dramatic turnaround with the Bulldogs captain only giving away five penalties in his last 12 matches.
Incredibly, he hasn't made a single infringement in his last five games of footy. For a man long regarded as the referees' worst nightmare, this is Ennis' equivalent to walking on water.
So how did this old Dog learn his new tricks?
For years teammates and people close to him have spoken about what a wonderful bloke Ennis was off the field, and that is why he was made the Canterbury captain this year following Andrew Ryan's retirement.
But his constant niggling tactics also earned him the unwanted tag as one of the game's most hated players.
When Ennis first took over as captain he said he wouldn't change his game to accommodate his new responsibilities but it appears he has now made subtle changes and they have won the approval of referees.
Asked this week if Hasler was responsible for making him a more disciplined player, Ennis said: "You can never control whether a referee is going to blow his whistle or not but I am certainly buying right into everything Des challenges me to do.
"I think he has changed my whole on-field persona, for sure."
Last year Ennis gave away a whopping 17 penalties in 12 games but this year has conceded 18 in 23 matches.
And remember, most of those penalties came early in the season.
Referee Tony Archer lays down the law to Michael Ennis. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
In fact, the last time Ennis was penalised was way back in round 20, ironically against Manly, when he was pinged for holding down Tony Williams in a tackle and on that occasion he could have considered himself hard done by.
Ennis was averaging more than one penalty a game throughout the opening three months and at that point came under heavy criticism from rival players and fans.
There was probably no more challenging time for him than when Ennis was carrying a groin and knee injury early in the season and his form was suffering as a result. He was under huge pressure to keep his Origin spot and ended up losing it to Robbie Farah after Ennis was forced to withdraw from City-Country because of injury.
At the time I wrote a column about his niggling tactics and said that Ennis should look to Paul Gallen for inspiration and clean up his game.
Hasler wasn't impressed with the article and called to say that he thought the criticism of his captain wasn't entirely fair.
Hasler said Ennis was working hard to improve all areas of his game and to Ennis' credit that work has paid off in the months since.
Not only has he done a wonderful job leading the Bulldogs to the minor premiership but Ennis has done it without making a single headline for what used to get him in constant trouble.
Asked this week if Hasler had helped change him as a man, Ennis said: "Definitely. For my first season as being captain he has been a huge help for me both on and off the field.
"I have learnt a lot over the 12 months I have been involved with him and I would say, yes, he has changed me.
"The best way to explain it I have understood how to execute a game plan to the nth degree and I certainly understand my responsibility to the playing group both on and off the field."
