Bought, Not Bred - Bulldogs Must Look To The Past | Thebigtip

The year was 2008. The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, fresh from yet another poaching raid from the Sydney Roosters, were livid that four of their biggest stars who they had developed were no longer at the club. Up to this point the Bulldogs were still regarded as the family club who developed junior talent and gave them opportunities in first grade, with great success.

As a backhander to the Roosters for signing stars Braith Anasta, Nate Myles, Mark O’Meley and Willie Mason, the Bulldogs released special T-Shirts with the slogan “Bred, Not Bought” for their Round 4 clash with the Roosters in 2008. It was as a shot at the Roosters for who many thought were endeavouring to “Buy a premiership”, while the Bulldogs competed the right way.

How times have changed at Belmore.

In that game the Rooster’s dominated the Bulldogs, prevailing 40-12. That season, the Dogs went on to finish with the wooden spoon. This embarrassment ultimately cost Steve Folkes his job as head coach and as such led the way for sweeping changes within the Bulldogs organisation, beginning with the appointment of new coach Kevin Moore.

The three seasons since have seen the Bulldogs as one of the most active teams in the player market. In 2009 the Bulldogs recruited the likes of Michael Ennis, Josh Morris, David Stagg, Ben Hannant, Brett Kimmorley.

After a successful 2009 campaign finishing second, the Bulldogs had yet another sub-par season in 2010, finishing thirteenth, which meant mounting pressure on coach Moore after failing in a season cast with high expectations.

A second disappointment in three seasons along with the retirement of Brett Kimmorley, Luke Patten moving on and Ben Hannant returning to the Broncos, led the Bulldogs to once again make sweeping changes. The Bulldogs spent big once again, attracting the likes of Frank Pritchard, Greg Eastwood, Aiden Tolman, Kris Keating and Trent Hodkinson.

These changes resulted in further expectations to be placed on Moore and his troops. In 2011, under the weight of expectation, the Bulldogs have once again shown that the purchasing of players does not equal instant success. This failure to meet expectations has, ultimately, cost Kevin Moore his position.

On Channel 9’s NRL Footy Show, Moore stated "The new Bulldogs are definitely not the old Bulldogs". No truer words have been spoken. You only need to reflect on the last three seasons to see that the Bulldogs once strong ideals are now a fading memory.

Statistics provided by Andrew Ferguson of website www.rugbyleagueproject.org highlight the issues faced at the Bulldogs. Of the most concern is the fact the Bulldogs rank last among all NRL clubs of players within their squad who have debuted at that club. Along with that, the Bulldogs rank second to last in the NRL for players currently playing in the NRL today that debuted at the Bulldogs.

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Prior to 2009, the Bulldogs were notorious for producing their own juniors and developing them into talented first graders, which ultimately led to a premiership in 2004. In recent years, as players were poached by rival clubs, it appears as though the Bulldogs have failed to give their juniors enough opportunities. Instead, it appears as though the Bulldogs have joined the “If you can’t beat them, join them” mentality.  

These statistics are an indictment on the Bulldogs and their development program. This is the same team that over the last three years has won five of the twelve total lower grade competitions including two NSW Cup titles, two Harold Matthews titles and a SG Ball title. But what has gone wrong in transition that has forced the Bulldogs to essentially attempt to “buy a premiership”.

While there may be excuses for some of the development issues and while some of these young players are still being developed, there should be some indication of this trend subsiding. While there are some positives for 2011 with the debuts of Tim Lafai, Tim Browne and Sam Kasiano, there is still a large gap to make up. Despite those positives, the Bulldogs have again been active in the player market acquiring Great Britain prop James Graham. While Graham will now add to a formidable front row rotation, it could also be considered yet another body blow for their new generation of players looking for opportunities.

As the old saying goes – “A champion team will always beat a team of champions”. It has been that way in Rugby League for decades. A formula of junior development mixed with veteran leadership, fantastic administration and community support are often what is required to win the competition today.

The Bulldogs are currently in a position where they have got two of those three elements in place. The Bulldogs have fantastic community support along with one of the brightest sporting CEO’s in Australia today, in Todd Greenberg. However, while Meatloaf may believe two out of three aint bad – the ultimate goal in the NRL is the premiership trophy, and nothing but perfection will do.

One can only hope that whoever takes the helm of the Bulldogs in 2012 will once again embrace the true identity that the Bulldogs fought for in 2008.The identity of a family club that relies on the development of quality junior footballers to build the chemistry needed to win a premiership. Until the Bulldogs again embrace this formula, they will unfortunately be stuck singing Meatloaf while holidaying in Bali’s September sun, rather than belting out Queen on a glorious October evening.

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