NRL: NRL 360 hosts Braith Anasta and Gordon Tallis believe that the Bulldogs can actually make a run for the Premiership.
This time last year, the Bulldogs were languishing near the bottom of the ladder as the worst defensive team in the competition. There were questions over the ability of Cameron Ciraldo and fans were starting to accept there may never be a path back to success.
Bulldogs forward Max King joins the Fox League podcast to go inside the Bulldogs’ remarkable 2024 revival and chat about the impact of coach Cameron Ciraldo, captain Stephen Crichton and the club’s renowned defensive system “The last couple of years, the Warriors last season and before that it was the Cowboys... I’ve always looked and thought ‘I’d love for that to happen here’.”‘IT’S BEEN SUCH A WILD JOURNEY’
An eight-point win over the Tigers followed and then the Dogs held the three-time premiers Penrith to 16 points, albeit in a loss. “So when we beat the Sharks... I don’t know what it is but I’ve been here for three years and every year we verse them in a trial and then we verse them at home and away that year. So I had versed them eight times up until that game — I was 0-8 and most of them were blowouts.Matt Burton is swarmed by teammates after kicking a golden point field goal to beat the Sharks in Round 17. That’s what a losing culture does — it zaps the belief in a playing group.
But this rise hasn’t just been a fluke. It’s come off the back of constant disappointment, desire to be better, big lessons and of course hours and hours of hard work. Incredibly, Ciraldo hasn’t made any major changes to the team’s training regimen to spark this rise. The coaching staff might hone in on certain things, but the approach is still the same according to King, who said the team is “now reaping the rewards” of their hard work.
After helping build the Penrith juggernaut he was a wanted man. The Wests Tigers tabled him a five-year offer to replace Michael Maguire, but ultimately Phil Gould was too hard to turn down and the Bulldogs landed Ciraldo’s prized signature. “Everyone was saying what a great coach he was and then everyone wanted him to get sacked last year — that’s just the way the industry is.“He’s a great character, he always tries to make meetings fun and he’s all for training being fun. He’s all about connection, us enjoying each other’s company and having fun. This pre-season that’s been was the funnest I’ve had — I didn’t want it to stop.”
It’s also worth noting the success they’re having with ball in hand too given it’s also their best attacking season since 2012 given it’s the first time they’ve scored 500 points in a season since then. But this year the system has worked, because the Bulldogs officially overtook the Panthers last week for the least points conceded, meaning they’ve gone from the worst defensive team to the best in last than 12 months.“We trained hard but it just wasn’t flowing last year. It’s just another 12 months of the cogs flowing, everyone understanding their role better, what they do in each circumstance, what the defensive system is and what it expects of people.
“We’ll play this week and there’s two sides out there so we can’t have it all our way. There’s things that go wrong... practising as best as you can.Stephen Crichton — three-time premiership winner and perhaps Dally M Captain of the Year all by the age of 23? “I just said something brief to him like ‘hey brah, I’ll see you next year’ and he was like ‘yep, keen, can’t wait to go to work.’
“Then he goes to a club that’s finished 15th and are now going well, hopefully he picks up a couple of rings here. What legacy does he finish with? Will he be in these conversations? “I don’t reckon my injury would’ve came right if I didn’t come to the Dogs. They just really looked after me,” he said.
He fits the mould of what the Bulldogs have always been about — hard work — which is why he’s become one of the most appreciated players at the club.“The club was just putting their arm out for people that wanted to be there and compete.
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