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In a week the Daily Telegraph linked their footy club to a man alleged to have been preparing a terrorist attack – boo, tabloid newspaper, boo – those Canterbury Bulldogs fans who sat in the soaking rain Thursday night at Homebush deserved something for their effort.
Instead, they were just about disrespected again by their own players.
Yes, the dear old Tele, which knows better but can’t help itself, risked alienating the City of Bankstown just as the Sun did the entire city of Liverpool when it blamed Reds fans for the Hillsborough disaster.
The Sun‘s sales never recovered on Merseyside after 1989, and Billy Bragg wrote a song that went ‘Scousers never buy the Sun‘.
Dog People may follow suit. From Dessie down they were ropable with that ‘Bulldog and a bomb’ headline a Telegraph subeditor presumably felt was a good if edgy fit for a paper that sees itself as a straight-talking knockabout voice of the average Australian.
Anyway, Bulldogs fans have had no love this week. Their team is rubbish, and nobody knows why given they turn out such a talent-strewn squadron.
Consider this: Of the 17 big Dogs who ran out Thursday night, eight have played international rugby league. There were 56 Origin caps among them. There was Josh Jackson, David Klemmer and Sam Kasiano. There were Morris brothers. Will Hopoate’s played for Australia. James Graham has captained England.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
It looked like they were on their end-of-season trip.
Instead of slogging away against traditional western Sydney foes the Parramatta Eels, the Bulldogs were on the plane to Bali or Cancun or wherever single, tattooed tearaways head for the 20-something version of schoolies.
Wherever – they didn’t seem to be at Homebush. Not in their minds, anyway.
And they were summarily flogged by the Eels 20-4. It could’ve been twice that by half time had it been dry, as Andrew Johns observed.
Yes, Josh Reynolds had a bit of argie and also some bargie going in at half time, and the Dogs scored a nice try in the 58th minute as the rain really came down when chunky centre man Brenko Lee busted through Semi Radradra and put Marcelo Montoya – who probably never spent his life learning expert sword play so he could avenge his father against a six-fingered man – away for a try.
“We could have a game on our hands,” suggested caller Ray Hadley. “We live in hope.”
But we did not, and Ray knew it. It was over.
Do Dogs fans live in hope? They must – it’s all they have.
Aaron Woods is turning up in 2018, probably, as is Dessie’s muse, Kieran Foran, who you would hope for everyone’s sake – Foran’s most of all – has cast off the great thumping baboons on his back.
And yet the Morris boys aren’t getting younger, Hasler still won’t really have a halfback and Kasiano is off to the Melbourne Storm, where he’ll likely reprise his Dally M best prop forward form under Craig Bellamy, who is – fire up your best Ray Warren – a dead-set alchemist.
And the Bulldogs are bad.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
As it always does, blame falls on the coach. Hasler has two premierships – both with Manly, in 2008 and 2011. He’s taken Canterbury to the finals in each of his five seasons, including the 2012 grand final when the Dogs won the minor premiership and their big yins played like Paul Harragon with Gavin Miller’s skills.
They were good, the Dogs. But today they’re “clueless with the ball” according to Johns, who would know.
The opening try was embarrassing for Graham, who allowed a fellow front-rower to roll right on through him and over the line. For the next two tries, Mitchell Moses did whatever he liked.
They went into the sheds down 16-0 after it was left to Klemmer to kick for the corner.
“I don’t know where they go to from here,” said Johns. “All the effort areas are going with the Eels. I really feel sorry for their fans.”
“They don’t look happy,” said Braith Anasta on the other channel. “They haven’t for a long, long time. There has to be a bigger issue.”
Was it their makeshift halves? Moses Mbye is a talent, but he’s a five-eighth, surely.
Chase Stanley wore the four, played seven, put up a midfield bomb that went straight upwards. At least Klemmer’s went forward.
Halfback Matt Frawley didn’t come off the bench at all.
Now, who am I to second-guess Hasler given I’ve coached and played 676 fewer first-grade games in the toughest rugby league competition in the world?
However, on behalf of suffering Dog people who’ve been disrespected by media and players and other fans and their club administration which sold their favourite player – well, what is doing, Desmond?