Canterbury coach Dean Pay says the Bulldogs are in the position to carry forward the momentum from the 2019 season after winning five of their last six NRL games.
Canterbury coach Dean Pay insists it won’t be a case of deja vu with his side ready to carry their late-season momentum into 2020.
The Bulldogs won five of their last six games to end the year, including Saturday night’s final-round 30-14 win over Brisbane.
They have arguably been one of the form teams of the competition, having notched up wins over finalists South Sydney, Parramatta and the Broncos.
But the fact is Canterbury found themselves in a similar position at the end of last year, unearthing future talent as they won four of their last six in 2018.
It came to little fruition though, as they won just three of their opening 14 games this year to be out of the finals hunt.
But Pay said the club was now in a far better position to capitalise, with minimal roster changes expected and their first-choice starting 17 still intact for next year.
“It’s a totally different group,” Pay said.
“The year before we lost a wealth of experience through the Morrises (Brett and Josh), (Moses) Mbye, (David) Klemmer – you can name a number of them.
“This year we started with the youngest group in the comp and we’ve built our season on what we’ve done.
“We’re going to have a similar group next year and some of our young boys have got 25 games in them now.
“There is a lot of hard work to do. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go in round one and we can put some performances in we can be pleased with.”
Pay was most impressed with his team’s attack against the Broncos.
They went past 18 points in a match for just the fifth time this year, and will still finish the season in 12th after at one stage looking set for a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
However, they know things must be turned around next year, after missing the finals for three straight years for the first time since the 1960s.
“As a group it’s about us being a better footy team each and every week,” Pay said.
“We need to make sure we get ourselves to a level of performance we are happy with. We’re aiming to be a top-four team and that’s what our aim is.
“Are we there yet? No. And we’re a fair way off it. But we want to keep working towards it.
“We’re all on this journey together and hopefully we can get what we’re looking for.”
Mr T
Roar Rookie
It's been a great finish to the year for the doggies. They've shown a lot of pride in the jersey and gave their fans a lot to hope for in 2020. However as mentioned in the article, they have finished strong in previous seasons and flopped in the subsequent year. The current roster most definitely needs improvement. The salary cap situation should improve each year and if they recruit wisely they can work themselves into a top 8 side. In my opinion, they are still another year or two away, but they are heading in the right direction.
Watda
Guest
Maybe the doggies and dragons can swap Jumpers half way through the season...they may both make the 8?
no one in particular
Roar Guru
From the outside it looks like a culture thing. They seem to be too scared to lose, so their heads are messed up and they don't play football. Their best games early in the season was when they were expected to lose (Storm Rd 4, Souths Rd 6).
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Just imagine - if the Dogs hadn't lost twice to the 15th placed Dragons they would have made the top eight!
The Barry
Roar Guru
That’s the main reason I’m trying not to get too excited for 2020 But Pay clearly addressed that and it’s included in the article. Yes, they finished well last year and in 17 but in both years they lost a lot of senior players so they had to start again in some areas of the team the following year and by replacing experienced players mostly with rookies. That won’t be happening next year, so they can actually build off this season. Sounds good in theory at least...
no one in particular
Roar Guru
Didn't they win four of their last 6 last season? Weren't they just about to turn the corner then? Or was it after they won their last three, and knocked the Dragons out of the 8, in 2017? This time it's going to be different. It says a lot that they have a history of scoring points and winning after the are eliminated from the 8 and there is no pressure on them to win
The Barry
Roar Guru
It’s a really good point from Pay. I’ve been trying not to get too excited about next year because we had these false dawns at the end of 2017 and 2018but I hadn’t really factored in the impact of losing so many players. As well as the guys pay mentioned there was also Reynolds, Graham and Woods and a lot of other fringe first graders as well. Hopefully there’s a couple of quality additions to the squad for next year - namely a hooker, a centre and a middle third forward - but they’re more settled coming into 2020 than they were this year. Still big things to work out in attack but it’s nice to put on 30 in the last game of the season...
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Pay is right. Losing the Morrises and Klemmer would take a while to get over with a young side. It's a strong roster with great potential. Of top 8 contending sides at the end of this season, they beat Brisbane, Cronulla, Wests, Souths, Penrith, Newcastle, Wests. I'm optimistic for 2020.