‘He’s a smart man’: How the Gus effect took Dogs from pretenders to contenders overnight
Eamonn Tiernan from Fox SportsNovember 25th, 2021 3:34 pm
The Bulldogs weren’t even pretenders in 2021 but they’ve transformed into contenders overnight on the back of a boom recruiting drive led by Phil Gould.
NRL premiership-winner Corey Parker said it’s no coincidence the Bulldogs have become a genuine threat following the appoinment of Gould as general manager four months ago.
Canterbury pulled off yet another signing coup on Thursday, poaching Parramatta’s highly-rated hooker Reed Mahoney on a four-year deal from 2023.
In 12 months, Mahoney will join the 2022 recruitment class of Matt Burton, Josh Addo-Carr, Tevita Pangai Jr, Matt Dufty, Paul Vaughan and Brent Naden - while Viliame Kikau will also join in 2023 - with the Dogs roster becoming one of the most star-studded in the NRL.
Parker praised Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett and believes bringing Gould back to the club - where he played and coached in the 80s - has proved a masterstroke.
“They’ve pulled off a fantastic coup,” Parker told foxsports.com.au. “You talk about premier hookers in the game and there’s not a great deal of them. For a team that’s been on the rebuild and have been pretty ordinary for the last few years, to jag someone like Reed Mahoney... that’s a huge inclusion to their squad. These players don’t just come for the sake of it, (Gould) is a smart man. The players are taking the punt, put the money aside, it is a punt to go across to the Bulldogs to a team that wants to build".
“Pangai and Addo Carr and Matt Burton, yeah they get well-paid but they still want to go across and win and now they’re building a team that can really threaten and stay well entrenched in the top eight.”
Canterbury champion Mick Ennis told foxsports.com.au last month that signing a quality hooker like Mahoney was the key to unlocking the Dogs’ potential.
Parker emphasised the Bulldogs still have “plenty of work to do” but said it was time for fans to start smiling again after a tough few years.
“They’ve still got a lot of work to do but they’re building a nucleus really well,” Parker said.
“Every football mind or brain out there, when they looked a the Bulldogs roster, there was still sort of that red beacon in the No. 9 spot where they’ve really struggled. And now they’ve got Reed Mahoney and Matt Burton there and some decent players at the back, they’re starting to build nicely, real nice. To get someone like Reed Mahoney, particularly with the Dolphins hovering around as well, that’s a huge coup and a huge loss for the Parramatta eels. We saw what kind of influence Reed Mahoney had on their attack and what kind of influence he had defensively and also offensively with their forward pack. Now he’s going to go over to the Bulldogs. That’s a really big play from the Dogs.”
Parker added it was great to see his friend Barrett having some success after a grueling season where they finished last.
“Trent Barrett I take my hat off to him, I’ve spoken to Baz a few times last year and the year before after games and before games and just the disappointment and emotion on his face,” he said. But now there is some real light at the end of the tunnel for him and the roster he’s building with Phil Gould involved. If you’re a Doggies fan you can put a smile on your face because the last few years have been a bit grim but now there’s some real direction and real clarity about where the team is going.”
