‘I want the club to lift’: Mick Potter on his return to the Bulldogs
By Michael Chammas
Updated May 19, 2022 — 8.14amfirst published May 18, 2022 — 7.30pm
On Monday afternoon word began to spread that the Bulldogs wanted Michael Potter to coach Canterbury for the remainder of the season. A quick phone call to Potter and it became clear he had no idea about the plans that were being drawn up at Belmore.
Potter told the Herald he was on a mini-holiday in Queensland and found it very difficult to believe he would be coaching in the NRL in four days’ time if he was sunning himself north of the border while all hell had broken loose at Belmore.
However, 24 hours later, as he was about to board a flight from Brisbane to Sydney, Potter’s phone rang. It was Phil Gould.
The pair had played together at the Bulldogs for three seasons between 1983 and 1985, and Gould wanted to reunite in a cameo role for the rest of the year.
“It was an unexpected surprise,” Potter told The Herald. “I want so much for the club to lift. I’m very happy to be doing it [the coaching job] for this window.”
The next phone call Potter made was to Mounties director of coaching Chris Hutchison to ask if he was able to walk away from his NSW Cup coaching commitments to link with the Dogs.
“He was about to get on a plane home from Brisbane when I got the call,” Hutchison told the Herald. “He said, ‘It looks like I’ll be having a conversation with the Bulldogs later tonight’. The type of person Mick is, he asked for permission. He said, ‘I hope it’s OK with you’. We were stoked for him. He’s been brilliant for Mounties. “He came in 2020 after the recommendation from the late, great Peter Mulholland. We were more than happy for him.”
Potter hasn’t coached in the NRL since his controversial exit from the Tigers eight years ago.
But the scars of his turbulent time at Wests Tigers – who the Bulldogs take on this Friday night – didn’t stop him from hopping off the plane in Sydney and meeting up with Gould to discuss the role the general manager had in mind.
By the end of the night, Potter had agreed to help lead the club, under the guidance of Gould, for the remainder of the year, pledging to hold the fort while the club looks for a long-term replacement to fill the vacancy left by Trent Barrett’s departure.
The Bulldogs were after a number of things in a coach. The first thing was someone with solid coaching experience. Potter had coached at three Super League clubs before joining the Tigers in 2013.
The only other person at the club with a comparable resume is assistant coach David Furner, who coached the Canberra Raiders for five seasons before he was sacked at the end of 2013.
What separated Potter from Furner was his ties to the club. On Monday night on Channel Nine’s 100% Footy, Gould spoke about how he envisaged Barrett would have difficulties at a club like the Bulldogs.
“When he went to the Bulldogs I said, ‘You’re not a Bulldog boy, mate’,” Gould recalled. “I said, ‘You’re a Dragon’. I said, ‘If things go bad there’s going to be no one there to protect you’. And that’s pretty much how it’s played out.”
Potter may also be a Dragon, but he’s as much a Bulldog. He played in two premiership-winning teams and collected a Dally M Medal as well during his six years at the club.
Gould made the recommendation to the club on Tuesday night. The next morning, Potter was coaching the Bulldogs. Gould introduced him to the players, speaking highly of his history with the once proud club.
Potter just watched on at training, allowing his assistants to take control and only chiming in when needed. The Bulldogs will attempt to simplify the game plan this week – not that they have much of a choice.
Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr weren’t at training on Wednesday as they battled the flu, while Luke Thompson left early as he struggled with illness.
It will be some sort of magic trick if Potter can resume his coaching career with a victory against his old club at Leichhardt Oval on Friday night.
Set of six: Crucial calls on to-do list - Dan Walsh (SMH)
Interim Bulldogs coach Mick Potter is holding a flimsy old fort at Belmore as Phil Gould takes on Canterbury’s rebuild and roster reshaping. But already the new man has plenty to do as he returns to the NRL coaching ranks.1. Lift the spirits - It’s hard to imagine morale getting any lower as a bout of flu rips through the team and all but a few players are left wondering just how secure their futures are. Somehow Potter has to make footy fun again as another wooden spoon looms.
2. Find a style that fits - Josh Jackson is a fine player, but Isaah Yeo with ball in hand he isn’t — and Canterbury aren’t Penrith. The Dogs attack needs to be centred on their halves and hard-running forwards, not a link-man 13 because it just hasn’t worked so far.
3. Hit the ground running - Wests Tigers at Leichhardt and Dragons at Belmore in the next two weeks offer as good a chance as any of a morale-boosting win. After that, Penrith, Parramatta, the Tigers again and Cronulla is the type of run that could send a struggling side under for good.
4. Pick and stick at scrum base - Matt Burton has been bedridden this week and is no certainty to face the Tigers, with yet another halves pairing on the cards. Plenty of question marks remain over Kyle Flanagan, but they can’t keep shuffling their sixes and sevens and expect continuity.
5. Dog gone No.1? - Matt Dufty’s Dog days are dwindling and it’s hard to see them persisting with rocks and diamonds each week from such a critical position. Again, if it’s Josh Addo-Carr or Corey Allan pitched into the No.1 jumper, give them time to get comfortable in it.
6. Taming Tevita - At his best, Tevita Pangai jnr is the Bulldogs’ bona fide game-breaker. Potter needs to keep the big man on the field and in the right headspace.
