‘His experience takes a lot of pressure off’: Dogs slammed for cut price Benji contract bungle
- March 31, 2021 6:32am
- Source: FOX SPORTS
Blown off the park in three straight games, the Bulldogs face a crisis of confidence, which begs the question why didn’t they sign playmaker Benji Marshall for a steal?
Canterbury have endured a difficult start to 2021 and life under new coach Trent Barrett.
They were blown off the park by Newcastle in Round 1, and since then have failed to score a point in back-to-back games after losses to Penrith and Brisbane.
Barrett has rung the changes ahead of Friday’s clash with Souths, which sees them come up against a man they nearly signed, Benji Marshall.
Marshall's value as a utility has been hailed as one of the smartest pieces of business after Souths’ bright start to 2021.
This year was the season that the Dogs were supposed to be free of salary cap constraints after the club was crippled by back-ended deals.
But their headline-grabbing signings have been unable to lift them out of the race to the bottom.
The Daily Telegraph’s Paul Kent warned the Bulldogs on NRL360 on Fox League that making rash decisions on the run would only hurt the club for longer.
“They had some salary cap issues that they’ve finally got through. I feel sorry for Canterbury because they’ve had to go back to square one,” he said.
“I think the way the cap works these days, the fact we have no sort of draft in place, there’s a false market in the cap in that if I’m worth $500,000, Canterbury have to offer me $550,000 to get there. The Roosters or Storm only offer me $450,000.”
Kent’s Telegraph colleague, Paul Crawley argued that the Bulldogs missed a trick by not taking on a relatively cheap Marshall to help guide their young halves
They had Benji prepared to go there on the smell of an oily rag. Seriously, he was not chasing money – he was chasing opportunity and the thought he was heading to the Bulldogs.
“Souths came up at the last minute when he had nowhere to go. Don’t you give a guy like that an opportunity?
“His experience takes a lot of pressure off Kyle Flanagan, because at the moment Kyle Flanagan is going backwards. They’re playing without any confidence whatsoever.”
Flanagan dropped a simple pass in the loss to Brisbane and from there the Broncos fought their way back into the game.
Kent urged Barrett to simplify the Dogs’ game plan in a bid to reignite the confidence within his side.
“I think Canterbury have to go back to fundamental football. That’s what turns them around – catch, pass, three on two, make the right call."
“It’s simple stuff. They’ve struggled to get to their kick, poor old Kyle Flanagan, you watch them and they make a break and he got the ball and he dropped his lollies. It’s just some of the mistakes there, that’s endemic of the pressure that’s on them at the moment."
“They have to play the long game in their salary cap and their recruitment and they’ve got to play the long game in teaching these guys how to play footy. Respectfully, there were guys in that team on the weekend who aren’t NRL players.
“They're just not up to the level. I feel sorry for Trent Barrett who has to pick them. I feel sorry for the kids that have got to come in, who don’t look like they can compete on level terms.”
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