It was always going to get worse before it got better for Canterbury. They surprised a lot of fans last year with their performances against Brisbane, Cronulla and New Zealand but they were always going to find it difficult replicating those performances minus the Morris twins and Klemmer. They were sold a bill of false goods and have paid the price.
A lot of fans are questioning the selections from Pay and while they're valid concerns, I don't think a Rhyse Martin or a Nick Meaney were the difference between a 40-6 and 30-16 scoreline. The Bulldogs strike me as a team that's struggling to come to grips with it's past and needs to move on from that culture. If that means getting rid of players like Hopoate, Holland, Foran, Tolman, Lichaa, Jackson, Elliott so be it. They maybe the Dogs best players, but it's difficult to move on when they're the senior players and they're the ones calling the shots on the field. I wouldn't chop all their heads off at once, but I'd start by dropping Lichaa for good and offering him to every club in the competition. You never know, maybe a Gold Coast Titans might take a bite. There are rumours that Reece Robson is set to sign with Canterbury, so at least that gives them something to look forward to.
They've got the Tigers next week, so the idea should be to start a new. Nick Meaney at fullback, Jack Cogger at halfback, Hopoate and Harper centres, Martin backrow, Marshall-King dummy half, Ogden bench. They'll still lose, but at least they'll be moving forward and building on what they've shown. Ordinarily I'm against mass changes, but in this case, the Dogs desperately need to find some cattle.