2008 Bulldogs RLFC season

The 2008 Bulldogs RLFC season was the 74th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership, finishing in last place.

Contents

Season summary

High-profile player departures and political infighting during the 2007-2008 off-season had led to predictions that the Bulldogs would have a difficult 2008, predictions which were borne out across the season. The club languished towards the bottom of the ladder throughout the year, suffering heavy losses against many teams, the most notable being a 46-0 loss to the Melbourne Storm, a 58-18 loss to the Canberra Raiders and a 56-4 loss against the Wests Tigers, breaking records. The key problems for the Bulldogs were poor defence and continuing injury problems, with usually 10 first grade players injured at a time, including season ending injuries to key players Luke Patten and Willie Tonga. After the club's 58-18 thrashing at the hands of the Raiders in Round 15, coach Steve Folkes admitted that the Bulldogs were "at the bottom of a fairly big hole with no way out of it in the short term".[1] Folkes' men would only win one more game in the entire season, and finished 2008 with the wooden spoon in what was Folkes' final year with the club. It was the Bulldogs' first deliberate wooden spoon since 1964, discounting 2002 when it breached the salary cap.

On the field the Bulldogs suffered a season of unrelenting disappointment, leading to just five wins for the entire season. Other than the record-breaking losses already mentioned above, the Bulldogs suffered its first loss against St. George Illawarra since 2003, and lost twice against the Sydney Roosters, Parramatta Eels (in the first meeting the Bulldogs had a 20-0 halftime lead but somehow lost 28-20), Penrith Panthers and Canberra Raiders throughout the course of the season. The loss to the Roosters in particular was made bittersweet notably because Willie Mason and Mark O'Meley were playing against the Bulldogs for the first time. The Bulldogs however did win two of their opening three matches against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Wests Tigers, raising optimism amongst fans. The other three wins were against those that would make the finals: the Dragons in round six, the Sharks in round 11 and the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in round 18. No more wins would follow for the season. Interestingly, the Bulldogs' highest score for the season in a single match was 34 when it lost for the second time to Canberra, 52-34. Their highest in a winning match was 32, when it defeated the Wests Tigers in round 3, by 32-12. Further souring the Bulldogs' season of shame, Sonny Bill Williams left the club without warning late in July to pursue a career in rugby union (read more below).

The team also faced off-field turbulence. Throughout May and June, there was heavy media coverage of star player Sonny Bill Williams' discontent with Bulldogs management and with his contract arrangements, and of his rumoured desire to leave the club to play rugby union or in the European Super League. After confirming that he would play out the remaining 4 years of his contract, Williams left the country without warning in late July to join French rugby union club RC Toulon, in what many rugby league fans regarded as an enormous betrayal. The Bulldogs commenced legal action against Williams for breach of contract, and eventually received substantial compensation for the walkout.

Match results

ANZ Stadium is a home ground of five NRL teams (the Bulldogs as well as South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, St George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels), and therefore the Bulldogs are not officially classified as the home team at every match they play there. ANZ Stadium matches at which the Bulldogs are classified as the home team are highlighted in bold.

Round Opponent Result Bulldogs Opponent Date Venue Crowd Position
Trial Match
 St George Illawarra Dragons
Loss
30
40
 February 23 WIN Stadium
Trial Match
 Penrith Panthers
Win
36
18
 March 2 ANZ Stadium
1
 Parramatta Eels
Loss
20
28
 March 15 ANZ Stadium 25,065
10th
2
 South Sydney Rabbitohs
Win
25
12
 March 21 ANZ Stadium 21,839
8th
3
 Wests Tigers
Win
32
12
 March 30 ANZ Stadium 21,456
2nd
4
 Sydney Roosters
Loss
20
40
 April 4 ANZ Stadium 36,526
8th
5
 New Zealand Warriors
Loss
16
36
 April 13 Mt Smart Stadium 15,912
11th
6
 St George Illawarra Dragons
Win
30
18
 April 19 ANZ Stadium 14,764
7
 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Loss
22
30
 April 26 Brookvale Oval 15,229
8
Bye
9
 Penrith Panthers
Loss
4
30
 May 10 ANZ Stadium 10,257
14th
10
 Gold Coast Titans
Loss
20
24
 May 16 Skilled Park 22,676
14th
11
 Cronulla Sharks
Win
30
22
 May 26 ANZ Stadium
9,289
13th
12
 Melbourne Storm
Loss
0
46
 May 31 Olympic Park Stadium
12,251
14th
13
 Newcastle Knights
Loss
12
22
 June 7 ANZ Stadium
9,565
14th
14
Bye
15
 Canberra Raiders
Loss
18
58
 June 21 ANZ Stadium
9,845
16
 Sydney Roosters
Loss
14
24
 June 27 Sydney Football Stadium 9,271
17
 South Sydney Rabbitohs
Loss
30
34
 July 7 ANZ Stadium 15,562
15th
18
 Brisbane Broncos
Win
26
18
 July 13 Suncorp Stadium 37,683
15th
19
 New Zealand Warriors
Loss
22
40
 July 19 ANZ Stadium 12,973
15th
20
 St George Illawarra Dragons
Loss
0
30
 July 25 ANZ Stadium 7,802
15th
21
 Wests Tigers
Loss
4
56
 August 3 ANZ Stadium
15th
22
 North Queensland Cowboys
Loss
12
36
 August 9 Suncorp Stadium 8,549
15th
23
 Penrith Panthers
Loss
16
52
 August 16 CUA Stadium 7,841
15th
24
 Parramatta Eels
Loss
12
26
 August 23 ANZ Stadium 27,564
16th
25
 Brisbane Broncos
Loss
22
36
 August 31 ANZ Stadium 7,685
16th
26
 Canberra Raiders
Loss
34
52
 September 7 Canberra Stadium
16th

Season ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne 24 17 0 7 2 584 282 +302 38
2 Manly-Warringah 24 17 0 7 2 645 355 +290 38
3 Cronulla 24 17 0 7 2 451 384 +67 38
4 Sydney Roosters 24 15 0 9 2 511 446 +65 34
5 Brisbane 24 14 1 9 2 560 452 +108 33
6 Canberra 24 13 0 11 2 640 527 +113 30
7 St. George Illawarra 24 13 0 11 2 489 378 +111 30
8 New Zealand 24 13 0 11 2 502 567 -65 30
9 Newcastle 24 12 0 12 2 516 486 +30 28
10 Wests Tigers 24 11 0 13 2 528 560 -32 26
11 Parramatta 24 11 0 13 2 501 547 -46 26
12 Penrith 24 10 1 13 2 504 611 -107 25
13 Gold Coast 24 10 0 14 2 476 586 -110 24
14 South Sydney 24 8 0 16 2 453 666 -213 20
15 North Queensland 24 5 0 19 2 474 638 -164 14
16 Bulldogs 24 5 0 19 2 433 782 -349 14

Scorers

For NRL first-grade matches only.

Player Tries Goals Field Goals Points Played
Hazem El Masri 6 44 0 112 18
Heka Nanai 8 0 0 32 15
Tim Winitana 8 0 0 32 19
Daniel Holdsworth 4 5 1 27 17
Matthew Utai 6 0 0 24 9
Luke Patten 4 0 0 16 7
Andrew Ryan 4 0 0 16 21
Willie Tonga 3 0 0 12 7
Arana Taumata 3 0 0 12 5
Brent Crisp 1 3 0 10 2
Ben Roberts 2 0 0 8 18
Reni Maitua 2 0 0 8 14
Corey Hughes 2 0 0 8 19
Cameron Phelps 1 0 0 4 3
Nick Youngquest 1 0 0 4 4
Andrew Emelio 1 0 0 4 2
Daryl Millard 1 0 0 4 12
Lee Te Maari 1 0 0 4 20
Danny Williams 1 0 0 4 8
Ben Barba 1 0 0 4 4
Fred Briggs 0 0 0 0 9
TOTAL 64 52 1 333

Stats to the end of Round 23, NRL, 2008

Squad

Fullbacks Wingers Centres Five-Eighths Half-Backs Second Rowers Props Hookers Locks
Luke Patten Hazem El Masri Willie Tonga Daniel Holdsworth Ben Roberts Andrew Ryan Jarrad Hickey Corey Hughes Reni Maitua
Brent Crisp Heka Nanai Tim Winitana Joe Williams Aaron Groom Brad Morrin Kane Cleal Michael Sullivan Lee Te Maari
Nick Youngquest Matthew Utai Daryl Millard Ben Barba Nick Kouparitsas Danny Williams
Gary Warburton Chris Armit
Justin Tsoulos

Bold Players have played International or State any year

Player movements

Gains 2009

Name Signed From Contract Details
Joe Williams Penrith Panthers Joined Mid 2008
Nick Youngquest West Tigers Joined Mid 2008
Josh Morris St. George Illawarra Dragons 3 Years
Brett Kimmorley Cronulla Sharks 2 Years
Ben Hannant Brisbane Broncos 3 Years
Michael Ennis Brisbane Broncos 3 Years
David Stagg Brisbane Broncos 3 Years
Greg Eastwood Brisbane Broncos 1 Year
Michael Hodgson Gold Coast Titans 2 Years

Losses 2009

Name Signed With Contract Details
Cameron Phelps Wigan Warriors Left Mid 2008
Willie Tonga North Queensland Cowboys 4 Years
Corey Hughes Cronulla Sharks 1 Year
Sonny Bill Williams RC Toulon 2 Years

Off Contract at end of 2009

Name Contract Details

Off Contract at end of 2010

Name Contract Details

Off Contract at end of 2011

Name Contract Details

References

  1. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (2008-06-22). "Dogs belted by Raiders". League HQ. http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/dogs-belted-by-raiders/2008/06/21/1214009163941.html. Retrieved 2008-06-22. 

External links