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Ex-Bulldog takes swipe at Andrew Davey

“I don’t like going after players but Andrew Davey has put himself in the firing line.”

Published by
Ethan Lee Chalk

Ex-Bulldogs player James Graham has taken a swipe at former Bulldog Andrew Davey, unloading on the former player.

Andrew Davey revealed to News Corp last week that he wasn't a fan of the coaching methods of Cameron Ciraldo and admitted that players at the club had concerns.

In the same conversation with the publication, Davey said that the situation was worse with Tevita Pangai Junior, Fa'amanu Brown, Braidon Burns and Franklin Pele- all of whom have left the club or have reportedly found a new home.

“The way the Bulldogs went about things, I didn't like it,” Davey said.

“It wasn't a culture that I fitted in with and it wasn't the style of coaching that I resonated with.”

“Players had concerns (at Canterbury), but they weren't at panic stations. I had a couple of gripes, but I won't go into specifics. We weren't all pulling the same way.

“It just wasn't my cup of tea, and a lot different to what I've experienced at Manly and ­Parramatta.”

In response to Davey's claims, James Graham roasted the current Parramatta Eels forward, unloading on him after he labelled the coaching methods of Ciraldo as "cold".

“I don't like going after players but Andrew Davey has put himself in the firing line,” Graham said on Triple M.

“He played two games… he came over from Manly this season, and has come out and basically criticised Cam Ciraldo and the Bulldogs' culture.

“I think the truth needs to come out in that situation. Andrew Davey came to the club thinking he was gonna play every week, and he got outworked by a 21-year-old called Jacob Preston and he embarrassed him.

“That's why Andrew Davey isn't happy, is because he came under the pretence of ‘I'm gonna play first grade every week' and a 21-year-old put him in his place.

“He couldn't get in the team, he kicks his toys and he pisses off to Parramatta. You didn't like it because you weren't getting picked… he has shoved it up your arse, see you later.”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Moses Mbye of the Bulldogs celebrates scoring a try with team mate Josh Morris during the NRL Elimination Final match between the Penrith Panthers and the Canterbury Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium on September 11, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

James Graham isn't the only former Bulldogs player to support the club's culture and back the methods of the current coaching staff, in particular Cameron Ciraldo.

Josh Morris, a club legend of the Dogs with 217 games and 412 points to his name recently defended Ciraldo, blasting the current crop of NRL players on a tirade on radio.

“It's hard to see as a former player. You don't want to see a club like the Bulldogs where they are right now,” Morris said on 2GB.

“I agree with what Cameron Ciraldo is trying to do. He is trying to change a culture from a losing one, which it has been for five years, to a winning one.

“How do you do that? You build that on hard work.”

“I don't think all the Bulldogs players are working hard. I mean wrestling 20-30 blokes, that was a Monday or Tuesday when I played with Dessie. We would wrestle non-stop and you pretty much go until you couldn't breathe”.

Published by
Ethan Lee Chalk