The time has arrived for the Canterbury Bulldogs to finally turn things around in 2024.
Simply put, the time for excuses is over. The club have signed countless players, and this is fast becoming a roster than now second-year coach Cameron Ciraldo and veteran head of football Phil Gould can say they have built.
That means performances must be expected. Gould was always realistic about what the Bulldogs were going to be able to achieve in 2023 as they continued to rebuild. The club were further impacted by injuries and suspensions, but they have built a roster that has plenty of depth across the board for 2024.
The Belmore-based side have certainly been ridiculed for their utility signing spree, but the club have made plenty of external noise that all of those players have roles, and with continued improvement of some of the other young talent at the club, the Bulldogs simply must find a way into the top eight this year.
Here are the burning questions Canterbury must answer with success in 2024.
4. Will Reed Mahoney find his best?
One of Canterbury's most important players, Reed Mahoney must find his best level in 2024 if the Bulldogs are to fight their way into the top eight.
He showed glimpses of it in 2023, but was certainly nowhere near the player that featured in the Parramatta Eels' push to the grand final in 2022.
While his absence from the Eels was certainly felt throughout 2023, Mahoney didn't actually - performance wise - prove to be all that much of an upgrade on Jeremy Marshall-King who himself went up the gears at the Dolphins, establishing himself as one of the game's better dummy halves.
Mahoney was undoubtedly strong in defence throughout the 2023 campaign, but his attack, along with the rest of Canterbury's side, struggled to get off the mark at times.
That simply must change if Ciraldo's side are going to improve in 2024. His service must be better, his running game must be better, and the creativity on display needs to go up a few gears.
